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Showing papers in "New Testament Studies in 1987"


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors used rhetorical criticism for the interpretation of Paul's first extant letter to the community of Corinth, and explored the questions, methods, and strategies involved in interpreting the 1 Corinthians letter.
Abstract: In the past fifteen years or so New Testament scholars have sought to balance the predominantly historical orientation of biblical studies with insights and methods derived from literary studies and literary criticism. In addition, discussions of hermeneutics and pastoral ‘application’ have attempted to replace the overall framework of meaning that has been eroded by the eclipse of biblical theology understood as salvation history. Finally, the studies of the social world of early Christianity have focused anew on the social-political situation and economic-cultural conditions of the New Testament writers and their communities. However, these discussions have not yet led to the formulation of a new integrative paradigm in biblical interpretation. This paper seeks to contribute to this three-pronged discussion by utilizing rhetorical criticism for the interpretation of Paul's first extant letter to the community of Corinth. My main goal is thereby not to add a ‘new interpretation’ to the many variant readings of 1 Corinthians but to explore the questions, methods, and strategies involved in the interpretation of the letter.

67 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, a new interpretation of the Philemon epistle is proposed, which differs from the traditional interpretation in four major points: (1) the letter is written to a church, a congregation of which the individual addressed in the main body of the letter was a member; it is not a personal letter.
Abstract: The Pauline epistle known as Philemon is generally understood to be a letter written by Paul to a slaveowner on behalf of the runaway slave Onesimus requesting that the latter be allowed to return without penalty to the household in which he served. This article proposes a new interpretation of the letter that differs from the traditional in four major points: (1) the letter is written to a church, a congregation of which the individual addressed in the main body of the letter is a member; it is not a personal letter. (2) the slave Onesimus is with Paul in prison because he was sent there by the individual addressed in the main body of the letter (probably Archippus) on behalf of the Colossae church; Onesimus did not run away. (3) Paul writes to request that Onesimus be released from his obligations in Colossae in order that he might remain with Paul to work in the church in a Christian ministry. (4) Paul makes clear that Onesimus is no longer to be considered a slave within the Christian community, and separately suggests Onesimus be manumitted.

43 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigate the question to see whether Paul's opponents are one group or more than one, and to ascertain the nature of their views, and they make five assumptions; they are taken as axiomatic, so a case for them in detail is not argued.
Abstract: This is still an unresolved problem. Our aim is to investigate the question to see whether Paul's opponents are one group or more than one, and to ascertain the nature of their views.Five assumptions are made; they are taken as axiomatic, so a case for them in detail is not argued. First, the integrity of Phil. has been successfully defended against attempts to analyse it as containing three originally separate letters to the Philippians, especially by P. Schubert, V. Furnish, R. Jewett and T. E. Pollard, and supported by R. P. Martin. This does make it somewhat easier to maintain a single-front hypothesis, but only marginally makes it more probable. The principle of Occam's razor (entia non sint multiplicanda praeter necessitatem), tends to favour the assumption of a uniform view, but only if evidence for multiple opponents appears weak.

27 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This paper explored some relations between dominant scientific Paradigms and hermeneutical schemas currently used in analyses of the history of biblical interpretation, and explored the relation between these two paradigms.
Abstract: This paper explores some relations between dominant scientific Paradigms and hermeneutical schemas currently used in analyses of the history of biblical interpretation.

24 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The importance of the title "Son of God" for Matthew's Gospel has received well-deserved recognition in recent years as mentioned in this paper, but little by way of a satisfactory consensus has been achieved.
Abstract: In recent years the importance of the title ‘Son of God’ for Matthew's Gospel has received well-deserved recognition. There need be no hesitation in acknowledging the programmatic role which it plays in the christological development of the First Gospel. Thus, in considering this appellation, we are not lightly extracting a vacuous designation appropriated by the Evangelist from his tradition, but are dealing rather with a confessional title of continuing vitality for the Matthean church. All the more surprising is it, then, that the actual content of this expression has of late received comparatively little attention from many of those concerned to establish its importance. Moreover, among those who have dealt in more detail with the meaning of the title in Matthew's Gospel, little by way of a satisfactory consensus has been achieved.

20 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The Apocalypse of John mirrors in a very distinctive way the social and cultural amalgam which constituted late first century Christianity as mentioned in this paper, and it also exhibits both the influences of and the reactions to Hellenism.
Abstract: The Apocalypse of John mirrors in a very distinctive way the social and cultural amalgam which constituted late first century Christianity. Though a Christian document it is heavily indebted to Jewish religious and apocalyptic traditions. It also exhibits both the influences of and the reactions to Hellenism. The purpose of this paper is to examine selected Hellenistic magical traditions which have been taken up consciously by John and fashioned into an anti-magic apologetic.

16 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In fact, the momentum of research may in fact be in the opposite direction as discussed by the authors, since it was generally assumed that the passage referred to Christ's heavenly pre-existence, and thus R. H.Fuller writing in 1965 could declare the occasional attempts at eliminating the idea of preexistence from the passage a failure.
Abstract: Writing more than fifty years ago Ernst Lohmeyer said of Phil 2. 5–11, ‘Dieser Abschnitt gehort zu den schwierigsten Abschnitten der paulinischen Briefe.’ The passing years have only served to confirm his judgment, and in fact Lohmeyer himself did much to shape the terms of reference for the subsequent investigation of this complex passage by his emphasis on its poetic structure, its traditional character, and its conceptual background. Perhaps the most important trend to emerge in the scholarly research of this passage in the last two decades has been the attention given to whether Phil 2. 6–1 1, the supposed poetic piece in the passage, presupposes or contains a reference to the pre-existence of Christ. Up until the 1960s it was generally assumed that the passage referred to Christ's heavenly pre-existence, and thus R. H. Fuller writing in 1965 could declare the occasional attempts at eliminating the idea of pre-existence from the passage a failure. In light of a series of important investigations which have appeared since then, Fuller's pronouncement can no longer be affirmed unreservedly. The momentum of research may in fact be in the opposite direction. J. Murphy-O'Connor, for example, claims that ‘the notion of pre-existence is only part of the Vorverstandnis with which exegetes approach the hymn’ rather than a conclusion derived from the careful investigation of the passage and its backgrounds.

15 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The most significant recent contribution to the understanding of Matthew 6.22f comes from Dieter Betz as discussed by the authors, who claims to find in the pre-Socratics, in Plato, and in Philo the clues by which the enigmatic logion about the eye as the lamp of the body can best be elucidated.
Abstract: The most significant recent contribution to the understanding of Matt 6. 22–23 (= Luke 11. 34–36: Q) comes from Hans Dieter Betz. In his article on ‘Matthew vi.22f. and ancient Greek theories of Vision’ Betz claims to find in the pre-Socratics, in Plato, and in Philo the clues by which the enigmatic logion about the eye as the lamp of the body can best be elucidated. He directs attention to the following texts in particular: (1) Plato, Timaeus 45B–46A. In discussing the creation of the human body by the gods, Plato speaks of the ‘light-bearing eyes’(φωσφόραμματα), and he asserts that, within the human eye, there is a type of fire, a fire which does not burn but is, as Bury translates, ‘mild’. When we see, this fire, which is both ‘pure’ (eίλiκρωές) and ‘within us’ (έντoς ὴμῶν), flows through the eyes and out into the world, where it meets the light of day. Now since like is attracted to like, the light of the eyes coalesces with the light of day, forming one stream of substance. And then, to quote Plato, ‘This substance, having all become similar in its properties because of its similar nature, distributes the motions of every object it touches, or whereby it is touched, throughout all the body, even unto the soul, and brings about the sensation which we term seeing.’ In fine, we see because we have within us a light that streams forth through our eyes.

14 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In 1859, Dusterdieck as discussed by the authors published a commentary on the Revelation of John, which was his contribution to the series inaugurated in 1829 by another Hanoverian cleric, Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer.
Abstract: In 1859 Friedrich Dusterdieck, then Director of Studies at the Prediger-seminar in the Monastery of Loccum near Hannover, published a commentary on the Revelation of John. It was his contribution to the series inaugurated in 1829 by another Hanoverian cleric, Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer. Commenting upon the description in Rev 14. 4 of the 144,000 elect, οῡτοί eίσιν οί μeτὰ γυναικην ούκ έμολύνθησαν παρθένοι γάρ eίσιν, Dusterdieck wrote:‘παρθένοι) Das Pradicat wird nicht selten auch Mannern gegeben. Vgl. Fabricius, Cod. apocr. vet. Test. II, p. 92.98 (wo Joseph ein άνὴρ παρθένος heisst), Kypke, Observ. sacr. ad h.1. (παρθένον υα, aus Nonnus ad Joh. 19,26), Suidas, s.v. ‘Άβeλ.’

14 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is also commonly held that that experience made Paul regard the law as a'spur to sin' from which the death and resurrection of Christ had liberated the believers as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: There is not the slightest doubt about the immense significance of Paul's Damascus experience. It changed Paul's life and turned a persecutor into a missionary. Jesus Christ became and remained the centre of Paul's existence.It is another question, however, to what extent Paul's theology was conceived soon after the call experience.1 Was Paul's peculiar view of the law as found in Galatians or in Romans an immediate consequence of his Christophany? That is at least a very common view.2 Paul's call experience resulted, it is held, in his making immediately a sharp contrast between ‘works of righteousness’ and ‘righteousness by faith’. In his Damascus experience Paul perceived that Christ was the end of the law and God's judgment ‘upon all human accomplishment and boasting’3. It is also commonly held that that experience made Paul regard the law as a ‘spur to sin’, from which the death and resurrection of Christ had liberated the believers.

13 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This paper argued that Mark intended a connection between the events of these verses that has never been fully and properly understood, and argued that the tendency to deprive the Evangelists of reputations for competence as narrators and their story-lines of coherence and integrity does them injustice.
Abstract: At the primary, narrative level the riddle of Mark's brief account of Jesus' death and its immediate aftermath must still be pronounced unsolved. There has been a steadily growing awareness among scholars that, for all the insights they have afforded us, form and redaction criticism have tended to deprive the Evangelists of reputations for competence as narrators and their story-lines of coherence and integrity and that this tendency does them injustice. Yet though the latest study of Mark 15. 37–39 is sensitive to this issue, it cannot be pronounced successful in making complete sense of Mark's narrative qua narrative. This paper offers a solution to the riddle and argues what I realize is the rather radical thesis that Mark intended a connection between the events of these verses that has never been fully and properly understood.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: For various reasons and from various vantage points, the validity and value of the NT canon are being seriously questioned as mentioned in this paper, despite Childs's emphasis on canonical dimensions in studying NT text questions, interpreting individual NT books, and in evaluating the whole collection.
Abstract: A frequent source of consolation among Christians is that, while they do not have the same attitudes towards creeds, liturgies, or church structures, they all share the same canon of the NT. That common heritage might seem to be reinforced by B. S. Childs' recent insistence, or even hyper-insistence, on canonical dimensions in studying NT text questions, in interpreting individual NT books, and in evaluating the whole collection. In point of fact, despite Childs's emphasis (which, while exaggerated, makes some very important points), scholarship has gone in the opposite direction. For various reasons and from various vantage points, the validity and value of the NT canon are being seriously questioned.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the burden of proof in the identification of interpolations or specific techniques or criteria that might aid in identifying interpolations in the Pauline letters has been discussed, and it can even be argued that the former question is, at least logically, prior to the latter.
Abstract: The question of interpolations in the Pauline letters continues to provoke debate. Recent years have seen numerous attempts to identify particular passages as non-Pauline and occasional arguments for extensive interpolating throughout the letters. Nevertheless, as Victor Paul Furnish has pointed out, ‘no general scholarly agreement’ has emerged ‘on the probability, or even the plausibility, of any of these hypotheses about … interpolations’. A major problem is the fact that most of the discussion has focused directly upon individual passages, with little or no systematic attention to such preliminary matters as the burden of proof in the identification of interpolations or specific techniques or criteria that might aid in identifying interpolations. Although the burden-of-proof question and the question of criteria are clearly related, and both are crucial, it is possible to separate them for purposes of discussion, and it can even be argued that the former question is, at least logically, prior to the latter. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to raise only the burden-of-proof question; that of criteria must be reserved for treatment in a different context.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The search for a Pauline system of beliefs (δόγματα) with clearly defined relations between them is in vain this paper, and even more so is the attempt to find a single formula supposed to express the whole of his thought.
Abstract: Paul's thought forms a unity of a very peculiar kind. It certainly has a single focus: Christ, but this fact is not in itself sufficient to bring the many disparate elements in his thought together to form the unity that it manifestly has. Nor is that unity that of a system. The search for a Pauline ‘system’ of beliefs (δόγματα) with clearly defined relations between them is in vain – and even more so is the attempt to find a single formula supposed to express the whole of his thought. The immense diversity of his thinking should never be forgotten.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors look at each version of the story from the perspective of comparative social-rhetorical analysis and interpretation, inspired by Kenneth Burke's chapter entitled ‘Lexicon Rhetoricae in Counterstatement and by Robert Alter's The Art of Biblical Narrative.
Abstract: During the last thirty years significant advances have been made in the study of early Christian miracle stories. The story of the woman who touched Jesus' garment has been especially well analyzed by Heinz Joachim Held and Gerd Theissen, and recently Manfred Hutter has brought additional information to bear on the Matthean version. It is my goal to look at each version of the story from the perspective of ‘comparative social-rhetorical’ analysis and interpretation. The rhetorical observations are informed especially by Kenneth Burke's chapter entitled ‘Lexicon Rhetoricae’ in Counterstatement and by Robert Alter's The Art of Biblical Narrative. The comparative and social observations are stimulated by various interpreters' use of Hellenistic-Roman data as well as Jewish data for analysis of New Testament literature.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Josephus' Life raises many important literary and historical questions that are not easily resolved as mentioned in this paper, despite the fact that it is the only extant writing from the first century that bears directly on Galilean life and culture and was written by somebody with immediate experience of that location.
Abstract: Josephus' Life raises many important literary and historical questions that are not easily resolved. This may explain why, for the most part, it has been ignored by New Testament scholars, despite the fact that it is the only extant writing from the first century that bears directly on Galilean life and culture and was written by somebody with immediate experience of that location. Its tendentious character has been ably exposed by Shaye Cohen's study, Josephus in Galilee and Rome. His Vita and Development as an Historian, Leiden, Brill, 1979. Yet it can still yield invaluable information on social relations within the province, provided we approach it in the proper critical fashion, framing our questions carefully and being attentive to the presuppositions of the author.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authorship of 1 and 2 Thessalonians is examined and an examination of the ways in which the traditions are molded to make the correction in that epistle depends very little on the answer to the question.
Abstract: The eschatological teachings in 1–2 Thessalonians have a common purpose: correction. In 1 Thessalonians Paul wants to correct a disbelief that caused sorrow over the fate of deceased Christians. The author of 2 Thessalonians wants to correct a belief in the immediacy of Christ's return, a belief that may have had its origin in (or at least have been abetted by) exhortations to readiness in 1 Thessalonians. In both letters, earlier traditions come into play for the purposes of correcting the disbelief that caused sorrow, of exhorting the readers to readiness, and of correcting the belief in immediacy. Both dominical and Jewish materials make up these traditions. Though we may take a side-glance at the question of authorship in 2 Thessalonians, an examination of the ways in which the traditions are molded to make the correction in that epistle depends very little on the answer to the question. We shall discover that Paul (whose name will cover the authorship of both letters without prejudice) hellenizes dominical tradition and Christianizes Jewish tradition in order to make his corrections and rein-force his exhortation.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss a subject which, to my knowledge, has never been considered before, namely, whether Jude 5-7 presents Jesus as the Angel of the Lord, and propose a solution to the vexed problem of the varia lectio (or variae lectiones) in v. 5.
Abstract: In this article I shall discuss a subject which, to my knowledge, has never been considered before – namely, whether Jude 5–7 presents Jesus as the Angel of the Lord. A final solution to the vexed problem of the varia lectio (or variae lectiones) in v. 5 is not of paramount importance in the following pages, for even if it could be agreed that (o) κύρως was the original reading, it would have to be explained why a copyist could feel able to substitute ΊησοṺς for ‘Kyrios’. Some see ‘Jesus’ as the result of a mere ‘transcriptional oversight (―KC being taken for ―IC)’, but text-critical conjectures are to be dismissed if a reading can be given a reasonable meaning, and the same principle would have to apply to an assumed substitution.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors beobachten, das Untersuchungen zum theologischen Begriff Evangelium neben Untersuchs zur literarischen Gattung Evangelium weitgehend unverbunden herlaufen.
Abstract: Es ist zu beobachten, das Untersuchungen zum theologischen Begriff Evangelium neben Untersuchungen zur literarischen Gattung Evangelium weitgehend unverbunden herlaufen.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examine two passages in Paul, 1 Corinthians 8 and 10. 1, in order to determine how we are best to understand Paul's appeal to what is commonly translated as "conscience".
Abstract: My task is twofold. First, I want to uncover some puzzles and ambiguities in the notion of conscience. Reflection upon the history of words associated with this notion, and upon our current usage, will help us bring some useful distinctions to Paul's text. Second, I wish to examine two passages in Paul, 1 Corinthians 8 and 10. 23–11. 1, in order to determine how we are best to understand Paul's appeal to what is commonly translated as ‘conscience’. The result should be not only a clearer appreciation of Paul's meaning but also the resolution of a puzzle about his ethical advice.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, Lukas in Apg 6 einfuhrt die beiden Gruppen Hellenistai und hebraioi and begin a new phase in seiner Schilderung der Geschichte der Urgemeinde.
Abstract: Als Lukas in Apg 6 die beiden Gruppen hellenistai und hebraioi einfuhrt, beginnt er eine neue Phase in seiner Schilderung der Geschichte der Urgemeinde. Das relativ friedliche Dasein im Schutze des Tempels und des judischen Kultes ist zu Ende. Die Dramatik nimmt ihren Anfang. Die umwalzenden Geschehnisse fuhren zu Massenflucht der Christen aus Jerusalem, was seinerseits wiederum eine Ausweitung des Verbreitungsgebietes der christlichen Botschaft bewirkt – sowohl geographisch als auch religiossoziologisch. Das Christentum fasst nun definitiver auf ausserpalastinenzischem Boden Fuss, und die Christusverkundigung wird auch an nichtjudische Gruppen und Volker gerichtet. Im Zentrum dieser umwalzenden Geschehnisse stehen die Hellenisten.


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The Simon Magus question has been a controversial figure ever since the rise of historical criticism as mentioned in this paper, and the range of opinions in the history of research varies from denying his existence to regarding him as the instigator of the gnostic movement that threatened the nascent early church in the second century.
Abstract: The person of Simon encountered in Acts 8 has been a controversial figure ever since the rise of historical criticism. The range of opinions in the history of research varies from denying his existence to regarding him as the instigator of the gnostic movement that threatened the nascent early church in the second century. These contradictory results reflect the particular difficulty of the Simon question, which consists not least in the span of time that lies between the two oldest sources (Acts and Justin). Furthermore, an orderly report of Simon's gnostic teaching is encountered first in Irenaeus. In modern research, Simon Magus has been treated more or less as a test case for the larger question about gnostic backgrounds of the NT or about the existence of a first century Gnosis. With conscious or unconscious reference to this first century Gnosis, the majority of investigators (especially of German origin) has affirmed the existence of a first-century Gnostic Simon, and has neglected the above mentioned chronological problem. Only recently has the following judgement begun to gain dominance: ‘All attempts so far made have failed to bridge the gap between the Simon of Acts and the Simon of the heresiologists.’ This statement points to the lack of Simon's companion Helen (= ἔννοια) in Acts 8 and to the fact that the expression ‘great power (of God)’ (Acts 8. 10b) is not gnostic as such.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The fundamental Lukan strategy of interpreting the Bible in the post-resurrection appearance of Christ to the two disciples on the way to Emmaus is discussed in this article, where it is shown that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer.
Abstract: Almost all students of Luke-Acts have called attention to the special place of scripture in these documents. The fundamental Lukan strategy seems to be presented in the closing chapter of the gospel. In his post-resurrection appearance to the two disciples on the way to Emmaus, Jesus assumes the role of the authoritative interpreter of scripture and shows that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer. He interprets all the scriptures ‘beginning with Moses and all the prophets’ (Luke 24. 27; cf. 24. 35, 45). This chapter suggests to the reader that, although the scriptures are authoritative, they must be rightly, i.e. Christologically, interpreted. This widely acknowledged principle has certain implications that require investigation.


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The Acts of Thomas as discussed by the authors contains a long prayer of the apostle Judas Thomas, in which the apostle prays that, since he has faithfully accomplished the work God has given him to do, he may inherit his heavenly reward.
Abstract: Chapters 144–148 of the Acts of Thomas contain a long prayer of the apostle Judas Thomas, in which he anticipates the completion of his apostolic task at his approaching martyrdom.1 The prayer has one dominant theme: the apostle prays that, since he has faithfully accomplished the work God has given him to do, he may inherit his heavenly reward. This theme is elaborated by means of, first, a series of allusions to Gospel parables (145 [end]–146), and then a series of allusions to metaphorical sayings of Jesus (147). It is the sequence of parable allusions which concerns us here. For the text of this passage not only the Syriac but also two divergent Greek versions (represented by MS. U and by MS. P and four other MSS.)2 are extant. There are some differences between the three versions, but, apart from the loss of a few lines in MS. U by homoioteleuton at the end of ch. 145 and the beginning of ch. 146,3 the sequence of parables is the same in all three. It begins (at the end of ch. 145) with a mixture of allusions to the parables of the Sower (Matt 13. 3–8, 18–23) and the Tares (Matt 13. 24–30, 37–43), which the author may have known in a conflated version, rather than in the canonical versions. At the beginning of ch. 146 there is a passage which alludes to no known parable. Then the sequence continues with allusions to the parables of the Talents or Pounds (Matt 25. 27; Luke 19. 23), the Pounds (Luke 19. 16, 26), the Unmerciful Servant (Matt 18. 28–34), the Great Supper (Luke 14. 16–24), the Wedding Garment (Matt 22. 2–3, 11–13), the Watching Servants (Luke 12. 35–36),4 the Servant put in Authority (Matt 24. 45–46; Luke 12. 42–43), and the Thief (Gospel of Thomas 21, 103; cf. Matt 24. 43; Luke 12. 39).5 In each case Thomas identifies himself with a character in the parable, and claims either to have done what a praiseworthy character in the parable did (the servant who traded his pound and gained ten, the watching servants whose lamps remained alight, the wise servant who remained vigilant in his master's absence, the householder who stayed awake to guard his house6) or to have done what a blameworthy character in the parable should have done but failed to do (the servant who should have deposited his money with the bankers, the supper guests who should not have made excuses, the wedding guest who should have worn a wedding garment).7

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The identification of a Pastoral stratum in the Pauline Corpus and I Peter is discussed in this paper, where Munro presents a critique of the authority in Paul and Peter.
Abstract: Examen critique de la these de W. Munro (" Authority in Paul and Peter. The identification of a Pastoral Stratum in the Pauline Corpus and I Peter ", Cambridge, CUP, 1983). Contre Munro, l'A. montre que l'appel a la soumission aux autorites dans I Pierre reflete bien des traits et expressions de pensee typiquement juifs. On ne peut donc pas voir dans cette Epitre une interpolation pro-romaine tardive dans le Corpus paulinien, en vue de dissocier les Chretiens des Juifs