Showing papers in "New Testament Studies in 2004"
TL;DR: In this article, it is argued that such a setting is far less plausible than is generally thought, related both to the nature of the archaeological evidence and to the likely socio-economic level of the Corinthian Christians.
Abstract: Most scholars who have tried to understand the divisions that arose at the Lord's Supper in Corinth in the light of their concrete domestic setting have done so with regard to the physical structure of the Roman villa, with its triclinium, atrium, etc., often following the work of Jerome Murphy-O'Connor. However, there are a number of reasons, related both to the nature of the archaeological evidence and to the likely socio-economic level of the Corinthian Christians, why such a setting is far less plausible than is generally thought. Certainly, other possible kinds of domestic space should also be carefully considered. The excavations east of the theatre at Corinth carried out during the 1980s provide just one case study of a different kind of domestic space, which, it is argued, offers a more plausible background.
24 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, aus dem Zitat Ps 118.22 im NT (Mk 12.10f. par; Eph 2.20; 1 Petr 2.6) erwachsen: Christus sei der ‘Eckstein’ (κεϕαλη γωνιας oder griechischer: λιθος ακρογων επιαιος) jenes Baues, den die Kirche darstell
Abstract: Wer die Bildworte der Bibel liebt, hat sicher schon die Schwierigkeiten empfunden, die aus dem Zitat Ps 118.22 im NT (Mk 12.10f. par; Eph 2.20; 1 Petr 2.6) erwachsen: Christus sei der ‘Eckstein’ (κεϕαλη γωνιας oder griechischer: λιθος ακρογωνιαιος) jenes Baues, den die Kirche darstellt. Die landessprachlichen Übersetzungen und die kirchliche Lehrtradition wollen gern einen ‘Grundstein’ daraus machen; denn darauf soll ja der ganze Bau – wie man meint – ruhen.
17 citations
TL;DR: The importance of the quotation of Isa 54.1 in Gal 4.21-5.27 for understanding Paul's allegorical reading of the story of Sarah and Hagar (Gen 16-21) as discussed by the authors has often been underestimated.
Abstract: The importance of the quotation of Isa 54.1 in Gal 4.27 for understanding Paul's allegorical reading of the story of Sarah and Hagar (Gen 16-21) in Gal 4.21-5.1 has often been underestimated. Paul uses this quotation to give his interpretation of this story an eschatological dimension that, unlike the eschatology of Second Isaiah, is both profoundly christological and apocalyptic. © 2004 Cambridge University Press.
14 citations
TL;DR: In addition, the authors pointed out that the vocabulary and content of ch. 13 differ from those of 1-12 and may be more plausibly explained if 13 was written in the knowledge of 1 -12 but by a different author and for a different situation.
Abstract: In addition to the stylistic break at Heb 13.1 which many have noted, the vocabulary and to some extent the content of ch. 13 differ from those of 1–12 and may be more plausibly explained if 13 was written in the knowledge of 1–12 but by a different author and for a different situation.
12 citations
TL;DR: The Galatians are on the verge of a wilderness apostasy, hence Paul colours his rebukes and warnings with language that evokes Israel's own tragic wilderness failings as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: J. Louis Martyn has identified perhaps the central question of Galatians: what time is it? This essay sheds fresh light on that question, however, by asking a corollary one: where are the Galatians? For Paul, it is argued, the Galatians are in the wilderness, somewhere between an Exodus-like redemption and the inheritance of the ‘kingdom of God’ (5.21). Paul utilises this narrative location as part of his rhetorical strategy to redress a developing crisis within his churches. The Galatians are on the verge of a wilderness apostasy, hence Paul colours his rebukes and warnings with language that evokes Israel's own tragic wilderness failings.
12 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors of the letter to the Colossians have been analysed and compared to the School of Paul, and they have been shown to be more conservative in their thinking and their dependence on the oral tradition of Paul.
Abstract: What can we know about the ‘School of Paul’ if we analyse the letter to the Colossians? This question is divided into three parts: how and why was the letter written, and what theological answers are given? Colossians depends mainly on the oral tradition of Paul. With Paul's words but in new contexts the authors try to overcome the depressed situation of the communities after Paul's death. Like Paul, the authors of Colossians refer to Wisdom traditions, but in a more conservative manner. Their dependence on and independence from Paul's speech and thinking reveal the ‘School of Paul’ as an ongoing context for discussion.
11 citations
TL;DR: The authors argued that there is less variance between the eschatological perspectives of Colossians and Paul than is typically recognized, and pointed out that even though the 'already' may feature in the letter, the 'not yet' is more pervasive than is frequently supposed.
Abstract: The majority of Pauline scholars depict the eschatological orientation of Colossians as ‘realized’. Furthermore, a number of interpreters juxtapose the eschatological ‘already’ which arguably earmarks the epistle with the eschatological ‘not yet’ which ostensibly permeates Paul. This article questions the common contention that Colossians, in contradistinction to Paul, is virtually void of futurist eschatology. It is argued herein that even though the ‘already’ may feature in the letter, the ‘not yet’ is more pervasive than is frequently supposed. Correlatively, this study suggests that there is less variance between the eschatological perspectives of Colossians and Paul than is typically recognized.
10 citations
TL;DR: This article identified several dimensions of the Greek Life of Adam and Eve that provide fresh points of entry to Paul's thought in Rom 1.18−25.1. Principal among these are the suppression of truth, the advent of divine anger, the onset of death, and two related exchanges: God's glory for mortality and natural dominion for unnatural subservience to animals.
Abstract: This study identifies several dimensions of the Greek Life of Adam and Eve that provide fresh points of entry to Paul's thought in Rom 1.18–25. Principal among these are the suppression of truth, the advent of divine anger, the onset of death, and, most notably, two related exchanges – God's glory for mortality and natural dominion for unnatural subservience to animals. While such features do not specifically characterize Gen 1–3, they belong to a shared conception of the drama of human sin that characterizes and unites both Rom 1 and the Greek Life of Adam and Eve .
10 citations
TL;DR: In the context of Rom 1, the growth Paul is celebrating is not individual faith but the righteousness of God is revealed, resulting in the growing faith of the Gentiles as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Despite widespread agreement on the significance of Rom 1.16–17, agreement on its meaning has been elusive. This study focuses on one disputed phrase, eκ πιστeως eις πιστιν, suggesting that it should be read, in the light of Greek idiom, as indicating growth. In the context of Rom 1 the growth Paul is celebrating is not individual faith. Rather, in the gospel – the prophetic announcement of the arrival of eschatological salvation in Christ – the righteousness of God is revealed, resulting in the growing faith of the Gentiles. Paul does not cite Hab 2.4 in Rom 1.17 as a messianic prophecy but as scriptural confirmation that faith is the appropriate response to the gospel.
9 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that the ancient system of patronage aids in illuminating the social situation of the letter of James and suggest that God is not understood as a substitute patron in James, but as an ideal benefactor, on whom the audience must rely.
Abstract: This article joins recent studies of the letter of James in arguing that the ancient system of patronage aids in illuminating the social situation of this short text. However, unlike other authors, I suggest that God is not understood as a substitute patron in James, but as an ideal benefactor, on whom the audience must rely. Building on the work of Stephan Joubert and others, the article first offers evidence that patronage and benefaction were understood as different relationships in parts of the Roman Empire. Subsequently it focuses on sections of James in which patronage is criticized and God is portrayed as a frank friend and benefactor, consistent with the image of the ideal benefactor in antiquity.
8 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors compare Rom 12 with Stoicism, arguing that a comparison between Paul and the Stoics is better achieved by a comparative process more interested in differences rather than similarities.
Abstract: The recent resurgence of interest in ancient Greco-Roman ethics has prompted many studies of NT ethical thought in the light of Aristotelian and Stoic approaches to ethics. The purpose of this article is to compare Rom 12 with Stoicism. Rather than looking for similarities between Stoic ethics and Pauline moral teaching, however (as Troels Engberg-Pedersen does in Paul and the Stoics), it is argued that a comparison between Paul and the Stoics is better achieved by a comparative process more interested in differences rather than similarities. Such a comparison undertaken in relation to Rom 12 reveals Paul's interaction with Stoic ethics, but in the interests of presenting a radically different moral vision.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors re-examine the notion of the "patience of Job" in the letter of James and the hypothesis that the author derives the motif from the pseudepigraphical Testament of Job.
Abstract: This study re-examines the proverbial ‘patience of Job’, its function in the letter of James, and the hypothesis that the author derives the motif from the pseudepigraphical Testament of Job . Particular attention is paid to the use and abuse of the category of parallelism in the study of the NT and the literature of antiquity. While there is not sufficient evidence to settle the source-critical question, the recontextualization of the Job tradition in James sheds light on the relationship between eschatology and ethics in early Christianity and Hellenistic Judaism.
TL;DR: In this paper, it was shown that the historical plausibility of the Jesus saying of Luke 10.18 does not fit exactly in its present literary context, and that it may have once had a life of its own.
Abstract: Most scholars share the opinion that Luke 10.18 is an authentic saying of Jesus. But by analysing the vision we can see that the saying in Luke 10.18 fits exactly in Lukan theology. In all probability this Jesus saying is written by Luke as an ‘internal heterodiegetic analepsis’ within the temporal frame of the Gospel. Even the positioning in the scene of the return of the disciples, and its genre as a vision can be explained as Lukan. This paper demonstrates that the ‘historische Plausibilitätskriterium’ proposed by Gerd Theißen and Dagmar Winter should begin with a ‘literarisches Differenzkriterium’. That is to say, to establish historical plausibility it must be possible first to show that the saying probably once had a life of its own and does not fit exactly in its present literary context. But the Jesus saying of Luke 10.18 does not fulfil this initial criterion.
TL;DR: In this article, it is argued that current theories regarding the composition and location of Q are untenable and that there was no significant difference in terms of beliefs and practices between Jesus-believing Jews in Galilee and in Jerusalem.
Abstract: It is often assumed, especially in North American scholarship, that the Q source used by Matthew and Luke reflects a special community different from those reflected in other writings of the NT. This community is located in Galilee, where the ‘Q gospel’ is supposed to have been composed. In this article it is argued that current theories regarding the composition and location of Q are untenable. It is also concluded that there was no significant difference in terms of beliefs and practices between Jesus-believing Jews in Galilee and in Jerusalem.
TL;DR: In this article, a platonisierende Fortschreibung des modells aus Joh 14 erweist sich die Erzahlung vom himmlischen Palast in der 2. Praxis der Thomasakten, ein gemeinsamer Fluchtpunkt wird abschliesend der Raum der Erinnerung thematisiert.
Abstract: Bei der sprachlichen Darstellung eschatologischer Themen scheinen Metaphern, die auf raumlichen Kategorien aufruhen, eine bevorzugte Rolle zu spielen. Das wird in vier Schritten an ausgewahlten Texten aus Antike und fruhem Christentum, die es in irgendeiner Weise mit der ‘Behausung’ zu tun haben, gezeigt. In der Alkestis des Euripides spiegelt die Anlage des Hades den Lebensraum der Oberwelt wieder. Platon schafft im Phaidon einen eigenen Weltenraum, um seine These von der Unsterblichkeit der Seele zu illustrieren. In Joh 14 bedarf unter anderem das Verhaltnis der ‘vielen Bleiben’ in 14.2 zum ‘Bleibe Nehmen’ von Vater und Sohn beim Glaubenden in 14.23 einer Erklarung. Als platonisierende Fortschreibung des Modells aus Joh 14 erweist sich die Erzahlung vom himmlischen Palast in der 2. Praxis der Thomasakten . Als ein gemeinsamer Fluchtpunkt wird abschliesend der Raum der Erinnerung thematisiert.
TL;DR: The relationship between the origins of the Jesus tradition and the two-source hypothesis is investigated in this article, where vestiges of the earliest sayings tradition are analysed with special regard to the Pauline writings.
Abstract: The first part of this article investigates the relationship between the origins of the Jesus tradition and the two-source hypothesis. As more recent investigations have shown, there is no direct connection between the earliest synoptic sources and the beginnings of the Jesus tradition. Moreover, a division between sayings and narratives, although plausible with regard to the overall process of transmission, cannot be applied to Q and Mark. Therefore, the two-source hypothesis needs to be revisited. In the second part vestiges of the earliest sayings tradition are analysed with special regard to the Pauline writings. Paul does not distinguish between sayings of the exalted κυριος and the pre-Easter Jesus. In addition, in several writings the transmission of ‘synoptic’ sayings without attribution to Jesus can be detected. This latter tendency is demonstrated with regard to Rom 12.14–21, but can also be observed e. g. in James and the Didache. Both aspects reveal that the sayings tradition by itself is not orientated biographically, but leads to parenesis (as e. g. in 1 Clement 13) or to the concept of the ‘hidden sayings of the living Jesus’ in the Gospel of Thomas. The third part asks about the relationship of the sayings tradition to the earliest narratives about Jesus. It is argued that for the sake of historical memory of Jesus the sayings tradition had – and has – to be incorporated into narratives. More recent approaches to the historical Jesus via Q or the sayings tradition in general have therefore to be replaced by a more balanced perspective which relates the sayings tradition to the data gained from the narrative tradition.
TL;DR: Luke's last portrait of the believing community as discussed by the authors shows that the future of the church's future has less to do with its imitation of Paul than with its relationship to the God who calls it into being.
Abstract: Paul's address to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20 stands at the center of an extended treatment of the internal life of the church (20.1–21.17), and constitutes Luke's last portrait of the believing community. In this section, scenes of community life (20.7–12, 17–38; 21.8–14) alternate with travel episodes (20.1–6, 13–16; 21.1–7, 15–17) to show the relationship among groups of believers scattered around the Aegean and back to Caesarea. The resulting portrait of believing communities echoes some important features of the early descriptions of community life in Jerusalem. In this larger literary context, the speech to the Ephesian elders takes on a different appearance from its usual characterization as the farewell address of Luke's hero, Paul. The speech repeatedly connects the church to God, introducing Luke's larger themes of God's plan, the action of the Holy Spirit, and the instruction of Jesus himself. These features show that the church's future, in Luke's view, has less to do with its imitation of Paul than with its relationship to the God who calls it into being.
TL;DR: The authors studied the qz-text of the Greek Life of Adam and Eve and concluded that it reflects a living oral narrative tradition shared by both Jews and Christians, although the name of Jesus Christ nowhere features in it.
Abstract: This study is concerned with one text-form of the Greek Life of Adam and Eve in particular: the qz-text. This text-form is demonstrably of Christian origin, although the name of Jesus Christ nowhere features in it. It seems to share a certain anthropology with the epistles of Paul, but it is unlikely that its editor had any knowledge of the Pauline letters beyond the most superficial. It is concluded that the Life of Adam and Eve, which in all its forms and redactions primarily deals with questions of everyday life, reflects a living oral narrative tradition shared by Jews and Christians.
TL;DR: In this article, the Gleichnisse Jesu und the Rabbinen schopfen unabhangig voneinander aus dem gleichen Repertoire judischer Bilder and Erzahlmuster, sind sie oft durch eine Straffheit der Gedankenfuhrung and eine Konzentration auf die wesentlichen Zuge der Handlung gekennzeichnet.
Abstract: Die Gleichnisse Jesu und der Rabbinen schopfen unabhangig voneinander aus dem gleichen Repertoire judischer Bilder und Erzahlmuster. Da die rabbinischen Gleichnisse der Schriftauslegung dienen, sind sie oft durch eine Straffheit der Gedankenfuhrung und eine Konzentration auf die wesentlichen Zuge der Handlung gekennzeichnet. Ihre neutestamentlichen Gegenstucke spiegeln die soziale Wirklichkeit lebendiger wider und weisen eine ausgepragtere Erzahlstruktur auf, um fur die Gottesherrschaft zu werben. Dabei wird das Geschick der Sunder im Gegenuber zum Geschick der Gerechten thematisiert und die Integration von Randgruppen Israels in die Gottesherrschaft verteidigt. Diese unverwechselbaren Zuge der Gleichnisse Jesu berechtigen nicht zur Abwertung der rabbinischen Gleichnisse.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors consider the devil's offer in the light of Dan 1-6 in the context of the Second Temptation of Christ in the Bible and compare it with the first temptation in the Holy Spirit.
Abstract: In Jesus' second temptation in Luke 4, he is offered world dominion by the devil in exchange for acceptance of the latter's authority. This article considers the devil's offer in the light of Dan 1–6. Both Daniel and Luke make use of legal terminology, ultimately derived from Aramaic property documents, to illustrate the idea that the Creator has made over the world to the powers of chaos. Satan initiates a new and ironic twist on this theme when he attempts to lure the Creator's servant with the promise of sharing in his own God-given authority.
TL;DR: The authors reconstructs a Hebrew version with its focus on the righteous remnant of Israel, the "Anawim" in Jerusalem who saw Jesus as the beginning of the restoration of Israel and goes on to analyse the original and the liturgical versions in Greek, different Latin translations and renderings into Syriac and Coptic.
Abstract: The angels still do not know how to sing during Christmas night. Some have three lines in Luke 2.14, others only two. Some have good liturgical hymns in their textbooks, others must use bad prose versions. This article reconstructs a Hebrew version with its focus on the righteous remnant of Israel, the "Anawim" in Jerusalem who saw Jesus as the beginning of the restoration of Israel, and goes on to analyse the original and the liturgical versions in Greek, different Latin translations and renderings into Syriac and Coptic. Finally it gives some later interpretations of the canticle in literature, art and music. There are good reasons to include much more of reception history into the NT discipline.
TL;DR: A careful review of both Jewish and Zoroastrian texts that bear on the issue, however, shows that, while absolute proof may be lacking, we should still give very serious consideration to the likelihood of a Persian background as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Many scholars in a former generation thought that Zoroastrian ideas had influenced the concept and structure of the millennium in Rev 20. More recently, however, nearly all scholars who deal with Revelation think rather that Ps 90.4 was responsible for the formulation in Rev 20. A careful review of both Jewish and Zoroastrian texts that bear on the issue, however, shows that, while absolute proof may be lacking, we should still give very serious consideration to the likelihood of a Zoroastrian background.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors show that Paulus in den konkreten Fragestellungen of 1 Thess 2.13.16 and Rom 11 is einsetzt, i.e., the Motiv vom verfolgten Propheten einsett, um die Durchsetzungsfahigkeit des Evangeliums aufzuweisen.
Abstract: Dem vieldiskutierten Problem des Verhaltnisses von 1 Thess 2.15f. und Rom 11 wird hier unter dem Aspekt der Funktion des Topos vom verfolgten Propheten nachgegangen. Es zeigt sich, dass Paulus in den je verschiedenen konkreten Fragestellungen von 1 Thess 2.13–16 und Rom 11.1–10 das Motiv vom verfolgten Propheten einsetzt, um die Durchsetzungsfahigkeit des Evangeliums aufzuweisen. Die vermeintlichen Gegensatze zwischen 1 Thess 2.13–16 und Rom 11 sind dahingehend einander zuzuordnen, dass es Paulus sowohl im 1 Thess als auch im Rom primar um die Wirkmachtigkeit des Evangeliums geht, die die Behinderung der Rettung der Heiden uberwindet (1 Thess) und Israel letztlich der Rettung zufuhrt (Rom 11).
TL;DR: In this article, 1 Joh verankert die johanneische Überlieferung in der vergangenen Geschichte, i.e. the Schriften of 1 Joh 1.1.
Abstract: 1 Joh verankert die johanneische Überlieferung in der vergangenen Geschichte. Dies zeigt eine Exegese von 1 Joh 1.1–4. Dieser Prolog setzt Leser voraus, die Joh 1–20 kennen. Wie der Prolog bindet auch der restliche Brief seine Christologie ausdrücklich an den irdischen Jesus und verankert auch die Pneumatologie geschichtlich. Die Sammlung der johanneischen Schriften entspricht diesem historisierenden Programm. Die johanneische Überlieferung findet nach dem 1 Joh in Joh 21 ihren Abschluss.
TL;DR: In this article, four Lukan examples of this technique are cited, focusing particularly on what is perhaps the most intriguing of them: Acts 11.27 and 12.25, and the structural implications of these Lukan transitions are discussed in relation to the narrative of the Acts of the Apostles.
Abstract: Rhetoricians of the ancient world make reference to a technique useful for signalling that a transition is being made from one text unit to another. Ancient texts spanning centuries and provenance testify to the utility of this technique, not least texts of the NT. In this essay, four Lukan examples of this technique are cited, focusing particularly on what is perhaps the most intriguing of them: Acts 11.27–12.25. After demonstrating the way in which this passage is animated by the transition technique under consideration, the structural implications of these Lukan transitions are discussed in relation to the narrative of the Acts of the Apostles.
TL;DR: The conclusion to the parable of the tenants in Mark (12.1b-9) involves the vineyard owner killing the refractory tenants and re-letting his vineyard to others as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The conclusion to the parable of the tenants in Mark (12.1b–9) involves the vineyard owner killing the refractory tenants and re-letting his vineyard to others. In legal terms the man employs ‘self-help’ – the satisfaction of a real or pretended claim without the permission of the defendant or the intervention of a court. Most advocates of a metaphorical approach to the parable (Pesch, Snodgrass, Evans, Hultgren), and some who argue that Jesus spoke in realistic fiction, have argued or assumed that Mark 12.9 is an original part of the parable, believing it to be a ‘realistic’ element of Mark's story. But an examination of Greek, Roman, Graeco-Egyptian, and biblical legal rulings indicates that resorts to self-help were discouraged and even criminalized in this period. Mark 12.9 is not a realistic component of the parable, but is part of its secondary allegorization.
TL;DR: The Perikope vom zwolfjahrigen Jesus im Tempel (Lk 2.40-52) weist eine Reihe von Parallelen zu Jugendepisoden der hellenistischen biografischen Literatur auf.
Abstract: Die Perikope vom zwolfjahrigen Jesus im Tempel (Lk 2.40–52) weist eine Reihe von Parallelen zu Jugendepisoden der hellenistischen biografischen Literatur auf. Mit diesen motivischen Ubereinstimmungen verfolgt der Evangelist den Zweck, die auserordentliche σοϕια des jugendlichen Jesus zu illustrieren und ihn so als anbetungswurdigen Gottessohn darzustellen. Die Verwandtschaft des Abschnitts zur hellenistischen Literatur will in gleichem Mase wie seine Verwurzelung im alttestamentlichen Denken gewurdigt werden. Die Endgestalt des Textes besitzt zweierlei geistesgeschichtliche Wurzeln: namlich einerseits hellenistische und andererseits auch judische.
TL;DR: In this paper, the Leseanweisung in 1 Thess 5.27 an die gerichtet, die den Brief als erste in die Hand bekamen and fur seine Verlesung in der Gemeindeversammlung verantwortlich waren.
Abstract: Zunachst ist die Leseanweisung in 1 Thess 5.27 an die gerichtet, die den Brief als erste in die Hand bekamen und fur seine Verlesung in der Gemeindeversammlung verantwortlich waren. Aber es erhebt sich die Frage, was diese Anweisung, die ja Teil des Textes ist, den alle horen, fur die gesamte Gemeinde bedeutete. Diese Studie schlagt folgende Erklarung vor: Die Zuhorer sollten durch die Leseanweisung erkennen, dass der Brief zwischen ihnen keine Differenzen hervorrufen sollte. Alle sollten die gleichen Informationen und die gleiche Unmittelbarkeit zum Apostel haben. Dadurch gestaltet die Leseanweisung das Verhaltnis der Gemeindeglieder zum Apostel und untereinander. Das Ziel ist die Einigkeit der Glaubigen. Der Vergleich mit Kol 4.16 und auserbiblischen Briefen bestatigt diese Deutung.
TL;DR: The editor of New Testament Studies is usually more than content to hide behind the impersonality of the role, protected by the corporate responsibility, if not identity, of the editorial board as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: The editor of New Testament Studies is usually more than content to hide behind the impersonality of the role, protected by the corporate responsibility, if not identity, of the editorial board. For this, the 50th volume, however, an editorial postscript has been suggested, to balance the retrospective given by Professor C. K. Barrett at its start – although this is not designed to inspire more extensive searches for chiasms within the volume. It would take a braver, or more foolhardy, person than I, though, to label this a prospective, while it is, I must emphasise, written from a personal perspective and not as a signal of agreed editorial policy.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors use the context of a society with an imperial ideology, mirrored in the epistle's terminology, to strengthen the unity of the church and to enhance a convincing social behaviour.
Abstract: Phil 4.4–7 is best understood against the background of a society with an imperial ideology, mirrored in the epistle's terminology. The church is under pressure from its social environment and opposes the claims of the state's officials. The various parts of the passage are united by this context. Christian emotions should be shaped by the relation to Christ who is ‘near’, said in contrast to Caesar's proclaimed omnipresence. Christians are called to behave nobly towards their fellow citizens. The terminology of prayer reflects imperial customs. The peace of God surpasses the pax Romana. Paul's strategy is to strengthen the unity of the church and to enhance a convincing social behaviour.