13 February 2018 | Warsaw, Poland [Daniel Kluska]
Adam Grześkowiak, a pastor in Białystok, Poland, has been recognized for his contribution to biblical literature by the theological and philosophical website Orygenes+. In 2017, his book, “At the Feet of Gamaliel…” (Acts 22:3) Application of Jewish Exegesis in 1 Corinthians, beat 91 other submissions on biblical studies to first place on a list of the most interesting and important publications in Polish.
The book explores the application of Jewish exegetical methods in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. Dr Grześkowiak researched the sources and applications of rabbinical exegesis. 
Although the subject is already partly covered in Polish literature, especially in academic articles, Grześkowiak discussed the subject in a new and innovative way, according to Reverend Professor Mariusz Rosik from the Pontifical Faculty of Theology in Wrocław.
“This is good news for the Protestant scientific community,” reflects Mirosław Harasim, theologian and director of the “Signs of the Times” Publishing House in Warsaw. “This Adventist-authored book was not only noticed by experts in the subject, but first and foremost it was distinguished as a serious piece of scholarly writing.”
As a Seventh-day Adventist, Harasim is delighted for the recognition and confirmation that exegetical issues of the Bible still remain the flagship area of Protestant theologians. “I am convinced that the book will meet the interest of various confessional circles, including students, scientists, clergy and publishers, providing them with new and interesting information about the Jewish roots of Christianity”, he added.
That seems to be the case as Reverend Rosik notes that Grześkowiak’s research “is so abundant that it could be used for three monographs: ancient hermeneutics, about Hillel’s character and work, and also about Jewish methods of interpretation in 1st Corinthians.”
Research in demonstrating the Jewish roots of Christianity in recent decades is gaining momentum. At the feet of Gamaliel is thus a part of the current trend in biblical theology. The review on the website states that one of the reasons for it winning the award is that it is “a study that is reliable and sheds new light on the use of Jewish interpretative methods by the author of not only the First Epistle to the Corinthians (which was the subject of the study), but a significant part of the New Testament.”
Pastor Jarosław Dzięgielewski, President of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Poland, remarked, “Such an achievement is the result of many years of work and the effect of searching for even better, deeper methods of understanding God’s Word. Knowing the author personally, I know that he has a special satisfaction in discovering not only the new theological puzzles, but above all getting to know the One, without whom theology would not make sense.”
Noting that he completed his manuscript some three years earlier, Grześkowiak, whose great passion is biblical studies, simply expresses his gratefulness to God for leading him to publish this work.
tedNEWS Staff: Victor Hulbert, editor; Sajitha Forde-Ralph, associate editor
119 St Peter’s Street, St Albans, Herts, AL1 3EY, England
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.ted.adventist.org
tedNEWS is an information bulletin issued by the communication department of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Trans-European Division.
