https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/15378 2026-08-08T15:39:06Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/148208 Title: Geography as revelation : Gentile faith in the Syrophoenician/Canaanite woman narratives Authors: Sciberras, Paul Abstract: The narratives of the Syrophoenician woman in the Gospel of Mark 7:24-30 and the Canaanite woman in the Gospel of Matthew 15:21-28 have often been interpreted through the lenses of Gentile inclusion, ritual purity, ethnicity, gender, or the apparent harshness of Jesus’s response. While such approaches remain important, they frequently overlook the theological significance of geography and narrative movement within the pericope itself. This study argues that Jesus’s journey from Jewish Galilee into the Gentile territories of Tyre and Sidon functions as a decisive theological act that reframes the encounter. Although Jesus verbally declares that he was sent “only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matt 15:24), his physical movement into pagan territory already anticipates the universal scope of salvation.; Further developing Matthew’s broader salvation-historical movement from a mission focused on Israel toward a universal mission, this paper contends that the woman’s faith emerges not merely from belief in Jesus as miracle worker for her daughter’s benefit or from hope for eventual Gentile inclusion, but from recognition that Jesus himself has crossed ethnic, territorial, and theological boundaries to enter her world.; The narrative therefore becomes not simply a story about a Gentile woman approaching Israel’s Messiah, but about Israel’s Messiah approaching a Gentile woman in anticipation of the universal mission culminating in Matthew 28:19-20 and the apostolic proclamation to all nations. 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/147514 Title: Omm Ġesù fl-Evanġelju skont San Ġwann Abstract: L-ewwel personaġġ femminili li jissemma fl- Evanġelju skont San Ġwann hija omm Ġesù li kienet mistiedna għall-festa ta’ tieġ li sar f’Kana. Kienet hi li dakinhar indunat li kien spiċċa l-inbid u marret tinforma b’dan lil Ġesù. Fl-aħħar tal-Evanġelju, imbagħad, nerġgħu niltaqgħu ma’ omm Ġesù, din id-darba taħt is-salib ta’ binha. Dawn iż-żewġ narrattivi jiffurmaw bħal kwadru madwar il-missjoni ta’ Ġesù. 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/147513 Title: Il-prologu tal-Evanġelju skont San Ġwann Abstract: L-ewwel tmintax-il vers tal-ewwel kapitlu tal-Evanġelju skont San Ġwann jiffurmaw dak li baqa’ magħruf bħala il-Prologu/id-daħla ta’ dan l-Evanġelju. F’dawn il-versi nsibu t-temi l-kbar li jiġu żviluppati matul in-narrativa ta’ dan l-Evanġelju, filwaqt li minn kmieni joffrulna l-prospettiva meħtieġa li minnha rridu nitgħallmu naqraw dan l-Evanġelju.; Huma ħafna l-pubblikazzjonijiet li jitrattaw il-Prologu ta’ dan l-Evanġelju, pubbikazzjonijiet li jvarjaw minn studji dwar l-isfond tal-ideat li nsibu f ’dawn l-ewwel tmintax-il vers, sa studji dwar l-istruttura jiġifieri kif jinqasam il-Prologu. 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/147223 Title: Anti-judaism and typological exegesis in Cyril of Alexandria’s commentary on the gospel of John Authors: Micallef, Martin Abstract: The biblical commentaries of Cyril of Alexandria (c. 376–444) represent a major contribution to the development of patristic exegesis. His Commentary on the Gospel of John demonstrates the close interaction between Christological theology, allegorical interpretation, and ecclesial polemic within late antique biblical interpretation. While Cyril’s exegesis has often been praised for its theological sophistication, modern scholarship increasingly recognizes that his interpretive framework also contains a pronounced anti-Judaic dimension. This study examines several key passages from Cyril’s Commentary on the Gospel of John in order to analyse how typology, supersessionist theology, and polemical rhetoric function together in his interpretation. Particular attention is given to Cyril’s portrayal of Jewish ignorance, his attribution of responsibility for the death of Christ, and his typological reinterpretation of Jewish law and history. The analysis demonstrates that Cyril integrates anti-Jewish rhetoric into a broader theological system in which the Mosaic law is presented as a provisional anticipation fulfilled in Christ and realized in the Christian Church. 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z