Showing papers in "New Testament Studies in 2018"
TL;DR: These three short papers were delivered at the 72nd General Meeting of the Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas, held in Pretoria, South Africa, on 8-11 August 2017 as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: These three short papers were delivered at the 72nd General Meeting of the Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas, held in Pretoria, South Africa, on 8–11 August 2017. The ‘Quaestiones disputatae’ session was chaired by the President of the Society, Professor Michael Wolter. The first two papers engage with Teresa Morgan's book, Roman Faith and Christian Faith, and Professor Morgan responds to them in the third.
99 citations
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TL;DR: In this paper, it is argued that recent developments in Pauline studies have, in combination, led to an unwarranted downplaying of sins plural in the account of the human plight.
Abstract: A familiar feature in Pauline scholarship is the view that Sin as a power, and the concomitant forces of the flesh and death, are the dominant elements in Paul's account of the human plight. The present article seeks not to deny the significance of these elements, but to argue that equally important are ‘sins’ or individual infractions of the divine will. It is argued here that recent developments in Pauline studies have, in combination, led to an unwarranted downplaying of sins plural. In a number of key passages, Paul includes such acts of transgression in his account of the human plight.
20 citations
TL;DR: This article argued that the evidence in Tacitus for a state-directed punishment of Christians in Rome in 64 ce was too weak to sustain the historical interpretation of it as a persecution, and restated the original claim that a persecution of Christians by the emperor Nero in connection with the Great Fire of 64 seems improbable given the context of the relations between officials of the Roman state and Christians over the first century ce.
Abstract: In the Journal of Roman Studies of 2015, I argued that the evidence in Tacitus for a state-directed punishment of Christians in Rome in 64 ce was too weak to sustain the historical interpretation of it as a persecution. In a reply in this journal last year, Christopher Jones argued that knowledge of Christians under that name could well have reached Rome by the mid-60s, that the vulgus of the city could well have accused such persons, and that the Tacitean account is therefore generally credible. While admitting the justice of some of his criticisms, I attempt in this reply to clarify some of my arguments and to restate my original claim that a persecution of Christians by the emperor Nero in connection with the Great Fire of 64 seems improbable given the context of the relations between officials of the Roman state and Christians over the first century ce.
10 citations
TL;DR: The parable of the unrighteous steward encourages rich individuals outside the Christian community to use their wealth to make friends of Jesus' poor disciples, specifically by reducing their debts, so that in the eschatological kingdom Jesus’ disciples would receive these benefactors into their eternal dwellings as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The parable of the unrighteous steward encouraged rich individuals outside the Christian community to use their wealth to make friends of Jesus’ poor disciples, specifically by reducing their debts, so that in the eschatological kingdom Jesus’ disciples would receive these benefactors into their eternal dwellings. It had its setting in the efforts of early Palestinian Christians to enlist the financial support of the wealthy. Since many of these did not wish to sell all their possessions and donate the proceeds to the Christian community, this parable suggested an alternative way that the rich could use their wealth to assist the community.
7 citations
TL;DR: The rabbit poses a particular problem since no known precedent exists for either its behaviour or its physiology as discussed by the authors, and the present investigation thus focuses on the rabbit, attempting to reconstruct the literary and historical background for its unusual characterisation.
Abstract: Barnabas 10 offers an allegorical discussion of kashrut. The writer addresses dietary laws in two groups of three: prohibitions against the eating of pig, vulture and eel, followed by prohibitions against eating hare, hyena and weasel. In each case, the allegorical interpretation construes diet as comportment (e.g. one should not behave like a pig, vulture etc.). Concerning the hare, readers are admonished not to emulate its corruption of children – a behaviour linked to its annual acquisition of an anus. Parallel allegorical interpretations of the Jewish food laws can be found in the Letter of Aristeas and Philo, De specialibus legibus 4 and similar quasi-scientific observations about animals occur in texts ranging from the rabbis to Physiologus. However, the rabbit poses a particular problem since no known precedent exists for either its behaviour or its physiology. The present investigation thus focuses on the rabbit, attempting to reconstruct the literary and historical background for its unusual characterisation.
6 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine how the personal biographical details present in the Thecla narrative contribute to larger issues of literary dependence, focusing in particular on the notice that Hermogenes is a coppersmith.
Abstract: The figures of Demas and Hermogenes in the Acts of Paul are puzzling for their ambiguous relation with figures by the same name in 2 Timothy (and, for Demas, in Philemon and Colossians). The purpose of the present article is to question what personal biographical details present in the Thecla narrative contribute to larger issues of literary dependence, focusing in particular on the notice that Hermogenes is a ‘coppersmith’. Although several scholars explain this passing reference in terms of a confused literary dependence on previous Pauline traditions, it is rarely approached as a meaningful narrative feature. This personal detail, however, should be read for its contribution to the Thecla narrative in light of the wider early Christian view of ‘smiths’, running from the New Testament texts into the third century and later. When these elements are taken into account, the smith-notice is highlighted as characterising Hermogenes (and, by extension, Demas) negatively.
6 citations
TL;DR: This article argued that the Beloved Disciple is a purely literary character employed as a literary device of authentication recognisable during the late first and early second centuries CE and compared three works with the Fourth Gospel in regard to their eyewitness appeals: Philostratus' Life of Apollonius of Tyana (a biography), the Wonders beyond Thule by Antonius Diogenes (a historiographical novel) and the Diary of the Trojan War (a revisionary history) attributed to Dictys of Crete.
Abstract: This essay supports the thesis that the Beloved Disciple is a purely literary character employed as a literary device of authentication recognisable during the late first and early second centuries CE. As evidence, three works are thoroughly compared with the Fourth Gospel in regard to their eyewitness appeals: Philostratus’ Life of Apollonius of Tyana (a biography), the Wonders beyond Thule by Antonius Diogenes (a historiographical novel) and the Diary of the Trojan War (a revisionary history) attributed to Dictys of Crete. All three works are roughly contemporaneous with the Fourth Gospel and offer important insights into the sophisticated use of an eyewitness as a literary character to guarantee the (spiritual and moral) truth of a narrative.
4 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a pattern of connection between God's salvation and Israel's worship space captured in the Song of Moses, particularly Exod 15.17, as a sub-structure of the Lukan Stephen's basic understanding of Heilsgeschichte within which he integrates the stories of Abraham, exodus and David.
Abstract: Lukan scholarship has paid attention to the ambivalent attitude towards the temple found in Stephen's speech. However, a coherent explanation of this ambivalence is still needed from within the narrative of Stephen's retold history of Israel itself. This study points to a pattern of connection between God's salvation and Israel's worship space captured in the Song of Moses, particularly Exod 15.17, as a sub-structure of the Lukan Stephen's basic understanding of Heilsgeschichte within which he integrates the stories of Abraham, exodus and David. The nature of Israel's worship space revealed in this scheme elucidates Stephen's ambivalent critique of the temple.
4 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors compare the Apocalypse of Weeks with Galatians to examine whether the motif of creatio e contrario is apocalyptic, and they conclude that it is not apocalyptic but as christomorphic.
Abstract: This article compares the Apocalypse of Weeks with Galatians to examine whether the motif of creatio e contrario is apocalyptic. While reviewing the themes of revelation, salvation and eschatology in each text, it argues that creatio e contrario is absent from and theologically foreign to the Apocalypse; by contrast, this motif permeates Galatians, not because Paul retrieves it from the apocalypses but because for him the divine economy is shaped by the disjunctive, e contrario history of the crucified and risen Christ. Thus, creatio e contrario should be classified not as apocalyptic but as christomorphic.
4 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present three more precise parallels to the phrase in Acts 247 that strongly support the standard translation of the phrase and support the interpretation of the passage in Acts.
Abstract: This article addresses a debate over the proper interpretation of the phrase ἔχοντeς χάριν πρὸς ὅλον τὸν λαόν in Acts 247 Several authors have been persuaded by T David Andersen's argument that this expression means that the Jerusalem community was ‘showing favour towards all the people’ rather than ‘having favour with all the people’, as it has usually been translated Andersen's evidence is much more ambiguous than he suggests, however, and I present three more precise parallels to the phrase in Acts 247 that strongly support the standard translation
3 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a new interpretation of the three-clause reading of Jude 22 and 23 is presented, which demonstrates how Jude carries on the Jesus tradition by inverting the norms of invective.
Abstract: The present paper offers a new interpretation of the three-clause reading of Jude 22–23 and demonstrates how Jude carries on the Jesus tradition by inverting the norms of invective. It is demonstrated that this interpretation is especially surprising given that the epistle follows many conventions of Greco-Roman invective. Given the character of invective, one would expect the writer to instruct the beloved to expel the ungodly from the community. Instead, Jude commands the beloved to ‘show mercy’ to the very ones with whom they contend (Jude 22), a profound reflection of Jude's understanding of mercy and faith.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors pay close attention to the structure of 1 Cor 5-7 and show that the concentric structure of the three chapters highlights their literary unity and stresses the significance of the central chapter, which correspondingly possesses the greatest theological density of the whole section.
Abstract: The literary status of 1 Cor 5–7 is diversely considered in scholarly literature Sometimes these chapters are seen as a stand-alone part of the letter, sometimes they are divided in separate blocks, chapters 5–6 on the one hand and chapter 7 on the other However, an original approach that pays close attention to the structure of the text makes it possible to show the neat architecture of this larger textual unit The concentric structure of the three chapters (A–B–A’) highlights their literary unity and stresses the significance of the central chapter, which correspondingly possesses the greatest theological density of the whole section
TL;DR: These three short papers were delivered at the 72nd General Meeting of the Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas, held in Pretoria, South Africa, on 8-11 August 2017.
Abstract: These three short papers were delivered at the 72nd General Meeting of the Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas, held in Pretoria, South Africa, on 8–11 August 2017. The ‘Quaestiones disputatae’ session was chaired by the President of the Society, Professor Michael Wolter. The first two papers engage with Teresa Morgan's book, Roman Faith and Christian Faith, and Professor Morgan responds to them in the third.
TL;DR: The second half of the Akhmim fragment of the Gospel of Peter distinguishes the recalcitrant Jewish leaders, who suppress the truth of Jesus' resurrection, from the Jewish people, who regret their murder of Jesus the moment he dies as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: The second half of the Akhmim fragment of the Gospel of Peter distinguishes the recalcitrant Jewish leaders, who suppress the truth of Jesus’ resurrection, from the Jewish people, who regret their murder of Jesus the moment he dies – a distinction best explained by the thesis that the document was produced by and for Jewish Christians living in second-century Syria. Other Christian documents related to the Gospel of Peter and written or influenced by second- and third-century Jewish Christians, especially the Didascalia Apostolorum, show a similar combination of philo- and anti-Judaism. The Gospel's reference to the disciples fasting during the interim between Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection may refer to the practice, attested in the Didascalia and elsewhere, of liturgical fasting for the Jews. Apocalypse of Peter 2, which was probably an original part of the Gospel, holds out hope for Israel's restoration. As the Akhmim scribe excised this hopeful chapter from the Apocalypse, so he probably excised the hopeful ending of the Gospel, in which the risen Jesus commissioned the disciples to continue the work of separating the people from their recalcitrant leaders and thereby converting them to faith in the one they had crucified.
TL;DR: The authors argue that the social memory approach makes a significant contribution to the interpretation of the early gospel tradition, by highlighting the way Jesus was portrayed in various Gospels of the first and second century.
Abstract: This article argues that the social memory approach makes a significant contribution to the interpretation of the early gospel tradition. This approach helps to overcome an anachronistic distinction between ‘canonical’ and ‘non-canonical’ (or ‘apocryphal’) Gospels by highlighting the way Jesus was portrayed in various Gospels of the first and second century. Early Christian Gospels in general presuppose the post-Easter perspective on Jesus as a divine figure, but depict his activity and teaching in different ways. A closer look at the Gospel of Thomas and the Gospel of Peter demonstrates how these Gospels take up and continue perspectives which can be observed already in the earlier Gospels in their own ways. Thereby they provide glimpses of different social and theological contexts of second-century Christianity.
TL;DR: The authors explored the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, elucidating the details of Lazarus' worldly suffering, what it is that ails him, and whether the dogs are friends or fiends.
Abstract: This study explores the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, elucidating the details of Lazarus' worldly suffering – what it is that ails him, and whether the dogs are friends or fiends. Fresh evidence from the classical world is brought to bear, including medical texts, miracle stories and philosophical treatises, in addition to overlooked Jewish and Christian testimony. The results establish the plausibility of maladies unrelated to diseases or skin conditions, and reveal the dogs to be positive characters that highlight Lazarus' penury and the rich man's depravity. New avenues into several broader interpretive issues of the parable are explored.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyse the basileia-sayings in Matthew 17.24.20.16 and explore in detail the function of the Vineyard Parable in this frame.
Abstract: The narration between the second and third prediction of Jesus’ suffering in Matthew's Gospel (Matt 17.24–20.16) can be entitled ‘The life and the acting of the disciples in the light of the Kingdom of God’. The last part of this section is the parable of the workers in the vineyard. Although there are quite different proposals for defining the function of this Kingdom of Heaven Parable, its specific function in the narrative development of the basileia-line in Matthew's Gospel has not yet been the focus of the interest. The article at hand tries to close this gap by analysing the basileia-sayings in Matt 17.24–20.16 and exploring in detail the function of the Vineyard Parable in this frame. Special attention is paid to the examination of the interrelationship between divine and human action.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors read the story of Christ's conception and genealogy in the context of claims about Augustus and showed that the logical force of these parallels favours the inference of Joseph's adoption of Jesus in Luke.
Abstract: Reading Jesus’ conception and genealogy in the context of claims about Augustus brings clarity to the perplexing identification of Adam as God's offspring (Luke 3.38). Jesus was fathered by God's spirit (1.35), as was his ancestor Adam (through Joseph). Likewise, some claimed Augustus was fathered by Apollo and that his ancestor Aeneas (through adoption by Julius Caesar) was the offspring of Aphrodite/Venus. This comparison suggests that Jesus is comparable to Augustus and that Jesus’ kingdom of God is comparable to Augustus’ Golden Age. Moreover, the logical force of these parallels favours the inferring of Joseph's adoption of Jesus in Luke.
TL;DR: The authors examined debt-prison and related phenomena before turning to the illuminating history of ancient interpretation, concluding that the "eternal damnation" gloss widely favoured today is an overinterpretation first inspired by the exigencies of fourth and fifth-century doctrinal controversy.
Abstract: Scholarship on Matt 5.25–6 has focused on the question of whether the saying offers mundane wisdom or threatens divine judgement, with the majority concluding that it refers to eternal punishment in hell. This article examines debt-prison and related phenomena before turning to the illuminating history of ancient interpretation. The article concludes that the ‘eternal damnation’ gloss widely favoured today is an overinterpretation first inspired by the exigencies of fourth- and fifth-century doctrinal controversy. Instead of eternal perdition, Matt 5.25–6 and its parallels suggest a time of straits followed by possible release.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors employ numismatic inscriptional evidence to explore the ΦΙΛ- lexeme and more carefully denote the semantic domains of relevant terminology.
Abstract: Commentators regularly note the alleged tension in John 15 between ‘friendship’ and ‘obedience’. This article employs numismatic inscriptional evidence to explore the ΦΙΛ- lexeme and more carefully denote the semantic domains of relevant terminology. This analysis confirms that no such tension exists within the socio-political context in which the Gospel was written. The inclusion of specific political terminology on Roman coins (for example, ΦΙΛΙΑ; ΦΙΛΟΚΑΙΣΑΡ; ΦΙΛΟΚΛΑΥΔΙΟΣ; ΦΙΛΟΡΩΜΑΙΟΣ; ΦΙΛΟΣEΒΑΣΤΩΝ) was one way in which elite concepts of political friendship, evidenced in Cicero and Seneca, were communicated to the masses. In light of the numismatic evidence, the ΦΙΛ- lexeme can refer not only to the emotional bond of friendship, but also the dimension of obligation.
TL;DR: In this article, the double form κύριe λεπόριε λαυτεδευρα λ αυγεθε βδθαθη is used to represent the Tetragrammaton in Matthew and Luke, and is therefore best understood as a way to represent Jesus applying the name of the God of Israel to himself.
Abstract: Despite numerous studies of the word κύριος (‘Lord’) in the New Testament, the significance of the double form κύριe κύριe occurring in Matthew and Luke has been overlooked, with most assuming the doubling merely communicates heightened emotion or special reverence. By contrast, this article argues that whereas a single κύριος might be ambiguous, the double κύριος formula outside the Gospels always serves as a distinctive way to represent the Tetragrammaton and that its use in Matthew and Luke is therefore best understood as a way to represent Jesus as applying the name of the God of Israel to himself.
TL;DR: The authors analyzed the use of the terms σώματα and ψυχαὶ ἀνθρώπων in the extant Greek literature and demonstrated that the peculiar conjunction of these terms in Rev 18.13 is best understood as a critique of the slave trade.
Abstract: Though commentators often claim that Rev 18.13 entails a critique of the slave trade, a robust defence of this assertion has not been offered. In this article, I first analyse the use of the terms σώματα and ψυχαὶ ἀνθρώπων in the extant Greek literature and demonstrate that the peculiar conjunction of these terms in Rev 18.13 is best understood as a critique of the slave trade. I then demonstrate that such an interpretation accords with the literary context of Rev 18.13. This article thus offers an important contribution to the ongoing debate concerning the early Christian view of slavery.
TL;DR: In this article, an intertextual reading of Paul's letter against the backdrop of Menander's Samia reveals a number of shared topics, ethical concerns, and dramatic characteristics.
Abstract: This article asks how the New Comedy of Menander might have influenced Paul's theological rhetoric in 1 Cor 5–15 An intertextual reading of Paul's letter against the backdrop of Menander's Samia reveals a number of shared topics, ethical concerns and dramatic characteristics Paul's citation of Menander's Thais in 1 Cor 1533 is part of this larger strategy to frame the struggles in Corinth within the ambit of Greek household ‘situation comedy’ Like Menander, Paul hybridises tragic and comic motifs throughout his epistle, inflecting the comedy of the Christ narrative with tragic examples of human misapprehension in this plea for ecclesial reconciliation
TL;DR: In this article, it is argued that in Rom 11.25-32 Paul starts from the situation of Israel that he has described inRom 11.1-10: Israel is torn into two parts -a Christian minority and a non-Christian majority which has rejected the Gospel because it has been hardened.
Abstract: In this article it is argued that in Rom 11.25–32 Paul starts from the situation of Israel that he has described in Rom 11.1–10: Israel is torn into two parts – a Christian minority and a non-Christian majority which has rejected the Gospel because it has been hardened. In these verses Paul develops an expectation according to which it is God himself who will take away the hardening of the non-Christian majority of Israel by leading them to faith in Christ. It is God himself whom Paul identifies as the ‘deliverer who comes from Zion’ (v. 26), although he does not expect a theophany but uses the quotations from Isa 59.20–1 and 27.9 as metaphorical circumscriptions for God's intervention in favour of the non-Christian part of his people. Although Paul is fully convinced that God will intervene in favour of the non-Christian Jews, he has no idea how this could happen. This discrepancy between Paul's assurance of the ‘that’ and his cluelessness regarding the ‘how’ is the reason why he presents his solution of the Israel problem in an apocalyptic mode as a revelation of a ‘mystery’ (v. 25).
TL;DR: The authors showed that the phrase found in 2 Tim 4.3 is an idiom that occurs quite frequently in first-and second-century literature, and that the idiom refers primarily to the experience of pleasure rather than curiosity.
Abstract: The majority of translations and commentaries render the phrase κνηθόμeνοι τὴν ἀκοήν in 2 Tim 4.3 as ‘having itching ears’ (or something to the same effect). Many commentaries and lexica claim, furthermore, that this figure of speech expresses curiosity. The present study demonstrates that the phrase found in 2 Tim 4.3 is an idiom that occurs quite frequently in first- and second-century ce literature. Contemporary usage of this expression suggests, first, that the translation at 2 Tim 4.3 should be ‘having their ears tickled’, rather than ‘having itching ears’, and, second, that the idiom refers primarily to the experience of pleasure rather than curiosity. This translation and interpretation of κνηθόμeνοι τὴν ἀκοήν fits the context of 2 Timothy better than other commonly proposed readings and is significant for how we understand the author's portrayal of his opponents and their appeal to the believers.
TL;DR: This paper argued that Tertius was probably a slave in the household of one of the Corinthian Christ-followers, whose role was simply to inscribe the letter and his inability to use Paul's signature phrase ἐν κυρίῳ in a Pauline fashion highlights his lack of authorial input.
Abstract: Much has been made in recent years about the role of the secretary in the construction of Paul's letters, most notably by Randolph Richards and Ian Elmer. This article focuses on the most famous secretary – Tertius. Through an analysis of what can be learned of Tertius’ identity and his relationship to Paul and to ancient authorial practices in households, it argues that Tertius was probably a slave in the household of one of the Corinthian Christ-followers, whose role was simply to inscribe the letter. His inability to use Paul's signature phrase ἐν κυρίῳ in a Pauline fashion highlights his lack of authorial input. Tertius’ self-initiated greeting in Rom 16.22 probably began life as a marginal comment that was moved early into the letter body.
TL;DR: This article used the Editio Critica Maior corpus to estimate the total textual variants in the Greek New Testament (NTS 62 (2016)) by employing a different (and complementary) method using data from the editio critica maior and producing an estimate that is narrowly confined to the ‘key’ manuscript witnesses for Acts and the Catholic Letters (a mix of majuscules and minuscules).
Abstract: This article interacts with Peter J. Gurry's recent estimate of the total textual variants in the Greek New Testament (NTS 62 (2016)) by (i) employing a different (and complementary) method using data from the Editio Critica Maior and (ii) producing an estimate that is narrowly confined to the ‘key’ manuscript witnesses for Acts and the Catholic Letters (a mix of majuscules and minuscules, both Byzantine and non-Byzantine). The results prove more useful for framing the development and distribution of textual variants in this group of key witnesses.
TL;DR: The surviving Greek text from Acts 10.4–9 in Codex Bezae is published here for the first time.
Abstract: Codex Bezae lacks the Greek text of Acts 10.4–14, but the Latin text survives on fol. 455a. Damage to the manuscript has caused traces of ink from the now-lost Greek text to be transferred onto the Latin page of Acts 10.4–14. They preserve a mirror image of text from fol. 454b, the facing page at the time of the damage. By reversing high-resolution images of fol. 455a with photo-editing software, the offset ink can be deciphered. As a result, the surviving Greek text from Acts 10.4–9 in Codex Bezae is published here for the first time.
TL;DR: In this paper, it is assumed that the circle of Jesus' disciples received John's baptism of repentance either from John the Baptist or from Jesus (John 3.22, 26; 4.1).
Abstract: The dispute ‘about purification’ between the disciples of John the Baptist and a Jew (John 3.25) has to do with the priority of ethical purity as effected through baptism over the ritual washing prescribed by the Torah, e.g. before entering the Jerusalem temple. This issue is referred to in John 13.10 and 15.3, and also in P.Oxy. 840. It is presupposed here that the circle of Jesus’ disciples received John's baptism of repentance either from John the Baptist or from Jesus (John 3.22, 26; 4.1). The Gospel of John thus engages with an ongoing debate within Jewish Christianity about the obligatory nature of ritual washing.
TL;DR: The form of Paul's citation of Isa 28.16 and 8.14 in Rom 9.32-3 indicates not only that his source was an early Christian collection of stone texts but also that this collection followed a particular interpretation of Jesus’ death: Jerusalem's ruling class planned Jesus' death because of his controversial approach to the law and the temple as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: The form of Paul's citation of Isa 28.16 and 8.14 in Rom 9.32–3 indicates not only that his source was an early Christian collection of stone texts but also that this collection followed a particular interpretation of Jesus’ death: Jerusalem's ruling class planned Jesus’ death because of his controversial approach to the law and the temple. Paul quotes these texts to help explain why unbelieving Israel has rejected the gospel. Like Israel's ruling elites, they have lost sight of the law's weightier matters. Punctuated correctly, 1 Thess 2.14–16 confirms this understanding of Rom 9.32–3.