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The mysterious figure of 4 Ezra is more likely to be the Messiah than an 'Antichrist' and his role will be primarily to deliver God's people and bless the righteous.

Mary's virginity during the birth of Jesus, in partu and its relation to the true humanity of Jesus is discussed with reference to Tertullian's 'De Carne Christi' and his anti-docetic position.

The blank margins of ShakespeareEs sonnets that imitated the layout of the Geneva Bible intended for private reading are discussed.

The embellished description of torture methods in the Judas episode of Benedeit's 'Voyage of St. Brendan' in comparison with its Latin original is analyzed. The torture practices were not imaginary but concluded to those used at his time.

An analysis that cites 1 Corinthians 15:52 as a source for the Old English version of Bede's simile of the sparrow in his 'Ecclesiastical History' are presented.

The anonymous Old English poet who wrote 'Judith' used traditional heroic themes and language to convey the triumph of God's people over evil. This poem retold the Old Testament story of Judith, who helped the Bethulians to defeat the invading Assyrians by killing their leader, Holofernes. The poet deliberately repeated heroic words such as steppan and wiggend to accentuate the difference in character between the righteous Bethulians and the wicked Assyrians. His mastery of the heroic idiom is apparent in this richly meaningful work.

The quotation by William of Malmesbury in his 'Gesta Regum Anglorum', III.285 is concluded to be the alterations of quotations from Prudentius and Horace.

Henry Bradley proposed the emendation of Genesis A, line 1705, in a 1916 article. His over-complicated suggestion for reconstruction has not received support, but his opinion regarding the possibility of textual error is sufficiently strong to merit further consideration of whether a better reading of the line is possible.

Aelfric, in his 11th-century sermon on the Epiphany, described the landscape in which John the Baptist lived as wooded rather than as a desert. This apparent revision of Mark's Gospel resulted not from ignorance but from Aelfric's knowledge that the Biblical landscapes were highly variegated rather than flat and barren. The Vulgate version's use of the phrase 'mel silvestre' and accounts of the landscapes that the early saints lived in also helped influence Aelfric to describe the Baptist as living in a forest.

The author suggests William Shakespeare combined the 'Geneva Bible' and 'Bishops' Bible' translations of Isaiah 45:8 as a source for Portia's 'It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven' in 'The Merchant of Venice'.

The traditional assumption that Basil was greatly influenced by Athanasius of Alexandria is refuted by considering evidence from Basil's exegesis of Prov. 8:22. It indicates that Basil was influenced by Eusebius of Caesarea rather than Athanasius, thus also emphasizing the need for a better understanding of diverse Pro-Nicene theological sources.

An interpretation of a phrase in Genesis 1:2 by Origen as 'the earth was astonished and perplexed', thus personifying the earth, is examined. It is suggested that Genesis Rabba on Genesis 1:2 also provides a similar interpretation, probably based on Aramaic root words.

Evidence is provided to confirm a proposal that 1 Corinthians 6:18b contains a 'libertine' slogan of the Corinthian freethinkers to justify sexual immorality. It is suggested that a social, cultural and religious interrelation facilitated the slogan, which developed from a combination of a non-Christian or Hellenistic-Roman ideology and a Christian or Jesuanic ideology.

A response is presented to James Barr's criticism of the author's interpretation of God's words in Geneses 2-3. Arguments are put forth to support the author's interpretation.

The notable change of scholarly opinion about the hitherto accepted authenticity of the Aramaic documents included in the book of Ezra is discussed. Evidence from language and form of the documents is considered to suggest that the Aramaic documents in Ezra are authentic.

The general opinion of Septuagint scholars that Origen compiled the parallel Bible 'Hexapla' for a textual-critical or an apologetic purpose is refuted. The content and structure of the 'Hexapla' are analyzed to suggest that Origen compiled the text as a work of exegesis or an interpretation of the Bible.

An alternative interpretation of the two additions to the final leaf of the Regius Psalter, Folio 198V, is presented.

The article argues that the perplexities of Theodoret's Christology stemmed more from a basic inconsistency in the life of this fifth-century bishop of Cyrus than from any doctrinal evolution.

The use of polymorphism to promote very different Christologies by a variety of Christian believers is discussed.

The subject of supersessionism, a significant element of the continuing debate about Paul and Judaism, is examined in the light of two basic interpretative options on this issue.

The polemics against the priestly Noachic tradition in 2 (Slavonic) Enoch as well as in the Episdtle to the Hebrews are discussed.

The character of the God of the Old Testament is examined to see whether it can be considered as a basis for the 'imitatio dei' that is believed by many to be a prominent of the book's ethics.

The poems 'The Conspiracy of Aeneas and Antenor against the State of Troy' and 'Agathocles the Sicilian Usurper' are linked by their being written in imitation of Dryden's 'Absalmon and Achitophel' and their drawing upon classical rather than biblical history and legend. The poems were published during exclusion crisis and within six months of each other and raised the same interpretative problems that allow to contemplate the problems undistracted by literary excellence.

Dan Elazar was overly generous with respect to claims of constitutionalism, republicanism, and federalism in the Hebrew Bible, and too free with the term 'federalism' 'for post-biblical Jewish polities. Yet [...]

The article explores the claim that John Bale's 1551 text 'A Lamentable Complaynte of Baptista Mantuanus' is the first English translation of Baptista Mantuanus Spagnuoli's ninth eclogue.

The debate about the strategy in Pandemonium may recall Milton's experience at Cromwell's Council of State and the conventional conflation of the Satanic with the Eastern or Oriental. The manner in which Otanes, Magebyzus, and Darius take turns expressing views as to what political system would be best for Persia is very comparable to the striking civil discourse among the fallen angels, but Darius who sets about ensuring his monarchy may be a model for Milton's Satan.

TOWARDS the beginning of his description of Corah in Absalom and Achitophel, Dryden characterizes the witness with two crucial biblical references: Yet. Corah, thou shalt from Oblivion pass; Erect thy [...]