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Showing papers in "New Testament Studies in 2015"


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In the early third and fourth centuries respectively, Ammonius of Alexandria and Eusebius of Caesarea engaged in cutting-edge research on the relationships among the four canonical gospels as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: In the early third and fourth centuries respectively, Ammonius of Alexandria and Eusebius of Caesarea engaged in cutting-edge research on the relationships among the four canonical gospels. Indeed, these two figures stand at the head of the entire tradition of comparative literary analysis of the gospels. This article provides a more precise account of their contributions, as well as the relationship between the two figures. It argues that Ammonius, who was likely the teacher of Origen, composed the first gospel synopsis by placing similar passages in parallel columns. He gave this work the title Diatessaron-Gospel, referring thereby to the four columns in which his text was laid out. This pioneering piece of scholarship drew upon a long tradition of Alexandrian textual scholarship and likely served as the inspiration for Origen's more famous Hexapla. A little over a century later, Eusebius of Caesarea picked up where Ammonius left off and attempted to accomplish the same goal, albeit using a different and improved method. Using the textual parallels presented in the Diatessaron-Gospel as his ‘raw data’, Eusebius converted these textual units into numbers which he then collated in ten tables, or ‘canons’, standing at the beginning of a gospel book. The resulting cross-reference system, consisting of the Canon Tables as well as sectional enumeration throughout each gospel, allowed the user to find parallels between the gospels, but in such a way that the literary integrity of each of the four was preserved. Moreover, Eusebius also exploited the potential of his invention by including theologically suggestive cross-references, thereby subtly guiding the reader of the fourfold gospel to what might be called a canonical reading of the four.

40 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Early Christianity is often regarded as an entirely lower-class phenomenon, and thus characterised by a low educational and cultural level as discussed by the authors, but this view is false for several reasons.
Abstract: Early Christianity is often regarded as an entirely lower-class phenomenon, and thus characterised by a low educational and cultural level. This view is false for several reasons. (1) When dealing with the ancient world, inferences cannot be made from the social class to which one belongs to one's educational and cultural level. (2) We may confidently state that in the early Christian urban congregations more than 50 per cent of the members could read and write at an acceptable level. (3) Socialisation within the early congregations occurred mainly through education and literature. No religious figure before (or after) Jesus Christ became so quickly and comprehensively the subject of written texts! (4) The early Christians emerged as a creative and thoughtful literary movement. They read the Old Testament in a new context, they created new literary genres (gospels) and reformed existing genres (the Pauline letters, miracle stories, parables). (5) From the very beginning, the amazing literary production of early Christianity was based on a historic strategy that both made history and wrote history. (6) Moreover, early Christians were largely bilingual, and able to accept sophisticated texts, read them with understanding, and pass them along to others. (7) Even in its early stages, those who joined the new Christian movement entered an educated world of language and thought. (8) We should thus presuppose a relatively high intellectual level in the early Christian congregations, for a comparison with Greco-Roman religion, local cults, the mystery religions, and the Caesar cult indicates that early Christianity was a religion with a very high literary production that included critical reflection and refraction.

12 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In the case of the Jesus' Wife papyrus, the participation of media corporations and the existence of the internet added a new element to the process of forgery as mentioned in this paper, which can be applied to the present case.
Abstract: Many forgeries pass through a cycle of fabrication, acceptance, doubt and final rejection. Consideration of a number of modern forgeries, notably those of Constantinos Simonides, illustrates how forgers exploit prevailing debates, look for persons or institutions on whom to practise their deception, and are often undone by their own errors, especially when manufacturing provenance. This ‘syntax’ of forgery can be applied to the case of the Jesus' Wife papyrus, though the participation of media corporations and the existence of the internet add a new element to the process.

8 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This paper argued that Matthew's so-called exception clauses to the prohibition of divorce make explicit what was already implicit in versions without them: adultery required divorce, and they used Gen 2.24 to indicate permanent joining.
Abstract: This paper argues that Matthew's so-called exception clauses to the prohibition of divorce (5.32; 19.9) make explicit what was already implicit in versions without them: that adultery required divorce. While biblical law required death for adulterers or expected it as a result of the ordeal of the suspected wife, the issue of divorce arose where communities no longer had capital rights and where guilt was not in question. Matthew's nativity story, the norms of Greek and Roman culture, notions of the defiled wife (Deut 24.1-4) and the use of Gen 2.24 to indicate permanent joining give plausibility to the thesis.

8 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a survey of the Coptic tradition of John's Gospel, and outline the evidence for dependence on the Lycopolitan Qau codex publication.
Abstract: The internet publication of a Coptic Gospel of John fragment demonstrated that both it and the related Gospel of Jesus' Wife fragment were modern creations. The Coptic John fragment was clearly copied from Herbert Thompson's 1924 publication of the Lycopolitan Qau codex, and shared the same hand, ink and writing instrument with the Gospel of Jesus' Wife fragment. The present discussion will first survey the extant Coptic tradition of John's Gospel, and second outline the evidence for dependence on the Qau codex publication.

7 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The Samaritan woman at the well in the passage of John 4.4.4 was seen as a mission among the "children of Israel" as discussed by the authors and the Samaritans were designated as the children of Israel and members of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh.
Abstract: Within the narrative of John 4.4–42 (the Samaritan woman at the well) the fact is mentioned that ‘Jacob's well’ had been given to his son Joseph (John 4.5). By calling Jacob ‘our father’ (John 4.12), the woman claims for the Samaritans a direct lineage from Jacob via Joseph. The Samaritans are designated as ‘children of Israel’ and members of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh (i.e. the ‘house of Joseph’). The genealogy is embedded in a motif occurring in Scripture (the encounter at the well). Thus, it is questionable whether the passage of the woman at the well can primarily be seen as ‘mission among gentiles’. The narrative focus of the passage seems to point to a mission among the ‘children of Israel’.

7 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The Prologue to the Fourth Gospel as mentioned in this paper can be read as functioning as functioning in this way, and it can still be interpreted as functioning this way as well as John 1.1.5 constitutes the original Prologue.
Abstract: John 1.1–5 constitutes the original Prologue to the Fourth Gospel. This passage can still be read as functioning in this way.

6 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Colour is used throughout the NT, although sparingly, with different functions and in conjunction with specific situations as discussed by the authors, but when they do it is typically to indicate more than a physical quality.
Abstract: Colour is used throughout the NT, although sparingly, with different functions and in conjunction with specific situations. The gospels and the letters do not contain many references to colour, but when they do it is typically to indicate more than a physical quality. On the other hand, the author of the Apocalypse uses the colour in its literal sense to describe a particular object or character. In view of the fact that the book was meant to be read aloud, his repetition of colour adjectives stresses the effectiveness and importance of aural effect as a conveyor of meaning.

6 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A summary of the grounds for scepticism, written shortly after the conference, is here published for the first time as discussed by the authors, and since then the collaborative efforts of a number of scholars have confirmed that the case against an ancient origin is overwhelming.
Abstract: When the ‘Jesus’ Wife' fragment was first made public at a conference for Coptic Studies, it generated worldwide media interest but met with increasingly sceptical responses from scholars with expertise in the most directly relevant fields. A summary of the grounds for scepticism, written shortly after the conference, is here published for the first time. Since then the collaborative efforts of a number of scholars have confirmed that the case against an ancient origin is overwhelming.

6 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This article showed that the Gospel of Jesus' Wife is essentially a "patchwork" of words and short phrases culled from the lone extant Coptic manuscript of the Gospels of Thomas (Nag Hammadi Codex ii ).
Abstract: The present essay summarises textual evidence indicating that the Gospel of Jesus' Wife is essentially a ‘patchwork’ of words and short phrases culled from the lone extant Coptic manuscript of the Gospel of Thomas (Nag Hammadi Codex ii ), prepared by a forger using Michael W. Grondin's 2002 PDF edition of this manuscript. The text contains at least five tell-tale signs of its modern origin, including the apparent replication of a typographical (and grammatical) error from Grondin's edition. A direct link between it and Grondin's work also seems to be confirmed by the earliest known English translation of the fragment.

4 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: At the 69th Annual Meeting of the Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas (SNTS), held in Szeged, Hungary, three scholars were invited to debate the theme of the Greek element in Paul's eschatology as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: At the 69th Annual Meeting of the Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas (SNTS), held in Szeged, Hungary, three scholars were invited to debate the theme of the Greek element in Paul's eschatology – a theme proposed by Prof Udo Schnelle, President of SNTS for 2014. The three contrasting presentations, intended primarily for oral delivery, are published here. It is intended that this ‘Quaestiones Disputatae’ format will be a regular feature of the Society's meetings, and that presentations will be published in this journal.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, it has been argued that Mary's relationship to Jesus in the Gospel of Philip is determined by her role as privileged recipient of revelation, not by her marital status.
Abstract: It has been proposed that references to Jesus' relationship to Mary Magdalene in the Gospel of Philip represent a possible context for an early gospel fragment in which Jesus refers to her as ‘My wife’. It will be argued here that Mary's relationship to Jesus in Philip is determined by her role as privileged recipient of revelation, not by her marital status. More significant in accounting for the Jesus' Wife fragment is the Gospel of Thomas, which the author appears to have known in precisely the text-form represented by the one surviving Coptic exemplar.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the material aspects of the "Jesus' Wife" fragment were examined and the scientific tests carried out on both the papyrus and the ink were critically assessed and shown to be of little or no value in determining the date of the writing.
Abstract: This article is concerned with material aspects of the ‘Jesus’ Wife' fragment. Following an analysis of the papyrus which confirms that it is indeed of ancient manufacture, the scientific tests carried out on both the papyrus and the ink are critically assessed and shown to be of little or no value in determining the date of the writing.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the significance of the Song of Songs in the tradition of Jesus' teachings is discussed, and five examples show that Jesus as remembered in the gospel tradition expresses an unusual interest in the Song with a discreet mystical emphasis.
Abstract: Picking up on the revived interest in the Song of Songs in biblical scholarship, the article focuses on the significance of the Song in the tradition of Jesus’ teachings. After a survey of rabbinic midrash on the Song, five examples show that Jesus as remembered in the gospel tradition expresses an unusual interest in the Song with a discreet mystical emphasis. The nuptial Christology that subsequently surfaces in Revelation and in Hippolytus and Origen suggests a continuous development as from the Jesus tradition. This continuity may explain the remarkable parallels between the interest of the Church Fathers in the Song and that of the Rabbis.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors re-opened the dossier of the sources, parallels and rewritings of 1 Cor 2.9, a saying that Paul attributes to a written source, when other sources put it into Jesus' mouth (e.g. GosThom 17).
Abstract: The article reopens the dossier of the sources, parallels and rewritings of 1 Cor 2.9, a saying that Paul attributes to a written source, when other sources put it into Jesus' mouth (e.g. GosThom 17). The state of research shows that the hypothesis of an oral source is generally preferred but an accurate study of 1 Clem 34.8, a parallel too often neglected, supports the presence of a written source that existed before 1 Cor 2.9. GosJud 47.10–13 will help to understand the attribution of the saying to Jesus. Finally, the article takes into account the well-known parallel in Islamic tradition, a ḥadīth qudsī.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Buell and Hodge as mentioned in this paper pointed out that the assumption of a logic of ethnicity and kinship at work under the pen of the apostle cannot be ratified without discussion, since it is not consistent with a rigorous examination of the letter to the Galatians.
Abstract: Traditionally, Pauline exegesis has tended to reduce the Judaism which the apostle encounters in his argumentation to a legalist and particularistic religion; a religion from which Paul would have distanced himself, inventing a Christianity of universal grace in his critique of the Torah. If the New Perspective on Paul allowed us to correct this legalistic reduction of Second Temple Judaism, by highlighting the dimension of election with the foundation of the covenant of Israel, the instigators of this exegetical programme have, however, assented to the hypothesis of a supersession of Jewish particularism by Christian universalism. Hence the critique voiced on this issue by the adherents of what is now called the Radical New Perspective. We are especially indebted to Denise Kimber Buell and Caroline Johnson Hodge for this wave of protest, for both authors identify the use of an ‘ethnic reasoning’ in the Pauline reworking of the Gentiles’ identity. While this critique deserves to be heard, the thesis of a logic of ethnicity and kinship at work under the pen of the apostle cannot be ratified without discussion, since it is not consistent with a rigorous examination of the letter to the Galatians. In that context, indeed, the discourse of identity is not mainly ethnic but anthropological and cosmological, since the believers – Jews quite as much as Gentiles – through baptism have to become not a ‘new people’ but rather a ‘new creation’ (Gal 6.15).

Journal ArticleDOI
John Duncan1
TL;DR: In this paper, an alternative way of punctuating vv. 19-21 is proposed, which preserves the most common meaning of φπί with the dative, while also taking creation itself as the agent that acts φφ’ ἑλπήδι.
Abstract: This paper explores the meaning of ἐφ’ ἑλπίδι in Rom 8.20c. This phrase has been variously understood as denoting a hope exercised by the one who subjected creation or a hope inhering in creation despite its subjection. After surveying and evaluating the standard proposals, I argue for an alternative manner of punctuating vv. 19–21 that makes it possible to preserve the most common meaning of ἐπί with the dative, while also taking creation itself as the agent that acts ἐφ’ ἑλπίδι. This proposal obviates a number of difficulties with conventional readings, and highlights the parallels between Paul's statements about the hope of creation in vv. 19–21 and the hope of believers in vv. 24–5.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors discusses two characteristics of the Jewish-Christian source in Recognitions 1.27-71, namely its fierce opposition to sacrifices and its emphasis on the historical ties between the Jews and the land of Judea.
Abstract: This article discusses two characteristics of the Jewish-Christian source in Recognitions 1.27–71, namely its fierce opposition to sacrifices and its emphasis on the historical ties between the Jews and the land of Judea. There is reason to think that this document expresses the reaction of Jewish-Christians of Judaea to the disaster of the Bar-Kokhba uprising. On the one hand, they considered the military defeat and its consequences as a divine punishment for the rebels’ attempt to renew the sacrificial cult; and, on the other hand, they fought the paganisation of Judea by defending the historical right of the Jews to possess this land.

Journal ArticleDOI
Hugo Méndez1
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that John 9.4.4 corresponds to the avoidable "darkness" of 12.35.6, and that the night when no one can work is the condemned state of the unbelieving after the departure of Jesus.
Abstract: This article argues that John 9.4–5 should be reanalysed as an appeal parallel to 12.35–6, so that the ‘night … when no one can work’ of 9.4 corresponds to the avoidable ‘darkness’ of 12.35. Viewed in this manner, ‘night’ represents the condemned state of the unbelieving after the departure of Jesus. Jesus urges his disciples to ‘work the works’ of God so that, at the historical onset of ‘night’, the Paraclete may mediate a continuing, covert experience of ‘day’ within them. That onset, then, marks a critical phase in the eschatological separation of the ‘children of light’ from ‘the world’.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The role of manuscript corrections in studying textual transmission of the New Testament has been long recognised by textual critics as discussed by the authors, and yet, the actual witness of corrections may at times be difficult to interpret.
Abstract: The role of manuscript corrections in studying textual transmission of the New Testament has been long recognised by textual critics. And yet, the actual witness of corrections may at times be difficult to interpret. A case in point is Josef Schmid's seminal work on the text of Revelation. Following Wilhelm Bousset, Schmid argued that a particular group of corrections in Codex Sinaiticus reflected a Vorlage with a text akin to that of the Andreas text-type. By dating these corrections – unlike Bousset – to the scriptorium, Schmid utilised their witness to trace the text of Andreas back to the fourth century. Recently, Juan Hernandez has shown that the corrections cited by Schmid were significantly later, hence calling his fourth-century dating of Andreas (among other things) into question. Through an analysis of the corrections cited by Schmid, supplemented by a fuller data-set of Sinaiticus’ corrections in Revelation, this study seeks to reappraise Schmid's claims concerning the textual relations of these corrections, and identify their role in the later transmission of the text of Revelation.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The authors examined the poisonous characteristics of Lolium Temulentum L, the weed that is generally identified with the tares (zizania) mentioned in Matthew's Parable of the Wheat and the Tares (Matt 13.24-30, 36-43).
Abstract: This article examines the poisonous characteristics of Lolium Temulentum L., the weed that is generally identified with the tares (zizania) mentioned in Matthew's Parable of the Wheat and the Tares (Matt 13.24–30, 36–43). It identifies the weed, examines its pervasiveness in antiquity, as well as the nature and degree of its toxicity, and establishes that the tares of the Palestine of Jesus' day were likely poisonous. With this in mind, it considers whether the tares' toxicity is a factor in understanding the parable and its interpretation, concluding that it is very likely presupposed by both.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In the first century, the Augustan laws criminalising adultery and stuprum and promoting marriage and childrearing not only intruded into the family lives of citizens (including freedpersons and their descendants) but also made marital probity central to moral and political discourse.
Abstract: The Augustan laws criminalising adultery and stuprum and promoting marriage and childrearing not only intruded into the family lives of citizens (including freedpersons and their descendants) but also made marital probity central to moral and political discourse in the first century. This was true not only for imperial figures like Seneca and Musonius Rufus, but also for Jews and the earliest Christians. Considering Philo and Paul as interpreters of the sixth commandment (‘you shall not commit adultery’) illuminates the subtle but significant ways that the Roman matrix set the parameters within which they worked out their arguments. For Philo the ten commandments are heads or summaries of the legislation as whole; the sixth commandment (following the LXX) takes pride of place in the ‘second pentad’ because adultery is the greatest of injustices and is rooted in pleasure, the most fatal of passions. He reads the commandment expansively and through first-century constructions of sexuality. Comparison with Pseudo-Phocylides suggests that Philo did not originate these positions, but shares them with other first-century interpreters. Paul also is concerned with summarising the law; he cites the sixth commandment in Romans, where he grants it first place in the second pentad, and reads it as prohibiting all unions and acts that contravened good sexual mores. But for Paul, the sixth commandment is no longer a guide for the blind; it is never cited when he advises his communities on sexual morality. Instead it supports his argument for freedom from the law in Christ.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The Book of Revelation as discussed by the authors follows a fixed sevenfold literary pattern, where single form elements are developed in view of the special situation of each of the seven churches but, at the same time, aim to create linkages with the main body of the book.
Abstract: The Letters to the Seven Churches in the Book of Revelation follow a fixed sevenfold literary pattern. The single form elements are developed in view of the special situation of each of the seven churches but, at the same time, aim to create linkages with the main body of the book. In addition, referencing between form elements within one and the same letter often help to construe ambiguous metaphors. While the seven letters all together build a unit, this unit falls into two groups: the letter to Thyatira closes the first section, the letter to Laodicea closes the second one, with the letter to Sardis serving as a hinge between the two groups. The literary and the text-pragmatic purpose of the seven letters are well combined. In the second group, the linkages serving as a connection with the rest of the book make an increasing use of motives that describe the final victory at the end of the Book of Revelation. In this way, the author tries to focus the reader's attention on this eagerly awaited future.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this context, the myth of Romulus with the encounter between the god Mars and the virgin Rhea Silvia developed its own significance that was available for broader circles within the population of the Roman Empire.
Abstract: Roman identity and legitimisation of imperial rule were closely connected to the mythological motive of divine descent. In this context, the myth of Romulus with the encounter between the god Mars and the virgin Rhea Silvia developed its own significance that was available for broader circles within the population of the Roman Empire. It is against this background that Luke 1.26–38 may be read as an alternative foundation narrative that assimilates essential features of the Roman myth of origin in order to reinterpret it christologically.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A fresh assessment of Paul's pompa triumphalis imagery at 2 Cor. 2.14.16a by probing a number of neglected aspects of both lexical and cultural background is given in this paper.
Abstract: This article seeks a fresh assessment of Paul's pompa triumphalis imagery at 2 Cor. 2.14–16a by probing a number of neglected aspects of both lexical and cultural background. Included are (1) an analysis of the use of θριαμβeύω in the Greco-Roman literature, with special attention given to claims made concerning the word's use with direct objects; (2) a lexicology of ὀσμή and eὐωδία in literatures of the period; and (3) a probing of the language of ‘salvation’ in the passage, with attention given to a feature of the triumphal procession parades that has until now failed to garner attention in investigations of the passage.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This article examined every reference to πνeῦμα in NT Papyrus 46 (P. 6238) and whether or not it is contracted as a nomen sacrum and found that the scribe does not always use nomina sacra to designate the divine Spirit, nor are other kinds of spirits always written out in full.
Abstract: This study examines every reference to πνeῦμα in NT Papyrus 46 (P. Chester Beatty ii / P. Mich. Inv. 6238) and whether or not it is contracted as a nomen sacrum. Against expectations, the scribe does not always use nomina sacra to designate the divine Spirit, nor are other kinds of spirits always written out in full. This discovery destabilises the assumption that we can access the scribe's understanding of πνeῦμα simply by identifying where nomina sacra do and do not occur. At the same time, such scribal irregularity itself may illustrate wider theological ambiguities among some early Christian communities concerning the status and role of the Holy Spirit.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A critical analysis of the statements of Eusebius from Caesarea makes plausible the presumption that the indications of Papias administering an office as an ἐπίσκοπος in the city of Hierapolis in Asia Minor are not based on historically confirmed information accepted by Eusedbius himself as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: A critical analysis of the statements of Eusebius from Caesarea makes plausible the presumption that the indications of Papias administering an office as an ἐπίσκοπος in the city of Hierapolis in Asia Minor are not based on historically confirmed information accepted by Eusebius himself. Moreover these indications seem to depict a post-Eusebian construction. This presumption is likely to unsettle the historical reliability of Papias' episcopacy. This implies that Papias can no longer be treated as evidence for the hypothesis that for the congregations in the west of the Roman province of Asia the institution of an ἐπίσκοπος of the local church had already developed in the second quarter of the second century ce.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In the first two centuries CE these saviours represent, at a broad cultural level, salvation and secure justice, deliver the message of victory to Rome, and symbolise the Empire's expansive claim on the world.
Abstract: Surprisingly, the Gospel reaches Rome under the sign of the Dioscuri (Acts 28.11). In the first two centuries CE these saviours represent, at a broad cultural level, salvation and secure justice, deliver the message of victory to Rome, and symbolise the Empire's expansive claim on the world. In the rhetoric of ἐνάϱγeια the nautical detail marks a theological transformation: the Mediterranean becomes the mare nostrum of Christians; this transformation is plausible even according to pagan eusebeia; the gospel reveals itself as good news of victory claiming the world. It is within this illustrative logic that the noteworthy detail gains its meaning.

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In the tradition of Rudolf Bultmann and his teacher Gunther Bornkamm, Dieter Luhrmann (1939-2013) was a proponent of a theological exegesis which combined strict philological and historical work with theological thought.
Abstract: Dieter Luhrmann (1939–2013), whose last post was as a teaching professor at the University of Marburg, was a highly esteemed New Testament scholar and theologian. In the tradition of Rudolf Bultmann and his teacher Gunther Bornkamm he was a proponent of a theological exegesis which combined strict philological and historical work with theological thought. One of the main points of his research was the concept of faith in early Christianity. According to Luhrmann, Christian faith inherently implies a tension between confession and worldly experience. This appraisal of Dieter Luhrmann's theological path and achievements focuses on the aforementioned tension and definition of faith which characterise his theological exegesis and theology.