Evangelia G. Dafni, ed. <i>Gottesschau–Gotteserkenntnis</i>

Gottesschau–Gotteserkenntnis is the print version of the Third International Conference on the Theology of the Septuagint (March 9–11, 2016) at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Author and editor Evangelia Dafni notes that it is the first conference dedicated to this theme. Appropriately, the book is the beginning of a new subseries of WUNT: Studies on the Theology of the Septuagint. The volume consists of fourteen essays by a diverse group of leading scholars from a wide array of research backgrounds (e.g., Hebrew Bible, Septuagint, New Testament, Hellenistic Judaism, classics, patristics, philosophy, etc.).Emanuel Tov kicks off with a text-critical study of Moses’s six ascents to Mt. Sinai in Exod 19, 24, 32, and 34. Analyzing the MT, SP, 4QRPb (4Q364), and the LXX, he concludes that rather than copyist errors, the changes in these texts are mostly due to editorial harmonizing, especially in the latter. The tendency to create more distance between God and humanity in the Septuagintal accounts of theophanies is significant for understanding its theology.Jan Joosten explores the language, thought structure, and mental representation of seeing God in the Hebrew Bible and the Septuagint. He notes the “straightforward contradiction” (p. 26) between earlier accounts of directly seeing God, who had a body, and the cautionary, distanced accounts of the later “‘rationalist’ tendency in Israelite religion” (p. 25). These three levels often perplexingly interact in the Hebrew and Greek Bible’s depictions of seeing God.Hans Ausloos zeroes in on the ambiguous phrase קול דממה דקה in 1 Kgs 19:12 and the LXX rendering φωνὴ αὔρας λεπτῆς. He notes the importance that the “voice of a gentle breeze” in Elijah’s theophany has played in Old Testament theology and how the Septuagint’s translation is often assumed to be the correct interpretation of the Hebrew Vorlage. However, if Johan Lust is correct, then the Hebrew phrase is best rendered “a roaring and thunderous voice” and the Septuagint translator simply did not understand its meaning.Mario Cimosa proposes a general theology of the revelation and knowledge of God in the Septuagint by focusing on the books of Exodus, the Wisdom of Solomon, and Ps 19. He surveys several passages emphasizing that no animal or created being is divine or worthy of worship, rather they are signs pointing to God. Finally, LXX Ps 18 elaborates on the two sources of divine revelation: the material world and especially God’s law.Ekaterina Matusova explores Philo’s concept of noetic ascension or knowledge of God. She notes his agreement with Aristobulus, describes the development of a supralogical or mystical knowledge of God in Platonism, and identifies corresponding commonalities between Philo and Plotinus. She highlights the theme of noetic ascension in Jewish literature (e.g., Qumran) and concludes by surveying the influence of Platonism and Judaism on Philo’s understanding of the knowledge of God.Gert Steyn examines Philo’s interpretation of LXX Exod 33:13 in four of his works: Mut. 1–12, Leg. 3.95–103, Post. 12–18, and Spec. 1.41. The Alexandrian philosopher contrasts the inferior knowledge of the “shadow” of God’s created works gained by the eye of the body with the true knowledge of God’s essence, which is ultimately unknowable, gained by the eye of the soul and of the mind. He concludes, “Philo . . . interprets Moses’ request to perceive God within the context of his Greek philosophical thinking” (p. 102).Gillian Mary Clare Booney discusses the patristic doctrine of the revelation and knowledge of God, especially Gregory Nazianzus’s Orations on Exod 33:18–23. She notes the simultaneous development of the patristic and later Platonic traditions, both of which emphasize that knowledge of the divine comes through purification of the mind and contemplation. Divinization, an important tenet of both Greek philosophy and patristic theology, enables one to see God. Gregory’s spiritual reading of Exod 33:18–23 views Moses as a symbol of the mystical ascent.Dmitry Afinogenov reconstructs portions of a lost manuscript shared by two Byzantine scholars, George the Monk and Symeon Magister, arguing that this Greek text of Genesis and part of Exodus was an early Jewish and most likely pre-Christian source. He provides English translations of nine fragments from the Greek text of codex Coislinianus 305 and the Slavonic translation known as Lětovnik, which vary significantly from the Septuagint. He concludes with observations on the nature and purpose of this lost source.Peter Nagel investigates the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek constructs used for the Hebrew deity in Qumran Sectarian Manuscripts (QSM) and what influence this may have had on the New Testament. First, he demonstrates that as concerns “‘naming,’ ‘referencing,’ and ‘reproducing’ the Tetragrammaton . . . for the better part of at least five centuries [second century BCE–third century CE] there was no uniform reproduction practice in the Greek vernacular” (p. 133). Second, he discusses two God constructs of both the QSM (i.e., עליון [“Most High”] and גבור המלחמה [“Hero of War”]) and the New Testament (i.e., ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ and αββα ὁ πατήρ).The last five essays are in German, beginning with Dimitrios Nikitas’s work on The Phoenix. He proposes that De ave Phoenice be understood as a “Res gestae divi Christi figuranibus” (p. 159), or poetic allegory of the Christian life using a famous motif from pagan mythology. He focuses on the phoenix and the palm tree as types of Christ and his redemptive work. He notes the φοῖνιξ palm-tree motif in the Septuagint (cf. LXX Ps 91:13–15; Sir 24:13–14; Job 29:18; Song 7:8–9) and concludes by explaining why Lactantius chose to compose this allegory.Martin Rösel adds a “small building block” (p. 176) to the theology of the Septuagint with his study of the language of seeing God in the Pentateuch. His analysis of several texts demonstrates that the Septuagintal translators persistently avoided the idea that God could be seen as well as that the temple was his earthly dwelling. The modification of the אהל מועד (“tent of meeting”) to the σκηνὴ τοῦ μαρτυρίου (“tent of witness”) in Exod 30:36 is one of many examples of the Septuagintal pattern of replacing the motif of physically encountering God with knowing him intellectually.Raik Heckl examines the apocryphal book of 1 Esdras and its condensation of the history of Ezra-Nehemiah. The largest continuous narrative in the former not found in the latter is that of the three young bodyguards (1 Esd 3:1–5:6), which stands at the center of 1 Esdras. Heckl argues that the Persian king’s vow to rebuild Jerusalem (1 Esd 4:43) is based on LXX Dan 6:25–27. Darius is the king of the Heilswende or turning point in the history of salvation. The author’s harmonization of the return of exile, rebuilding of the temple, and teaching of Torah during the reign of the pagan king is central to his theological universalism.Christoph Elsas provides a tour of the history of ancient Near Eastern oracles and divination behind the second-century mystical text of the Chaldean Oracles. He begins with Mesopotamian and Babylonian divination, followed by Assyrian oracles and Old Persian water rituals. He identifies several differences between Mesopotamian, Greek, and Roman divination, and concludes by noting the increasing interaction between “heterotopic” religious systems in the Common Era, including Judaism and Christianity.Dafni’s own contribution is the lengthiest chapter and among the most significant for the theology of the Septuagint. She compares the concept of the knowledge of God in Plato’s Theaetetus and the Septuagint, noting both the conceptual as well as the linguistic parallels. For example, they agree that the wise acquire knowledge of God through practicing righteousness and thus imitating him. She compares the MT and LXX texts of many passages on the knowledge of God in the prophets, Proverbs, and the Pentateuch, demonstrating the translators’ dependence on Platonic thought and language. She also highlights the numerous allusions to Gen 1–3 throughout the Septuagint as well as its intertextuality with Plato.In conclusion, the above summary demonstrates the diversity of topics and areas of expertise contributed by WUNT 387 to the burgeoning field of Septuagintal theology. One problem with print versions of academic conferences is the lack of cohesion in the material. Indeed, the correlation of some chapters to the theology of the Septuagint is questionable. On the other hand, the interrelation between several authors is striking, particularly the attention devoted to Exod 33 and other theophanies in Exodus. Gottesschau–Gotteserkenntnis is a significant contribution to the study of divine revelation and the knowledge of God in the Septuagint and thus imperative to consult for future studies.