Roth, Cecil. “The Cleansing of the Temple and Zechariah XIV.21.” Novum Testamentum 4 (1960): 174-81. [Israel/Herod/Christian]
A strong persistent influence of the prophecies of Zechariah 9-14 is found in the New Testament, especially in Luke. This article focuses on Zechariah 14:21 which says, “In that day there shall be no more trafficker (lit. ‘Canaanite’) in the House of the Lord of Hosts.” Continue reading
Gaskill, Alonzo L. “The Seal of Melchizedek?” Religious Educator: Perspectives on the Restored Gospel 11, no. 3 (2010): 95-121. [Mormon/Symbolism/Melchizedek]
Through extensive research and regular writing, Alonzo Gaskill is establishing himself as one of Mormonism’s foremost authorities on Gospel symbolism, especially symbols relating to the temple. In this essay he provides a needed and important corrective to the meaning given by some Mormons to a symbol found in ancient mosaics. Continue reading
Gaskill, Alonzo L. “Clothed in Holy Garments: The Apparel of the Temple Officiants of Ancient Israel.” In Ascending the Mountain of the Lord: Temple, Praise, and Worship in the Old Testament, edited by David R. Seely, Jeffrey R. Chadwick, and Matthew J. Grey, 85-104. The 42d Annual Brigham Young University Sidney B. Sperry Symposium. Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2013.
In this discussion of the symbolism of the priestly clothing Gaskill goes one step further in his ongoing study of biblical and particularly temple symbolism and its application within Mormonism. Continue reading
Goldenberg, Robert. “The Destruction of the Jerusalem Temple: Its Meaning and Its Consequences.” In The Cambridge History of Judaism, Volume IV, The Late Roman Period, edited by Steven T. Kats, 191-205. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006. [Israel/Herod/Destruction]
Review: In this article author Robert Goldenberg studies the rabbinical literature relative to the destruction of the Jerusalem temple in 70 C.E., but as the following facts show Rabbinic literature has its deficiencies. Continue reading
Ricks, Stephen D., and Shirley S. Ricks. “‘With Her Gauzy Veil before Her Face’:” The Veiling of Women in Antiquity.” In Bountiful Harvest: Essays in Honor of S. Kent Brown, edited by Andrew C. Skinner, D. Morgan Davis, and Carl Griffin, 245-56. Provo, UT: Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, 2011. [Near East/Israel/Sacred Vestments]
Review: In this brief article Steve and Shirley Ricks survey the use and symbolic meaning of women’s face veils in the ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern world. As is apparent from their footnotes, their research is based largely in the work of other scholars. According to them face veiling was first mentioned in a 13th Century B.C. Assyrian text which specified that veils were restricted to noble women, but was apparently later expanded to include free married women, widows and concubines. Common women and prostitutes were prohibited from wearing veils. Continue reading
Geraty, Lawrence T. “The Jerusalem Temple of the Hebrew Bible in Its Ancient Near Eastern Context.” In The Sanctuary and the Atonement: Biblical, Historical, and Theological Studies, edited by Arnold V. Wallenkampf and W. Richard Lesher, 37-66. Washington, D.C.: The Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1981. [Israel/Solomon/Second Temple/Canaan]
Abstract: Given the scholarly notion that Israel’s temple was a syncretic development from older temples in the ancient Near East, this article reviews the fundamentals of Solomon’s Temple along with a short review of non-Israelite temples with the ultimate purpose of comparing and contrasting them. Continue reading
Kostenberger, Andreas J. “The Destruction of the Second Temple and the Composition of the Fourth Gospel.” Trinity Journal, n.s., 26 (2005): 205-42. [Israel/Herod/Destruction]
The first eight pages of this article are an excellent review of the history of the interpretation of John. The traditional view of apostolic authorship maintained until the Enlightenment, when from1790 to 1810, it was investigated like any other book and considerable “ferment” grew as several theories questioned the traditional view. Continue reading
Parry, Donald W. “Angels as Sentinels Protecting Sacred Space.” In Angels Agents of Light, Love, and Power, 181-87. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2013. [Mormon/Sacred Space/Ascent/Theology]
This brief chapter is largely a collection of Brigham Young’s statements about angels acting as sentinels guarding and protecting the way of those approaching the Celestial Kingdom, arranged chronologically, followed by a similar statement from D&C 132:18. Continue reading
Deist, F. E. “The Implied Message of the Reference to Shiloh in Jeremiah 7:12.” Journal for Semitics 5, no. 1 (1993): 57-67.
According to Deist, Shiloh is used as a precedent in Jeremiah 7:12 and it renders the initial warning given in the passage and the ensuing argument valid and conclusive, so it is crucial to grasp the implication of the reference to Shiloh in verse 12. Continue reading
Strange, John. “The Idea of Afterlife in Ancient Israel: Some Remarks on the Iconography of Solomon’s Temple.” Palestine Exploration Quarterly 117 (January 1985): 35-40. [Near East/Egypt/Israel/Solomon/
Strange begins his examination of some of the iconography of Solomon’s Temple with the underlying assumption that the temple itself “is derived from the Syrian-Phoenician ‘Langhaus-temple.’” (p. 35) Therefore, it is not surprising that his explanation of four symbols found on and in the temple according to 1 Kgs. 6:18-34–buds, cherubim, palmettes, and calyxes–are derived from Near Eastern religious symbolism in general and Egyptian religion in particular. The connections are both fascinating and illuminating. Continue reading