Csaba Balogh

According to Gen 1, the “classical” story of the origin of humanity, God began and finished the creation of man on the sixth day. In this view, creation is a one-time divine act dated to the dawn of history. Psalm 139,13-16 provides an alternative concept regarding human origins. The ideas permeating this Psalm are less widespread in the Bible, and they were far less influential for later theological works than the classical biblical accounts of creation. Nonetheless, these anthropological notions appear to be firmly rooted in folk religion.

The present study investigates one of the theologically most significant, but at the same time exegetically most debated passages of the Hebrew Bible: the promise of YHWH to Abraham in Gen 12:3b (and related texts). Most previous studies of this text argue that the niph‘al form of ברך should be interpreted either as a passive (‘to be blessed’; also followed by the ancient bible-translations, as well as by Gal 3:8 in the New Testament), a medial (‘to gain blessing’), or a reflexive (‘to bless oneself’). However, these translations are grammatically and theologically problematic.

În studiul Vechiului Testament textele primare din cultura vechiului Orientul Apropiat reprezintă cea mai importantă sursă de informații. Vechiul Testament s-a născut într-un context care prin tradiția sa literară se leagă pe nenumărate puncte de structura și ideologia textelor orientale. Scopul cercetării este pregătirea unei ediții bilingve anotate de culegeri reprezentative de texte scrise în limba acadică, care îl va ajuta pe cititorul Vechiului Testament în a înțelege lumea de gândire și particularitățile lingvistice ale acestuia.

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