Theology

Mark S. Smith maps four decades of Psalms research, foregrounding cultural contexts, pilgrimage motifs, and embodied emotion. He explores genre-bending poetics and argues for the Psalter as a carefully composed whole, shaped by its Levitical compilers and structured like an opera in five movements.

The contributors examine theological and philosophical discourses on sacrifice and their historical, religious, and cultic backgrounds in Antioch and the Syrian-Antiochian region in early Christian times and Late Antiquity, shedding light on key processes of exchange between ancient Jewish, pagan, and Christian circles during this period.

Alyssa Lehr Evans examines how Andreas Bodenstein von Karlstadt, a central player in the development of the Reformation in Wittenberg, became and continued to self-consciously develop as a reformer. She shows how Karlstadt's reading and reception of Augustine played a pivotal role in his development and approaches understanding Karlstadt by considering fundamental issues of authority and interpretation.

Matthew Percuoco offers an analysis of the final four chapters of the book of Samuel. Drawing upon the research on the use of various literary devices in biblical scholarship, he proposes that the six sections that comprise 2 Samuel 21-24 serve as a miniature replica of the book of Samuel, which reflects the content and major themes of the book.