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Review Author(s): R. W. Thomson Review by: R. W. Thomson Source: Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol. 100, No. 1 (Mar., 1981), pp. 144-145Published by: The Society of Biblical LiteratureStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3265561Accessed: 20-03-2015 06:12 UTC

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144 JOURNAL OF BIBLICAL LITERATURE

The Armenian Version of IV Ezra, ed. and tr. by Michael E. Stone. University of Pennsylvania Armenian Texts and Studies, 1. Missoula: Scholars Press, 1979. Pp. xv+315. $10.50 ($7 for members).

The book under review is the first part of a two-volume study of the Armenian version of 4 Ezra. This volume contains the text with an English translation and a short introduction. The second volume will comprise a textual commentary to the text with a discussion of its individual peculiarities and of its relationship to the other versions of 4 Ezra. The present review, therefore, is preliminary and cannot reflect the final views of either the author or reviewer.

The first edition of the Armenian 4 Ezra appeared in 1805 in an Appendix to the Armenian Bible of 1805 edited by Zohrabian. It was based on MSS in the Mechitarist library at Venice and suffers from the same deficiencies as other books in this Bible: a narrow textual base and lack of information about the MSS used. It was reprinted again in Venice in 1806 and 1900, the last edition being accompanied by an English translation by Issaverdens. However, the Armenian of 4 Ezra was known and used by European scholars not from these editions but from a Latin version by Petermann published in 1869 and based on the same MSS in Venice.

For the present edition all known MSS of the Armenian text have been used, with the sole exception of a 17th century MS in private hands. Of the 22 MSs-all biblical Mss-eighteen are from the 17th century and the earliest from the late 13th century. This last (H in the edition) is a famous large miscellany written by the scholar and chronicler Mkhit'ar of Ayrivank' (now called Geghard, northeast of Erevan) between 1271 and 1285. It is very usual for Armenian texts to be known from late MSS, but the antiquity of the translation can be gauged from reminiscences of 4 Ezra in Armenian texts going back to the early period of Armenian literature (5th-6th century). Explicit references in Canon Lists or in the Armenian Menologia, however, do not predate the 13th century, save that for his canon list Mkhit'ar of Ayrivank' drew upon the earlier list of John the Deacon (Yovhannes Sarkawag) of the 1lth/12th century.

All the evidence of the known MSS has been presented by means of a double edition. The first is an eclectic Armenian text in which the readings of H and the most significant other manuscript are given, plus a selection of the evidence from the rest of the MSS. This, with a facing English translation, takes up the bulk of the volume. The second text, based on a good example from the 17th century, gives all the readings of other MSS. The translation of a translation always poses problems when the first translation (here the Armenian from the Greek) is corrupt, ambiguous, or incompre- hensible, There are those who by the decent obscurity of Latin manage to pass on the ambiguities to the readers of their own renderings. But Stone has opted for a straightforward English translation which will guide the reader, but not absolve him from a careful examination of the original Armenian when it comes to comparing this with the other versions. (This is not meant as any criticism of the general accuracy and care of Stone's own translation.)

In sum, with the earlier Concordance and Texts of the Armenian Version of IV Ezra ed. by Stone (Oriental Notes and Studies, 11 Jerusalem: Israel Oriental Society, 1971), we now have as complete and detailed a study of the Armenian text as could be desired. We await impatiently the second volume of commentary which will elucidate the peculiarities of the Armenian and place it in its relationship with the other ver- sions, thus expanding and completing the various articles on these questions published by Stone since 1966.

The volume is the first of the recently established University of Pennsylvania Armenian Texts and Studies series. It is reproduced from a very clear typescript, sewn in quires and paper bound. Let us hope that other Armenian texts are also made

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BOOK REVIEWS BOOK REVIEWS

available in this format at moderate cost and with this level of scholarship. Certainly the beginning is auspicious.

R. W. Thomson

Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, Harvard University, Cam- bridge, MA 02138

Christian Sacrifice: The Judaeo-Christian Background before Origen, by Robert J. Daly, S.J. Catholic University of America Studies in Christian Antiquity, 18. Washington: Catholic University of America, 1978. Pp. [xviii] +587. $20 [Distributed by ISBS, Box 555, Forest Grove, OR 97116.1

This massive work is a slightly revised doctoral dissertation completed in 1972 under Johannes Betz at Wirzburg. It grew out of Fr. Daly's interest in Origen's treatment of the theme of sacrifice and is but a preliminary to a study of that topic. The work is divided into three parts. The first deals with sacrifice in the OT; the second with sacrifice in the LXX, "intertestamental" Jewish literature, and the NT; the third with sacrifice in patristic sources through Clement of Alexandria.

The method of treating the subject varies somewhat in each of the three parts. The first part is composed of three chapters. The first chapter collects all the OT texts bearing on sacrifice and organizes them on traditio-historical principles. The treatment here is, as Daly admits, heavily dependent on the analysis of Rolf Rendtorff (Studien zur Geschichte des Opfers im Alten Testament [WMANT; Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukir- chener, 19671). The second chapter focuses on the burnt offering, the 'ola. The last chapter deals with the theme of sacrificial blood and atonement. Both of these chapters pursue some interesting critical issues, such as the "sacred fire" (pp. 50-62), but this topic, like much of the material in the first part, is tangential to the major concerns of the work. Some of the less original research in this part of the dissertation could well have been presented in a more condensed and focused form.

In the second part, Daly begins by considering the treatment of sacrifice in particular Jewish texts, then turns to a thematic study of the Akedah, circumcision and the Pasch, and finally reverts to a text-by-text look at the treatment of sacrifice in the NT. In dealing with such a broad range of materials as the "intertestamental" corpus, it is probably inevitable that there be a few slips, and these do not seriously affect the purpose of the survey. Still, it is disconcerting to find such dated views as that Jubilees is a pharisaic work (p. 146). As in the first section there is a good deal of derivative material here, such as the discussion of the Akedah (pp. 175-86), which basically summarizes the views of Vermes and LeDeaut. This material is, however, more relevant to the overall theme of the work.

The chapter on the NT deserves special comment. At the heart of this chapter, in the discussion of Pauline texts, Daly finds the three major categories which he also sees operative in Origen and in much of the intervening tradition. These categories are: Christians as the New Temple, the Sacrifice of Christ, and the Sacrifice of Christians. These categories do not, however, operate equally well throughout the rest of the NT and the treatment here is somewhat uneven. The evidence from the synoptic gospels is briefly summarized with some lack of methodological clarity, although Daly recognizes the problem of the authenticity of Jesus material and of the diversity in views on the

available in this format at moderate cost and with this level of scholarship. Certainly the beginning is auspicious.

R. W. Thomson

Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, Harvard University, Cam- bridge, MA 02138

Christian Sacrifice: The Judaeo-Christian Background before Origen, by Robert J. Daly, S.J. Catholic University of America Studies in Christian Antiquity, 18. Washington: Catholic University of America, 1978. Pp. [xviii] +587. $20 [Distributed by ISBS, Box 555, Forest Grove, OR 97116.1

This massive work is a slightly revised doctoral dissertation completed in 1972 under Johannes Betz at Wirzburg. It grew out of Fr. Daly's interest in Origen's treatment of the theme of sacrifice and is but a preliminary to a study of that topic. The work is divided into three parts. The first deals with sacrifice in the OT; the second with sacrifice in the LXX, "intertestamental" Jewish literature, and the NT; the third with sacrifice in patristic sources through Clement of Alexandria.

The method of treating the subject varies somewhat in each of the three parts. The first part is composed of three chapters. The first chapter collects all the OT texts bearing on sacrifice and organizes them on traditio-historical principles. The treatment here is, as Daly admits, heavily dependent on the analysis of Rolf Rendtorff (Studien zur Geschichte des Opfers im Alten Testament [WMANT; Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukir- chener, 19671). The second chapter focuses on the burnt offering, the 'ola. The last chapter deals with the theme of sacrificial blood and atonement. Both of these chapters pursue some interesting critical issues, such as the "sacred fire" (pp. 50-62), but this topic, like much of the material in the first part, is tangential to the major concerns of the work. Some of the less original research in this part of the dissertation could well have been presented in a more condensed and focused form.

In the second part, Daly begins by considering the treatment of sacrifice in particular Jewish texts, then turns to a thematic study of the Akedah, circumcision and the Pasch, and finally reverts to a text-by-text look at the treatment of sacrifice in the NT. In dealing with such a broad range of materials as the "intertestamental" corpus, it is probably inevitable that there be a few slips, and these do not seriously affect the purpose of the survey. Still, it is disconcerting to find such dated views as that Jubilees is a pharisaic work (p. 146). As in the first section there is a good deal of derivative material here, such as the discussion of the Akedah (pp. 175-86), which basically summarizes the views of Vermes and LeDeaut. This material is, however, more relevant to the overall theme of the work.

The chapter on the NT deserves special comment. At the heart of this chapter, in the discussion of Pauline texts, Daly finds the three major categories which he also sees operative in Origen and in much of the intervening tradition. These categories are: Christians as the New Temple, the Sacrifice of Christ, and the Sacrifice of Christians. These categories do not, however, operate equally well throughout the rest of the NT and the treatment here is somewhat uneven. The evidence from the synoptic gospels is briefly summarized with some lack of methodological clarity, although Daly recognizes the problem of the authenticity of Jesus material and of the diversity in views on the

145 145

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Article Contentsp. 144p. 145

Issue Table of ContentsJournal of Biblical Literature, Vol. 100, No. 1 (Mar., 1981), pp. 1-160Front Matter [pp. 1-98]Tradition and Scripture in the Community of Faith [pp. 5-21]Deuteronomy 4 and the Literary Criticism of Deuteronomy [pp. 23-51]Astronomical Illusions in Amos [pp. 53-58]Mebaqqer and Episkopos in the Light of the Temple Scroll [pp. 59-74]Why do the Scribes Say That Elijah Must Come First [pp. 75-86]Critical NotesA Note on Ps 104: 5-9 [pp. 87-89]On the Meaning of rb [pp. 90-93]"Boanerges, Sons of Thunder" (Mark 3:17) [pp. 94-95]Another Note on Luke 6:1 [pp. 96-97]

Book ReviewsReview: untitled [pp. 99-103]Review: untitled [pp. 104-105]Review: untitled [pp. 106-107]Review: untitled [pp. 107-109]Review: untitled [pp. 109-110]Review: untitled [pp. 110-111]Review: untitled [pp. 112-113]Review: untitled [p. 116]Review: untitled [pp. 118-120]Review: untitled [p. 120]Review: untitled [pp. 122-123]Review: untitled [pp. 124-125]Review: untitled [pp. 125-127]Review: untitled [pp. 127-130]Review: untitled [pp. 132-133]Review: untitled [p. 134]Review: untitled [pp. 136-138]Review: untitled [pp. 138-139]Review: untitled [pp. 140-142]Review: untitled [pp. 142-143]Review: untitled [pp. 144-145]Review: untitled [pp. 145-147]Review: untitled [pp. 147-149]Review: untitled [pp. 149-151]Review: untitled [pp. 151-154]

Books Received [pp. 155-159]Back Matter [pp. 114-160]