Showing papers in "New Testament Studies in 2009"
TL;DR: This article examined the relationship between adornment, gender and honour in the Graeco-Roman world in order to provide a broad context for understanding the attempts to curtail women's adornments in 1 Tim 2.9 and 1 Pet 3.3.
Abstract: This article examines the relationships between adornment, gender and honour in the Graeco-Roman world in order to provide a broad context for understanding the attempts to curtail women's adornment in 1 Tim 2.9 and 1 Pet 3.3. It argues that while many male writers criticize women who adorn themselves, often accusing such women of luxuria, not all women shared such a perspective. Rather, women may well have valued jewellery, fine clothes and elaborate hair as means of conveying status and honour, and as important forms of economic power. These factors require consideration when attempting to understand why the authors of 1 Timothy and 1 Peter counsel women to avoid gold, pearls, braided hair and fine clothing.
23 citations
TL;DR: The present article defends the basics of Martyn's reconstruction while nuancing the extent of rabbinic control in the early Christian centuries, suggesting that the original of Birkat Ha-Minim may have been a Qumranian curse on the Romans.
Abstract: J. Louis Martyn and others have argued that a decision by late first-century rabbis to introduce a liturgical curse against heretics (Birkat Ha-Minim) provides the background for early Christian passages about Christians being excluded from and cursed in synagogues. More recent scholars, however, have challenged the assumption that the earliest form of Birkat Ha-Minim referred to Christians and that the rabbis controlled the synagogues. The present article defends the basics of Martyn's reconstruction while nuancing the extent of rabbinic control in the early Christian centuries. It also suggests, however, that the original of Birkat Ha-Minim may have been a Qumranian curse on the Romans.
18 citations
TL;DR: This article argued that the traditional dichotomy between "apocalypticism" and philosophy should be transcended with regard to Paul's understanding of the pneuma in relation to sarx.
Abstract: This essay argues that the traditional dichotomy between ‘apocalypticism’ and philosophy should be transcended with regard to Paul's understanding of the pneuma in relation to sarx. The essay first analyses the cosmology of the pneuma in connection with the future resurrection of believers (1 Cor 15.35–50), then considers its presence in the bodies of believers here and now (2 Corinthians 3–5), then interprets the ‘anthropology’ of 1 Thess 5.23 and 1 Cor 2.14–15 and 15.44 and its connection with Paul's ‘ethics’, and finally proposes a reading of Rom 8.1–13 in relation to 7.7–25 that is based on Paul's concrete cosmology.
13 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyse the tension entre obeissance and radicalisation in the passages of the Epistle of the Sermon on the Table (Mt 5, 17, 48).
Abstract: L'article analyse la tension, reperable dans quelques passages du premier Evangile, entre l'obeissance aux commandements se situant a l'interieur du cadre donne par la Loi, et la radicalisation a laquelle invite le Jesus mattheen. L'enquete debute par une exegese detaillee de Mt 5, 17–20. Dans un second temps, elle s'interesse a trois episodes ou la tension entre obeissance et radicalisation est apparente: les antitheses du Sermon sur la Montagne (5, 17–48); la controverse sur le divorce (19, 1–9); l’episode du jeune homme riche (19, 16–22). Dans une troisieme partie, l'interrogation porte sur la coherence des passages analyses avec la declaration de Jesus en Mt 23, 2–3. Il resulte de l'enquete le constat que le referent du premier Evangile s'est deplace: la colonne vertebrale structurant la theologie de Matthieu—et donc son identite religieuse—n'est plus prioritairement la Loi et l'obeissance aux commandements, mais le Messie et son enseignement.
12 citations
TL;DR: Nicodemus is an enigmatic literary character who is wavering in no man's land in John's narrative between Jesus' opponents and his true disciples as discussed by the authors, but, in the end, this portrait remains ambiguous.
Abstract: Nicodemus is an enigmatic literary character who is wavering in no man's land in John's narrative between Jesus' opponents and his true disciples Some scholars have taken Nicodemus as an example of someone of inadequate faith who remains an outsider throughout the narrative, while others have traced his development from initial and tentative faith to open and public commitment to Jesus The present article, however, agrees with those who have acknowledged that no single trait determines Nicodemus's portrait, but, in the end, this portrait remains ambiguous In the article, a text-centered approach to Nicodemus is complemented by asking how this ambiguous literary character may have functioned as a symbol for those who shared John's dualistic tendencies The article draws upon the social identity approach in order to explain how Nicodemus's ambiguity may have helped the Johannine Christians to accept the uncertainties in their social environment without abandoning the stereotyped and fixed thrust in their symbolic world
12 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the author of Hebrews locates his readers in Israel's wilderness period in Heb 3.1.11 and 11.8.39, and the discussion of παιδαδία in 12.5.13 should be interpreted in light of early Jewish conceptions of Israel's time in the wilderness.
Abstract: Since the author of Hebrews locates his readers in Israel's wilderness period in Heb 3.1–4.11 and 11.8–39, the discussion of παιδɛία in 12.5–13 should be interpreted in light of early Jewish conceptions of Israel's time in the wilderness. Confirmation that this is the correct context in which to understand 12.5–13 will be found in Deuteronomy, Wisdom, Philo, and Josephus, all of whom, like Hebrews, consider endurance of the disciplinary period of the wilderness necessary in order to inherit the promised rest. For this reason, Hebrews warns of Esau, the paradigmatic example of the undisciplined person who forfeits his inheritance.
12 citations
TL;DR: The authors explored two skills of the curriculum of tertiary rhetorical education and asked how these are exemplified in the curriculum itself, i.e., intertextuality from the Greek classics and speech construction.
Abstract: This essay offers a critique of recent works that claim for the author of Acts a high level of rhetorical sophistication. The paper attempts to begin to fill a gap in Acts studies by exploring two skills of the curriculum of tertiary rhetorical education and asking how these are exemplified in the curriculum itself. In this way an attempt is made to provide a more sophisticated parallel reading, one that avoids shell comparisons that can often lead to distortion. The two skills explored are intertextuality from the Greek classics and speech construction. It is suggested that—from the perspective of the rhetorical curriculum—the author of Acts probably lacked a rhetorical education.
11 citations
TL;DR: In his exegesis of Paul, Luther intimately connected justification by faith and participation in Christ, integrating the two effectively as discussed by the authors, evaluating his exegetical conclusions and assessing their relevance for contemporary attempts to interpret Paul's theology.
Abstract: Traditional Protestant accounts of Paul's theology are often criticized for their inability to relate justification by faith and the participatory categories of Paul's thought. The two are driven apart by sharp distinctions between declaring and making righteous, between justification as a once for all external act and regeneration as an internal lifelong process. The way is left open for justification to be treated as a legal fiction. Contrary to popular misconceptions, these difficulties do not stem from Martin Luther. In his exegesis of Paul, Luther intimately connects justification by faith and participation in Christ, integrating the two effectively. This article explores the manner in which Luther does so, evaluating his exegetical conclusions and assessing their relevance for contemporary attempts to interpret Paul's theology.
11 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the significance of the phrase and location of crossing the Jordan in the 4th Gospel of John is investigated. But it is not shown how to identify the location of the crossing in 1.28 (problematically).
Abstract: There are three occurrences of the phrase πραν τοῦ Ἰορδάνου in John (1.28; 3.26; and 10.40) at a location identified in 1.28 (problematically) as Bethany. The significance of the phrase and location is developed first by exploring Bethany as Bashan via Micah 7.14–15, Jer 50.19–20 and Ps 68, and secondly by considering the significance of ‘crossing the Jordan’ in the OT and 1QS. The gospel is shown to invert the traditional motif; for John one finds life with God in Jesus by crossing the Jordan out of Israel, to Bashan, indicating an unexplored symbol in the Fourth Gospel.
9 citations
TL;DR: The authors argue that the unlikelihood of Matthew's dependence on Mark and Matthew must be demonstrated by a systematic and comprehensive reconstruction of the redactional procedures entailed in the two hypotheses, and that the Q hypothesis will have been verified if (and only if) it generates a more plausible account of the Matthean and Lukan redaction of Mark and Q than the corresponding account of Luke's use of Matthew.
Abstract: Arguments for the Q hypothesis have changed little since B. H. Streeter. The purpose of this article is not to advocate an alternative hypothesis but to argue that, if the Q hypothesis is to be sustained, the unlikelihood of Luke's dependence on Matthew must be demonstrated by a systematic and comprehensive reconstruction of the redactional procedures entailed in the two hypotheses. The Q hypothesis will have been verified if (and only if) it generates a more plausible account of the Matthean and Lukan redaction of Mark and Q than the corresponding account of Luke's use of Mark and Matthew.
9 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the relevance and implications of the ‘beyond’ position are assessed by means of an enquiry into Paul's use of charis and ecclesia.
Abstract: The growing recognition that Judaism and Hellenism were not mutually exclusive suggests that Paul should be studied from a point beyond the Judaism/Hellenism divide. After attending to the apostle's own multiculturality, the relevance and implications of the ‘beyond’ position are assessed by means of an enquiry into Paul's use of charis and ecclesia. In both instances, intercultural convergence is indicated. However, the farewell to a dichotomous point of departure does not imply the denial of all distinctiveness. Studying the biblical documents from the ‘beyond’ position opens up new vistas and holds great promise for future NT research.
TL;DR: The authors examined what the two earliest manuscripts of 1 Peter indicate about the status of this writing, and what early readers took to be its key themes, given the other texts with which it is bound.
Abstract: Recent developments in textual criticism have encouraged NT scholars to regard the various NT manuscripts not merely as sources of variant readings to enable a reconstruction of the original text but as interpretative renderings with their own intrinsic interest and as important material evidence for early Christianity. Taking up this cue, this paper examines what the two (probably) earliest manuscripts of 1 Peter indicate about the status of this writing, and what early readers took to be its key themes, given the other texts with which it is bound. In both cases, and with some striking overlaps, 1 Peter is regarded as a text focused on the Easter themes of the suffering, martyrdom and vindication of Christ, and the related suffering and hope of his faithful people in a hostile world. These two manuscripts also call for some reconsideration of older scholarship, now widely rejected, which saw 1 Peter as a baptismal homily or paschal liturgy. While these remain unconvincing views of 1 Peter's origins, they do rightly identify themes and connections which the earliest editors and readers evidently also perceived.
TL;DR: The route of Paul's first journey between Perga and Pisidian Antioch is still disputed as discussed by the authors, and the three alternatives proposed by scholars are examined in detail in this article. But, based on a review of the evidence, a fresh hypothesis for the route of the first journey is suggested.
Abstract: The route of Paul's first journey between Perga and Pisidian Antioch is still disputed. This article examines the three alternatives proposed by scholars. It explores the geographical and historical evidence for each route, looking especially at the extensive road system that existed in Pamphylia, Pisidia, and south Galatia in the first century. Bible atlases routinely depict one route and the reasons for this choice are discussed. Based on a review of the evidence, a fresh hypothesis for the route of the first journey is suggested.
TL;DR: Hebrews 2.14.14-15 as discussed by the authors embeds the image of Christ in a polymythic framework, thereby illuminating its existential relevance, enabling the believer to see through death in order to cope with fear of death.
Abstract: Hebrews 2.14–15 goes beyond the epistle's cultic symbolism and embeds its image of Christ in a poly-mythic framework, thereby illuminating its existential relevance. Faith enables the believer to see through death in order to cope with fear of death. The author does not reflect explicitly on anxiety about death but integrates it into the Christ drama, thus inspiring his addressees to transform their conceptualization of self and purpose (‘terror management’). Arousing eschatological fear of judgment (6.4–8; 10.26–31; 12.16–17) forms part of the deliberative rhetorical strategy. Immediately subsequent to the warnings, the addressees are guided to the opposite emotion of hope. To postulate a theological perpetuum (exclusion of ‘second repentance’) on the basis of a pathetic temporale would be to miss the emotion-centred guidance of the hearer, the rhetorical truth game, and the pragmatic intention of Hebrews.
TL;DR: A detailed investigation of the LXX texts underlying the seven OT citations in Hebrews chapter 1, taking account of significant twentieth-century manuscript discoveries and recent developments in the field of Septuagintal Studies is presented in this article.
Abstract: This paper offers a detailed investigation of the LXX texts underlying the seven OT citations in Hebrews chapter 1, taking account of significant twentieth-century manuscript discoveries and recent developments in the field of Septuagintal Studies. The findings are then related to the study of the use of the OT in the NT more generally, and to some important current issues in the study of the LXX, such as the value of Lucianic readings. This investigation supports the growing consensus that the author of Hebrews reproduced his scriptural citations faithfully, so that the burden of proof should now rest with those who argue for a deliberate alteration of his source.
TL;DR: The authors explored the heuristic force of Alain Badiou's theory of truthprocesses for an understanding of the psycho-social effect of Paul's gospel upon first-century inhabitants of the Roman Empire, both elite and lower class.
Abstract: This essay explores the heuristic force of Alain Badiou's theory of ‘truth-processes’ for an understanding of the psycho-social effect of Paul's gospel upon first-century inhabitants of the Roman Empire, both elite and lower class. Badiou's analysis of the ‘situated void’ around which existence is constructed directs attention to figures of the subject as ‘living death’ in the literature of the first century, illuminating the process by which a new, liberated self came forth, in response to Paul's message of the resurrection. An immanent critique of Badiou's singular emphasis upon the resurrection as the Pauline ‘truth-event’ gives rise to an hypothesis regarding Paul's description of his gospel as ‘Christ crucified’ in his later epistles: Paul dared to name the ‘situated void’ around which the existence of slaves was constructed in order to redeem the oppressed, whose identities were submerged in shame, from the annihilating power of the cross.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present overlooked evidence from Hippolytus's De Christo et Antichristo that unambiguously relates Jesus' faithfulness to his death on the cross.
Abstract: The debate over the meaning of πίστις Χριστοῦ has been continuing for some time and shows no signs of abating, yet one conclusion has remained constant: the Church Fathers, generally, did not understand πίστις Χριστοῦ in the Pauline materials in the subjective sense as the ‘faithfulness of Christ’. Furthermore, there has heretofore been no text that correlates Jesus' faithfulness with his death on the cross in patristic writings. In light of that, the aim of this study is (1) to offer a critique of recent work on πίστις Χριστοῦ in the Church Fathers, and (2) to break the longstanding silence by presenting overlooked evidence from Hippolytus's De Christo et Antichristo that unambiguously relates Jesus' faithfulness to his death on the cross.
TL;DR: The authors argue that transcriptional and intrinsic probabilities, supported by the testimony of a few early manuscripts, favour the latter reading and that the variation took place in the course of a battle against adoptionism and the Chosen One of God supplies corroboration that the original tradition underlying the Synoptic baptismal accounts was based solely on Isa 42.1.
Abstract: Scholars continue to divide over whether John the Baptist acclaims Jesus as ‘the Son of God’ or ‘the Chosen One of God’ at John 1.34. This article argues that transcriptional and intrinsic probabilities, supported by the testimony of a few early manuscripts, favour the latter reading. However, in adopting this reading, the claims that (a) the variation took place in the course of a battle against adoptionism and (b) ‘the Chosen One of God’ supplies corroboration that the original tradition underlying the Synoptic baptismal accounts was based solely on Isa 42.1, are found to be unnecessary and methodologically problematic respectively.
TL;DR: In 1 Cor 10.14.22 Paul warns his readers to refrain from idolatry, and in order to convince his readers he calls attention to the unity and solidarity which exist between worshippers of the same religion.
Abstract: In 1 Cor 10.14–22 Paul warns his readers to refrain from idolatry. In order to convince his readers he calls attention to the unity and solidarity which exist between worshippers of the same religion. In this context he uses the terms κοινωνία and κοινωνός (vv. 16, 18, and 20). In v. 17 Paul tells his readers that at their joint meals they are ‘partners’, this time expressed by the term μeτέχeιν. In the light of ancient parallels, it is concluded that the references to κοινωνία in v. 16 (cf. vv. 18 and 20) should be understood ecclesiologically, denoting ‘partnership’ rather than ‘participation’.
TL;DR: In this article, a full reconstruction of this less intelligible side of POxy 4009, lines 1-13, is presented, which enriches our knowledge of the Gospel of Peter with a new pericope which is an interesting parallel of Luke 736-50 The reconstruction also demonstrates that the side reconstructed by Luhrmann is actually the verso.
Abstract: In 1993, Dieter Luhrmann published a reconstruction of the more intelligible side of POxy 4009 He demonstrated that this side, which he called the recto, consists of passages parallel to Matt 1016 par, Luke 103 and 2 Clem 52–4 He also argued that the passage stems from the Gospel of Peter However, Luhrmann considered it impossible (‘ausgeschlossen’) to reconstruct the other side of the fragment The aim of the present article is to demonstrate that a full reconstruction of this less intelligible side of POxy 4009, lines 1–13, is possible and that it enriches our knowledge of the Gospel of Peter with a new pericope which is an interesting parallel of Luke 736–50 The reconstruction also demonstrates that the side reconstructed by Luhrmann is actually the verso, and that both sides together point towards the well-known anti-Jewish redactional tendencies of the author of the Gospel of Peter
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that the hasidim of the first centuries as a separate group from the general group of the Sages was considered to belong to one of the numerous Pharisee identities.
Abstract: Numerous studies have been undertaken with the objective of putting forward an identity of Jesus according to the Jewish movements of the end of the Second Temple period. Geza Vermes and Shmuel Safrai present an unusual thesis: they suggest that Jesus was a hasid, i.e. a charismatic Galilean prophet. They base themselves principally on the personalities of Hanina ben Dosa and Honi the Circlemaker to draw a behavioral model appropriate to Jesus according to the hasid model. This article explores the theses of these important scholars and refutes them, refusing to see the hasidim of the first centuries as a separate group from the general group of the Sages. Thus Jesus was considered to belong to one of the numerous Pharisee identities.
TL;DR: For instance, the authors found that the major theological statements in the NT letter to Titus correspond to aspects of Cretan religion in ways that could represent intentional engagement, suggesting that it might have been shaped specifically to that environment.
Abstract: Crete is rarely taken seriously as a plausible actual destination for the NT letter to Titus. Investigation of Roman Crete, however, yields intriguing points of contact with puzzling features of the letter. Patterns of social organisation on the island correlate closely to the structure of behavioural instruction in Titus 2.1–10, suggesting that it might have been shaped specifically to that environment. Unusual elements of the major theological statements in Titus correspond to aspects of Cretan religion in ways that could represent intentional engagement. There are implications for identifying the letter's provenance and interpreting it as a missionary document.
TL;DR: The third edition of Stephanus' Greek New Testament, known as the editio regia, is held in high regard in English Protestantism as mentioned in this paper, which greatly influenced the Geneva Bible published three years later.
Abstract: The third edition of Stephanus' Greek New Testament ( ΤΗC ΚΑΙΝΗC ΔΙΑΘΗΚΗC ΑΠΑΝΤΑ : Paris, 1550), known as the editio regia , is held in high regard in English Protestantism. It was this text which underlay the English translation (by W. Whittingham and others) published in Geneva in 1557 that greatly influenced the Geneva Bible published three years later. In effect, Stephanus' edition was the Textus Receptus of the Greek New Testament for over three hundred years.
TL;DR: The authors investigate l'identite narrative de Jesus se decline-telle dans l'evangile selon Marc, a question traitee en quatre etapes, a commencer par un examen de l'impact christologique des limites du recit marcien, son prologue and sa finale suspendue.
Abstract: Comment l'identite narrative de Jesus se decline-t-elle dans l'evangile selon Marc? La question est traitee en quatre etapes, a commencer par un examen de l'impact christologique des limites du recit marcien, son prologue et sa finale suspendue. Dans un deuxieme temps, l'attention se porte sur le developpement de l'intrigue de situation a partir des actions du protagoniste et des reactions qu'elles suscitent. En troisieme lieu, l'intrigue de revelation et l'evolution des manieres de designer Jesus est analysee. Enfin, sous mode de synthese, l'hypothese est avancee d'une christologie ‘mystique’ de Marc, hypothese preferee a la theorie devenue classique du secret messianique.
TL;DR: The Revelation of John as discussed by the authors was written in Asia Minor, a region evangelized by the Apostle Paul, and traces of Paul's influence still exist at the end of the 1st century.
Abstract: The Revelation of John was written in Asia Minor, a region evangelized by the Apostle Paul. To what degree can traces of Paul's influence still be found at the end of the 1st century—not only with regard to the Seven Churches addressed and their conflicting tendencies, but also with regard to the author of the book of Revelation itself? How can we describe John's attitude towards the perceived legacy of the great missionary to the Gentiles? The answer provides additional insight into the diversity of early Christian life.
TL;DR: The authors examines two examples of retellings of the Hebrew Bible: The Man Born to Be King (1941) and The Nazarene (1939) and argues that such postcanonical Jesus narratives should be of interest to NT scholarship just as "rewritten Bible" is of relevance to scholars of Hebrew Bible.
Abstract: Although the term ‘rewritten Bible’ has been used primarily of postbiblical Jewish retellings of the Hebrew Bible, the phenomenon which it describes extends to the present day, and pertains to the NT as well as the Hebrew Bible. This paper examines two examples of ‘rewritten Gospel’—Dorothy Sayers's play cycle, The Man Born to Be King (1941–2) and Sholem Asch's novel, The Nazarene (1939)—in order to argue that such postcanonical Jesus narratives should be of interest to NT scholarship just as ‘rewritten Bible’ is of interest to scholars of the Hebrew Bible.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors propose that the variant Βαλαάκ in the 72 text of Jude 11 be read in light of the theological tendency in the Bodmer codex, especially as evidenced in the christological variants of the Bible.
Abstract: This article proposes that the variant Βαλαάκ in the 72 text of Jude 11 be read in light of theological tendency in the Bodmer codex, especially as evidenced in the christological variants of 72. Initially, scholarly opinion dismissed the ‘Balaak’ reading as nothing more than an inexperienced copyist's careless mistake. Though recognizing the older view to be unsatisfactory, recent explanations are also inadequate. Given neutral or positive traditions about Balaam in Judaism, and in the context of the early Christian belief that the Spirit of Christ inspired the OT Prophets (including Balaam), the article makes a case for reevaluation of the variant.
TL;DR: In this article, a full reconstruction of the less intelligible side of P.Oxy. 4009 (lines 1−13) was presented, and it was argued that this text belongs to the Gospel of Peter.
Abstract: In an article published earlier this year (NTS 55.1: 104–15), a full reconstruction of the less intelligible side of P.Oxy. 4009 (lines 1–13) was presented, and it was argued that this text belongs to the Gospel of Peter. These 13 lines parallel the Lukan pericope of the sinful woman (Luke 7.45–49) and demonstrate that the Gospel of Peter used manuscripts that represent the Western text of the earlier Gospels. The most notable Western feature, the omission in P.Oxy. 4009 of Luke 7.47b–48, is no coincidence. There are weighty arguments for the omission of these verses in the Lukan original as well.
TL;DR: In the context of the New Perspective on Paul as mentioned in this paper, there is no consensus on the meaning of the syntagm ἔργα νόμου.
Abstract: There is no consensus on the meaning of the syntagm ἔργα νόμου (in the discussion on the New Perspective on Paul). The main question is: Does the expression refer to halakhot or (so recently O. Hofius) to deeds? In the first case, according to Paul, justification does not depend on a system of regulations (in particular not on ‘boundary markers’), in the second case justification does not depend on the (good) works of individuals. Meanwhile a considerable group of scholars advocates the halakhot interpretation, and for instance Gal 3.10 supports it (τά γeγραμμένα, αὐτά). Diachronic arguments which, however, should not only consider the nomen regens (ἔργα) are to be added (see Apk 2.26; TestLev XIX.1; 4QMMT C27; yQid 63d). The Pauline references can be understood much better under this assumption, and it does not mean to undermine the ‘Lutheran’ emphasis on forgiving of sin and on Christ (see Gal 2.16–17). But now it is easier to take into account the apostle's positive statements concerning the law (see Rom 8.4) and concerning the judgement ‘according to the deeds of a person’ (see Rom 2.6).