TIP OF THE DAY 37: Examples of the use of names in interpretative issues

MJ. Smith · October 23

link to next post TIP OF THE DAY 38: Not named by Mother, multiple names, names attested to by archeology, trivia - Logos Forums

Since the forum change has been delayed, I've started adding these posts to the previous tip list. See L/V 10 Tip of the Day

The new .dox file for posts 1-30 with some reorganization: 3264.LogosVerbumDeepDiveIntoDataREBUILD.docx With page numbers and TOC. Feedback on vocabulary that should be defined and questions that should be asked would be very much appreciated.

TOPIC: Name in interpretative problems?

QUESTION: In the Kuntillet Ajrud inscription, how is Yahweh and His Asherah to be understood?

RESOURCE: See “Yahweh and His Asherah” in Heiser, Michael S. The Bible Unfiltered: Approaching Scripture on Its Own Terms. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2017.

ANSWER: from Perplexity

The interpretation of the Kuntillet Ajrud inscription mentioning "Yahweh and his Asherah" has been a subject of significant scholarly debate. Here are the key points to understand:

Interpretations of "Yahweh and his Asherah"

Goddess Asherah

Some scholars interpret "Asherah" as referring to a goddess who was considered Yahweh's consort:

- This view sees Asherah as a female deity worshipped alongside Yahweh in ancient Israelite religion.

- It suggests polytheistic practices existed, with Asherah as Yahweh's divine partner.

Cultic Object

Others argue "Asherah" refers to a cultic object or symbol associated with Yahweh's worship:

- This interpretation views it as a sacred pole or tree used in Yahweh's cult.

- It doesn't necessarily imply the worship of a separate goddess.

Linguistic Ambiguity

The grammatical construction has led to different interpretations:

- Some argue the possessive "his" indicates Asherah was subordinate to Yahweh rather than an equal consort.

- Others suggest it could be a "double feminization" rather than a possessive, though this is debated.

Archaeological Context

- The inscriptions were found at a site dated to the late 9th century BCE in the Sinai Peninsula.

- They appear alongside various religious imagery, including drawings that some interpret as depicting deities.

- The site seems to have had a polytheistic context, with mentions of other deities like Baal and El.

Scholarly Consensus

While there's no full agreement, many scholars now lean towards interpreting Asherah as referring to a goddess or divine consort in these inscriptions:

- This is seen as reflecting popular religious practices in ancient Israel-Judah.

- However, it remains a topic of ongoing debate and research in biblical archaeology and religious studies.

The Kuntillet Ajrud inscriptions, along with similar findings, have significantly impacted our understanding of ancient Israelite religion, suggesting it may have been more complex and diverse than traditionally thought.[1]

Note that the interactive Ancient Inscriptions tool in Logos/Verbum does not have an entry for the Kuntillet Airud inscriptions.

PROCEDURE: Take a piece of paper (physical or metaphorical):

Title the page “Yahweh and His Asherah” or something similar.
For each potential relationship, make a T i.e. put the position name on top of a pro column and a con column.
At the bottom of the page leave two boxes: in one put your “gut feeling” before starting e.g. the idea of Yahweh having a wife may be too far out of your comfort zone to actually consider OR the idea of a spouse may strike you as a very probable step prior to the Hebrew-predecessors becoming monotheistic.
Run a series of searches against your library and/or public chat bots, adding pro and con entries as you encounter them.
When you are done, in the second box at the bottom either write what you believe to be the most likely answer OR state what additional information you would need to make an informed decision and describe a next step which may be simply “I don’t care enough about this to pursue it further.”

QUESTION: What are the effects of translations (e.g. The Message) which omit the inclusio of the name of God in Psalm 23?

RESOURCE: from Leithart, Peter J. Deep Exegesis: The Mystery of Reading Scripture. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2009.

For readers with a smattering of Hebrew, the other contrast is in the literalness of the two translations. In verse 3, The Message renders “on account of Your Name” (lema’an shemo) as “True to your word,” and in verse 4 translates “I walk” (‘elek) as “the way goes” and adds to the Hebrew the notion that the Lord “walks” with David through the valley. The Message completely deletes “table” and “anointing” from verse 5 and gives us a droopy head that is not present in the Hebrew. From The Message, one would not guess that the God in Psalm 23 has a personal name, Yahweh, which begins and ends the psalm; the translator uses the generic “God.” “Catch my breath” is not bad,⁷ but to get the full sense of the original, one has to realize that breath has far richer connotations in ancient Hebrew than it does in modern English, where it has to do with oxygen intake.^{^[2]}

SOFTWARE: The Text Comparison Tool is designed for this type of comparison, especially in its interlinear form which gives the original language perspective. Some users might prefer the Multiview option in the Bible panel.

ANSWER: You are not in a position to measure the response of a group of individual responding to each translation. The best you can do is, for each difference in translation, note whether you believe it helps or hinders the readers’ understanding of the original text.

QUESTION: How did the LXX translation of YHWH come to be applied to Jesus Christ?

RESOURCE: from Tate, W. Randolph. Handbook for Biblical Interpretation: An Essential Guide to Methods, Terms, and Concepts. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2012.

KYRIOS

A Greek term usually translated “Lord” but having no exact equivalent in English. It was used in the lxx to translate two Hebrew words for God, YHWH (a personal name for the deity; see yahweh) and ʾădônay (master). Like the two Hebrew words it translates, it suggests power and competency (Hawthorne, 959). Although the lxx regularly employs kyrios to translate YHWH, the early Christians, when quoting passages from the lxx that use kyrios to translate YHWH, assigned its meaning to Jesus (e.g., Rom. 10:13; Heb. 1:10; 1 Pet. 2:3; 3:15).

In some English translations, the word “Lord” is written in small capital letters, “Lord” (e.g., Mark 5:19). Kyrios is also used in the nt in the sense of “master” (John 15:20), “Sir” (John 12:21), and “Lord,” meaning the exalted Christ (Phil. 2:11).

Bibliography. G. F. Hawthorne, “Lord (Christ),” in The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible (ed. Merrill C. Tenney; Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1977), 3:959–60.^{^[3]}

ANSWER: from Perplexity:

Based on the search results and scholarly analysis, the statement appears to be generally true, but requires some nuance and clarification:

1. LXX translation of YHWH:

The Septuagint (LXX) did regularly employ kyrios to translate YHWH, but this was not the original practice. Early LXX manuscripts preserved the divine name in various forms (Hebrew letters, Greek transliterations like IAO). The use of kyrios as a substitute developed later, likely in the 2nd century CE, reflecting Jewish practices of not pronouncing the divine name.

2. Anarthrous kyrios:

When kyrios was used to translate YHWH in the LXX, it was typically anarthrous (without the definite article), treating it more like a proper name. This pattern is especially clear in the Pentateuch and other early translated books.

3. Early Christian use:

Early Christian writers, including New Testament authors, did often use kyrios when quoting Old Testament passages that originally contained YHWH. This practice aligned with the later LXX tradition of using kyrios for YHWH.

4. Application to Jesus:

Many scholars argue that early Christians, particularly Paul, applied Old Testament passages using kyrios (in place of YHWH) to Jesus, thus implicitly identifying Jesus with YHWH. This is seen as evidence for early high Christology, placing Jesus within the divine identity.

However, it's important to note:

- The development of kyrios as a substitute for YHWH in Greek texts was a process, not an instantaneous change.

- Some scholars debate whether all uses of kyrios for Jesus necessarily imply full identification with YHWH.

- The interpretation of kyrios in relation to Jesus' divinity remains a subject of ongoing scholarly discussion.

In summary, while the statement captures a general trend in early Christian use of Scripture, the full picture is more complex and nuanced than the simple statement suggests.[4]

Notice that all of these exercises started with the results of a search for “personal name” against a collection of hermeneutical books. This means you can continue to challenge yourself to build your skills by actually researching cases that are not open-and-shut.

QUESTION: Who is Junia?

SOFTWARE: The all search in Logos/Verbum with the search argument” How do scholars interpret the name 'Junia' in Romans 16:7” provides solid answers:

ANSWER: from the Logos/Verbum synopsis:

Scholars have extensively debated the interpretation of the name ‘Junia’ in Romans 16:7. Many scholars now believe that Junia was a woman, possibly the wife of Andronicus, and the first to be called an “apostle”. This interpretation is supported by evidence from ancient commentators, who commonly recognized Junia as a woman’s name. The case for reading ‘Junia’ as a female name rather than the male ‘Junias’ has been widely accepted in scholarship since the 1970s. The argument is primarily based on name usage: Junia is a well-attested female name, while Junias is not attested at all in ancient sources. Some scholars note that the phrase “prominent among the apostles” could mean either that Junia was highly regarded by the apostles or that she was herself a noteworthy apostle. The debate also touches on broader questions of women’s roles in early church leadership. It’s worth noting that the interpretation of Junia as a female apostle challenges some traditional assumptions about gender roles in the early church.[5]

From Barry, John D., David Bomar, Derek R. Brown, Rachel Klippenstein, Douglas Mangum, Carrie Sinclair Wolcott, Lazarus Wentz, Elliot Ritzema, and Wendy Widder, eds. “Junia.” The Lexham Bible Dictionary. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016.

Junia (Ἰουνιᾶς, Iounias). A kinsman of Paul, to whom he sent greetings in his letter to the Romans (Rom 16:7). Many scholars believe that Junia (or Junias) was a woman, the first to be called an “apostle.” Junia is sometimes assumed to be the wife of Andronicus. For further information on this debate, see this article: Women in Church Leadership.

Junia. In Romans 16:7, Paul greets two people, a man named Andronicus and a woman named Junia, and describes them as ἐπίσημοι (episēmoi) [variously translated as “outstanding” (NASB, NIV), “prominent,” (NRSV), or “well-known,” (ESV, NET)] ἐν τοῖς ἀποστόλοις (en tois apostolois) [usually translated as either “among the apostles” (NASB, NIV, NRSV) or “to the apostles” (ESV, NET)]. The initial interpretive issue is evident in the way that episēmoi en tois apostolois is rendered by the major English translations. Following the translation provided by the ESV and NET, Andronicus and Junia are “well-known to the apostles,” but they are not apostles themselves. Alternately, the translation option preferred by the NASB, NIV, and NRSV presents Andronicus and Junia as apostles themselves. The NASB, NIV, and NRSV translate both episēmoi (“outstanding, prominent”) and ἐν (en, “among” when it precedes a plural noun) according to their most natural sense. However, there is a second interpretive issue.

The names in Rom 16:7 are both in the Greek accusative case, meaning that the form Ἰουνίαν (Iounian) could be understood as the masculine name “Junias,” perhaps a shortened form of the name Junianus (see BDAG, s.v. Ἰουνιᾶς, Iounias). Perhaps recognizing the difficulty posed by the existence of a female “apostle,” the NASB and the RSV render the Greek name as Junias (the masculine name), rather than as Junia (the feminine name). The ESV, NET, NIV, and NRSV, however, translate the name as Junia, taking the name as referring to a female figure. Reading “Junias” is problematic, however, because the masculine name is “unattested in hellenistic Greek” (Tetlow, Women and Ministry, 120). On the other hand, the feminine name “Junia” is “attested as a common name in contemporary hellenistic Greek” (Tetlow, Women and Ministry, 120). Moreover, most commentators, including many of the early church fathers, interpreted the Greek name as Junia, the name of a woman, until as late as the 13th century (Women and Ministry, 120). Thus it is not unlikely to suppose that a woman named Junia was recognized by Paul as an “apostle,” though it is still unclear what that term might have entailed at the time Romans was written. Dunn contends that Junia (a woman) was “one of the earliest and leading members of the larger group of apostles” (Romans 9–16, 900).^{^[7]}

From Keener, Craig S. Romans. New Covenant Commentary Series. Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2009.

Andronicus and Junia seem to be a husband-wife apostolic team (16:7; brother-sister is less likely, and anything else would have been scandalous). “Junia” is plainly a woman’s name, as ancient commentators commonly recognized (and often found surprising).²¹ It is grammatically possible to read “of note among the apostles” as being honored by other apostles,²² but Paul nowhere else appeals to the opinion of “the apostles” as a group, so most scholars prefer the other possible grammatical reading, namely, that Paul calls them “noteworthy apostles.” The larger question is what Paul means by calling them apostles. Whereas Luke usually reserves the title for the Twelve, Paul applies the title much more widely (beginning with his own ministry; see 1 Cor 15:5–7; Gal 1:19; 1 Thess 2:7 [with 1:1]). Detractors to Junia being an apostle note that Paul speaks twice of apostles (commissioned agents) of churches; yet these are always specified as such (2 Cor 8:23; Phil 2:25). One cannot insist that Paul speaks here merely of “agents of churches” as opposed to his normal sense of “apostles,” since he offers no such specification here, unless one argues on the basis that women could not be apostles (which would constitute a circular argument here, assuming what it is designed to prove). The other uses in Romans apply to himself (1:1; 11:13). We should keep in mind, however, that Paul’s broader usage for an agent commissioned by Christ does not specify, as people sometimes assume, “members of the Twelve” or “writers of Scripture.”²³ It does seem to imply special authorization and is normally accompanied by suffering (1 Cor 4:9) and signs and wonders (2 Cor 12:12).

[1] https://www.reddit.com/r/AcademicBiblical/comments/24cj9j/does_the_inscription_found_at_kuntillet_ajrud/ and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuntillet_Ajrud_inscriptions and https://www.religionofancientpalestine.com/?page_id=230 and https://www.christian-thinktank.com/godswife.html and https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-artifacts/puzzling-finds-from-kuntillet-ajrud-a-drawing-of-god-labeled-yahweh-and-his-asherah-or-the-egyptian-god-bes/

⁷ The Hebrew soul (nephesh) does seem to be linked to breath and throat. See Thomas Staubli and Silvia Schroer, Body Symbolism in the Bible, trans. Linda M. Maloney (Collegeville, Minn.: Michael Glazier, 2001), 56–67.

^{^[2]} Peter J. Leithart, Deep Exegesis: The Mystery of Reading Scripture (Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2009), 4.

lxx Septuagint

^{^[3]} W. Randolph Tate, Handbook for Biblical Interpretation: An Essential Guide to Methods, Terms, and Concepts (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2012), 229.

[4] https://www.csustan.edu/sites/default/files/groups/University%20Honors%20Program/Journals/tanis.pdf and https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1055&context=djrc and https://letthetruthcomeoutblog.wordpress.com/2020/11/23/observations-on-the-use-of-kurios-in-the-nt-in-relationship-to-god-and-jesus-and-with-respect-to-the-definite-article/ and https://biblearchaeology.org/research/new-testament-era/4022-a-brief-history-of-the-septuagint and https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/new-testament-studies/article/abs/lord-lord-jesus-as-yhwh-in-matthew-and-luke/E88179E76EB52BC38A3C17835D01B2B7 and https://larryhurtado.wordpress.com/2014/08/22/yhwh-in-the-septuagint/

[5] John D. Barry et al., eds., “Junia,” in The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016). and John D. Barry et al., eds., “Junia,” in The Concise Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2021). and Craig S. Keener, Romans, New Covenant Commentary Series (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2009), 186. and Richard Bauckham, Gospel Women: Studies of the Named Women in the Gospels (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2002), 166.

John D. Barry et al., eds., “Junia,” in The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).

^{^[7]} Robert Jones, “Women in Church Leadership,” in The Lexham Bible Dictionary, ed. John D. Barry et al. (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).

²¹ E.g., John Chrysostom Hom. Rom. 31.2. The supposed contraction of the male “Junianus” here is nowhere attested in antiquity and is unlikely, since such contractions do not occur with Roman names (as this one is); see e.g., Cervin 1994; cf. Schulz 1987. The attempt to make Junia male (found even in some translations) seems a case of theological special pleading.

²² Burer and Wallace 2001; but cf. the detailed response by Bauckham 2002: 172–80.

²³ Given the culture, we also cannot be certain as to the sphere of ministry; perhaps Andronicus and Junia each focused on ministry to their own gender (but cf. Acts 16:13–15; 18:26).

Craig S. Keener, Romans, New Covenant Commentary Series (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2009), 186–187.