Folia Theologica et Canonica 10. 32/24 (2021)
Ius canonicum
150 SZABOLCS ANZELM SZUROMI, O.PRAEM.- I King 15:18 - “Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left in the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s house, and gave them into the hands of his servants- 2Maccabees 9:16 - “(...) and the holy sanctuary, which he had formerly plunder, he would adorn with the finest offerings; and the holy vessels he would give back, all of them, many times over; and the expenses incurred for the sacrifices he would provide from his own revenues (.. Although the listed quotations are only a selection of the appearances of the term ‘herém’ in the different books of the Old Testament, it is clear that all the specific nuances of its meaning are present in the text in many occurrences; and even the original term of ‘anathema’ - dedication to God - appears among them. This last naturally refers, in the biblical context, to things and actions dedicated to the only God. The best description of ‘herém ’ can be found in Deuteronomy 7:1-6 (“When [...] the Lord thy God shall have delivered them to thee, thou shalt utterly destroy them.”), however, it must be supplied with three other relevant places:- Deuteronomy 8:20 - “Like the nations that the Lord makes to perish before you, so shall you perish, because you would not obey the voice of the Lord your God.”- 1 Samuel 15:9-23 - “But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep and of the oxen and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them; all that was despised and worthless they utterly destroyed- Joshua 6:15 - “for the Lord your God in the midst of you is a j ealous God; lest the anger of the Lord your God be kindled against you, and he destroy you from off the face of the earth.” III. III. ‘Anathema’ in the New Testament It is necessary to emphasize as a preliminary that - unlike the parables in the Old Testament, which used the term ‘herém ’ with four different meanings - in the New Testament ‘anathema’ no longer refers to a consequence or sanction involving death, but is used primarily to refer to acts that cause the loss of property or exclusion from the community of believers. The institution of ‘excommunication’ existed in the time of Jesus Christ, and even occurs several times in the Gospel of St. John, but without being equated with 'anathema' (i.e. Jn 8:22; 12:42; 16:2). Similar thought can be found in the Gospel according to Matthew (i.e. Mt 18:17). The fundamental change in the use of the term ‘anathema’ - a narrowing of the content - is principally and clearly owed to the letters of St. Paul and his consequent use of the phrase, which had a fundamental influence on the interpretation of the Early Church.
