Papers by Richard J Clifford
America (magazine). diginal edition, 2024
The protests over the war in Gaza that roiled many college campuses in the United States this pas... more The protests over the war in Gaza that roiled many college campuses in the United States this past May and June raised once again the ancient specter of anti-Semitism. This year's version of the prejudice arose from Israel's vigorous response to Hamas's attack on Oct. 7, 2023, which slaughtered 1,200 Israelis and took 251 hostages. Jewish fears of such prejudice are understandable, given their long history of suffering from violent anti-Semitism. But peaceful and clearly articulated campus protests against Israeli military actions are, of course, legitimate, to be expected and even welcomed. Christian protesters, however, may not be fully aware of the bloody history of anti-Semitism that was fueled in part by Christian anti-Judaism going back to the origins of Christianity. And the Catholic protesters among them may not be aware that their church invites them in these opening years of the third millennium to a new and positive relationship with their Jewish neighbors.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Sibyls, Scriptures, and Scrolls, 2017
Examenation of the mention of the divine assembly of heavenly beings in Genesis 1-11. U find it p... more Examenation of the mention of the divine assembly of heavenly beings in Genesis 1-11. U find it plays an important role literatarily and theologically.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 2020
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Journal of Biblical Literature, Mar 1, 1981
... The difficult MT may reflect an attempt to preserve the LXX Vorlage and a verb, while the Vor... more ... The difficult MT may reflect an attempt to preserve the LXX Vorlage and a verb, while the Vorlage of Quinta et al. may preserve the original mater. ... Mountains and valleys are a merism showing the wide range of their flight. Richard J. Clifford ...
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Journal of Biblical Literature, 2000
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Journal of the American Oriental Society, 1975
An academic directory and search engine.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Among the biblical wisdom books, Qoheleth stands out for being relentlessly empirical in a cultur... more Among the biblical wisdom books, Qoheleth stands out for being relentlessly empirical in a culture that revered inherited wisdom. "/ found", "/ sought", '7 applied by mind", and other first person verbs appear more than eighty-one times, twenty-one times with emphasis added by the pronoun ,¿mf, "I". At the same time, Qoheleth's thought can be elusive to an exasperating degree. Both qualities, self-confident searching and puzzling conclusion, characterize 7,23-29. It should be noted at the outset that Qoheleth assumes an exceptionally broad understanding of wisdom, which is aptly characterized by R Machinist: "a set of observalions on the nature of the world and the God who created and controls ,!נ and on where humans fit and how they should behave in this divine creation" 1. Commentators generally recognize that 7,23-29 (identified, as a section by T. Krüger, F.J. Backhaus, and this essay) 2 are among the most difficult verses in Qoheleth. Scholars differ, however, on the dimension of the unit. 3, whether v. 26 criticizes women in general 4 or only deceptive women such as those depicted, in
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Biblica, 2022
In Ugaritic, the noun drkt in certain contexts means "rule, dominion." Can Hebrew derek occasiona... more In Ugaritic, the noun drkt in certain contexts means "rule, dominion." Can Hebrew derek occasionally have the same meaning? The article examines fifteen biblical instances where the claim has been made or could be made, concluding that six instances seem certain, two uncertain, and seven unlikely.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft
There are passages in the Hebrew Bible in which the translation of the Hebrew G-stem verb ḥāṭā’ a... more There are passages in the Hebrew Bible in which the translation of the Hebrew G-stem verb ḥāṭā’ as »to miss, fail to attain« makes better sense than its otherwise dominant meaning »to sin.« Though modern Hebrew lexica allow for the occasional meaning of »to miss,« many modern translations fail to consider »to miss« and insist on »to sin.« The article examines eleven instances in the Bible where »to miss, fail to attain,« makes better sense than the traditional »to sin,« especially in the Wisdom literature.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Creatio ex nihilo in the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible. University of Notre Dame Pressible, 2021
An examination of creation from nothing in Sumerian, Akkadian, Ugaritic, and biblical literature
... more An examination of creation from nothing in Sumerian, Akkadian, Ugaritic, and biblical literature
pp. 55-76
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
"When the Morning Stars Sang", 2017
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Biblische Zeitschrift 66.2 (2022), 293-301., 2022
The commonly accepted translation of Ps 115,1, "Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name gi... more The commonly accepted translation of Ps 115,1, "Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory כבוד( )נתן for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness," does not express the full meaning of the phrase. Important precision is provided by examination of several neglected or unrecognized factors such as the meaning of "to us," "give," and "glory," dialectical negation in the community's petition, and the function of V 1 within the psalm.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
“Observations on the Texts and Versions of Proverbs,” in Wisdom You are My Sister (Roland Murphy volume; Catholic Biblical Quarterly Monograph Series; Washington: Catholic Biblical Association, 1997) 47-61., 1997
An examination of the ancient versions of the Book of Proverbs
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Harvard Semitic Studies, Cambridge, MA, Harvard university Press,, 1973
A study of the cosmic mountain in the religions of the ancient Near East and in the Bible
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
“Psalm 90: Wisdom Meditation or Communal Lament,” in The Book of Psalms: Composition and Reception (Vetus Testamentum Supplement 99; P. W. Flint & P. D. Miller, ed.; Leiden: Brill, 2005) 190-205.
The essay seeks to show that Psalm 90 is a standard communal lament by clarifying vv. 11-12: "Who... more The essay seeks to show that Psalm 90 is a standard communal lament by clarifying vv. 11-12: "Who knows the full extent of your anger, / ... Let [us] know how to compute accurately our days [of affliction]. Let us bring that knowledge [into] our minds."
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
To Touch the Text: Biblical and Related Studies in Honor of Joseph A. Fitzmyer, S.J. (ed. M. Horgan and P. Kobelski; NY: Crossroad, 1989) 93-102., 1989
Detailed philogical and textual analysis of the lament in Isaiah 63-64.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
“In Zion and David A New Beginning: An Interpretation of Psalm 78,” in Traditions and Transformations: Turning Points in Biblical Faith (eds. Baruch Halpern and Jon Levenson; Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 1981) 121-41., 1981
Psalm 78 consists of an introduction (vv. 1-11) and two parallel recitals of the national story, ... more Psalm 78 consists of an introduction (vv. 1-11) and two parallel recitals of the national story, "Red Sea and Wilderness" (vv. 12-39) and "From Egypt to Canaan" (vv. 40-72) in order to reval that God's choice of Zion and the Davidic dynasy is the completion of the mighty acts of the exodus..
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Worship 95.2, 2021
The recent revision of the words of institution in the Catholic Roman Missal is inaccurate, both ... more The recent revision of the words of institution in the Catholic Roman Missal is inaccurate, both in biblical terms and in liturgical translation theory.
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Harvard Theological Review, 1980
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Theological Studies, 2002
Bookmarks Related papers MentionsView impact
Uploads
Papers by Richard J Clifford
pp. 55-76
pp. 55-76