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Irish Theological Quarterly | 2003
Martin McNamara
refuses to identify it with the idea of the sensus plenior, which he finds an unsatisfactory notion, neither fish nor fowl, neither the literal sense nor the spiritual. He compares the roles of literal and spiritual exegesis to those of systematic theology, on the one hand, and Christian mysticism on the other, in expressing the faith of the Church. The final chapter of Scripture in the Tradition considers ’the Christian new-
Irish Theological Quarterly | 1994
Martin McNamara
Not about feasts, this book is itself a feast of the various dishes Rahner prepared for us, as can be seen in the titles of its eight major sections: (1) What is Christianity?, (2) The Mystery of Existence, (3) On the Living God, (4) Jesus Christ, (5) The Holy Spirit, (6) The People of God in History, (7) Christian Life and (8) Hope in God. Karl Lehmann’s long introductory &dquo;portrait&dquo; of Rahner will be valuable both for readers already quite familiar with his work and for those seeking such familiarity. In checking a few of these essays against my own copies of Rahner’s writings, I found places where excerpts came, not from a single passage, but here and there from within the pages cited. Though skilful editing makes such passages appear seamless, I would have preferred some indication that this sort of editing was in fact used.
Irish Theological Quarterly | 1990
Martin McNamara
Western Society the heart is the accepted symbol of love; witness the graffiti on walls, the carvings on tree trunks, the ubiquitous stickers in so many different languages on rear windows and bumpers of cars indicating the city or object of the owner’s love. Dictionaries, however, register a variety of meanings for the symbol, ranging from the physiological (&dquo;organ keeping up the circulation of blood&dquo;), through &dquo;the seat of innermost thoughts, emotions, especially love&dquo;, to &dquo;the centre or innermost part, or essence&dquo;. It is but natural that a devotion that has spanned centuries should stress now one meaning, now another of the word being considered. Present-day theology and devotion have come under the influence of both biblical, patristic and liturgical studies, and by reason of this are more open to the riches of the symbol we are interested in. I believe that both the theology and the devotion in question are enriched by these new insights. In this essay I intend to study some of the biblical evidence having a bearing on the question, and the term &dquo;heart&dquo; will be understood in the broad biblical sense found in both the Old and New Testaments. In the
Irish Theological Quarterly | 1989
Martin McNamara
actually built a new temple or simply remodelled an existing Jebusite shrine which had been taken over by David for Yahwism (96-97). Here and in several other places in the Explanations he also uses Hebrew script, which would presumably make it difficult for some of his intended readership to follow. Besides these problems, there are a few sections with no Explanation unit or with only three or four lines of content. De Vries’ reliance on form and tradition criticism stands in sharp contrast to the position adopted by T. R. Hobbs, who writes the volume on 2 Kings. His introductory material, though shorter than De Vries’, covers similar ground and it is here that one is introduced to their differing views not only on methodology but also regarding textual criticism (he avoids emending the MT unless it is deemed absolutely necessary), chronology and the history of the deuteronomistic redaction. It is in the area of method that the most significant difference occurs and it makes Hobbs’ quite a different commentary. He attaches little importance to the question of sources and tradition history, but rather makes much use of recent advances in the study of Hebrew narrative, which emphasize the role of style and narrative technique. This makes for a more unified reading of the text and a good example of how it functions may be seen in his treatment of the healing of Naaman the leper (2 Kings 5:1-27), 55-69. In the different units he distinguishes clearly the function of each, and his Explanations read well as succinct studies of the given passage, easily used even by a general reader. The Comment section consistently offers a verse by verse analysis and this too makes for easy reference. As with the first volume there is extensive bibliographical information, and both are provided with thorough Author and Subject indexes, though only Hobbs provides an Index of key Hebrew words. While it is interesting to compare and contrast the different methods of modern scholarship, it is unfortunate that the unity of 1-2 Kings (accepted by both authors) is not reflected in this series, either by having two exegetes following the same method, or by choosing a single author for both. For the latter task this reviewer would choose Hobbs.
Irish Theological Quarterly | 1988
Martin McNamara
In this second volume of the monumental work edited by Professor James H. Charlesworth we have three major divisions followed by a Supplement. Each of these is provided with its own special introduction by the Editor. These are as follows: (1) &dquo;Expansions of Old Testament Legends&dquo;, i.e. Letter of Aristeas, Jubilees, Martyrdom and Ascension of Isaiah, Joseph and Aseneth, Life of Adam and Eve, Pseudo-Philo’s Antiquities, The Lives of the Prophets, Ladder of Jacob, 4 Baruch, Jannes and Jambres, History of the Rechabites, Eldad and Modad, History of Joseph. (2) &dquo;Wisdom and Philosophical Literature&dquo;, i.e. Ahiqar, 3 and 4 Maccabees, Pseudo-Phocylides, Sentences of the Syriac Menander. (3) &dquo;Prayers, Psalms and Odes&dquo;, i.e. More Psalms of David, Prayer of Manasseh, Psalms of Solomon, Hellenistic Synagogue Prayers, Prayer of Joseph, Prayer of Jacob, Odes of Solomon. In the &dquo;Supplement&dquo; we have
Irish Theological Quarterly | 1985
Martin McNamara
of the Flavian period, somewhere around 80 A.D., when the Pauline problem about Faith and Law had long been resolved and the predominant identity-question within the Church was their calling as &dquo;Christians&dquo; over against an alien society. Catholic readers may feel somewhat indifferent to the inclusion of Martin Luther’s estimate of 1 Peter, quoted in the introduction. They might rather prefer a fuller probing of its possible link with the apostle Peter’s Roman ministry. Nonetheless, all will agree that Elliott has admirably presented the main thrust of this letter in terms which make it virtually a tract for our times.
Irish Theological Quarterly | 1983
Martin McNamara
gift of image and symbol. The reflections which Craigie offers (especially in his sections Comrnerit and Explanation) help us to appreciate the literary and spiritual fragrance of these great prayers. He is to be thanked for this. This is the first of three volumes on the Psalms in the Word Biblical Commentary series. The introduction in this volume is a general introduction to the’whole Book, but the succeeding volumes will also provide brief introductory remarks to thc individual sections of the Psalms which they cover. Volume 20, Psalms 5 1-100, is being prepared by Dr Marvin E. Tate, and Volume 21, Psalms 101-150, is being prepared by Dr Leslie C. Allen.
Irish Theological Quarterly | 1983
Martin McNamara
For many years students of the Targums have spoken of a “Fragment Targum”. By this was meant fragments of the Palestinian Aramaic rendering of the Pentateuch which were inserted into the first printed edition (of A.D. 15 17-18) of the Rabbinic Bible a work which contained the Hebrew Biblical text, the Aramaic rendering of Onkelos and Rabbinic commentaries as well as the fragments in question. In more recent times other manuscripts of this so-called “Fragment Targu_m” were identified by scholars and attempts made to explain th,e nature and origin of these fragments. Klein’s work gives us a critical edition of these texts (vol. I) and also (in vol. 11) an English translation. Nine texts of the Fragment Targum were known to Klein, who has shown that eight of these reppresent four distinct recensions which vary so much among themselves that they cannot be reduced to a common original. For this reason, Klein says, we must speak of Fragment Targums rather than of a Fragment Targum. There are two major recensions, with fragments covering all five books of the Pentateuch. One of these recensions is represented by the single Paris MS., Bibl. Nat. Heb. 110. The text taken as representative of the other recension is the Vatican codex, MS Ebr 440. Two other manuscripts, one at Niirenberg and the other a t Leipzig, belong to the Vatican recension. The first Rabbinic Bible published the Nurenberg text, and Klein has ascertained that another manuscript (Sassoon 264) is a copy of this printed edition. Another of the manuscripts (in Moscow) is a copy of the Nurenberg text. The Paris manuscript, as already noted, forms a recension apart. So, too, does the brief text in New York, Jewish Theological Seminary (Lutzki) 605 (E.N. Adler 2587) and the other in the British Library MS. Or 10794. In volume I of the present work the author prints the full text of the Paris MS, and also that of the Vatican MS together with all the variants of the recension to which this manuscript belongs. In the Paris MS there is an Appendix on the Ten Commandments (Exod. 24:214( 17)). This Appendix is also reported, as are also the British Library and New York texts. Introductory essays in the first volume treat of the problems connected with the Fragment Targums (name, origin, relation to Liturgy, date of composition, etc.). It also contains an index of the verses preserved in the various Fragment Targums texts, a concordance of Greek and Latin loan-words and a Greek-Aramaic index. In the English translation in vol. I1 the author aims at presenting a literal rendering, respecting the peculiarities and the turns of phrase of the targumic version itself (e.g. “feared from before the Lord”, where the hebrew has “feared the Lord”; “it was manifest before the Lord”, where the Hebrew has, “God saw”). Technical Aramaic terms for God in his manifestations to man, such as memra, dibbera (both terms meaning “word”), ’iqar, shekinfa (“glory”, “dwelling”) and in combination (‘iqar shekinfa) are left untranslated since, in Klein’s opinion, the commonly used English equivalents “word, speech, glory, presence and glory of the presence” are considered unsatisfactory. While there are arguments in favour of the principle, its use can lead to some clumsy renderings, as for instance Klein’s own translation of T g Exod. 33:23: “. . . and you will see the dibbera of my ’iqar shekinta, but it is impossible for you to see my ‘iqar shekinta”. Michael Klein has rendered a service to modern targum studies in this critical edition and English translation of the Fragment Targums. They are volumes that should be on the shelves of libraries catering for Jewish studies. We look forward to further works from him on related targumic texts.
Irish Theological Quarterly | 1982
Martin McNamara
The importance of the Vulgate needs no introduction. It represents the interpretation of the Hebrew Bible as the Church in the 4th century saw it to be. Add the New Testament, and we have the text which was basic for worship, theology and even jurisprudence for a millenium and a half; in fact, until the vernacular revolution of Vatican II. This edition, called into being by Paul VI and presented to us by John Paul II. is now the official Vulgate. It is beautifully printed, fairly well bound, and on a somewhat better paper than usual for the Vatican Press. But all it is is text. There is no ratio editionis apart from what may be gleaned from the short prefatory COllslitutio Apostolica. There is no apparatus criticus, such as one finds in, say, the Marietti Vulgate of 1959. And the very useful subheadings of the Marietti are entirely missing. We have simply sheer text. Apart from the renewed official status given to the text, only three pointers emerge from the prefatory Constitutio of John Paul II, all willed by Paul VI. Vatican II is to be borne in mind. There is no clear indication of what this involves unless it is the second pointer. The traditional text and the just demands of the progress of biblical studies are to meet. And thirdly, the stress is on liturgical use. That is perfectly just. Substance serves the liturgy, where worship subsumes. without really noticing, what is the more refined province of the exegete, unless essentials are involved.
Irish Theological Quarterly | 1979
Martin McNamara
reasonable and responsible. They develop and apply the Lonergan method in all directions, especially in the directions of contemporary psychology and sociology; and they have much to say that is shrewd and memorable, apart altogether from the Lonergan factor. I found Doran’s article on Jung, Flanagan’s application of Nortrop Frye’s Anatomy of Criticism to the sphere of morals, Lamb’s &dquo;Theological Refiections on Socio-Economic Processes&dquo;, the kind of thing that
