Bulletin of Biblical Studies, vol. 18, January-June 1999, year 28, p. 144.
The January-June 1999 issue of the Bulletin of Biblical Studies contains six (6) articles.
The article of G. Rigopoulos is an obituary to professor Oscar Cullman. Initially, the writer shortly presents the biography of the guest of honour and describes the two sectors in the frames of Theology, that is the biblical Theology and especially the interpretation of the N. T. and Ecumenism, which offered its services. Next, there is a reference to its relationship with the Orthodox Church and Theology and, finally, some of its theological injunctions are presented.
S. Agouridis examines the issue of the readiness that is demanded on the Christians' part for the welcoming of the new century and the kingdom of God, which the Parables of ch. 25 of Matthew' s gospel set off. In this context, the writer briefly analyzes ch. 24, where there is talk of the coming of the Son of Man and the end and the need for the Christians to be “ready”. This last element is explained in the Parables of the reliable and not servant, the ten virgins, the talents and the judgement of the nations. The writer of the article focuses his interest on these Parables.
M. G. Michael examines the meaning and the content of number 666 in the O. T. and how much the old-testament representations affected the view of the writer of John's Revelation.
The text of G. Rigopoulos is the second part of his article “Jesus and the Greeks (Hermeneutic approach of John 12, 20-26)”, BBS, vol. 17, Jan.-June 1998, pp. 81-101. The analytical explanation and interpretation of John 12, 23-26 takes place in it.
Z. Hamar refers to the stability of the divine mercy, of grace and faith, the way they are presented in Second-Isaiah and especially in the passage Is. 54, 9-10 that is an object of examination of the present article as well. The writer deals in detail with the evaluation of the various ancient translations, with the literary means (typology and announcement of salvation), the most important meanings of the specific verses and, finally, with their interpretation by the Fathers.
R. Goharghi presents the history of the Hyksos that settled around 1700 b. C. in the region of Gesen that is located in the broader area of the Lower Egypt. The writer, making use of the until today known historical and archeological data and findings, examines the history of the Hyksos and their dynasty, referring to the Egyptian cities that they conquered, resided and ruled for about two centuries, which is when they were driven away by the Egyptian Pharaohs. In the article the presentation of their history and especially of the cities of Gesen takes place with lots of references to the parallel history of the Hebrews, the Romans and the Greeks.
Next follow the book reviews of S. Agouridis on Z. Saramagos' ΤοκατάΙησούνΕυαγγέλιον,Μυθιστόρημα( Jesus' gospel, A novel), ed. Kastaniotis, Athens, 1997 and K. Armstrong's Εναρχή, ΜιανέαερμηνείατουΒιβλίουτηςΓενέσεως (In the beginning, A new interpretation of the Book of Genesis), ed. Filistor, 1996.