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Showing papers in "New Testament Studies in 1986"


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors focus on the question of literary form in 2 Corinthians 10-12 and their relationship to contemporary professional practice, and the appearance of H. D. Betz's Der Apostel Paulus und die sokratische Tradition.
Abstract: Since the publication of E. A. Judge's ‘Paul's Boasting in relation to Contemporary Professional Practice’, and more especially since the appearance of H. D. Betz's Der Apostel Paulus und die sokratische Tradition, scholarly attention to Paul's ‘boasting’ in 2 Corinthians 10–12 has focussed on the question of literary form.

70 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The study of NT Christology will be renewed if it recovers its proper subject-matter - christology - and its proper scope, the New Testament as discussed by the authors, which is the history of early Christianity.
Abstract: The study of NT Christology will be renewed if it recovers its proper subject-matter - christology - and its proper scope, the New Testament.The scholarly literature shows that what is called NT christology is, by and large, really the history of christological materials and motifs in early Christianity, and their ancestry. This massive preoccupation with history has, to be sure, produced impressive results. In fact, today it is difficult to imagine a study of NT christology which is not influenced by this historical analysis of early Christian conceptions of Christ and their antecedents. Nevertheless, the time is at hand to take up again what was set aside - an explicitly theological approach to NT christology, one which will be in-formed by the history of ideas but which will deliberately pursue christology as a theological discipline. It is doubtful whether the study of NT christology can be renewed in any other way. This essay intends to illumine and substantiate this claim by considering briefly the nature of christology, then by reviewing the turn to history and its consequences for the study of NT christology, and finally by sketching elements of an alternative.

26 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The path of Paul's argumentation in Gal 3. 7 presents vexing problems for any who would attempt to retrace it as discussed by the authors, and the route by which he moves from ‘cross’ to ‘Gentiles’ is anything but clear.
Abstract: The path of Paul's argumentation in Gal 3. 1–4. 7 presents vexing problems for any who would attempt to retrace it. The terminal points are clear: he begins with ‘Christ … crucified’ (3. 1; cf. 2. 21) and ends with the inclusion of the uncircumcized Gentile believers among the true ‘seed’ of Abraham (3. 26–29; 4. 7). But the route by which he moves from ‘cross’ to ‘Gentiles’–a maze of laboured exegesis, puzzling illustration, and cryptic theological shorthand–is anything but clear.

26 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A recent study of the early Christian gatherings (or ‘churches’) has rightly emphasized their indebtedness to the household model of association as mentioned in this paper, and the use of the house as a place of meeting, the terminology of paternalism and brotherhood, conversion of whole households, praise accorded to the practice of hospitality and the endorsement given to contemporary marital and household ethics in the New Testament writings.
Abstract: Recent scholarly study of the early Christian gatherings (or ‘churches’) has rightly emphasized their indebtedness to the household model of association. One only has to think of the use of the house as a place of meeting, the terminology of paternalism and brotherhood, the conversion of whole households, the praise accorded to the practice of hospitality and the endorsement given to contemporary marital and household ethics in the New Testament writings.

25 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The significance of the body of twelve in the early Church of the first century A.D. is discussed in this paper, with a focus on the place of the twelve in early church order and in the ministry of Jesus.
Abstract: Constitutional questions are posed in much recent study of Christian origins. What was the significance of the ministry of Jesus for the contemporary Jewish polity, and the subsequent growth of the Christian ecclesia? The differing emphases of the answers can be roughly labelled ecclesiastical, for example in B. F. Meyer, or national, for example in G. B. Caird and E. P. Sanders. Despite such differences, the twelve must needs be central in the subject-matter (as in B. F. Meyer, 134; Sanders, 326). Can one go further towards determining the constitutional significance of a body of twelve for a Jew of the first century A.D.? One possible model for the twelve, the group of tribal princes, seems to be relatively neglected. In what follows attention will be drawn to it, and an attempt will be made to characterize its interpretation in ancient Judaism. Finally, against this background, brief comment will be offered on the place of the twelve in early church order and in the ministry of Jesus.

22 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Bultmann's solution was to see the Prologue as a pre-Christian Gnostic hymn, stemming from Baptist circles and subsequently taken over by the evangelist and adapted to form the opening of the Gospel as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: There are two fundamental questions concerning the Prologue, one literary, the other historical. The literary question was raised by Bultmann in his seminal article for the Gunkel Festschrift of 1923: ‘Wie weit ist von dem prāexistenten Logos die Rede, von wo ab von dem in der Geschichte auf-tretenden, d.h. von Jesus?’ The commentators, remarks Bultmann, disxsxsagree on the answer to this question, and this disagreement has persisted. For Bultmann the main difficulty arises from the fact that although v. 14 offers the first explicit statement of the Incarnation, the Christian reader cannot but take vv. 10 f. as an allusion to the life of Jesus, and consequently also v. 5 (which is parallel to it) and probably v. 4 also. Bultmann's solution was to see the Prologue as a pre-Christian Gnostic hymn, stemming from Baptist circles and subsequently taken over by the evangelist and adapted to form the opening of the Gospel. There have been many different answers since.

19 citations



Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, it is argued that it is the obedient Christian who remains in Christ who will be saved on the last day, and that Paul expects a final judgment for Christians which can result in salvation or in wrath.
Abstract: Not surprisingly, the thought of the Apostle Paul is being given fresh consideration in our time.1 Old problems, particularly the relation of Paul to Judaism and his view of the law, continue to vex New Testament studies. A subject which deserves more attention in this reconsideration of Paul is his belief that judgment is according to works. Those who take such statements seriously end up with a quite different picture of Paul from those who soft-pedal the issue. For example, Karl Donfried asserts that it is the obedient Christian who remains in Christ who will be saved on the last day, and that Paul expects a final judgment for Christians which can result in salvation or in wrath.2 Even though such language sounds like ‘heresy’ to ears accustomed to the usual explanations of Paul, Donfried's argument must be given serious attention for it attempts to treat seriously statements in Paul that are too frequently neglected.

15 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The relationship between sin and the law, a recurring theme in Romans 1-4, is given clearest expression in 7.1-6. as mentioned in this paper, where sin is cast in the role of the active culprit, while the law is portrayed as a passive instrument, used by sin as a "bridgehead" to deceive and bring death.
Abstract: The close relationship between sin and the law, a recurring theme in Romans 1–4 (3. 19; 4. 15; 5. 20), is given clearest expression in 7. 1–6. In language reminiscent of the discussion of sin in chap. 6, the law is pictured as a power from whose lordship believers find release in Christ (w. 4, 6) and as an instrument in the arousing of sinful passions which lead to death (v. 5). No wonder that Paul feels it necessary to defend the law from the charge that it is sin (v. 7; cf. v. 12), offering an explanation of the relationship between sin and the law which exonerates the latter (vv. 8–11).1 This explanation takes the form of a narrative in which sin is cast in the role of the active culprit, while the law is pictured as a passive instrument, used by sin as a ‘bridgehead’ (άϕορμή–vv. 8, 11) to deceive and bring death.

11 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Theodorakopoulos et al. as discussed by the authors find in Neuen Testament a Reihe von Schriften, die man als die johanneischen zu bezeichnen pflegt.
Abstract: Im Neuen Testament findet sich eine Reihe von Schriften, die man als die johanneischen zu bezeichnen pflegt. Dabei ist nicht so sehr die ‘Offenbarung des Johannes’ gemeint, die als einzige dieser Werke sich ausdrucklich auf einen Verfasser mit Namen ‘Johannes’ bezieht, vielmehr das Johannesevangelium und die drei Johannesbriefe. Die Bedeutung dieser Literatur fur das Verstandnis der urchristlichen Theologiegeschichte ist kaum zu uberschatzen. Im folgenden soll der Versuch unternommen werden, die Frage nach ihrer Entstehung und Geschichte in der Form eines Uberblicks zu beantworten. Der an dieser Stelle zu begrundenden Auffassung kommt selbstverstandlich nur die grosere oder geringere Wahrscheinlichkeit zu, wie sie allgemein fur historisch-kritische Urteile festzustellen ist. Doch wird sich zeigen, das auch der verbreitete Konsens, der heute fur die Forschung zur johanneischen Frage charakteristisch ist, sich im Bereich von Hypothesen bewegt.

9 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors showed that the enigmatic relationship of part of Luke's text (7.11.17, the raising of the widow's son) to part of the LXX text (1 Kgs 17.17.24, Elijah's raising of a widow's child) is a literary relationship, a relationship which is the result of a sophisticated and coherent process of dramatization and christianization.
Abstract: It is widely recognized not only that Luke was a literary artist but that his literary methods involved specifically Hellenistic approaches and techniques. The primary purpose of this article is to indicate that the enigmatic relationship of part of Luke's text (7. 11–17, the raising of the widow's son) to part of the LXX text (1 Kgs 17. 17–24, Elijah's raising of the widow's son) is a literary relationship, a relationship which is the result of a sophisticated and coherent process of dramatization and christianization. The article is also intended to suggest briefly that this literary relationship is to be understood, in considerable part, in light of the Hellenistic literary practice known as imitatio, and that the practice of imitatio may be an important clue in detecting and unravelling other areas of Luke's sources.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The question of the opponents in 1 John has long been recognized as significant for the study of that ‘letter’ as mentioned in this paper, and the great commentaries by Theodor Haring, R. Law and Rudolf Schnackenburg make the conflict with the ‘schismatics' the key to their interpretations.
Abstract: The question of the ‘opponents’ in 1 John has long been recognized as significant for the study of that ‘letter’. The great commentaries by Theodor Haring, R. Law and Rudolf Schnackenburg make the conflict with the ‘schismatics’ the key to their interpretations. Most recently Raymond E. Brown1 has presented a detailed account of the conflict in the context of the history of Johannine Christianity as the basis for his own commentary. I find myself in general agreement with the approach and position set out there. But I remain unconvinced on a number of important issues where I find that my views remain fundamentally unchanged,2 not through stubbornness I trust. These views will need further elaboration and defence in due course. Before doing this certain preliminary matters need to be dealt with.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, we refer the reader to Gal 2.11 ff., where Paulus will zeigen, das sein Evangelium und Apostolat zugleich unabhangig von und identisch with dem der Jerusalemer ist, die vor ihm Apostel waren.
Abstract: Will man das Geschehen, von dem Paulus Gal 2. 11 ff., berichtet, und das wir gewohnlich mit der um moglichste Wertungsfreiheit bemuhten Bezeichnung ‘der antiochenische Zwischenfall’ benennen, in seinem Wesen erfassen, dann mus man sich zunachst die Art des einzigen Zeugnisses vergegenwartigen, das wir uber es besitzen. Schon lange ist darauf aufmerksam gemacht worden, ‘das diese Erzahlung eine gelegentliche ist und in einem Zusammen-hang stattfindet, welcher den Erzahler in keiner Weise zu einer vollstandigen Mittheilung des Vorganges an sich selbst und in allen seinen Einzelheiten verpflichtet’.1 Und weiter: ‘die Erzahlung des Paulus ist ein Ganzes, das zwar eine unvollstandige Mittheilung des nur gelegentlich beruhrten Vorganges, aber in sich selbst wohl geschlossen ist und keine Erganzung duldet’.2 Paulus will in der Tat in Gal 1 f. nicht uber ein Stuck Geschichte des Urchristentums informieren, sondern er will mit gezielter Spitze sein Verhaltnis zu den Jerusalemer Autoritaten, insbesondere zu Petrus, darlegen. Darauf ist der Bericht uber seinen Lebensweg ausgerichtet, er mundet in dem uns beschaftigenden Abschnitt. Paulus will zeigen, das sein Evangelium und Apostolat zugleich unabhangig von und identisch mit dem der Jerusalemer ist, die vor ihm Apostel waren.3

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The presence of tradition in the Pauline letters has long been recognized in the case of Old Testament quotations as mentioned in this paper. But can it be established that Paul utilized tradition in this narrower sense of the word?
Abstract: The presence of traditions in Pauline letters has long been recognized in the case of Old Testament quotations. However, when the concept of tradition is broadened to include other types of material, the issue becomes more complex and requires that some attention be given to several preliminary matters. In a word it is necessary to define the term and to establish the adequacy of the tools and criteria by which traditions are identified.As it is used here, ‘tradition’ means more than a prior idea or story floating in the memory of the Apostle, of his co-traditioners or of the amanuenses and co-senders of the letters. It is, more concretely, a specific item in a traditioning process that was formed and in oral or written usage before Paul incorporated it into his letter. But can it be established that Paul utilized tradition in this narrower sense of the word?




Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Dahl and Kramer as mentioned in this paper show that the apostle uses the term very frequently: 270 out of the 531 occurrences of the word in the New Testament are found in the genuine letters of Paul and also uses it in combinations with other words: Jesus Christ, Christ Jesus, Jesus Christ the Lord; but never in the combination κuρως χριτoς.
Abstract: Anyone who wants to say something about the earliest Christian use of Christos should start with the oldest written sources: the (genuine) letters of Paul.1.1.1. Paul's use χριοτoς has been set out convincingly by N. A. Dahl1 and W. Kramer.2 The apostle uses the term very frequently: 270 out of the 531 occurrences of the word in the New Testament are found in the genuine letters of Paul.3 He also uses it in combinations with other words: Jesus Christ, Christ Jesus, Jesus Christ the Lord; but never in the combination κuρως χριτoς.4 Certain patterns can be recognized in the use of Jesus Christ and Christ Jesus and also in the use of the article with χριτoςbut nowhere with a clear difference in meaning.5 Dahl says: χριτoς is never a general term; the word is also never used as a predicate. Paul never feels the necessity to state ‘Jesus is the Christ’; a genitive is never added (Paul does not use χριτoς κυριου or related expressions) and also Ίηιοṽςo Χριιτoς is not found.6

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors classify the Bartimaeus narrative as a miracle story but some hasten to point out how the story lacks certain formal elements of a traditional miracle story.
Abstract: Opinions differ concerning the form of the Bartimaeus narrative in Mark 10. 46–52. M. Dibelius considered it to be a ‘less pure type’ of paradigm, although in the first edition of his work he analysed it as a ‘Personal Legend’. R. Bultmann thought the story showed secondary characteristics and the close interlacing of the story into the Marcan context betrayed the ‘late formulation’ of the present form. He believed, however, that it is hardly possible to recognize a stylistically proper miracle narrative at the basis of this passage. Since R. Bultmann, most authors classify the Bartimaeus narrative as a miracle story but some hasten to point out how the story lacks certain formal elements of a miracle story.



Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the cashier noticed she had a television remote control in her purse and asked the shopper, "Do you always carry a remote control?" The shopper replied, "No, but my husband refused to come shopping with me, so I figured taking the remote control was the meanest thing I could do to him!"
Abstract: During this Christmas season, there are plenty of Scrooges out there. I heard about one lady who was fumbling in her purse to get her credit card to pay for a purchase. The cashier noticed she had a television remote control in her purse. She asked the shopper, “Do you always carry a remote control?” The shopper replied, “No, but my husband refused to come shopping with me, so I figured taking the remote control was the meanest thing I could do to him!”

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors argue that even if Mark intended his gospel for Christians, it was written for believers engaged in evangelism to remind them of the facts on which the superstructure of their faith stood or fell.
Abstract: The aim of this essay is to extend a course charted over twenty years ago by the Reverend Professor C. F. D. Moule. My debt to him extends even to the title, derived as it is from his ‘The Intention of the Evangelists’. But more substantially, it was his independent thesis and insightful method which provided the stimulus for this study. Against the developing consensus, especially among continental scholars in the 1950s, that the gospel was a creative theological work designed to support or correct the beliefs of Christians, i.e. for those who were advanced in the faith, Professor Moule argued that Mark's aim was apologetic and evangelistic, focused upon the outsider who needed to know the essentials of the story. Even if Mark intended his gospel for Christians, it was written for believers engaged in evangelism to remind them of the facts on which the superstructure of their faith stood or fell.


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the author argues the case of the author as historian, not the ostensible cause of the speaker in the situation recounted; their audiences are fictitious representations of the stages of the Christian mission programmed in Acts 1. 8; and they have a complementary and mutually explanatory function in the author's sustained dialogue with his reader.
Abstract: Let us draw familiar battle lines at the outset by adhering to some ofttested propositions concerning the speeches of Acts: that they are mainly conceptions and instruments of Lucan historiography; that they therefore argue the case of the author as historian, not the ostensible cause of the speaker in the situation recounted; that their audiences are fictitious representations of the stages of the Christian mission programmed in Acts 1. 8; finally that, like other Lucan repetitions, the speeches have a complementary and mutually explanatory function in the author's sustained dialogue with his reader.


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the relative merits of the apparatuses in Syn, H-G and Orchard are compared with a Greek Synopsis with a full apparatus, which is of enormous benefit to the scholar.
Abstract: Serious study of the synoptic problem can be undertaken only with the aid of a Greek synopsis. This chapter examines the texts and apparatuses with special reference to H.Greeven and B.Orchard but with comparisons with synopsis. It intendeds as a consumers guide to synopses and tries to indicate the relative merits of the texts printed. The chapter considers the relative merits of the apparatuses in Syn, H-G and Orchard. Thus a synopsis with a full apparatus is likely to be of enormous benefit to the scholar. Alands Synopsis is well-established and has the virtue of printing the text of John in full. The repetition of each pericope almost each time it is relevant to a parallel together with the repetition of its apparatus on most occasions may be uneconomical in terms of space and cost but it is of enormous benefit in studying the synoptic problem.Keywords: Aland; apparatus; B.Orchard; Greek Synopsis; H.Greeven; text

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The pericope Cantabrigiensis as mentioned in this paper is the addition to Luke 6.4 in the Codex Bezae, which runs as follows: On the same day he saw someone working on the Sabbath and said to him: man, if you know what you are doing, you are blessed, if not know, you were cursed and a law-breaker (τυτ ⋯μέρᾳ θeασάμeνός, τινα-γαζόμe
Abstract: Cambridge people, incorrigible as they are, like to sing the praises of Cambridge. Sharing this obligation I select a subject that may be in tune with this theme. As a New Testament man I do not have to compass land and sea in order to find an association. What may fairly be described as a unique challenge given by Cambridge to New Testament studies is to be found in the University library. It is what may be called the pericope Cantabrigiensis, the addition to Luke 6. 4 in the Codex Bezae Cantabrigiensis, which runs as follows: On the same day he saw someone working on the Sabbath and said to him: man, if you know what you are doing, you are blessed, if you do not know, you are cursed and a law-breaker (τυτ ⋯μέρᾳ θeασάμeνός, τιναᾳγαζόμeνον τ σαββάτ eπeναυτ ἅνθρωπe e μįν οδας τί ποιeις, μακάριος e e δį μeοįδας, ᾳπικατάρατος κᾳι παραβάτης e τοū νόμον).

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the Markusevangelium wird in den Beiden Dimensionen untersucht, durch die die einzelnen literarischen Texte with den breiteren Bezugssystemen verbunden.
Abstract: Die Untersuchungen uber die Entstehung der Evangelien mussen vor allem das Markusevangelium beachten, weil es nach der Zweiquellentheorie die bedeutendste Vorlage der beiden ubrigen Synoptiker ist und weil die ganze Gruppe der urchristlichen Schriften, die man heute Evangelien nennt, durch das Markusevangelium beeinflust ist. Das Markusevangelium wird in den Beiden Dimensionen untersucht, durch die die einzelnen literarischen Texte mit den breiteren Bezugssystemen verbunden sind: entstehungsgeschichtlich (syntagmatisch) und in der paradigmatischen Dimension, d.h. in den Assoziationen, die seine Lekture erweckt und in den Ahnlichkeiten und Unterschieden seiner Struktur im Vergleich mit anderen Texten. Das man auf solche komplexe Weise vorgehen mus, ist zum Konsensus geworden. In der Methode und in den konkreten Ergebnissen gibt es jedoch viele offene Fragen und Widerspruche. Von den fruheren Beitragen ausgehend3mochte ich jetzt einige Konsequenzen fur die Methode ziehen und neue Beobachtungen hinzufugen, die m.E. fur die Auslegung der Evangelien und fur das Verstandnis ihrer Funktion von Bedeutung sind.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, it is pointed out that the present age is the age of salvation, and that the author's understanding of the past age and the salvation connected with it are to be perceived correctly.
Abstract: Recent attempts to explain the theology of the Pastoral Epistles are generally agreed that the present age looms large in the thought of the author. But there is less concord regarding the significance of this leitmotif for the message of these letters as a whole, and none have shown in detail the factors which go into the formulation of this theme. As to the first matter, it is usually noted that the present age is the age of salvation. But can a partial understanding of how the author portrays this present age guarantee a clear picture of his full conception of the nature of salvation? For example, Dibelius and Conzelmann ostensibly suggest that the stress on the present age is a concomitant to the delay of the parousia, which more or less required the church to reconcile herself to a long stay in the world. At the same time, the epiphany schema, which plays a part in directing attention to the present age, leads them to what may be generally termed an ‘early catholic’ explanation of salvation which locates salvation almost wholly in the past Christ event: ‘… salvation in the future appears to be nothing but the shadow of this past epiphany’. But there is more to be considered than just the epiphany schema if the author's understanding of the present age and the salvation connected with it are to be perceived aright. Equally, the almost foregone conclusion in some quarters that the delay of the parousia led to a removal of any vivid expectancy of the event in the mind of our author requires a fresh and balanced reappraisal, especially in view of the potential role it could play within the theological structure of his thought. In short, the kind of approach and explanation of Dibelius and Conzelmann and others seems to centre on a conspicuously slender portion of the evidence, and is therefore rightfully challenged.