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Bulletin of Biblical Studies, vol. 12, July-December 1993, year 22, p. 84.

   The July-December 1993 issue of the Bulletin of Biblical Studies contains four (4) articles.

   S. Agouridis presents the entry of the Israelites in the land of Canaan and how this affected the behavior of the first and how this behavior functioned in the relationship between Yahweh and Baal. The writer initially analyses the intrusion and conquest of Palestine as it appears in biblical texts and according to archeological findings. Next, he analyses the theological issue that arises from the entry of the Israelites in Palestine, which involves the ferocity of the conquest, the image of the conquered people and mainly their religion. Agouridis’ article closes with a reference to the influence of the people of Canaan on the Israelites, as far as the prophesy and kingship are concerned.

   A. Vanhoye presents the history of the “Pontific Biblical Committee”. In the first part of his article, he provides with sufficient detail the history and the work of the committee since its establishment in 1902, presenting all those changes that took place in its interior and its character. In the second part, he provides the history and the work of the “Committee” from 1971 and onwards, since that is the time when new rules for its organization and function were set up so that its action might be more prolific for the Church and better adjusted to the new conditions.

   J. Enuwosa examines the nature of Jesus’ death in Luke’s sotiriology. In this context, the writer examines Luke’s terminology and sources so as to emphasize the meaning of the cross in his theology and then he moves on to the analysis of the nature of Luke’s sotiriology about the cross in a rational exegetic approach. The essential purpose of the writer is to underline the real value of Jesus’ death for Luke’s work, based on the assumption of a paper in which Luke did not attribute any redemptive and evolutionary sense to Jesus’ death.

   S. Agouridis provides an informative short notice on the proceedings of the Z΄ Gathering of the Orthodox Biblical Theologians that took place in Bucharest from the 25^th until the 30^th of September 1993. The detailed program of the Gathering comes next.

   Finally, D. Dritsas makes a thematic-notional arrangement of the contents of the BBS from June 1971 until June 1993. He classifies the various articles of the journal as hermeneutic O. T., theological O. T., hermeneutic N. T., theological N. T., Christological H. S., ecclesiological-patrological, conventions of Biblical Theology-Hermeneutic and under various topics with historic-cultural content.    

Bulletin of Biblical Studies, vol. 13, January-July 1993, year 23, p.72.

   The January-July 1993 issue of the Bulletin of Biblical Studies contains four (4) articles.

   S. Agouridis offers with his article a contribution to the debate about the modernization of the preaching of the gospel, of theology and the Church. The purpose of the writer is to show that the process of the modernization and revival had already started in the Church since the time the gospels were written. From this perspective, he examines Matthew’s gospel. Agouridis’ aim is to show in which way the evangelist Matthew connects in his gospel Jesus’ tradition with the needs of the church of his time.

   R. Penna examines the importance of the Law and the freedom in ap. Paul’s thinking. In this context, he initially starts his analysis with the definition of Paul’s criticism of the Law and the discovery of his motives for this criticism. Then he examines how Paul perceives freedom so as to conclude some things about the paradox of the similar to the Law obligations that this adoption of Christian freedom imposes.

   O. Alana refers to the secret disciples-pupils of Jesus, who, he assumes, constituted a third group of Jesus’ pupils, apart from the twelve and the rest obvious supporters-pupils of his. Finally, the writer supports the argument, which he briefly analyses, that these pupils had a decisive part in Jesus’ function.

   The last article is an excerpt from the book of the theologian and psychologist H. Wolff, Jesus der Mann, 1988. Here is published in Greek translation the chapter about the Reasoning Shadow so that the Greek public can have a taste of the method of approach, that is, the in-depth psychology according to the psychological principles of K. Jung, with regard to Jesus’ life as man.

   Following are the book reviews of the issue.

Bulletin of Biblical Studies, vol. 13, January-June 1994, year 23, p.140.

   The January-June 1994 issue of the Bulletin of Biblical Studies is an anniversary tribute to the 25 years since the death of Professor Vasilios Vellas. The issue contains eight (8) articles. These are preceded by a short prologue of the tribute by G. Gratseas and S. Agouridis, where some brief biographical and ergo-graphic information of the honored person is given.

   S. Agouridis refers to the sense of the ecumenical-spiritual God that Second-Isaiah elaborated. In this frame, Agouridis initially displays analytically Second-Isaiah’s perception of God, which occupies the first position in the prophet’s thinking due to the consequences of God’s uniqueness. Next, he analyses the view of the same prophet about the historical sufferings of God’s people, who are described as “Yahweh’s slaves” and now have a completely different mission in the world.

   D. Kaimakis shortly presents the eschatological representation of Third-Isaiah, as this appears in Is. 65, 17-25, which radically differs from the until then eschatological representations of the previous prophets.

   Elias Oikonomou presents the position and the significance of the Hebrew biblical language for the fathers of the first millennium. The writer examines this position in the texts of the fathers and the references of ecclesiastical writers. In this context, Oikonomou presents the knowledge and use of the Hebrew language by certain fathers, the rescue, on their behalf, of the Hebrew alphabet and its transcription in Greek, the translations and revisions of the Hebrew Bible they had knowledge of and, finally, the glossary of Hebrew words that is found in texts of the fathers.

   I. Karavidopoulos examines the use of the passages from prophet Zachariah’s book in the N. T. and analyses the meaning of the passages Mt. 21, 5, 27, 9-10, 26, 31, Mk. 14, 27 and John 19, 37, the parallels of which are in the specific old-testament book.

    F. Bovon examines ap. Paul as written text and monument, that is, as person and testimony. In this frame, he presents the way Paul, his texts and his memory were timelessly perceived. This examination starts from the position the second and third century reserved for Paul, the western world in the next centuries and, finally, in the modern years and mainly in the nineteenth century, when Paul’s position and theology were shaken.

   O. Hofius attempts, on the one hand, to describe the special and unique apostolic self-consciousness of ap. Paul and his respective missionary action and, on the other hand, to present the fundamental theological knowledge that is a prerequisite so much for Paul’s self-consciousness as for his action.

   G. Gratseas presents the qumranic manuscript 4QMMT, focusing mainly on the diary of the Essenes it contains. Initially, the writer refers to the history of the publication of the manuscript and then to its content as well as to its relation with other occult works.

   G. Rigopoulos analyses the paradox of infidelity as this appears in John 12, 36b-43, presenting the hermeneutic positions of the fathers on the specific passage. In this first part of the article, as it continues in the next issue of BBS, the verses 36b-38 are interpreted.

   Following are the book reviews of the issue.