Showing papers in "The Journal of Theological Studies in 2010"

Gildas and the Mystery Cloud of 536–7

Abstract: The De Excidio Britonum by Gildas is conventionally dated to the second quarter of the sixth century. An apparent allusion at DEB 93.3 to the mysterious doud which obscured the sun and moon for a year or more in Europe in 536―7 suggests that he probably wrote in 536, while the occurrence of such a phenomenon may well explain what finally drove him to publish such a fierce call to repentance.

Genesis 1:26-7 as a statement of humanity's divine parentage

Abstract: The linguistic and cultural background of the words tslm and dmwt supports a reading of Gen. 1:26–7 as a statement of humanity’s divine parentage. As such it is intended to evoke the responsibilities of child to parent and of parent to child in the minds of its readers. Such an interpretation accommodates both the semantic range of the key terms tslm and dmwt and the sense that the statement is meant to be theologically significant.

The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs and the Didascalia Apostolorum: A Common Jewish Christian Milieu?

Abstract: Recent discussion of the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs has been mired in a debate about whether the work is Jewish or Christian. But the nineteenth-century consensus was nearer the mark: the work is both Jewish and Christian, i.e. it comes from a Jewish Christian milieu. This study first adduces general considerations in favour of this hypothesis, then mounts a specific argument based on the similarities between the Testaments and the Didascalia Apostolorum. The two documents come from a similar time and place (Syria in the late second to early third century), but are on opposite sides: the Didascalia is arguing against the sort of Torah-observant Jewish Christianity that the Testaments advocate.

The Defilement of the Hands as a Principle Determining the Holiness of Scriptures

Abstract: The principle articulated in Mishnah Yadayim 3:5 that 'all holy scriptures defile the hands' ) is one of the most perplexing in rabbinic literature, for how can something that is holy impart uncleanness to the hands? The enigma lies within the principle itself: it is precisely because scriptures are holy that they impart uncleanness ; writings that are not holy, such as the books of Homer (m.Yad. 4:6), the Gospels, other heretical books, and the book of Ben Sira (t.Yad. 2:13), do not impart uncleanness. What I should like to propose in this article is an explanation that seeks to clarify the principle of tum'at yadayim by the concept of holiness as a sacred contagion. Holy scriptures, like other holy objects of cultic worship, were considered sources of contamination. But unlike them, holy scriptures do not render objects with which they come into contact holy; rather they make the hands unclean. Holy scriptures were considered a particular kind of sacred contagion. It is suggested that the key to understanding the defilement principle is found in the traditions about the Ark of the Covenant and its lethal power to kill those who are ineligible to touch it.

Beyond Suspicion: on the Authorship of the Mar Saba Letter and the Secret Gospel of Mark

Abstract: The suspicion that the ‘discoverer’ of the letter from Clement of Alexandria to Theodore was in reality its author was raised shortly after its first publication in 1973, and has often been reasserted in the years since Morton Smith’s death in 1991 Yet the fragments of the ‘Secret Gospel of Mark’ are often still interpreted on the provisional assumption that the letter containing them is genuine This article enquires whether the long-standing suspicion of forgery—occasioned largely by the circumstances of the text’s discovery—can be put beyond reasonable doubt It proceeds by way of a close scrutiny of the letter itself against the double background of the undisputed writings of Clement of Alexandria on the one hand, and the published work of Morton Smith on the other It is argued that the letter’s internal anomalies are incompatible with Clementine authorship, as are certain compositional techniques; and that it is the product of interests and influences that predate its supposed discovery at the Mar Saba monastery

Basil of Caesarea, Didymus The Blind, and The Anti-Pneumatomachian Exegesis of Amos 4:13 and John 1:3

Abstract: Recent scholarship has increasingly questioned the traditional assumption that Athanasius of Alexandria was a major influence upon Basil of Caesarea. This study seeks to make a concrete contribution to this debate by suggesting that Basil's anti-pneumatomachian exegesis of Amos 4:13 and John 1:3 was influenced by Didymus the Blind rather than by Athanasius. It begins by demonstrating four parallels in the exegesis of these two verses between Basil's Against Eunomius and Didymus' On the Holy Spirit, and that they are not due to a common use of Athanasius. After ruling out other possible sources for Basil, it next argues that these parallels are best interpreted as indicating that Basil was influenced by Didymus rather than vice versa. If this thesis is correct, Didymus' On the Holy Spirit needs to be dated to the late 350s or early 360s (much earlier than the date of the 370s advocated in recent scholarship), and it should prompt a reassessment of Basil's sources and theological development.

Nomina sacra and sacra memoria before the monastic age

Abstract: In the earliest period, the nomina sacra are unlikely to have been significant as 'reading aids' that provided assistance in deciphering the unread page. Comparison with Greco-Roman and Jewish habits of reading and memory work, together with early Christian discussions of Scripture, suggest that it is plausible that the nomina sacra helped some contemplative readers memorize the page, meditate upon its individual graphemes and overall intent, and practise remembrance of the divine name at this early period. This points to continuity between early Christian reading practices and the sacra memoria that developed on a greater scale in a monastic setting from the fourth century onward.

The Holy Spirit as the Unction of Christ in Irenaeus

Abstract: During the second half of the last century Irenaeus' account of the baptism of Jesus by the Spirit received a great deal of consideration. Yet none of these studies has paid sufficient attention to Irenaeus' statement that the Spirit became accustomed to the human race by means of the humanity of the incarnate Word. Nor has any study explained the anointing of Jesus' humanity by the Spirit while taking into consideration the subsequent glorification of that very humanity by the same Spirit. I will argue that these neglected aspects of Irenaeus' thought help us to recognize that Jesus' humanity alone was anointed with the Holy Spirit, an anointing that resulted in a non-qualitative empowerment of his humanity for the fulfilment of the christological mission. Furthermore, in addition to this non-qualitative empowerment of Jesus' humanity, it becomes clear that his humanity underwent two qualitative changes. The first change occurred at the incarnation when it received incorruptibility as a result of its union with the Word. The second change occurred at Jesus' glorification when the incorruptibility proper to the union with the Word became communicable. It was at this moment that Jesus' flesh became the salvific principle for the rest of humanity.

Diuiduntur in quattuor: the interim and judgement in anglo-saxon england

Abstract: The division of souls in the afterlife into groups of three or four can be found in the works of many patristic and medieval authors, drawing on a number of traditions about the fate of the soul in the interim and at judgement. These groupings have often been the subject of confusion, not least because it is sometimes difficult to ascertain whether descriptions of the various groups of souls are intended to refer to the interim or to the judgement. This paper seeks to clarify and explore some of these divisions as they were discussed in Anglo-Saxon England: first in vision accounts by two eighth-century authors, Boniface, a missionary to the Continent, and the Venerable Bede; and secondly in the works of two later authors, AElfric of Eynsham in the tenth century and Goscelin of Saint-Bertin in the eleventh.

Matthew’s Pesher Gospel Structured Around Ten Messianic Citations of Isaiah

Abstract: Outlines of Matthew's Gospel tend to focus either on a distinction between discourse and narrative (Bacon's 'five books', or subsequent chiastic proposals), or on a narrative plot outline, often attributed to Mark's Gospel. Both have significant weaknesses, but a way out of the stalemate may be found in rhetorical analysis of the Old Testament citations which are clearly important in Matthew. When one considers just the words quoted from the prophet Isaiah, it is possible to discern ten distinct citations, sometimes admixed with the words of a related minor prophet, spaced evenly throughout the Gospel. The number ten corresponds to an intriguing Rabbinic tradition of which Matthew was arguably aware, and the use of the citations as a string of structural 'kernels' around which assorted traditions were clustered corresponds closely to the pesher technique identified in recent analysis of the Damascus Document from the Dead Sea Scrolls. The article concludes with an exposition of the ten pesher units of the Gospel defined by these citations, focusing on how every other Old Testament quotation in each unit reinforces Matthew's interpretation of the wider passage in Isaiah from which the citation was selected.

The Date and Provenance of the Gospel of Barnabas

Abstract: The so-called Gospel of Barnabas is a curious writing whose historical background remains obscure. The writing is attested in two manuscripts, an Italian one from the sixteenth and a Spanish one from the eighteenth century. Despite recent claims to the contrary, the Italian text can be shown to be the original, from which the Spanish was translated. The date of the Italian text is probably rather earlier than that of the manuscript: strong arguments point to an origin in the fourteenth century. Although it incorporates large amounts of extraneous material, the Gospel of Barnabas does follow the basic narrative thread of the canonical gospels, telling the story of Jesus of Nazareth from his birth to the crucifixion. One of the sources used by the author appears to have been an Italian Diatessaron closely related to the Venetian and Tuscan harmonies edited by Todesco, Vaccari, and Vatasso in 1938, as is shown by a number of unique shared readings.

Pre-Nicene Receptions of Mark 10:45//Matt. 20:28 with Phil. 2:6–8

Abstract: The purpose of this short study is to survey the texts that link Mark 10:45// Matt. 20:28 with Phil. 2:6―8 in the pre-Nicene period. The texts surveyed are Origen, Fr. Luc. 210; Clement of Alexandria, Paed. 1.9.85.1―2; Quis div. 37.1―4; Acts Thom. 72.

Re-Evaluating Angelomorphism In Irenaeus: The Case of Proof of the Apostolic Preaching 10

Abstract: Several recent studies have shown that the existence of angelomorphism in a second-century theologian suggests the presence of, or at least a susceptibility to, binitarianism. This article revisits the opinion of Dom Emmanuel Lanne that Irenaeus identifies the Son and Holy Spirit with Cherubim and Seraphim in Proof of the Apostolic Preaching 10. I contend that Lanne’s interpretation does not fit the rest of Irenaeus’ thought and is not permitted by the grammatical construction of Prf 10 itself. Furthermore, instead of suggesting a binitarian orientation, a proper reading of Prf 10 suggests a non-subordinationist, hierarchical conception of the trinitarian relations.