The Fruits of Madness: Perspectives on the Prophetic Movements in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and in Literature brings together selected oral presentations given at the Seminar in Biblical Characters in Three Traditions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) and in Literature held at the University of Vienna, Austria, in July 2014 as part of the Annual International Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature. The contributions include work on life on the fringes between two types of lifestyles; the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament prophetic movement phenomenon from the point of view of ancient concerns about the effectiveness of communication between the human and godly realms; resistance led by prophets in ancient Israelite society; the distinction between priests and prophets in ancient Israelite and early Jewish societies; the Prophet Hosea (and his vicissitudes) in the light of the lyrics of the famous Canadian poet and musician, Leonard Cohen; the apocalyptic movements of the exilic and post-exilic eras within Judaism; the biblical Daniel as located at the point of confluence and an agent of prophecy, wisdom, and apocalyptic; and the reliability of God's/YHWH's word as mediated to three persons reputed to have received that word. The reader will intuit the theme of liminality in several of the contributors: it dogs the study of prophecy like a great hound its prey. With these writings, the reader is challenged to view the ancient Israelite and early Jewish concern with prophet and prophecy in a fresh and enjoyable, though thought-provoking way, making this volume a worthwhile read.
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• Introduction / Joseph Verheyden, Markus Öhler, Thomas Corsten
• Neues Testament und Epigraphik aus der Perspektive der epigraphischen Forschung / Walter Ameling
• Die Auswertung inschriftlicher Zeugnisse für die neutestamentliche Exegese : Erfahrungen, Chancen und Herausforderungen / Peter Arzt-Grabner
• Die Rolle der Onomastik für die Erforschung des frühen Christentums : ein einführender Überblick / Thomas Corsten
• Ephesische Graffiti als Zeugnisse des Lebensgefühls in der hohen Kaiserzeit / Hans Taeuber
• Vergöttlichte Kaiser am Strassenrand : die Bedeutung epigraphischer Zeugnisse für die Sichtbarkeit der Verbindung von Religion und Politik im Imperium Romanum und für eine kaiserkritische Lektüre neutestamentlicher Schriften / Eva Ebel
• Carving out public space : ... inscriptions and early Christ groups / Richard S. Ascough
• Die eschatologischen Aussagen kaiserzeitlicher Grabinschriften / Imre Peres
• Epigraphy, Papyrology and the interpretation of the New Testament : member contributions to the Eucharist / John S. Kloppenborg
• Sünde, Bekenntnis und Sühne in kleinasiatischen "Beichtinschriften" und dem 1. Johannesbrief / Markus Öhler
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