Ancient art, rhetoric and the Lamb of God metaphor in John 1:29 and 36

Biblical scholars have given diverse explanations for the Lamb of God metaphor in John 6 1:29 and 36. Most scholars are of the opinion that ‘amnos’ refers to the Passover lamb. 7 This explanation is not obvious from the context of the Fourth Gospel. To understand the 8 metaphor lamb or ‘amnos’ of God, one should understand the transferable meaning of the 9 figure or image. In this comparison only the vehicle, namely lamb, is given. What and 10 who the lamb is stay open. It can be anything within the limits of the other story elements 11 that have the same qualities of a lamb. To uncover the communicative dynamics of the 12 metaphor, the exegete must have insight into the meaning and function of the original 13 metaphor. Rhetoric provides a clue for the interpretation of the metaphor, namely that it 14 is a Lamb of God. Within the perikope other rhetorical clues like antithesis and varietas 15 are also provided. These clues are important but do not explain the image of the lamb. In 16 this study these problems will be considered via another medium, namely Hellenistic art 17 and images and their penetration into Judaism and Christianity during the first centuries 18 CE. Hellenistic and biblical images will be used to give an alternative interpretation of 19 the metaphor of the Lamb of God

Ancient art, rhetoric and the Lamb of God metaphor in John 1:29 and 1:36

Biblical scholars have given diverse explanations for the Lamb of God metaphor in John 1:29 and 1:36. Most scholars are of the opinion that ‘amnos’ refers to the Passover lamb. This explanation is not obvious from the context of the Fourth Gospel. To understand the metaphor ‘lamb’ or ‘amnos’ of God, one should understand the transferable meaning of the figure or image. In this comparison, only the vehicle, namely the lamb, is given. What and who the lamb is stays open. It can be anything within the limits of the other story elements that have the same qualities as a lamb. To uncover the communicative dynamics of the metaphor, the exegete must have insight into the meaning and function of the original metaphor. Rhetoric provides a clue for the interpretation of the metaphor, namely that it is a Lamb of God. Within the pericope other rhetorical clues like antithesis and varietas are also provided. These clues are important but do not explain the image of the lamb. In this study, these problems will be considered via another medium, namely Hellenistic art and images and their penetration into Judaism and Christianity during the 1st century CE. Hellenistic and biblical images will be used to give an alternative interpretation of the metaphor of the Lamb of God

Feminist new testament scholarship in South Africa

Feminist biblical scholarship in South Africa that focuses on the New Testament cannot be separated from the larger context of feminist scholarship in South Africa or even Africa. Its emergence and development was tied to the emerging consciousness of women and men who began to question the roles of women in family, society, politics and religion, especially Christianity. This happened during the 1980s, thus lagging behind the North-American and European feminist movements of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Rather later than never! New Testament scholarship in South Africa has contributed to feminist knowledge production. The objective of this article is to provide an understanding of the contributions by feminist and female scholarship in the New Testament Society of Southern Africa by focusing on completed doctoral theses at South African universities and theological seminaries, and feminist research produced by females and males published in Neotestamentica, the official journal of the New Testament Society of Southern Africa. The purpose is to determine the New Testament feminist themes and knowledge that have been produced; to identify obstacles that might have influenced or might influence feminist New Testament scholarship; to determine possible research areas; and to discuss the future of feminist scholarship in the New Testament Society of Southern Africa

The metaphor of ‘walking in love’ as matrix for the familial relationships in Ephesians 5:22-6:9

Abstract: In this study the Social Identity Theory serves as a tool to provide a theoretical framework for exploring group processes in the Letter to the Ephesians and is fundamental for the discursive processes to determine group identity. According to the SIT the focus of attention is the ‘ingroup model and the ultimate other’ which both feature in the positioning of the discourse of the cultural boundaries.It is also a requirement that groups would provide their members with a positive in-group identity that derives from comparative observations between social groups. This article employs the metaphor of ‘walking in love’ (Eph 5:2) and its contextual meanings to explain the social dynamics of the relations between members of the Christian household, resulting in an alternative construction of household identity. Walking or living in love and living wisely) suggest mutuality rather than hierarchy in the Christian community. The concept of ‘walking in or with’ will be used to challenge the hierarchical structure of household identity. The concept is further used to show the type of social interaction expected between members of the Christian community. It is the church’s responsibility, as they walk in love, to ensure that Christians demonstrate the same kind of love freely to all people

The GALEX-SDSS NUV & FUV Flux Density and Local Star-Formation Rate

We calculate the local UV flux density in the GALEX MIS FUV and NUV bands using redshifts provided by SDSS DR7. Luminosity functions are calculated for the overlapping MIS and SDSS sample, allowing flux densities to be measured and the local star formation rate (SFR) to be calculated using volumes much larger than previous FUV based estimates. We calculate flux densities for a dust corrected low redshift (0.013 < z < 0.1) sample of f[FUV] = 22.24 \pm 3.13 \times 10^25 h ergs s^-1 Hz^-1 Mpc^-3, f[NUV] = 38.54 \pm 5.30 \times 10^25 h ergs s^-1 Hz^-1 Mpc^-3. The star formation rate density found is 0.0312\pm0.0045 h M\odot yr^-1 Mpc^-3. This is larger than published rates recently found using the UV implied SFR, though the major discrepancy is the correction made for dust attenuation and once this is dealt with consistently the results agree well. These values are also consistent with recent Halpha derived SFRs. Once cosmic variance is taken into account most of the recent SFRs at low redshift (z < 0.3) found in the literature can be brought into agreement, however the lowest redshift values (z < 0.045) do appear to be significantly lower.Comment: 14 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

Genomic Surveillance of Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus faecium Reveals Spread of a Linear Plasmid Conferring a Nutrient Utilization Advantage

Healthcare-associated outbreaks of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VREfm) are a worldwide problem with increasing prevalence. The genomic plasticity of this hospital-adapted pathogen contributes to its efficient spread despite infection control measures. Here, we aimed to identify the genomic and phenotypic determinants of health care-associated transmission of VREfm. We assessed the VREfm transmission networks at the tertiary-care University Hospital of Zurich (USZ) between October 2014 and February 2018 and investigated microevolutionary dynamics of this pathogen. We performed whole-genome sequencing for the 69 VREfm isolates collected during this time frame and assessed the population structure and variability of the vancomycin resistance transposon. Phylogenomic analysis allowed us to reconstruct transmission networks and to unveil external or wider transmission networks undetectable by routine surveillance. Notably, it unveiled a persistent clone, sampled 31 times over a 29-month period. Exploring the evolutionary dynamics of this clone and characterizing the phenotypic consequences revealed the spread of a variant with decreased daptomycin susceptibility and the acquired ability to utilize N-acetyl-galactosamine (GalNAc), one of the primary constituents of the human gut mucins. This nutrient utilization advantage was conferred by a novel plasmid, termed pELF_USZ, which exhibited a linear topology. This plasmid, which was harbored by two distinct clones, was transferable by conjugation. Overall, this work highlights the potential of combining epidemiological, functional genomic, and evolutionary perspectives to unveil adaptation strategies of VREfm. IMPORTANCE Sequencing microbial pathogens causing outbreaks has become a common practice to characterize transmission networks. In addition to the signal provided by vertical evolution, bacterial genomes harbor mobile genetic elements shared horizontally between clones. While macroevolutionary studies have revealed an important role of plasmids and genes encoding carbohydrate utilization systems in the adaptation of Enterococcus faecium to the hospital environment, mechanisms of dissemination and the specific function of many of these genetic determinants remain to be elucidated. Here, we characterize a plasmid providing a nutrient utilization advantage and show evidence for its clonal and horizontal spread at a local scale. Further studies integrating epidemiological, functional genomics, and evolutionary perspectives will be critical to identify changes shaping the success of this pathogen. Keywords: Enterococcus faecium; N-acetyl-galactosamine; horizontal gene transfer; linear plasmid; transmission network

An investigation of the luminosity-metallicity relation for a large sample of low-metallicity emission-line galaxies

(abridged) We present 8.2m VLT spectroscopic observations of 28 HII regions in 16 emission-line galaxies and 3.6m ESO telescope spectroscopic observations of 38 HII regions in 28 emission-line galaxies. These emission-line galaxies were selected mainly from the Data Release 6 (DR6) of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) as metal-deficient galaxy candidates. We collect photometric and high-quality spectroscopic data for a large uniform sample of star forming galaxies including new observations. Our aim is to study the luminosity-metallicity (L-Z) relation for nearby galaxies, especially at its low-metallicity end and compare it with that for higher-redshift galaxies. From our new observations we find that the oxygen abundance in 61 out of the 66 HII regions of our sample ranges from 12+logO/H=7.05 to 8.22. Our sample includes 27 new galaxies with 12+logO/H<7.6 which qualify as extremely metal-poor star-forming galaxies (XBCDs). Among them are 10 HII regions with 12+logO/H<7.3. The new sample is combined with a further 93 low-metallicity galaxies with accurate oxygen abundance determinations from our previous studies, yielding in total a high-quality spectroscopic data set of 154 HII regions. 9000 more galaxies with oxygen abundances, based mainly on the Te-method, are compiled from the SDSS. Our data set spans a range of 8 mag with respect to its absolute magnitude in SDSS g (-12>Mg>-20) and nearly 2 dex in its oxygen abundance (7.0<12+logO/H<8.8), allowing us to probe the L-Z relation in the nearby universe down to the lowest currently studied metallicity level. The L-Z relation established on the basis of the present sample is consistent with previous ones obtained for emission-line galaxies.Comment: 27 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic

Drosophila type XV/XVIII collagen, Mp, is involved in Wingless distribution

Multiplexin (Mp) is the Drosophila orthologue of vertebrate collagens XV and XVIII. Like them, Mp is widely distributed in the basement membranes of the developing embryos, including those of neuroblasts in the central and peripheral nervous systems, visceral muscles of the gut, and contractile cardioblasts. Here we report the identification of mutant larvae bearing piggyBac transposon insertions that exhibit decrease Mp production associated with abdominal cuticular and wing margin defects, malformation of sensory organs and impaired sensitivity to physical stimuli. Additional findings include the abnormal ultrastructure of fatbody associated with abnormal collagen IV deposition, and reduced Wingless deposition. Collectively, these findings are consistent with the notion that Mp is required for the proper formation and/or maintenance of basement membrane, and that Mp may be involved in establishing the Wingless signaling gradients in the Drosophila embryo

Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA): curation and reanalysis of 16.6k redshifts in the G10/COSMOS region

We discuss the construction of the Galaxy And Mass Assembly (GAMA) 10h region (G10) using publicly available data in the Cosmic Evolution Survey region (COSMOS) in order to extend the GAMA survey to z ∼ 1 in a single deg2 field. In order to obtain the maximum number of high precision spectroscopic redshifts we re-reduce all archival zCOSMOS-bright data and use the GAMA automatic cross-correlation redshift fitting code autoz. We use all available redshift information (autoz, zCOSMOS-bright 10k, PRIMUS, VVDS, SDSS and photometric redshifts) to calculate robust best-fitting redshifts for all galaxies and visually inspect all 1D and 2D spectra to obtain 16 583 robust redshifts in the full COSMOS region. We then define the G10 region to be the central ∼1 deg2 of COSMOS, which has relatively high spectroscopic completeness, and encompasses the CHILES VLA region. We define a combined r < 23.0 mag and i < 22.0 mag G10 sample (selected to have the highest bijective overlap) with which to perform future analysis, containing 9861 sources with reliable high-precision VLT-VIMOS spectra. All tables, spectra and imaging are available at http://ict.icrar.org/cutout/G10