Finnish Exegetical Society

The Finnish Exegetical Society (Suomen Eksegeettinen Seura) was founded in 1938.

The society organizes yearly an Exegetical day on current topics.

Chair of the society is prof. Antti Marjanen (antti.marjanen at helsinki.fi) since 2007.

For more information on the membership of the Finnish Exegetical Society and the Exegetical day, please contact secretary of the society Nina Pehkonen (tel. +358-9-191 24129; e-mail: nina.pehkonen at helsinki.fi; address: PO Box 33, 00014 University of Helsinki, Finland).

Publications of the Finnish Exegetical Society

The Finnish Exegetical Society publishes yearly two to four volumes in its series Publications of the Finnish Exegetical Society (PFES; Suomen Eksegeettisen Seuran julkaisuja). International volumes were published with Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht (Göttingen) until 2008.

For more information on the publications, please contact secretary of the society Perttu Nikander (tel. 09-191 24 050; e-mail: perttu.nikander at helsinki.fi; address: PO Box 33, 00014 University of Helsinki, Finland).

Publications of the Finnish Exegetical Society are distributed by the Federation of Finnish Learnded Societies bookstore Tiedekirja (www.tiedekirja.fi; The web bookstore serves also in English, but notice that edited volumes can be found only after the title of the book, not the editor).

Tiedekirja, Kirkkokatu 14, 00170 Helsinki, Finland; tel. +358-9-635177, fax. +358-9-635017, e-mail: tiedekirja@tvs.fi; www.tiedekirja.fi.

International publications of the Finnish Exegetical Society are distributed also by Eisenbrauns in USA.

List of publications of the Finnish Exegetical Society available at the moment opens with this link: Publications of the Finnish Exegetical Society

Resent publications of the Finnish Exegetical Society

Publications of the Finnish Exegetical Society 102

Minna Heimola

Christian Identity in the Gospel of Philip

(will be published in October 2011)

The Gospel of Philip, one of the most well-known texts in the Nag Hammadi library, has been notoriously diffi cult with its elusive, symbolical language. In this book, which is based on her doctoral dissertation, Minna Heimola reads the Gospel of Philip employing both
traditional exegetical methods and new social scientifi c insights. The author reads the Gospel of Philip as a theologically coherent Valentinian Christian text, rooting the Valentinian Christianity among the early Christianities: the Gospel of Philip has close affi nities both with
other Valentinian texts and with Pauline theology and the Syrian Thomasine literature. The correct interpretations on the virginal conception and the resurrection are particularly important to the composer of the text. The Gospel of Philip also includes some interesting
implications about the Christian school setting, comparable to the philosophical schools in antiquity.

Minna Heimola received her PhD from the University of Helsinki in
2010. She is currently an independent scholar.

Available at the webstore of Tiedekirja: Christian Identity in the Gospel of Philip

Publications of the Finnish Exegetical Society 99

Kenneth Liljeström (ed.)

The Early Reception of Paul

Bookwell 2011

ISBN 978-951-9217-53-6, ISSN 0356-2786

From his own lifetime to this day, Paul the apostle has engendered rivaling interpretations of his true intentions and theology. As in the earliest times after his death, so also today Paul is as passionately loved as he is hated. Paul’s journey from being a disputed apostle to one receiving an equal footing with the other “acknowledged pillars” belongs to the crucial trajectories of early Christianity. This process takes place through the early reception of Paul and his letters and is therefore one of the most challenging and rewarding objects of the study of early Christianity.

The literary reception of Paul’s letters in various early Christian writings makes up the focal point of this volume. Some of the essays take up familiar topics from the history of research but offer solutions that swim against the current, challenging the prevailing scholarly views. Others, while discussing a familiar theme, approach it from a fresh angle. Together the articles offer the reader a thought-provoking perspective into the question of the literary reception in early Christian texts.

Available at the webstore of Tiedekirja: The Early Reception of Paul

Publications of the Finnish Exegetical Society 97

Petri Kasari

Nathan's Promise in 2 Samuel 7 and Related Texts

Gummerus 2009, 324 pp.

ISBN 978-951-9217-52-9, ISSN 0356-2786

EUR 30

In scholarly literature, Nathan’s promise (2 Sam 7) is regarded as one of the most important texts for the theology of the Deuteronomistic redactions. Petri Kasari analyses Nathan’s promise with the aid of literary- and redaction-critical methods and puts forward a new hypothesis of the transmission history of this text. His useful survey to the related texts helps the reader to better understand how Nathan’s promise was reworked and reinterpreted over a long period.

Available at the webstore of Tiedekirja: Nathan's Promise in 2 Samuel 7 and Related Texts

Publications of the Finnish Exegetical Society 95

Edited by Juha Pakkala and Martti Nissinen
Houses Full of All Good Things: Essays in Memory of Timo Veijola

Vammala 2008, 752 pp.
ISBN 978-951-9217-50-5 (SES), ISBN 978-3-525-53607-0 (Vandenh. & Rupr.) (Soft)
ISSN 0356-2786

EUR 45

Timo Veijola was a productive scholar, whose work was deeply respected among Biblical scholars. Although his academic interests extended to the entire Hebrew Bible and beyond, he was particularly devoted to the Deuteronomy, Deuteronomism, and scribalism. In these fields his publications were at the very center of scholarly discussion.

Timo Veijola fruitfully combined critical exegesis with Biblical theology, his motivation stemming from his religious devotion. For him, exegesis was not only scholarly discussion in an academic setting, but also a matter of personal theology. The idea of an encounter between God and man he found to be the center of the Hebrew Bible.

Timo Veijola formed deep personal ties with many Biblical scholars. His untimely death on August 1, 2005 was a terrible loss for Biblical scholarship. In appreciation of Timo Veijola’s scholarship, his friends, colleagues, and students wish to honor his memory with articles dealing with themes close to his heart, such as Deuteronomy, Deuteronomistic History, Deuteronomism, scribalism, wisdom literature, Judaism, and Biblical Theology.

The volume includes contributions by Anneli Aejmelaeus, Lars Aejmelaeus, Mika Aspinen, Erik Aurelius, Hans Barstad, Oswald Bayer, Bob Becking, Pancratius Beentjes, Georg Braulik, Walter Dietrich, Tapani Harviainen, Else Holt, Otto Kaiser, Antti Laato, Kari Latvus, Christoph Levin, Bernard Levinson, Oswald Loretz, Marko Marttila, Sarianna Metso, Tryggve Mettinger, Martti Nissinen, Juha Pakkala, Heikki Räisänen, Alexander Rofé, Thomas Römer, Juhana Saukkonen, Seppo Sipilä, Rudolf Smend, Raija Sollamo, Pekka Särkiö, Terje Stordalen, Kari Syreeni, Winfried Thiel, Eugene Ulrich, Anssi Voitila, Karl William Weyde and Hanne von Weissenberg.

Saatavilla Tiedekirjan verkkokaupasta: Houses Full of All Good Things

Suomen Eksegeettisen Seuran julkaisuja 94

Jussi Koivisto ja Anni Pesonen (toim.)
Kirkko Raamatun tulkkina

2007, 140 s.
ISBN 978-951-9217-49-9 (Nid.)
ISSN 0356-2786

Ovh: EUR 26

Edustaako Suomen evankelis-luterilaisen kirkon nykyinen Katekismus Raamatun keskeistä sisältöä, kuten se sanoo tekevänsä? Onko Raamatussa yhtenäistä oppia? Tarjoaako kanoninen lukutapa tien Raamatun keskeisen merkityksen ymmärtämiseen? Onko tiedeyhteisön harjoittamalle raamatuntutkimukselle ja -selitykselle vaihtoehtoja, jotka vastaavat paremmin postmodernissa maailmassa elävän kirkon tarpeisiin? Kirkko Raamatun tulkkina tarjoaa aivovoimistelua kaikille Raamatun tieteellisestä tutkimisesta ja kirkollisesta tulkinnasta kiinnostuneille.

Näistä teemoista keskustelevat Helsingin yliopiston dosentit ja nuoret tutkijat, Raimo Hakola , Jussi Koivisto , Jyri Komulainen , Outi Lehtipuu, Petri Luomanen ja Anni Pesonen. Helsingin hiippakunnan piispa Eero Huovinen ja Kuopion hiippakunnan piispa Wille Riekkinen ottavat keskusteluun kantaa omissa painavissa puheenvuoroissaan.

Saatavilla Tiedekirjan verkkokaupasta: Kirkko Raamatun tulkkina

Publications of the Finnish Exegetical Society 93

TT Magnus Riska
The House of the Lord. A Study of the Temple Scroll. Columns 29:3b–47:18

2007, ii + 197 pp.
ISBN 978-951-9217-48-2 (SES), ISBN 978-3-525-53989-7 (Vandenh. & Rupr.) (Soft), ISSN 0356-2786
EUR 30

In his doctoral dissertation, The Temple Scroll and the Biblical Text Traditions, Magnus Riska analysed the text of Columns 2–13:9. Through this second study of 11QT, which covers Columns 29:3b–47:18, the so-called “Temple Source” is now analysed in its entirety. One of the main results of this analysis is the quantity of the different categories: in comparison with the dissertation, which showed that the analysed material represented a higher amount of Biblical Paraphrase and Rewritten Bible than Individual Composition, the present study reveals that the second section on the contrary contains a significantly higher amount of Individual Composition than any of the other categories.

Available at the webstore of Tiedekirja: The House of the Lord

Publications of the Finnish Exegetical Society 92

Edited by Ehud Ben Zvi
Utopia and Dystopia in Prophetic Literature
Finnish Exegetical Society. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht
2006, 298 pp.
ISBN 951-9217-47-9 (SES), ISBN 3-525-53985-1 (Vandenh. & Rupr.) (Soft), ISSN 0356-2786
EUR 36

The conversation of scholars focuses on ancient contexts of prophetic literature, but deals at times also with habits of thinking about prophetic literature among critical scholars. It leads, among others, to numerous insights on literary and ideological features of these books, and on the social circumstances in which these texts were produced and read, as well as on their roles within society and the discursive worlds of which they were an integral part.

Saatavilla Tiedekirjan verkkokaupasta: Utopia and Dystopia in Prophetic Literature

Suomen Eksegeettisen Seuran Julkaisuja 91

Munkki Serafim
Tuomaan teot. Johdanto ja käännös

2006, 295 s.
ISBN 951-9217-46-0 (Nid.)

ISSN 0356-2786
Ovh: EUR 36

Tuomaan teot on 200-luvun alkupuolella syyriaksi kirjoitettu teos, joka kertoo apostoli Tuomaan matkoista ja ihmeteoista Intiassa. Kehyskertomuksen sisällä on rukouksia ja runollisia jaksoja. Tuomaan teot on usein määritelty gnostilaiseksi tai muuten “hereettiseksi” teokseksi. Toisaalta sitä on luettu ja kopioitu ortodoksisissa luostareissa ja kirkoissa halki vuosisatojen. Nyt julkaistavan suomennoksen laajassa johdanto-osassa arvioidaan uudelleen teoksen asemaa 200-luvun ortodoksisuuden ja gnostilaisuuden monivivahteisessa kentässä.

Saatavilla Tiedekirjan verkkokaupasta: Tuomaan teot

Suomen Eksegeettisen Seuran Julkaisuja 90

Särkiö, Pekka
Kuningasajalta. Kirjoituksia Salomosta ja rautakauden piirtokirjoituksista

2006, 253 + 3 s.
ISBN 951-9217-45-2 (Nid.),
ISSN 0356-2786
Ovh: EUR 32

Kirjan ensimmäinen osa valottaa israelilaisen historiankirjoituksen kuvaa Salomosta. Osa Raamatun kirjoittajista tarkastelee Salomoa kansansa sortajana ja arvostelee kuningasta rivien välissä. Tämä selittää eräitä tekstin piirteitä, kuten Salomon rikkauden ja viisauden kuvausta. Kirjan toinen osa tarkastelee valikoimaa muinaisen Israelin ja sen naapurimaiden piirtokirjoituksia, jotka antavat kuvan kuningasajan historiallisten lähteiden luonteesta. Niillä on selviä yhteyksiä myös Vanhaan testementtiin.

Saatavilla Tiedekirjan verkkokaupasta: Kuningasajalta

Publications of the Finnis Exegetical Society 89

Edited by Antti Mustakallio in collaboration with Heikki Leppä & Heikki Räisänen
Lux Humana, Lux Aeterna. Essays on Biblical and Related Themes in Honour of Lars Aejmelaeus

Finnish Exegetical Society. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht
2005, 555 pp.
ISBN 951-9217-44-4 (Soft)
ISSN 0356-2786
EUR 45

The essays in this Festschrift for Lars Aejmelaeus are written by his colleagues, friends, and students. They represent a variety of fields such as Septuagint research, Jewish, Gnostic, and New Testament studies. This volume is also a sample of the labours of the research unit on "The Formation of Early Jewish and Christian Ideology" of the University of Helsinki and Åbo Akademi University.

Saatavilla tiedekirjan verkkokaupasta: Tiedekirja

Publications of the Finnish Exegetical Socity 88

Todd Penner & Caroline Vander Stichele (eds.)
Moving Beyond New Testament Theology? Essays in Conversation with Heikki Räisänen

2005, xiii + 490 pp.
ISBN 951-9217-43-6 (SES), ISBN 3-525-53605-4 (Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht) (Soft), ISSN 0356-2786
EUR 40

This collection of essays, inspired by Heikki Räisänen's Beyond New Testament Theology, originated in tthe "Whence and Whither? Methodology and the Future of Biblical Studies" session at the Society of Biblical Literature International Meeting in Rome (July, 2001). The present volume includes not only contributions from 16 well-known scholars from North America and Europe, but also a response article by Heikki Räisänen. As a whole, the collection attests to the importance of issues raised by Räisänen and, above all, further promotes his dedication to conversation, dialogue, and encounter between diverse views and perspectives.

Saatavilla Tiedekirjan verkkokaupasta: Moving beyond New Testament Theology?

See review of the volume by Jan van der Watt at the website of Review of Biblical Literature

Publications of the Finnish Exegetical Society 87

Antti Marjanen (ed.)

Was There a Gnostic Religion?
Finnish Exegetical Society. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht

Vammala 2005, 151 pp.
ISBN 951-9217-42-8 (SES), ISBN 3-525-53604-6 (Vandenh.)
ISSN 0356-2786
Soft EUR 26

The last ten years have witnessed great changes in research on Gnosticism. Due to the discovery of new sources and an increasing demand for more analytical and precise definitions of the phenomenon, scholars have developed new and more nuanced understandings of Gnosticism. For others, this has not been enough. They have asserted that if the term Gnosticism is still used, each use will require careful reflection on how and for what purpose it is employed since the term no longer has a generally approved content that is independent of its use in a given situation.

Corrigenda (p. 129-130)

Saatavilla Tiedekirjan verkkokaupasta: Was There a Gnostic Religion?