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Bible Publications and Judaism
T. Federici | G. Rossetto | S. McEvenue | G. Rochais

The Supplement au Dictionnaire de la Bible.

Judaism is often dealt with in the SDB. But, though many articles treat of the connection between Judaism and the New Testament, rarely is the question envisaged under all aspects. Almost every article shows a twofold lack of hermeneutical and theological information. With regard to theology, no mention is made of the role of Israel in the Plan of Salvation after the coming of Christ. Fr. De Vaux's article "Israel", which concludes with the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 is significant in this regard. On the hermeneutical level, even when the authors generally assign a section to Judaism when developing their topic, rarely do they place Jewish thought in the general development of Old Testament religious thinking and relate it to the New Testament. Often there is only a simple juxtaposition which could lead one to believe that these currents of thought are independent. Several authors confess their inability to show the place of Jewish thought in this general development.

Main articles in which one section is set aside for Judaism

Abraham: an outdated study of little value from either an intellectual or spiritual point of view. A vague apologetic treatise on Abraham and the role of Moses in the Pentateuch. No mention of the role of Abraham in Judaism or in the New Testament.

Expiation: devotes two paragraphs to Judaism:
1. the theology of suffering current around the first century of our era; 2. the Suffering Messiah in Jewish theology, a study based on "The Palestinian Messianism" of Fr. Lagrange. No mention is made of either the Akida or the feast of Yom Kippur.

Interpretation: Jewish exegesis. A concise study of Fr. Bonsirven on talmudic and later methods of Jewish exegesis.

Israel: Solely considered from the historical point of view; it concludes with the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70.

Judaism: A long article by Fr. Bonsirven (col. 1143-1275). An appreciative general study of tannaitic Jewish theology.

Law: Not a study of the place the Torah holds in Jewish thought; the author limits himself to a study of the law in the Old Testament.

Logos: A study by Fr. Starcky on the idea of Memra in the Targumim and rabbinical literature. Quite short.

Midrash: An excellent istudy by Renee Bloch' which shows well the continuation of the Old Testament midrashic style in the New Testament and in rabbinical literature.

Milieu biblique (biblical setting): No mention of the biblical setting of the New Testament.
Moses: Col. 1334-1337. Contains a good study of Moses in the Apocrypha.

New year: Col. 598-628. An excellent study on the meaning and development of Rosh Hashanah in rabbinical literature by A. Michel.

Parable: Fr. George underlines the importance of rabbinical parables in understanding and situating Gospel parables.

Pasch, Jewish: 3 col. A description, above all of the Jewish Paschal rite according to the Pesahim treatise in the Mishnah.

Passion: Fr. Xavier Leon-Dufour points out different opinions regarding responsibility for
the death of Jesus. A mixture of good remarks, traditional generalizations, and unacceptable theological views.

Pharisees: Col. 1023-1115. A long and excellent study on the Pharisees from their origin and throughout rabbinical literature.

From this short list it can be seen that many articles view the question of Judaism from the angle of theology and in relation to the New Testament. Several of these articles are excellent: Bloch, Bonsirven, Michel. Very often, except for the accounts of Midrash and Pharisees, articles are confined to a study of pre-mishnah Judaism. These studies are made with much understanding.
Some articles pass directly from the O.T. to the N.T. and seem to neglect the tradition in which the former was composed and understood. It is regretted that the place of Israel in the present iplan of salvation is not considered.

In resume, the few articles which have a section on Judaism successfully place the theme they are studying in its own historical, literary, and doctrinal setting according to the wish of Renee Bloch.

They unfold by means of attentive literary analysis their links, sources, and role in this tradition, derived from Moses and the prophets.

G. Rochais

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Dictionary of the Bible.

Most Bible students are probably familiar with this reference book by John L. McKenzie, S.J. (Milwaukee, Bruce, 1965). An examination of the articles Jew, Law, Pharisee, Priest, Rabbi, Scribe, Talmud reveals a very scrupulous shying away from any antisemitism by the sharp-tongued author. The best example is probably in the article on the Talmud where he lays out sharply the inadequacies of rabbinic interpretation of scripture as seen in the Talmud, and then advises us to be sympathetic toward it if we want to understand interpretations of the Old Testament which we find in the New Testament. When he enumerates the vices of the Pharisees he is careful to tell us that many of the best early Christians were Pharisees, and he adds that "the ideal of life under the Law was not foreign either to Christian messianism or to Christian morality".

One might complain that he should have also developed the history of the Pharisees after Christ's death. This is a hiatus all the more painful for the fact that he offers no article on Judaism.
S. McEvenue

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Enciclopedia de la Biblia.

This six-volume encyclopedia * came out in the record time of two years, between November 1963 and September 1965. Besides the qualities and defects common to every collective work, it has the disadvantage of having been compiled too hastily. The editors' desire was to inform a wide public of the results of the work of spe'cialists in biblical and oriental sciences. This ambitious objective does not seem to us to have been attained. Certainly, one does not expect to find monographs similar to those of other encyclopedic dictionaries which are still appearing in fascicule form; this was not the aim of the work being reviewed. But, considering the possibilities of sound modern synthesis, we would have wished to have been brought up-to-date concerning the immense progress made in these latter years in the teachings mentioned.

Examining the word Reprobacian on page 158 of Volume VI by J. Caubet, we find the usual platitudes through which prejudice makes its appearance, all the more noticeable since the Council has made us alive to such problems. We quote: "In addition, if we understand 'Israel' to be the religious, pharisaic Judaism of the time of Jesus, it was certainly condemned by God for ever... The unfaithful Judaism of the time of Jesus, as well as before his coming, remains for ever condemned". And, as if that did not suffice, note the categorical and severe judgment of nineteen centuries of history, well-seasoned with biblical quotations throughout: "The hardness and blindness of Israel of which St. Paul speaks (Rom. 9:18, 11: 7,25), the fact of being enemies (Rom. 11:28) who stumbled and fell (Rom. 11: 11-12), all this is collectively fulfilled in the Hebrew people for more than nineteen centuries. It is a fact which, historically, cannot be denied; they obstinately continue to deny Jesus Christ and the Church". Fortunately, the author is not ignorant of the fact that others think differently, although he considers that the proofs given by these latter theologians are not convincing in view of the over-all doctrine of St. Paul.

It is precisely from the above-mentioned doctrine that the well-known exegete J. M. Gonzalez-Ruiz draws his inspiration in his explanation of Gal. 6:16, under the heading "the Israel of God and of the Church" (Vol. IV, p. 270 ff.). Thanks to his thorough knowledge of St. Paul, J. M. Gonzalez-Ruiz breaks with the custom, common in some milieux, of opposing Israel according to the flesh (1 Car. 10:18) — the historic Israel of the Old Testament, to the Israel of God — the Church. The author firmly declares: "Without any doubt, this antithesis between the two Israels is completely foreign to Pauline thought. The Church does not replace Israel but, on the contrary, is grafted on to her; she is converted into Israel. God has not uprooted the olive tree to plant a new tree; grafted on to Israel, the Church will adhere to her for ever. She would die if she were torn away from the Judaic trunk, because it is by this insertion that she has become the faithful remnant... Indeed, the New Testament speaks neither of the 'new Israel', nor of the 'new People of God', nor of 'Israel according to the Spirit' to distinguish the Christian Church. In Gal. 4:21-31, Paul explains at length that there is only one People of God, the people called under the promise made to Abraham. At the heart of this universal people unfolds the history of 'Israel according to the flesh' (1 Cor. 10:18). Indeed, through Abraham, God calls a universal people which supports this universal mass and safeguards its unity. Such a universal people passes through two stages: that of the promise and that of its fulfillment, the first under the direction of the tutors and the last, the definitive stage of 'liberty in Christ".

It is most gratifying to notice how these efforts to clarify the thought of Paul regarding the Jews bore fruit in the Conciliar text: "For the Church of Christ acknowledges that, according to the mystery of God's saving design, the beginnings of her faith and her election are already found among the patriarchs, Moses, and the Prophets" (no. 4 of the Declaration on non-Christian religions). And further: Nevertheless, according to the Apostle, the Jews still remain most dear to God because of their forefathers, for He does not repent of the gifts He makes nor of the calls He issues".

In the article on the Pharisees by F. Lopez, we once again find generic affirmations about their formalism, as if there were not, within Pharisaism, other forms giving rise to genuine interior piety, such as Christ himself held, not to mention Paul who owed his sound religious formation to one of these liberal currents of thought. The present bibliography, although scanty, orientates us in an altogether different direction. The time has come to put an end to so many prejudices — be it simply as a matter of justice —which corrupt our relations with groups belonging to different religious confessions. To the whole article could be addressed the reproach made to this type of lazy mental attitude in a recent little book: "Wanting to divide the entourage of Jesus into two groups, the faithful disciples on the one hand and the enraged adversaries on the other — the latter group considered as one with the Scribes and Pharisees — is a characteristic copied from children. These divide people into two distinct categories: the 'good' and the 'bad', who never mix but who always oppose one another" (Sofia Cavalletti, Ebraismo e spirituality cristiana, Ed. Stadium, Roma, 1966, p. 19).

This encyclopedia which is intended for religious instructors and for lay people who wish to study religion, is to be translated into Italian. This will certainly not help to arrest the flood of similar vague and hasty statements all too common in our day.

G. Rossetto

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La Bibbia concordata.

Last November 14th the first copy of la Bibbia concordata (Roma, Mondadori, 1968) was officially presented in Rome. It had unprecedented sales and, in many Italian cities, was sold out in a few days. (There are a low-priced edition and a quality one available.)

The Society Biblica Italiana, whose headquarters are in Ravenna, was in charge of organizing the work and of contacting the various !religious communities who collaborated ten years to produce the Concordata. Italian Protestants, Orthodox, Catholics and Jews made up the directing committee. Each book of the Bible was worked on by a team of twenty-nine scholars. Each community then examined the work, made suggestions and critical remarks, and approved the final results. After this the Franciscan Studium of biblical studies in Jerusalem carried out a thorough scientific study. Finally the directors' committee composed the "symbolic notes" which express the differing opinions on the biblical text. In the general introduction particular care was taken to respect the viewpoints of the various beliefs which accept the Word of God. The archbishop of Ravenna gave his imprimatur and the other communities letters of approval.

The result of this undertaking — the first of its kind — is positive. However, in Italy certain high-level experts had little confidence in the project when it was still in the planning stage and this for two reasons: "Italy has no ecumenical problems" because there is no strong minority of other communions or religions; "Italy lacks scholars properly educated for this kind of work". Biblical criticism will judge the validity of the second objection. As for the first, it is answered theologically, for ecumenism concerns all Christians, no matter where they live or what contacts they have.

The value of the Concordata has already been proven by the friendship which grew outof working together around the directors' table and among the scholars who cooperated -in the enterprise. It was shown that the removal of prejudices and hostilities among believers is possible if union through the Word of God is placed before other considerations. To this end, la Bibbia concordata takes its place among today's more important ecumenical enterprises, even though the different religious communities were not officially committed. As its introduction points out, this most-translated, best-selling book ought to still be of interest to our contemporary culture.

T. Federici