Search Results (75)

This article advances a method of anthropological contextualization for a Christian theological reading that applies the salvation of all Israel in Rom 11:26 to the present, by comparing Paul’s first-century people categories with those of the modern world. In Rom 9–11 Paul deals with the hardened Israelites of his day—the torah-observant descendants of Jacob who rejected Jesus—distinguishing them from gentiles and from the broader category of Jews which includes proselytes. Paul envisions alternating waves of salvation between Israelites and gentiles, so that some of the hardened Israelites of his day join the remnant Israelites (those who have already believed in Jesus), together constituting all Israel—a synchronic reference to the totality of believing Israelites in Paul’s time. Tracing those first-century Israelites forward, however, is not possible: tribal genealogies were lost and Jewish communities expanded and diversified through intermarriage, conversion, and apostasy. Consequently, equating Paul’s Israelites with modern Jews as a fixed, continuous biological entity is unwarranted. Contextualized today, the expectation of all Israel’s salvation encompasses all nations, including Jews, without reconstituting Israel as a biological or national category distinct from the church. Full article

The LOCAL project, ‘Biodiversity and enhancement of local sheep and goat genotypes with a predominant aptitude for milk production’, was developed in the Apulia region of Southern Italy. It adopted a multidisciplinary scientific approach to address the conservation of native sheep and goat breeds, and it aimed to engage a wide and diverse audience to contribute to the development of the territory. This work outlines some of the project’s objectives and, in particular, the activities relating to the historical documentation, census and morphological characteristics of four breeds: the Gentile di Puglia sheep and the Grigia del Subappennino Dauno, Capestrano Pugliese and Antica Murgiana goat breeds. The project’s results enabled the four breeds to be registered in the Regional Register of Animal Genetic Resources, paving the way for further initiatives aimed at implementing in situ and ex situ conservation of the breeds’ genetic heritage. Furthermore, the paper presents actions aimed at raising awareness of the importance of animal biodiversity and native populations, with a particular focus on education, tourism, and productive services. Full article

This study examines the dialectic between “navigating secularism” and “lived religion” in the context of modern Jewish Orthodoxy, focusing on the rulings of Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach (1910–1995) regarding secular Jews. The research relies on two analytical models: Ravitzky’s theological model, based on the Chazon Ish’s distinction between a “full wagon” and an “empty wagon”; and the phenomenological model of Zohar and Sagi, which examines the halakhic distinction between belonging to the religious collective versus the ethnic collective. Contrary to the consensus of 20th-century halakhic authorities, who applied the category of “captured child” (tinok shenishba) to modern secular Jews, Rabbi Auerbach rejects this categorical expansion and reinstates the traditional halakha: one who publicly desecrates the Sabbath has the status of a gentile in all matters. This normative decision yields far-reaching halakhic implications: prohibition of a secular person’s contact with wine, prohibition of inviting a secular person for festivals, and more. The study identifies an internal tension in Rabbi Auerbach’s rulings: theoretically, he considers whether it might be preferable to die than to live as a gentile, but practically, he permits saving secular Jews on the Sabbath based on extra-halakhic theological reasoning. This tension reflects a conflict between his loyalty to halakhic deontology and his humane character. The study classifies Rabbi Auerbach within the ahistorical approach, which views the halakhic conceptual system as an eternal entity. Nevertheless, the religious public perceives him as a lenient authority toward secular Jews. This gap is explained through Wolfgang Iser’s hermeneutics and the category of “textual indeterminacy”: readers interpret his words through the prism of an expectation for tolerance, based on their perception of his warm personality, thereby creating a subjective textual meaning. Full article

This study elucidates Luke’s analytical strategies for writing history in the book of Acts through comparison with the Roman historian Sallust, focusing on how both authors construct narratives of leadership. Although Sallust and Luke are rarely compared in New Testament scholarship due to conventional boundaries such as language, religion, and historical context, both authors deploy similar interpretive practices drawn from the broader milieu of Greco-Roman historiography. Sallust’s Bellum Catilinae presents Cicero as an ineffective leader who, despite suppressing Catiline’s conspiracy in 63 BCE, could not save Rome from moral decline. Conversely, Luke in the book of Acts, particularly in the Miletus Speech (Acts 20:17–38), depicts Paul as a leader whose tireless pastoral oversight caused the rise of Gentile Christianity across the Roman Empire. This comparative study reveals that Luke, like Sallust, shapes the past not merely by reporting events but by analyzing their significance through interpretive frameworks of leadership. Full article

There are many stories in the Hebrew Bible that depict prominent Jews in the epicentre of a foreign imperia, and biblical scholarship essentially classifies every such narrative as court tales in terms of genre. Notwithstanding nuances and sub-categorisations (e.g., court contest and court conflict, wisdom court legend, success story of the wise courtier), to have one catch-all genre designation is imprudent and amorphous. This paper argues, using Formkritik and Gattungskritik, for three subgenres whereby foreign royal stories may be distinguished. One type of tale involves a foreign king who is either sleepless (Dan 6, Esth 6) or dreams (Gen 41, Dan 2 and 4); in the former, a king intervenes favourably for Jews in distress, while in the latter, the king’s dreams are interpreted by a wise Jewish courtier. Another type of tale is the imperial banquet, where an intoxicated gentile king orders the death of a high official (Dan 5, Esth 1, 5/7); this is wrought by a woman who exploits the king’s wine-induced disposition to effect lethal action with disastrous repercussions for the kingdom. Still another type of tale is the court tale proper; these episodes, however, are restricted to the courtly etiquette and decorum of courtiers who sagaciously advise the king, alongside its tensions with monotheism (Dan 3; Esth 3). As a result of this preliminary investigation, the typical setting of the political centre of the foreign imperium in Hebrew Bible narratives comprises three subgenres: court tales, banquet tales, and bedchamber tales. Since genres are determined by the common story forms, each distinct genre is scientifically determined by corresponding distinct narrative structures, vocabulary, and outcomes. Thus, what is proposed is a more illuminating distinction to the wide array and nebulous conglomeration of biblical stories involving Jews in prominent spaces within the foreign king’s court. Furthermore, the implications of the contended three subgenres involve calcifying religious practices, which become vital expressions of Judaism in the Second Temple period. Full article

Hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) cultivation in Italy is facing constraints related to climate change, causing decreases in production as a consequence of summer droughts and late spring heatwaves. This two-year study (2024–2025, i.e., Y1 and Y2) evaluated the effectiveness of two biostimulant protocols on the eco-physiological and productive performance of a hazelnut orchard (cv ‘Tonda Gentile Romana’) in Central Italy. Treatment A included a mixture of formulations (silicon, Ecklonia maxima and microalgae), while Treatment B featured an Ecklonia maxima-containing biostimulant. Data-gathering combined ground-level measurements and remote-sensing technologies, which allowed for the extraction and assessment of vegetation indexes such as the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), the Normalized Difference Red Edge Index (NDRE) and the Normalized Difference Moisture Index (NDMI). Treatments A and B successfully maintained higher chlorophyll content; this beneficial effect was validated by the NDVI, but the NDRE might have suffered from soil interference due to its high sensitivity. The NDMI was positively influenced by both treatments. Treatment A brought to a remarkable production increase in both seasons, especially in Y1 with 7.75 kg plant⁻¹ (+40% vs. Control) and without negatively affecting the shell/nut ratio. These findings suggest that biostimulants could represent an effective strategy for improving productivity and enhancing abiotic stress resilience in hazelnut cultivation. Full article

“After this I will return, and I will rebuild the dwelling of David, which has fallen; from its ruins I will rebuild it, and I will set it up” (Acts 15:16 NRSV). This verse, quoting Amos 9:11, is part of James’ speech to the Jerusalem “council” considering the issue of Gentile believers and their relationship to the Law. In some Pentecostal circles, especially those influenced by the “Latter Rain” revival of 1948, this verse has taken on a different force based on the Greek skēnē, literally a tent or traditionally “tabernacle.” This teaching is based on the “tabernacle of David” as described in 1 Chron. 16:1–6 and other places and likely the venue in which some of the original psalms were performed. Their argument is that this is part of a model for experiencing the dynamic presence of God in worship and the restoration of the NT church. It forms a theological basis or rationale for contemporary praise and worship with the use of musical instruments, lifted hands, dance, clapping, etc., following the Psalms. However, this interpretation of “David’s fallen tent” seems to fail interpretive tests such as context, authorial intention and audience understanding. This article discusses the interpretive challenges raised by Acts 15:16, how skilled interpreters have understood the “tent of David,” and some weaknesses in these readings. The argument of “Latter Rain” authors on the “Tabernacle of David” is explained and evaluated in the light of some other contemporary research and hermeneutical principles associated with typology. The Latter Rain position is found to have considerable strengths but overreaches in some key points especially by making structure too central. Full article

In recent years, a growing number of interpreters propose that the audience in Romans is purely gentile. Problematic for this position is that Jewish persons are greeted by Paul towards the end of the letter in Romans 16:3–16. Respondents appeal to an ancient epistolary convention suggesting that second-person greetings to a third party identify those who are not among the letter’s recipients. Also, the encoded reader is said to be a gentile. This study, however, presents from ancient epistolary conventions most relevant to Rom. 16 that second-person plural greetings assume the third parties are among the same community as the letter recipients. Internal evidence from Rom. 16:6 and 16:16 also confirms this viewpoint. As well, beyond the encoded reader, a reading that affirms the historical recipients of the letter suggests that these recipients include the persons who are named in Rom. 16. Full article

The adaptability of several Italian olive cultivars to high-density cultivation was evaluated from 2020 to 2024 in central Italy by assessing their agronomic behavior, with the aim of identifying which Italian olive cultivars can combine high productivity and suitability for intensive mechanization—through high- and very high-density planting systems—allowing biodiversity valorization. The cultivars were Borgiona, Don Carlo, FS17, Gentile di Anghiari, Gentile di Montone, Giulia, Leccio del Corno, Maurino, Moraiolo, Pendolino, Piantone di Falerone, and Piantone di Mogliano. The international cultivar Arbequina was used as a reference. The olive orchard was planted in 2015, at a tree spacing of 5 m × 2 m (1000 trees/ha). Arbequina was found to have limited vigor and high production efficiency, as reported in other works, therefore confirming its suitability for high-density and super-high-density cultivation. Some cultivars, such as Leccio del Corno, Maurino, FS17, Piantone di Mogliano, and Piantone di Falerone, had a production and yield efficiency that was not different from or even higher than Arbequina. Other cultivars found to be promising were Don Carlo and Gentile di Anghiari, which had a slightly lower productive performance than Arbequina. Overall, the results are encouraging and suggest that some of these cultivars may be suitable candidates for high- and super-high-density olive orchards. This suitability is further supported by their favorable fruit characteristics, which appear to facilitate efficient mechanical harvesting. However, additional data is necessary to enable a more comprehensive assessment of these cultivars, particularly their capacity to maintain canopy dimensions compatible with straddle harvester operation, while maintaining a stable vegetative–reproductive balance over time. Full article

In the early 1470s, Venetian artist Gentile Bellini painted Basilios Bessarion kneeling in front of the precious Byzantine reliquary that Bessarion donated to the Venetian Scuola di Santa Maria della Carità. This painting functioned as the cover to the tabernacle where the reliquary was stored. Rather than accurately depicting the sacred object, Bellini’s painting reworks the appearance of the reliquary in relation to the figures in the painting and reveals a disjunction between the relic and its cover. The reliquary becomes a somber, monumental object that has more presence as a looming entity than as a combination of parts and histories. This paper positions Bellini’s painted enclosure for the reliquary as a product of the blending of Venetian and Byzantine devotional practices and sacred objects. Bessarion’s reliquary was an aggregate object, and Bellini’s painting continues the reframing of Bessarion’s reliquary to serve as a visual contract of the connection between Bessarion and the Scuola di Santa Maria della Carità and, more broadly, Byzantium and Venice. Bellini’s painting ultimately seeks to capture the sacred mystique associated with Byzantine Orthodoxy while also establishing the reliquary within its Venetian, confraternal present. Full article

Currently, there is an ever-increasing demand for organic food from consumers who are convinced that it is healthier and more nutritious. The purpose of our research was to carry out an evaluation of the nutritional and sensory characteristics of organic and conventional hazelnuts of Tonda Gentile Romana cv. To this end, volatile composition, total phenolics, antioxidant capacity, and sensory profile of organic and conventional hazelnuts were identified. In comparison to conventional hazelnuts, organic hazelnuts had a greater amount of total phenols and antioxidants. Furthermore, organic hazelnuts had a different sensory profile, with more crunchiness (6.722 vs. 4.056 for raw and 8.389 vs. 4.667 for roasted) and sweetness (7.667 vs. 4.867 for raw and 7.089 vs. 3.889 for roasted), accompanied by distinct hazelnut, almond, walnut, popcorn, coffee, and roasty notes, present in much higher amounts than conventional hazelnuts. One of our key findings is that organic hazelnuts have a higher nutritional value due to their higher antioxidant capacity. Promoting organic hazelnuts helps to encourage consumers to use these products, which have a high nutritional value, thus contributing to public health. Full article

The accurate definition of tree growth descriptors is a crucial step in enhancing orchard management, allowing cultivar identification within an orchard and in new genotype selection for breeding programs. In apple, almond, and olive orchards, Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) technologies have been already used to identify different architectural groups, but not in hazelnut yet. This study utilized TLS to investigate the canopy structure of hazelnut trees of four different Italian varieties, with and without leaves. TLS proved to be a sensor capable of collecting three-dimensional data from hazelnut field trials and allowed the definition and selection of hazelnut plant descriptors by morphological traits and morphological indexes. Nineteen descriptors, eight morphologic traits and 11 morphological indexes have been identified as reliable suitable descriptors of hazelnut cultivar and in breeding evaluations, according to Biodiversity, FAO and CIHEAM. Many of the selected descriptors are related to the tree habit, vigour and branching density. Two useful indexes have also been defined: Canopy Uprightness (CU) Index and the Index of Canopy Opening (ICO). The descriptors allowed us to distinguish the four studied hazelnut cultivars based on their growth habit; in particular the cultivar Tonda Gentile delle Langhe showed a growth habit that is a lot different from that of the other ones. Full article

The present study looks at how gentilics, usually attested in traditional biblical topoi from the Pentateuch, are re-contextualized in Ezekiel to provide a mental map of the peoples of the known Earth during the Exilic period. The basic constituents of Ezekiel’s mental map of foreign peoples recall some of the configurations known from the Babylonian mental map tradition. One known iteration of the latter is the Babylonian World Map (BM 92687). The document presents several interesting features as to how mental maps are formed in the Babylonian context. Its composition may date back to the late eighth century BCE. It is an iteration of the Babylonian mental map with a unique unmarked epicentre. Furthermore, it was probably impressed on clay on the occasion of a military campaign or itinerant work concerning specific toponyms in southern Babylonia. Finally, it was copied for scribal purposes in the Neo-Babylonian period. The present study proposes that these dynamics of the Babylonian mental map help understand Ezekiel’s mental map of foreign peoples. Aspects of Ezekiel’s mental map owe to an older Hebrew tradition partly known from the Pentateuch, although it is a unique iteration for Ezekiel’s oracles against the nations with historical references to the Exilic period. Jerusalem is the epicentre. Two main rings of foreign peoples encircle Jerusalem. The first circle comprises Judah’s neighbours from the east, south, west, and northwest. The second circle picks up from the northwest going up the coast, then south to Egypt, and finally east and northeast with Gog of Magog. Ezekiel concludes with the Temple Vision confirming Jerusalem’s central position. This case study implies that Ezekiel encountered and independently adapted aspects of the Mesopotamian mental map. Comparisons such as the one attempted here can illustrate the potential of ancient Near Eastern intertextuality and cultural hybridity. Full article