2 Corinthians 11.20 has received too little discussion in the literature on Paul’s opponents at Corinth, and, surprisingly, even less notice in recent research on patron—client relations in the Pauline communities. This article argues that 2 Cor. 11.20 depicts the leading figure among Paul’s apostolic rivals as an instance of a social type so familiar and loathsome that he was a favorite subject of ridicule in comedy, mime, and satire: the parasite, specifically, the ‘august parasite’ (µoo), who puts on airs and abuses his host and other guests. A composite portrait of this stock character is drawn from the comedies of Alexis, Antiphanes, Plautus and Terence, and from Lucian’s satirical defense of the parasitic art. Parallels to Paul’s vocabulary (oo, , µβ etc.) are traced in Greco-Roman comedies and satires. Paul’s satirical account of the behavior of a rival missionary in 2 Cor. 11.20 serves not only as a foil to Paul’s own modest conduct, but also functions as a reproach to the Corinthians for their complaisant response to the interloper. This hortatory function must be borne in mind as one seeks to comprehend the roles that Paul, his rival and the Corinthians play in the little scenario Paul has constructed.

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The Letter of Aristeas has been read by a great number of theologians since Philo of Alexandria. Its ancient readers give an interesting interpretation which has not been suspected by the modern commentators since Joseph Juste Scaliger. The Letter is neither an historical account of the translation of the Jewish law under King Ptolemy II Philadelphus nor an apology. It’s a political pamphlet denouncing the tyrannical institutions devised by John Hyrcanus, High Priest in Jerusalem at the end of the 2nd century B.C.E. and head of a Jewish independent State emancipated from the Seleucid domination. It cannot be taken into account to prove that the Torah was translated into Greek at the beginning of the Hellenistic era.
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Chronicles
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Vetus Testamentum, Volume 58, Number 2, 2008. Loaded on 2008-03-31
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The conciliar declaration Nostra Aetate is still the 'magna charta' for inter-religious dialogue. Nr. 4 of this declaration deals with the Jewish religion. It had a very eventful history. Research in the Archivio Segreto Vaticano (with the discovery of several interesting reports and letters) and in the papers of De Smedt together with the recent publication of the Counciliar Diary of Mgr Willebrands enable us to describe the unexpected role of Mgr De Smedt, Bishop of Bruges and vice-president of the Secretariat for the Unity in the creation of this text during the third intersession. His interventions during the plenary meeting of the Secretariat in May 1965 and his travel in July 1965, together with Willebrands, to the Eastern patriarchs in Beirut, Jerusalem and Cairo resulted in a breakthrough. These documents also reveal the importance of the pope and the Secretariat of State with regard to this topic. These documents also show how the 'pragmatici' at the council (like De Smedt and Willebrands), who were willing to reach a compromise, often played a decisive role for the final approval of the conciliar texts.
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Research Articles
Hans-Georg Gradl,
New Testament Studies, Volume 56 Issue 01 , pp 116-138

Abstract
In face of the religious and cultic claims of the Roman emperors, Philo (Legatio ad Gaium) and Revelation develop contrasting perspectives in positioning their respective religious communities within the cultural majority of their day. The Alexandrian Jew Philo opts for critical integration and social cohabitation a solution conventionally ascribed to Jewish self-definition in the Tannaitic period. The article illustrates this remarkable exchange of religious and social self-conceptualisations in both authors. Social rather than religious boundaries determine the framework in which the Roman Empire and its ruler are conceptualised, literary reactions are developed, and strategic alternatives are formed.
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The consensus between Lutherans and Catholics on some fundamental points of St. Paul’s doctrine of justification by faith provoked some polemics, because the significant progress in Christian ecumenism has been achieved at the cost of the Jewish-Christian dialogue, in particular by enhancing the antithesis of faith-works of the law. This article gives some perspectives on Christian theology of justification which pay attention to anti-Jewish implications, and take into account the Jewish-Christian dialogue.
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