Author Biography

Eugen J. Pentiuc is Archbishop Demetrios Chair of Biblical Studies and Christian Origins and Professor of Old Testament and Semitic Languages at Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, Brookline, MA, current adjunct Scripture Professor at St. Joseph's Catholic Seminary in Yonkers, NY, adjunct Old Testament Professor at Saint Athanasius and Saint Cyril Coptic Orthodox Theological School (ACTS) in Anaheim, CA. He is the author, among other works, of The Old Testament in Eastern Orthodox Tradition (OUP, 2014) and Hearing the Scriptures: Liturgical Exegesis of the Old Testament in Byzantine Orthodox Hymnography (OUP, 2021).

Table of Contents

Foreword Elpidophoros, Archbishop of America Acknowledgments List of Contributors Introduction: The Bible in Orthodox Christianity: Balancing Tradition with Modernity Eugen J. Pentiuc Part I: Text 1. The Place of the Hebrew Old Testament Text in the Eastern Church Miltiadis Konstantinou 2. The Old Greek, Hebrew and Other Text Witnesses in Eastern Orthodoxy Alexandru Mihaila 3. From Suspicion to Appreciation: The Change of Perception Regarding Theodotion''s Version of Daniel in Patristic Literature Daniel Olariu 4. Syriac Versions of the Bible George A. Kiraz 5. The Coptic Bible Hany N. Takla 6. Translation of the Bible into Armenian Garegin Hambardzumyan 7. Byzantine Lectionary Manuscripts and Their Significance for Biblical Textual Criticism Gregory Paulson 8. Past and Current Trends in New Testament Textual Criticism and their Significance for Orthodox Biblical Scholarship Simon Crisp Part II: Canon 9. The Emergence of Biblical Canon in Orthodox Christianity Lee Martin McDonald 10. Biblical Inspiration: A Critical-Historical Survey Edith M. Humphrey 11. The Special Status of Anaginoskomena in Eastern and Oriental Orthodoxy Ioan Chirila 12. Liturgical Use and Biblical Canonicity Petros Vassiliadis 13. The Biblical Canon of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tawahedo Church (EOTC) Daniel Assefa Part III: Scripture within Tradition 14. Tradition: Generated by or Generating Scripture? Silviu N. Bunta 15. The Use of the Bible in Byzantine Liturgical Texts and Services Stefanos Alexopoulos 16. Reading Scripture with the Church Fathers Alexis Torrance 17. Theology, Philosophy, and Confessionalization: Eastern Orthodox Biblical Interpretation after the Fall of Constantinople up to the Late 17th Century Athanasios Despotis 18. The New Testament in the Orthodox Church: Liturgical and Pedagogical Aspects Konstantin Nikolakopoulos Part IV: Toward an Orthodox Hermeneutics 19. Toward an Orthodox Hermeneutic Theodore G. Stylianopoulos 20. Orthodox Christianity, Patristic Exegesis, and Historical Criticism of the Bible John Fotopoulos 21. The Modern Search for the Literal Sense: Forerunners of the Challenge at Antioch Christopher R. Seitz 22. Antiochene Theoria and the Theological Interpretation of Scripture Bradley Nassif 23. Eastern and Oriental Orthodoxy: A Brief Survey Anthony G. Roeber 24. Biblical Exegesis in the Syriac Churches Sebastian P. Brock 25. Biblical Interpretation in Ethiopian Patristic Literature Mersha Alehegne 26. The Bible and the Armenian Church Vahan Hovhanessian 27. Scriptural Interpretation in the Late Antique Coptic Tradition Mary K. Farag 28. Pastoral Use of the Bible in the Orthodox Church Harry Pappas 29. Eastern Orthodox Views on Ancient Jewish Biblical Interpretation Bruce N. Beck 30. Anti-Jewish Sentiments in Liturgical and Patristic Biblical Interpretations Bogdan G. Bucur 31. Bible and Archeology: An Orthodox Perspective Nicolae Roddy Part V: Looking to the Future 32. Reading from thee End, Looking Forward John Behr 33. Who''s Afraid of the Old Testament? Tough Texts for Rough Times Brent A. Strawn 34. The Bible in Orthodox Christian-Jewish Dialogue Michael G. Azar 35. Bible, Theology and Science: Learning from the Past and Looking to the Future David Wilkinson 36. Theology-Science Dialogue: An Orthodox Perspective Nikolaos Chatzinikolaou 37. How Orthodox Women Read and Teach the Bible Ashley M. Purpura 38. B.E.S.T.: Bridging Synchronic and Diachronic Modes of Interpretation Olivier-Thomas Venard 39. The Reception History: A Paradigmatic Turn in Contemporary Biblical Scholarship Justin A. Mihoc 40. Modern Orthodox Biblical Interpretation James Buchanan Wallace 41. Towards an Integrative Reading of the Bible R. W. L. (Walter) Moberly

Review

This exceptional handbook, edited by Eugen J. Pentiuc, will appeal broadly to Biblical scholars as well as non academics, both Orthodox and non-Orthodox, looking to understand Orthodox Christian (Eastern and Oriental) approaches to reading the Bible...Those interested in encountering Orthodox views on Text, Canon, Scripture within Tradition, and Hermeneutics in a forward looking way will find this handbook a source of considerable guidance and a most worthwhile read. * Sophia Theodoratos, St Andrew's Greek Orthodox Theological College, Phronema *
Whether or not readers are familiar with Orthodox Bible interpretation, this volume is bound to become a go-to treasure chest of jewels on the subject. * Hywel Clifford, Journal for the Study of the Old Testament *
Whether or not readers are familiar with Orthodox Bible interpretation, this volume is bound to become a go-to treasure chest of jewels on the subject. * Hywel Clifford, Journal for the Study of the Old Testament *
This volume reflects a variety of views...this book does not attempt to impose one approach. * Hans Boersma, Church History *
Specialists and nonspecialists alike will find much of interest in this volume, especially those concerned with the creative tension between modern historical-critical methods and reading practices of the past and convinced of the need for a "recontextualization of Tradition." * Religious Studies Review *
The volume strikes an admirable balance between the rigor of specialized studies and the accessibility of a general introduction. * Michael Legaspi, The Catholic Biblical Quarterly *

Long Description

The Oxford Handbook of the Bible in Orthodox Christianity investigates the various ways in which Orthodox Christian, i.e., Eastern and Oriental, communities, have received, shaped, and interpreted the Christian Bible. The handbook is divided into five parts: Text, Canon, Scripture within Tradition, Toward an Orthodox Hermeneutics, and Looking to the Future.The first part focuses on how the Orthodox Church has never codified the Septuagint or any other textual witnesses as its authoritative text. Textual fluidity and pluriformity, a characteristic of Orthodoxy, is demonstrated by the various ancient and modern Bible translations into Syriac, Coptic, Ethiopian, Armenian among other languages. The second part discusses how, unlike in the Protestant and Roman-Catholic faiths where the canon of the Bible is "closed" and limited to 39 and 46 books,respectively, the Orthodox canon is "open-ended," consisting of 39 canonical books and 10 or more anaginoskomena or "readable" books as additions to Septuagint. The third part shows how, unlike the classical Protestant view of sola scriptura and the Roman Catholic way of placing Scripture and Traditionon par as sources or means of divine revelation, the Orthodox view accords a central role to Scripture within Tradition, with the latter conceived not as a deposit of faith but rather as the Church's life through history. The final two parts survey "traditional" Orthodox hermeneutics consisting mainly of patristic commentaries and liturgical interpretations found in hymnography and iconography, and the ways by which Orthodox biblical scholars balance these traditional hermeneutics withmodern historical-critical approaches to the Bible.

Details