The series Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft (BZAW) covers all areas of research into the Old Testament, focusing on the Hebrew Bible, its early and later forms in Ancient Judaism, as well as its branching into many neighboring cultures of the Ancient Near East and the Greco-Roman world.
The occurrence of treaties throughout the Ancient Near East has been investigated on a number of occasions, generally in order to resolve certain questions arising in the biblical field. As a result of that focus, the existence of a similar institution in a number of different cultures has not been treated as a problem in itself. Generally the existence of treaties throughout the area has been taken for granted, or a simple borrowing model has been used to explain how similar forms came to be used in different cultures. Why forms were similar across the area has not been probed. This work investigates treaty occurrences in different cultures and finds that the forms used correlate with ways of maintaining political control both internally and over vassals. Related concepts are projected in official accounts of history. Thus one can roughly distinguish threats based on power from persuasion based on benevolence and historical precedent, though various combinations of these two occur. There is a likely further connection of the means chosen to the degree of centralisation of power within the society. Underlying the local traditions is a common tradition which has to be dated to the pre-literate period. Biblical covenants fit within this pattern. The cultures treated are Mesopotamia, the Hittites, Egypt, Syrian centres and Israel.
This is the first English translation of one of Korea’s most celebrated historical works, a pre-modern classic so well known to Koreans that it has inspired contemporary literature and television. Written in 1821 by Chong Yagyong (Tasan), Admonitions on Governing the People (Mongmin simso) is a detailed manual for district magistrates on how to govern better. In encyclopedic fashion, Chong Yagyong addresses the administration, social and economic life, criminal justice, the military, and the Confucian ritual system. He provides examples of past corrupt officials and discusses topics of the day such as famine relief and social welfare. A general call for overhauling the Korean ruling system, the book also makes the radical proposition that the purpose of government is to serve the interests of the people. This long-awaited translation opens a new window on early-nineteenth century Korea and makes available to a wide audience a work whose main concerns simultaneously transcend national and cultural boundaries.
Al-Isharat wal-Tanbihat (Remarks and Admonitions) is one of the most mature and comprehensive philosophical works by Ibn Sina (Avicenna, 980–1037). Grounded in an exploration of logic (which Ibn Sina described as the gate to knowledge) and happiness (the ultimate human goal), the text illuminates the divine, the human being, and the nature of things through a wide-ranging discussion of topics. The sections of Physics and Metaphysics deal with the nature of bodies and souls as well as existence, creation, and knowledge. Especially important are Ibn Sina's views of God's knowledge of particulars, which generated much controversy in medieval Islamic and Christian philosophical and theological circles and provoked a strong rejection by eleventh-century philosopher al-Ghazali. This book provides the first annotated English translation of Physics and Metaphysics and edits the original Arabic text on which the translation is based. It begins with a detailed analysis of the text, followed by a translation of the three classes or groups of ideas in the Physics (On the Substance of Bodies, On the Directions and Their Primary and Secondary Bodies, and On the Terrestrial and Celestial Souls) and the four in the Metaphysics (On Existence and Its Causes, Creation Ex Nihilo and Immediate Creation, On Ends, on Their Principles, and on the Arrangement [of Existence], and On Abstraction. The Metaphysics closes with a significant discussion of the concepts of providence, good, and evil, which Ibn Sina uses to introduce a theodicy. Researchers, faculty, and students in philosophy, theology, religion, and intellectual history will find in this work a useful and necessary source for understanding Ibn Sina's philosophical thought and, more generally, the medieval Islamic and Christian study of nature, the world beyond, psychology, God, and the concept of evil.
Talbot applies the timeless words of St. Francis to our troubled times. In the United States and across the world, we are experiencing polarization, anger, and violence. But God is still in control, and it is important to dig deep into our Christian heritage in a way that speaks to all people. St. Francis is one of the great saints who somehow reaches across all divides, touches hearts and souls, and brings spiritual peace. Talbot explores Francis’s Admonitions: twenty-eight teachings that are among the most beautiful and troubling of the saint’s writings. Covering sacramental theology of the Eucharist, to communal issues of consecrated life, to very private aspects of faith and devotion, these Admonitions provide clear and radical road signs to the destination on our spiritual journey in Christ.
However interesting and important the stories by his contemporaries are, there is no better place to discover the most profound inspiration of Saint Francis of Assisi than in his own writings. These prayers, poems, proverbs, rules and letters are a gold-mine for those who wish to delve into his thoroughly biblical spirituality. He reveals himself in them as being someone who was permanently touched and marked by his encounter with Christ. In brief: the seeker of God who considered his fellow-creatures as his brothers and sisters; someone who even these days still exerts an unequalled magnetism due to his radical following of Christ. However this does not mean that his biblically inspired radiance does not need to be translated to the challenges of modern life. This is because the eight centuries separating us from him form a wide chasm. In a small way, this book endeavours to contribute to the actualisation of Francis' charisma: a freely chosen life-style characterised by having no possessions as well as by courageous service and courteous respect to others. What can his biblical 'art of living' signify for the modern individual who jealously guards his or her freedom in a world marked by excessive planning and omnipresent technology, and who at the same time is usually not quite sure for whom or for what he or she is actually free?
The purpose of this book is to shed light on the thought of Dirk Philips, who was a Mennonite leader in the sixteenth century, and to argue that his various doctrines, including his Christology, ecclesiology, soteriology, and anthropology, are interrelated with his view of the visible church. This book explains that Dirk Philips’ view of the visible church is much closer to the ecclesiology of Augustine’s tradition rather than to the ecclesiology of the Donatists’ tradition. Although Dirk Philips had excellent theological abilities and he was a leader who made a significant contribution to the development of the Mennonites camp, he did not receive much attention in the study of Anabaptists, and there has not been much research on this sixteenth-century Mennonite leader. Thus, this book will help you discover a great sixteenth-century leader who has been forgotten in church history. Is it true that the Radical Reformers are disciples of Donatus, that the Anabaptists thought that the failed believers cannot be forgiven because the church is a gathering of pure souls? This book will probe the idea that the Radical Reformation is closer to the ecclesiology of Augustine’s tradition than to the ecclesiology of the Donatists’ tradition.
I have written many books and articles on various topics but since 2013, I have devoted myself fully in writing the interpretation of the Holy Quran in English and with the grace of Allah, I have completed the whole Quran on 29th October 2020 with 84 books. I believe there is a great need in the whole world for the correct interpretation of the Holy Quran to be written in English. Currently, there is a great misunderstanding about Islam among Muslims and non-Muslims globally. The misunderstanding of the meaning of the Holy Quran among Muslims will lead to the wrong practice of Islam which leads to the wrong actions of Muslims. The wrong actions of Muslims will lead to misunderstandings about Islam among Muslims and non-Muslims. The wrong actions of the Muslims have led to many miseries and wars among Muslims. The wrong actions of Muslims have also led to many wars and clashes between Muslims and non-Muslims. In order to avoid miseries, wars and clashes from taking place between the whole mankind in the whole world, the whole mankind in the whole world need to understand the true teaching of Islam. There is no other way for the whole mankind to understand the true teaching of Islam unless the whole mankind is able to read and understand the correct interpretation of the Holy Quran. The whole mankind is only able to read and understand the correct interpretation of the Holy Quran when it is written in the universal language of the world (English). For this very reason I have written the interpretation of the Holy Quran in English. Prof. Nasoha Bin Saabin
