bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Myth of a Descending-Ascending Redeemer in Mediterranean Antiquity
Authors: Talbert Charles H.
Published: February 2009

In spite of its popularity, the contention that the Christian conception of Jesus as a descending-ascending saviour figure was derived from the gnostic redeemer myth faces serious problems. Three are widely noted; another needs attention. (I) The sources from which our knowledge of the gnostic myth comes are late: e.g. the Naassene hymn, the hymn of the Pearl, the Mandean materials, the Manichean evidence, the accounts in the church fathers, and the Nag Hammadi documents. Sources from Chenoboskion like the Paraphrase of Shem, the Apocalypse of Adam, and the Second Logos of the Great Seth do contain a myth of a redeemer that is only superficially christianized. Hence the gnostics may not have derived their myth from Christians. It does not follow, however, either that Christians got it from gnostics or that it is pre-Christian. (2) A redeemer myth is not essential to gnosticism. Though gnosticism may contain a redeemer myth (e.g. the Naassene hymn), it may exist without one. In Carpocrates' system, for example, Jesus' soul remembered what it had seen in its circuit with the unbegotten God. The Ophites in Origen'sAgainst Celsusknow of no descending-ascending redeemer. They look to an earthly being who fetches gnosis from heaven. InPoimandres, the writer is the recipient of a vision in rapture. He then teaches the way of salvation. Indeed, the proto-gnosticism of Paul's opponents in I Corinthians apparently did not contain a redeemer myth. Such evidence demands that a distinction be drawn between two issues: (a) whether or not there was a pre-Christian gnosticism, and (b) whether or not there was a pre-Christian gnostic redeemer myth. Since a redeemer myth is not constitutive for gnosticism, the existence of a pre-Christian gnosis is no guarantee for the presence of a gnostic redeemer myth. (3) In the Christian sources where the gnostic myth has been assumed to be influential (e.g. the Fourth Gospel), there is no ontological identity between Christ and the believers as in gnosticism. There is, in the Christian writings, no pre-existence of the soul or redeemed redeemer. Given these difficulties, why the attractiveness of the gnostic hypothesis?
The Pivot of John's Prologue
Authors: Culpepper R. Alan
Published: February 2009

The prospect of writing anything further about the prologue of John reminds one of the verdict quoted by W. C. van Unnik in a similar context some twenty years ago: ‘the new things he said were not true and the true things were not new’. The prudent course may, therefore, be to refine an already established position with the hope of being able to say something true, even if it is not altogether new. The thesis of this article is that the prologue is a chiasm with verse 12bat its centre. That the prologue is chiastic is not a new thesis; that its centre isv. 12bis. The first part of this paper attempts to establish this thesis. The second part studies the key phrase inv. 12b, τέκνα Θεοũ, and the implications of its position in the prologue.
An Examination of the Claremont Profile Method in the Gospel of Luke: A Study in Test-Critical Methodology
Authors: Richards W. L.
Published: February 2009

When Paul R. McReynolds and Frederik Wisse developed the Claremont Profile Method, they used as a point of departure the manuscript groups that had been formed in previous text critical studies, primarily the groups of Hermann von Soden. Although they were not satisfied with this approach, they saw no alternative. In an earlier study on the Greek text of I John, however, I showed that the use of predetermined groups proved to be a methodological weakness in the Claremont Profile Method (CPM) so far as I John is concerned, in that the ability of the method to correct von Soden's groupings was only partial. In the study on I John I used quantitative analysis to form tentative gropings rather than depend on the group formations of others.
Le Problème des Paulinismes dans l'Évangile de Marc
Authors: Romaniuk K.
Published: February 2009

La parution du second tome de laSynopse des Quatre Evangilesen 1972, après celle du premier tome en 1965, peut être considérée comme un événement remarquable dans le cadre de la recherche biblique actuelle. Après laBible de Jérusalemcette Synopse constitue un second succès incontestable pour l'Ecole Biblique de Jérusalem.
Über den Umgang der frühen Christenheit mit dem Text der Evangelien. Das Beispiel des Codex Bezae Cantabrigiensis
Authors: Bartsch Hans-Werner
Published: February 2009

Das fast ausschließliche Interesse neutestamentlicher Textkritik an der Erstellung eines Urtextes hat die Frage in den Hintergrund verdrängt, wie die frühe Christenheit mit dem Text der Evangelien umging. War er für sie ein heiliger Text wie das Alte Testament für die Juden und ersten Christen, oder nahmen sich die Gemeinden die Freiheit, den Text nach den eigenen Bedürfnissen abzuwandeln? Die synoptische Forschung nimmt für die Entstehung der Evangelien auf jeden Fall einen freien Umgang mit der Überlieferung an. Wundergeschichten wurden zur Befriedigung der frommen Neugier erweitert, während Wortüberlieferung zur einprägsameren knappen Form der einzelnen Sprüche neigte. Nun kann man allerdings für das zweite Jahrhundert, in der sich die unterschiedlichen Textformen bildeten, nicht ohne weiteres dasselbe annehmen wie für die ersten Christen. Die Texte waren für die Gemeinden auf jeden Fall kostbare Güter, da nicht nur das Material – ob Papyrus oder Pergament – teuer war; auch das Abschreiben war kostspielig, einerlei ob man es in der kurzen Freizeit vornahm, die nach einem langen Arbeitstag blieb, oder ob man die Möglichkeit hatte, eine Abschrift in Auftrag zu geben. Ob die Texte jedoch in dem Sinn für heilig gehalten wurden, daß alles daran lag, sie unverändert weiterzugeben, erscheint als fraglich, da wir zu viele Varianten kennen, die den Sinn des Textes wenn nicht theologisch so doch stilistisch verändern.
Romans 3. 1–8 reconsidered
Authors: Hall David R.
Published: February 2009

Romans 3. 1–8 is one of the most puzzling passages in the epistle. It is commonly assumed that Paul is here using the ‘diatribe’ style of contemporary philosophers. In the diatribe, arguments are put into the mouth of imaginary objectors, and the writer replies to them in the form of a dialogue. But we must confess that, if Paul is really using the diatribe style in this passage, he is using it in a very strange way. Normally, in the diatribe, the objector's point is stated briefly, and replied to in detail. But in Romans 3. 1–8, as commonly interpreted, the objections are stated in detail, and Paul's replies are brief and inadequate. Various explanations are given for this by the commentators. According to Dodd, ‘the whole argument of 3. 1–8 is obscure and feeble’ because Paul is ‘defending a poor case’. Other scholars are more charitable, saying that the questions raised by the imaginary objector are in fact adequately answered later in the epistle. But they fail to explain why Paul should state at this stage in the epistle detailed objections, to which he is either not willing or not able to give an immediate answer.
The Transformation of the Synagogue After 70 C.E.: Its Import for Early Christianity
Authors: Kee Howard Clark
Published: February 2009

It is instructive to see the similarities and the differences between the account of the origins of the synagogue in the Jewish Encyclopedia of 1907 and the more extended discussion of the subject in the Encyclopedia Judaica of 1971. In the earlier work, Wilhelm Bacher observes that by the time the synagogue had become the central institution in Judaism, it was already regarded as of ancient origin, dating back to Moses.1 He was of the opinion that the synagogue as a permanent institution originated during the Babylonian captivity,2 and conjectured that the reference in Isa 56. 7 to the temple as a ‘house of prayer’ was to be understood as connected with the term for place of prayer, proseuche, which was used during the exile and among Jews in the diaspora in later centuries. Balcher's theory continues that it was Ezra and his successors who reorganized the religious life of Israel into congregational worship, with special place for prayers and the reading of the scriptures. This development, he proposed, took place in parallel with the revival of the temple cult and led to the building of synagogues. He finds evidence for synagogues in Palestine in the pre-exilic period in Ps 74. 8, although in fact this psalm comes from the Maccabean period or even later.3 Then, astonishingly and without any attempt to explain, he asserts that the complete absence of allusions to synagogue in 1 or 2 Maccabees is the result of the author's primary concern for the purity of the temple ritual.
Sacred Violence and the Curse of the Law (Galatians 3.13): The Death of Christ as a Sacrificial Travesty
Authors: Hamerton-Kelly R. G.
Published: February 2009

The death of Christ has not been prominent in the significant recent debate about the centre of Paul's theology, between E. P. Sanders and H. Hübner. Sanders characterizes Paul's pattern of religion as a ‘participationist eschatology’ as compared to the ‘covenantal nomism’ of the contemporary Judaism. H. Hübner champions the centrality of ‘justification by faith’, over against a ‘mystical identification with the crucified and risen Christ’. The former comes from Luther, and the latter from Albert Schweitzer. Hübner says of Sanders' book that in several passages it sounds as if Schweitzerredivivuswere speaking. Sanders tends to make Paul's religion too intellectual — a change of world view, rather than a response to experience. Hübner does not take seriously enough the convincing evidence that Paul's problem with the Mosaic law was not the same as Luther's, namely that it promoted a ‘works righteousness’ which caused pride, but rather that in its social role as the guardian of the boundaries of the Jewish community, it excluded the Gentiles. Both, however, do not take the Cross seriously enough.
Mark 9. 42–10. 12, Matthew 5. 27–32, andB. Nid. 13b: A First Century Discussion of Male Sexuality
Authors: Deming Will
Published: February 2009

Matt 5. 27–32, from the Sermon on the Mount, and Mark 9. 42–10.12 are passages that contain similar material, although neither is directly dependent on the other. Both have sayings that deal with ‘offences’ caused by certain body members (the verb used is σκανδαλίζω), and both contain a version of Jesus' prohibition of divorce. Between these two passages and a third,b. Nid.13b, from the Babylonian Talmud, there also exist several similarities. Despite this intriguing configuration of materials, which might indicate that all three passages are dependent on a common set of traditions, scholars have approached these texts from a very different perspective. Those who posit a connection between the synoptic and the rabbinic materials do so only with respect to Matt 5, never Mark 9; and several scholars have instead sought parallels to the synoptic passages in Hellenistic gnomic literature, disregarding or ignoring the rabbinic material altogether. In the present study I intend to challenge the validity of these approaches and propose that there is indeed a common set of traditions to which all three of these texts are indebted. I will begin my investigation by highlighting three peculiarities of Mark 9. 42–48, and then posit a relation between this passage andb. Nid.13b. Following this I will bring the material from Matt 5. 27–32 and Mark 9. 49–10. 12 into consideration. One of the results of this study, as I shall explain more thoroughly in the conclusion, will be the identification of a discussion on male sexuality that took place in Jewish and Christian circles sometime in the middle of the first century C.E
Kingdom Sayings and Parables of Jesus inthe Apocryphon of James: Tradition and Redaction
Authors: Hedrick Charles W.
Published: February 2009

In a recent article Helmut Koester argues against the current practice of distinguishing between canonical Gospels, on the one hand, and apocryphal gospels, on the other, and treating the apocryphal gospels as ‘step children’ of New Testament research. Koester maintains that there are a number of the ‘apocryphal’ gospels which ‘belong to a very early stage in the development of gospel literature — a stage that is comparable to the sources which were used by the gospels of the New Testament.’ One of those texts to which he points is the Nag Hammadi tractate theApocryphon of James. This paper is an attempt to legitimize one ‘step child’ of New Testament scholarship as a valid source for investigating the earliest levels of the Jesus traditions.
Evidence corroborating a modified Proto-Matthean Synoptic Theory
Authors: Lowe Malcolm , Flusser David
Published: February 2009

In an earlier paper, one of the co-authors pointed out that the extant Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and Thomas employed a common source which contained a certain series of parables and sayings of Jesus concerning John the Baptist. Thebasic structureof this ‘Baptist-sequence’ is best preserved by far in Matthew's Gospel, although various details of the original wording are better preserved in Luke and Thomas. It was suggested that one way of explaining these phenomena was to suppose the existence of a Proto-Matthew, of which the extant Matthew's Gospel contains revisions made in part under the influence of Mark's Gospel.
The Miraculous Crossing of the Sea: (John 6. 16–21)
Authors: Giblin Charles Homer
Published: February 2009

One of the more neglected pericopes in the Fourth Gospel is the so-called ‘Walking on the Water’(John 6. 16–21). Scholars have discussed the passage largely in the context of the debate concerning John's sign source or his dependence on the Synoptics, notably Mark, and have done so with an eye not so much to the substance of John's account as to its importance in the sequence of events in John 6.1Treatment of the passage in itself has occurred almost exclusively in commentaries.2The miraculous crossing of the lake has regularly been judged to be merely ‘a miracle within a miracle’, so that the main point of the passage remains Jesus' walking on the water3or his epiphanic self-manifestation (έγώ είμι).4
Christian Prophecy and the Sayings of Jesus: the State of the Question
Authors: Boring M. Eugene
Published: February 2009

This essay does not attempt to give evidence for a particular answer to a question, but discusses the question itself. I would like first to present a sketch of the history of how the question has been handled, and then make some suggestions for its reformulation. The question is: ‘Are sayings of Christian prophets included in the canonical Gospels as sayings of Jesus?’
Another Note to 1 Corinthians 10.16
Authors: Sigal Phillip
Published: February 2009

The problem of whether the meal conducted by Jesus (Mt. 26. 17–30: Mk. 14. 12–26; Lk. 22. 7–22; Jn. 13), was a Passover Seder is a matter of long-standing discussion and need not be entered into or documented here.1 What deserves further attention, however, is the light shed on this question by 1 Cor. 10. 16, which was recently considered in the pages of this journal.2 In this discussion the author cites the view of others that the cup of Mt. 26. 27 refers to the cup of blessing accompanying the Grace After Meals, birkhat hamazon, or in terms of the cup-sequence of the Passover Seder, the third cup.3 The author further indicates that the same scholars generally view ‘the cup of blessing’ at 1 Cor. 10. 16, to be the kosshel berakhah, and take this term to be a technical one that refers to the cup of thanksgiving for food, birkhat hamazon, or again, the third cup of the Passover Seder. Cohn-Sherbok argues, however, that Mt. 26. 27 refers to the fourth cup of the Seder, which accompanies the birkhat hashir, the blessing of song, which comes at the end of Hallel (M. Pes. 10. 7; B. Pes. 118 a).4 Finally, in discussing Paul's phrase, to poterion tes eulogias (1 Cor. 10. 16), Cohn-Sherbok argues that it need not refer to any particular cup of the Seder, and might mean generally a cup consecrated by Jesus.5 16, to be the kosshel berakhah, and take this term to be a technical one that refers to the cup of thanksgiving for food, birkhat hamazon, or again, the third cup of the Passover Seder. Cohn-Sherbok argues, however, that Mt. 26. 27 refers to the fourth cup of the Seder, which accompanies the birkhat hashir, the blessing of song, which comes at the end of Hallel (M. Pes. 10. 7; B. Pes. 118 a).4 Finally, in discussing Paul's phrase, to poterion tes eulogias (1 Cor. 10. 16), Cohn-Sherbok argues that it need not refer to any particular cup of the Seder, and might mean generally a cup consecrated by Jesus.5
ΕΠΟΤΙΣΘΗΜΕΝ again
Authors: Rogers E. R.
Published: February 2009

The short study by G. J. Cuming in the January, 1981, issue of New Testament Studies, pp. 283–5, has raised again the question of the interpretation of the verb iiroriadrjuev in 1 Cor. 12. 13. Along with most modern commentators Cuming rejects a reference to the Lord's Supper and finds instead a reference to the rite of baptism administered by affusion
Temple-Criticism and the Jewish Heritage: Some Reflexions on Acts 6–7
Authors: Larsson Edvin
Published: February 2009

1) In the exegetical discussion the word ‘temple-criticism’ is capable of several meanings. Generally speaking it is used to characterize critical statements in the New Testament concerning the Jerusalem temple. It is for example applied to sayings which express the view that the Jewish temple has been superseded by the coming of Jesus (Matt 12.6; John 2.19). Further, the word can signify a critical attitude towards the temple, when it is in a state of abuse (Mark 11.17; Matt 21.12). It also stands for a supposed criticism of the temple, taken as a static entirety and contrasted with the mobile tabernacle (Hebrews and Acts 7). Finally it is used to label certain New Testament statements and conceptions, understood as proclaiming a fundamental rejection of the temple, a rejection in principle of the temple as such (Acts 7.46–7). In discussing our theme we have to take all these aspects into consideration.
Zeus und der lebendige Gott: Anmerkungen zu Apostelgeschichte 14.11–17
Authors: Breytenbach Cilliers
Published: February 2009

In diesem Beitrag möchte ich einige Beobachtungen zu Apg 14.11–17 ausführen, die sich in drei Thesen zusammenfassen lassen:

Erstens soil anhand der Terminologie dieser Perikope aufgezeigt werden wie der Autor dieses Textabschnittes und somit derjenige der lukanischen Apostelgeschichte auf Vorstellungen zurückgreift, die aus den Überlieferungstraditionen des griechisch-sprechenden Judentums stammen. Diese Einsicht ist nicht neu, liefert aber die Voraussetzung für den zweiten, weitergehenden Diskussionspunkt: Der Text Apg 14.11–13,17 läβt einige religiöse Vorstellungen anklingen, die im südlichen Kleinasien während des ersten nachchristlichen Jahrhunderts verbreitet waren. Daraus läβt sich drittens die These entwickeln, daβ der Autor der Apostelgeschichte solche lokalen religiösen Vorstellungen im Lichte der Tradition des griechisch-sprechenden Judentums einbezieht.
Das vierte Gottesknechtslied in den Briefen des Neuen Testamentes
Authors: Hofius Otfried
Published: February 2009

In den christologischen und soteriologischen Aussagen der neutestamentlichen Briefe finden sich mehrfach deutliche Bezugnahmen auf das vierte deuterojesajanische Gottesknechtslied Jes 52.13–53.12.1Wenn diese Bezugnahmen Gegenstand der folgenden Überlegungen sein sollen, so geht es mirwederbloß um eine statistische Ermittlung jener Stellen, an denen sich eine Deutung des Gottesknechtsliedes auf Jesus Christus mit Sicherheit nachweisen läßt,noch auchum eine philologische Entscheidung darüber, ob die entsprechenden Texte dem hebräischen Wortlaut von Jes 53, der Septuaginta bzw. einer anderen griechischen Version oder gar einem aramäischen Targum verpflichtet sind. Mein Interesse gilt vielmehr eineranderenThematik, – nämlich der Frage:Wieist das vierte Gottesknechtslied in den Briefen des Neuen Testamentes aufgenommen worden? In welchemtheologischenSinn und Verständnis wurde es hier rezipiert?
Contributions of the Philippian Community to Paul and to Earliest Christianity
Authors: Reumann John
Published: February 2009

Pauline studies have long dealt with the theology (and sometimes the ethics) of Paul and the career of the apostle to the Gentiles. Lesser attention has been given to the communities of Paul. When Victor Furnish'sForschungsberichttook up ‘the Pauline congregations’, as part of what he termed an ‘overdue refocusing’, the emphases were on (1) relations with Jewish Christianity; (2) Paul's opponents; and (3) social history. The first area still often reflects hypotheses of the Tübingen School; the second, conflicts with rampant Judaizers or Gnostics or both as the opposition. Social world research looks to accumulate descriptive data from antiquity or also to use some modern sociological theory, to interpret Pauline church life and structures.
The Significance of Grouping of New Testament Manusripts
Authors: Colwell E. C.
Published: February 2009

New Testament manuscripts have been grouped by scholars into ‘Texts’ like Hort's Neutral, Western, Alexandrian, and Syrian. They have been grouped in ‘Families’ like Family I and Family Π, and into ‘Text-types’ and subgroups of types—as in the work of von Soden. The question as to the significance of these groupings of New Testament manuscripts can be answered by taking either of two sharply opposed positions. The first regards these groupings as of paramount importance; the second sees no importance in them. Both these positions have been taken by a number of scholars in modern study of New Testament manuscripts. A third mediating position is possible, and it is the purpose of this paper to urge that it be taken and to point out its implications for specific procedures in future study of New Testament manuscripts.
The Relationship of Ephesians and Colossians
Authors: Coutts John
Published: February 2009

In a previous number of New Testament Studies (II(1957), 115–27), I argued that behind Ephesians i. 3–14 and I Peter i. 3–12 lie forms of liturgical prayer; that Ephesians as a whole might well be a Baptismal Encyclical; and that if this were so, the question of the priority of Colossians might have to be reconisdered.
The Use of Explicit Old Testament Quotations in Qumran Literature and in the new Testament
Authors: Fitzmyer Joseph A.
Published: February 2009

The problem of the use of the Old Testament in the New Testament is a vast one, complicated by side-issues of textual variants and involved in the kindred problem of the relation or harmony of the two Testaments. It is also a problem which has been well worked over by many scholars. Books have been written on the subject, comparing the text of the Old Testament quotations with the existing Greek and Hebrew recensions or comparing the exegetical principles and methods of the New Testament writers with those of the rabbis.1
The Dead Sea Sect in Relation to Ancient Judaism
Authors: Smith Morton
Published: February 2009

I think I should begin with an apology for my temerity in accepting your invitation to discuss the Dead Sea material as a whole. Such a discussion is certainly premature while the greater part of the material is still unpublished, and while certain basic studies of the documents have yet to be made, or, at least, made public. The question of the palaeographic dating of the manuscripts, for instance, which could have great consequences for the reconstruction of the history of the sect, must remain sub judice until we have the material fully before us.
Fresh Light on St Luke xvi: Dives and Lazarus and the Proceding Sayings
Authors: M.Derrett J. Duncan
Published: February 2009

In the previous article the factual meaning, and the direct implications of the parable of the Unjust Steward were discussed. It remains to attempt to place each part of the chapter in the assumed setting, to which the parable originally belonged, or belonged in the materials from which Luke has taken these passages. It was pointed out that the burden of proof lies upon him who asserts that the passages which appear in sequence are not united by a thread of teaching. As it happens, that thread is not difficult to reconstitute, and its reconstruction is the task of this article.
The Historical Jesus and the Speech of Gamaliel (Acts 5.35–9)
Authors: Trumbower Jeffrey A.
Published: February 2009

As a supplement to the careful analysis of early Christian texts, anyone studying the historical Jesus of Nazareth is inevitably drawn to make comparisons between him and other figures from the ancient world in general, and first-century Palestine in particular. Just what type of figure was he? For example, in his book,Jesus the Jew, Geza Vermes emphasizes Jesus' compatibility with the category of Jewish charismatic figures like Honi the Circle-drawer (perhaps a Galilean) and Hanina Ben-Dosa (definitely a Galilean). Morton Smith compares the actions and words of Jesus to the magical papyri and finds remarkable similarities to ancient magicians, thus the title of his book,Jesus the Magician. Smith, like Celsus 1800 years earlier, delights in showing how Jesus was just one of the many fakers and charlatans practising the magical arts in the first-century Mediterranean world. More recently, Burton Mack has argued that Jesus was a cynic sage like those found in Diogenes Laertius'Lives of Eminent Philosophers. In Mack's reconstruction, Jesus' thought was not eschatological, nor did Jesus intend to found a movement or movements devoted to himself; rather, he preached the flaunting of social conventions and criticized his culture in general terms, like other cynic philosophers.
The Problem of the Domitianic Date of Revelation
Authors: Wilson J. Christian
Published: February 2009

In the latter half of the nineteenth century no New Testament scholar in the English speaking world was more respected than J. B. Lightfoot. His New Testament commentaries and his magisterial five volume work on the Apostolic Fathers were models of the scholarly thoroughness of British erudition coupled with the humility of Anglican piety. Their influence would reach well into the twentieth century.
Works of the Law and the Curse of the Law (Galatians 3.10–14)
Authors: Dunn James D. G.
Published: February 2009

The two most recent studies of Paul and the law both show a large measure of agreement in criticizing Paul's treatment of the law as inconsistent and self-contradictory. E. P. Sanders argues that Paul's ‘break’ with the law gave rise to different questions and problems, and that his ‘diverse answers, when set alongside one another, do not form a logical whole’.1So, in particular, Paul's ‘treatment of the law in chapter 2 (of Romans) cannot be harmonized with any of the diverse things which Paul says about the law elsewhere’; in Romans 2 ‘Paul goes beyond inconsistency or variety of argument and explanation to true self-contradiction’.2More thoroughgoing is H. Räisänen, who can see only one way to handle what Paul says: ‘contradictions and tensions have to beaccepted as constantfeatures of Paul's theology of the law’.3Again and again he finds himself driven to the conclusion that Paul contradicts himself. So, for example, with Rom 13. 8–10: ‘Paul seems here simply to have forgotten what he wrote in ch. 7 or in 10. 4’; ‘(Romans) 2.14–15,26–27 stand in flat contradiction to the main thesis of the section’; Paul puts forward ‘artificial and conflicting theories about the law’.4The artificiality and tension is evident not least in Gal 3. 10–12, where Räisänen finds the argument of 3. 10 to be at odds with the argument of 3. 11–12.5
Matthew 5.32 and 19.9 – Exception or Exceptional Situation?
Authors: Witherington Ben
Published: February 2009

There is a danger when dealing with a crux interpretum of assuming that because old solutions do not appear satisfactory, then a new view is more likely to be true than the standard interpretations. One must be wary, however, of replacing an unsatisfactory old view with an equally unsatisfactory new one. If, however, one can find a view that satisfies the usual objections to the traditional view without resorting to exegetical gymnastics, then it is certainly worth close scrutiny. There appears to be just such an interpretation of Mt 5. 32 and 19. 9 arising among scholars of varying points of view, though it is too early to speak of a new consensus. Thus, it seems worthwhile to examine once again these problematic texts in light of recent scholarship.
The Preface of Luke-Acts and Historiography
Authors: Callan Terrance
Published: February 2009

It has long been almost taken for granted that Luke-Acts is a historical work. Recently, however, C. H. Talbert has argued that Luke-Acts is biography rather than history, thereby re-opening the question of the genre of Luke-Acts. In what follows I will discuss one feature of Luke-Acts which does not support the contention that it is biography. I will argue that the preface of Luke-Acts resembles the prefaces of histories more than those of biographies or any other ancient prose writings. And I will further attempt to specify what historical prefaces it most resembles, and thus what sort of historian, on the evidence of the preface, the author of Luke-Acts was Comparison of prefaces cannot by itself settle the question of the genre of Luke-Acts, but it may make an important contribution. It is often true (and certainly true in the case of Luke-Acts) that the author speaks most directly in his preface. Because of this the preface may provide the best indication of the writer's own understanding of what he is doing, which is an important consideration in addressing the question of genre.
The Three Variant Accounts of Peter's Call: a Critical and Theological Examination of the Texts
Authors: Abogunrin S. O.
Published: February 2009

The variant accounts of Peter's call as recorded by the four Evangelists constitute a major problem in the New Testament. Can we dismiss as incredible the accounts of his call on the basis of the Gospels' inconsistencies? Fuller has pointed out that the best way to discredit a witness in court is for the cross-examiner to tie him up in knots and make his evidence to appear to be such a tissue of inconsistencies that the jury becomes convinced that he is entirely untrustworthy. But in spite of their differences, the four Gospels are united in reporting that Peter became a follower of Jesus in the very early days of his ministry. They differ, however, as to the time, place and circumstances of his call.
The Role of the Disciples in Mark
Authors: Best Ernest
Published: February 2009

While traditional Christian thought has honoured the disciples, they have since Wrede been increasingly regarded as bearing the brunt of Mark's animus. This paper is a new examination of the role they play in Mark's thought. It is not inappropriate to present it at a meeting of the Society in the U.S.A., where so much original and fascinating work on the place of Mark as author has been advanced in recent years. It may be that Mark did not conceive of the disciples as playing any particular role. In the tradition their lives were too closely intertwined with that of Jesus for Mark to have been able to omit them from his account. Given their necessary presence he might have regarded them purely as background, an ineradicable part of the scenery but of no importance in themselves and having no essential function in what he wrote. We will not dispute this now, but all that is argued later about the disciples indicates that they were not mere scenery; Mark gave them a definite role in his book. But what role? This is a legitimate question and needs to be asked once we abandon the view that Mark is writing pure biography.
The Gothic ‘Skeireins’ in the Greek Original, Leaves V and VII
Authors: Friendichsen G. W. S.
Published: February 2009

The present study continues and completes my retroversions of the Gothic Commentary on St John, which appeared in N.T.S. VIII, 43–56 (leaves I–IV), ibid. x, 368–73 (leaf VI), ibid. x, 499–504 (leaf VIII); see also Ibid IX, 39–55 (‘Notes on the Gothic Bible’).
Zur Frage nach dem ‘Sitz im Leben’ der Apokalyptischen Texte des Neuen Testaments
Authors: Sand Alexander
Published: February 2009

1970 erschien von Klaus Koch, Professor für Altes Testament und Altorientalische Religionsgeschichte an der Universität Hamburg, eine Monographie mit dem Titel: ‘Ratlos vor der Apokalyptik’. Im Untertitel bestimmt der Autor näher der Zweck und das Ziel seiner Darlegungen: ‘Eine Streitschrift über ein vernachlässigtes Gebiet der Bibelwissenschaft und die schädlichen Auswirkungen auf Theologie und Philosophie’. Klaus Koch ist der Überzeugung, daß bei den Exegeten ‘ein tieferes geschichtliches Bewußtsein‘ nur ‘selten vorhanden sei, wenn sie über die Apokalyptik positiv oder negativ handeln‘. Dieser Zustand sie unhaltbar und um ihn zu ändern, lege er nicht einen ‘neutralen Forschungsbericht’ vor, sondern – wie er ausdrücklich betont – eine ‘Streitschrift’ die zu Änderungen reizen will, und sei es durch Widerspruch.
An Examination of the Criteria for Distinguishing the Authentic Words of Jesus
Authors: Calvert D. G. A.
Published: February 2009

The purpose of this article is to examine the various suggested criteria to distinguish the authentic teaching of Jesus in the synoptic gospels. The present situation is reviewed; the negative and positive criteria are examined; and in conclusion an improvement of method is suggested. The study of this problem has to some extent been prompted by Perrin's ‘The Teaching of Jesus’, thought this article is in no way an examination of the book.
Proportional Analogy in the Gospel Parables
Authors: Sider John W.
Published: February 2009

In its original application to literary languageπαραβολήevidently denoted analogy: ideas ‘laid side by side’ for comparison or contrast. In the Budding Fig Tree (Mk 13. 28–9; cf. Mt 24. 32–3, Lk 21. 19–31) the form of statement makes this rhetorical juxtaposition most obvious:
Die Komposition des Matthäus-Evangeliums
Authors: Wilkens Wilhelm
Published: February 2009

Eine wesentliche Hilfe zur Erfassung der Komposition des Evangeliums ist der wiederholte Gebrauch bestimmter Formeln, so z.B. 7. 28; 11. 1; 13. 53; 19. 1; 26. 1: ‘Und es geschah, als Jesus diese Reden vollendet hatte …’ In 7. 28 f. findet sich die Formel genau an der Nahtstelle zwischen der Bergpredigt (Kap. 5–7) und der folgenden Sammlung von Wundern (Kap. 8–9). Sie leitet vom Wortteil zum Tatteil der Komposition über. Wir nennen sie daher Überleitungs- oder Übergangsformel. Der Vergleich mit Lukas (7. 1) zeigt, daß sie durch Q angeregt sein könnte. Matthäus verbindet sie in 7. 28 f. mit Mark 1. 22, um die Vollmacht Jesu anzuzeigen: ‘Denn er lehrte sie wie einer, der Gewalt hat, und nicht wie ihre Schriftgelehrten.’ -In 11. 1 steht die Übergangsformel am Abschluß der Senderede Kap. 10 und leitet zur Täuferfrage über: ‘Bist du es, der da kommen soll, oder sollen wir auf einen anderen warten?’ (11. 3). Jesus beantwortet diese Frage in 11. 5 f. mit dem Hinweis auf seine Werke: ‘Blinde werden sehend und Lahme gehen, Aussätzige werden rein und Taube hören, Tote werden auferweckt und Armen wird die frohe Botschaft gebracht, und selig ist, wer an mir keinen Anstoß nimmt.’ – Dann taucht die Formel wieder am Abschluß der Gleichnisrede in 13. 53 auf. Wenige Verse später betont Matthäus, daß Jesus in seiner Vaterstadt ‘um ihres Unglaubens willen’ nicht viele Machttaten vollbrachte (13. 58). Von solchen Taten ist dann aber im folgenden wieder die Rede (14.1 ff.). Die Formel findet sich weiter am Abschluß der Gemeinderede, wieder unter Hinweis auf Taten Jesu: ‘Und eine große Volksmenge folgte ihm nach, und er heilte sie dort’ (19. 1 f.). Von weiteren Wundertaten ist hier dann freilich nicht die Rede. –Em letztes Mai setzt Matthäus die Übergangsformel an den Abschluß der endzeitlichen Reden (Kap. 24–25) und markiert so den Übergang zur Passionsgeschichte (26. 1), die hier die Tatseite des Christuswerkes Jesu repräsentiert.
Towards Unravelling Luke's Use of the Old Testament: Luke 7.11–17 as anImitatioof 1 Kings 17.17–24
Authors: Brodie Thomas Louis
Published: February 2009

It is widely recognized not only that Luke was a literary artist but that his literary methods involved specifically Hellenistic approaches and techniques. The primary purpose of this article is to indicate that the enigmatic relationship of part of Luke's text (7. 11–17, the raising of the widow's son) to part of the LXX text (1 Kgs 17. 17–24, Elijah's raising of the widow's son) is aliteraryrelationship, a relationship which is the result of a sophisticated and coherent process of dramatization and christianization. The article is also intended to suggest briefly that this literary relationship is to be understood, in considerable part, in light of the Hellenistic literary practice known asimitatio, and that the practice ofimitatiomay be an important clue in detecting and unravelling other areas of Luke's sources.
Les Structures de Benedictus (Luc 1.68–79)
Authors: Rousseau François
Published: February 2009

Cet écrit prend la relève de deux articles déjà parus dans New Testament Studies. Le premier est celui d'Albert Vanhoye, ‘Structure du Benedictus’. Le second est celui de Pierre Auffret, ‘Note sur la structure littéraire de Lc 1, 68–79’. Le deuxième est une critique systématique du premier et fait sûrement avancer la recherche sur plusieurs points. Le présent article est le résultat à la fois d'une analyse détaillée des deux articles en question et d'une analyse personnelle du texte même du cantique de Zacharie. Notre analyse fournira deux structures nouvelles qui s'ajouteront à celles d'A. Vanhoye et de P. Auffret. Trois de ces quatre structures se présenteront comme complémentaires en ce sens qu'elles orienteront vers un contenu de pensée de première importance.
John 1.51, Jewish Apocalyptic and Targumic Tradition
Authors: Rowland Christopher
Published: February 2009

One of the dominant motifs of the Fourth Gospel is the centrality of Christ for any kind of relationship between man and God. This theme at least stands out as a main purpose of the author, for he sets out to persuade his readers ‘that Jesus is the Christ’, and that believing they ‘may have life in his name’ (20. 31). What is more, he points out the superiority of the revelation in and through Jesus Christ (1. 17;3. 13) as compared with all other claims to offer revelation about God. Whether the author was seeking to persuade non-believers of the truth of the Christian message or Christians to remain faithful to the faith which they already had is much disputed. As far as the present discussion is concerned, however, it will be assumed that the gospel is directed primarily to those who were believers already, rather than being evangelistic in outlook, and is intended to dissuade Jewish-Christians from abandoning their new allegiance to Christ.
The Alexandrian Epistle of Jude
Authors: Gunther John J.
Published: February 2009

The hypothesis of Jude's Alexandrian origin, which was set forth by Ernst Th. Mayerhoff in 1835 and has been supported by D. Schenkel, W. J. Mangold, H. Holtzmann, O. Pfleiderer and James Moffatt, deserves to be revived.

Its associations with Syria and Palestine are superficial. Although theApostolic Constitutions(Apost. Canon 85) canonizes all of the Catholic Epistles, it was not until the early sixth century that Philoxenus brought Jude into the Syriac canon. Eusebius (hist.eccl.ii,23.25; iii,25.3) placed it among the disputed writings. J. N. D. Kelly deems it unlikely that the readers ‘were converts from Palestinian Judaism, for the Gnostic libertinism attacked cannot have had much attraction for people brought up to reverence the Law’. There is no evidence that libertine Gnostics ever were a problem anywhere in Syria either. There is no point of contact between Jude and either the Judas Thomas apocrypha or Ignatius or the Docetic and Judaizing errors he opposed at home or on the road. Hans Windisch remarked that the suppression of the blood relationship of Judas with Jesus bespeaks the non-Palestinian origin of the letter. The readers of the epistle did respect both Judas and James, who represented Palestinian dynastic Christianity. But such esteem did not prevail at Antioch (Acts 15.1; Gal. 2. 12) or where Matthew (12. 46–50) and Mark (3. 31–35), with their bias against the Lord's brothers, were written. The Synoptic Gospels did not influence Jude. The remoteness of Rome and the West from Judaean Christianity argues against any association with our epistle. Neither 1 Clement nor the Shepherd of Hermas reveals an awareness of the problems with which Jude deals. The epistle has nothing in common with Revelation or Asian millenarianism; Papias did not even include Judas in his list of disciples. Justin's ignorance of Jude tends to forbid its connection with Ephesus or Rome.
Inhalt und Funktion des Urchristlichen Osterglaubens
Authors: Bartsch H.-W.
Published: February 2009

Es wird heute in der neutestamentlichen Forschung beider Konfessionen zwar nicht mehr einhellig angenommen, daΒ der urchristliche Glaube seinen Ansatz im Glauben an den auferstandenen Christus hat, die Rückführung des urchristlichen Glaubens auf den ‘historischen Jesus’ wird zunehmend vertreten, dennoch dürfen wir mit der Annahme, daΒ der urchristliche Glaube Ostern entstand, einsetzen, da unsere Untersuchung über die in I. Kor 15, 3–7 von Paulus zitierte Tradition eben diese Annahme bestätigen wird. Die ersten Christen glaubten an den Κúριοςησοũς χριστóς pios ‘li-aous Xpicrros, weil er ihnen als solcher erschienen war und nicht wegen einer Autorität, die der vorösterliche Jesus von Nazareth erworben hatte und die sich über seinen Tod hinüberrettete. Wenn wir diese von der formgeschichtlichen Forschung erarbeitete Position einnehmen, muΒ sich aber die Frage stellen, was dieser Glaube inhaltlich besagte. Wir können uns nicht damit zufrieden geben, daΒ er die Realität der Auferstehung bezeugt; denn welchen sachlichen Inhalt sollte der Glaube an einen Auferstandenen haben? Inwiefern ist mit Jesu Auferstehung der Tod besiegt, wie Paulus es I. Kor 15, 54 schreibt? Diese Frage hat die neutestamentliche Forschung bisher kaum berührt. Sie ist aber gerade darum in jüngster Zeit wesentlich geworden, da die Aussage von Jesu Auferstehung als urchristliches Glaubensbekenntnis mehr und mehr jeden Inhaltes entleert wurde. Wozu brauchten die ersten Christen die Aussage über Jesu Auferstehen, wenn sie nur‘die Sache Jesu’ weitergehen lassen wollten? Warum gaben sie ihm die Titel Kyrios und Christus, wenn nur seine Sache, die Verkündigung des kommenden Gottesreiches, weitergehen sollte? Es hatte genügt, ihn als Prophet wie es spater Rabbi Aqiba gegeniiber geschah. Wir haben darum alien Grund zu fragen, welcher spezifische Inhalt sich mit der Aussage I.
Suggestion, Negative Response, and Positive Action in St John's Portrayal of Jesus
Authors: Giblin Charles H.
Published: February 2009

In a number of episodes in the Fourth Gospel, Jesus appears to act inconsistently. That is, he proceeds to act positively after giving a negative response to a suggestion that has been presented to him in view of something considered to be an urgent human need. Four episodes that contain this repeated pattern prove to be the beginning of his signs (John 2. 1 ff.), the second, encore sign at Cana (4. 46 ff.), the discussion about going up to the feast of Tabernacles (7. 2 ff.), and the sign of the raising of Lazarus (11. 1 ff.). Some, like Bultmann, have noted elements of the pattern in one or other passage only to misconstrue the issue. Others, notably R. H. Lightfoot, R. E. Brown and C. K. Barrett, have singled out two or three instances of the pattern and have shed some helpful light on its function, albeit in a restricted literary context. Together, all four commentators prompt one's attention to these four related passages. Neither their inquiries nor those of others suggest that additional Johannine passages need directly be considered. Curiously, however, no one scholar has indicated that all four passages exemplify the same pattern. Not surprisingly, the various analyses of the pattern that scholars have offered prove to be inadequate. For they have not attempted to cover all the relevant instances. Nor, as will appear, have they explained in a way that does justice to the data in the text the instances that they have noted.
The ‘Curse of the Law’ and the Inclusion of the Gentiles: Galatians 3. 13–14
Authors: Donaldson T. L.
Published: February 2009

The path of Paul's argumentation in Gal 3. 1–4. 7 presents vexing problems for any who would attempt to retrace it. The terminal points are clear: he begins with ‘Christ … crucified’ (3. 1; cf. 2. 21) and ends with the inclusion of the uncircumcized Gentile believers among the true ‘seed’ of Abraham (3. 26–29; 4. 7). But the route by which he moves from ‘cross’ to ‘Gentiles’–a maze of laboured exegesis, puzzling illustration, and cryptic theological shorthand–is anything but clear.
Toward a New Classification of the Figures (ΣΧΗМАτА) in the Greek New Testament
Authors: Snyman A. H. , Cronje J. V. W.
Published: February 2009

A cursory view of the classification of the figures by some prominent grammarians of New Testament Greek reveals a quite confusing picture. In his monumental work A Grammar of the Greek New Testament in the light of historical research (1919), A. T. Robertson deals with certain ‘grammatical’ figures of speech in his discussion of the sentence (chapter 10, 390–445). The ‘remaining’ figures are dealt with in chapter 22 under the heading: Figures of Speech (1194–1208), and they are divided into figures of idea or thought (σχήματα δıανοίας, 1198–1199) and figures of expression (σήματα λήξεως, 1199–1208).
Der antiochenische Zwischenfall (Galater 2.11–14)
Authors: Holtz Traugott
Published: February 2009

Will man das Geschehen, von dem Paulus Gal 2. 11 ff., berichtet, und das wir gewöhnlich mit der um möglichste Wertungsfreiheit bemühten Bezeichnung ‘der antiochenische Zwischenfall’ benennen, in seinem Wesen erfassen, dann muß man sich zunächst die Art des einzigen Zeugnisses vergegenwärtigen, das wir über es besitzen. Schon lange ist darauf aufmerksam gemacht worden, ‘daß diese Erzählung eine gelegentliche ist und in einem Zusammen-hang stattfindet, welcher den Erzähler in keiner Weise zu einer vollständigen Mittheilung des Vorganges an sich selbst und in allen seinen Einzelheiten verpflichtet’.1Und weiter: ‘die Erzählung des Paulus ist ein Ganzes, das zwar eine unvollständige Mittheilung des nur gelegentlich berührten Vorganges, aber in sich selbst wohl geschlossen ist und keine Ergänzung duldet’.2Paulus will in der Tat in Gal 1 f. nicht über ein Stück Geschichte des Urchristentums informieren, sondern er will mit gezielter Spitze sein Verhältnis zu den Jerusalemer Autoritäten, insbesondere zu Petrus, darlegen. Darauf ist der Bericht über seinen Lebensweg ausgerichtet, er mündet in dem uns beschäftigenden Abschnitt. Paulus will zeigen, daß sein Evangelium und Apostolat zugleich unabhängig von und identisch mit dem der Jerusalemer ist, die vor ihm Apostel waren.3
Paulus in der Apostelgeschichte und die Geschichte des Urchristentums
Authors: Jervell J.
Published: February 2009

Für Irenäus ist Paulus der Apostel, ho apostolos, schlechthin. Wiederholt redet er von ‘dem Apostel’, meistens ohne den Namen zu nennen. Er meint aber Paulus. Zu selber Zeit hält er aber an der einzigartigen Rolle der zwölf Apostel als Traditionsgaranten fest. Paulus ist jedoch der Apostel schlechthin, der einzige Apostel, den Irenäus ohne Namen als Autorität anführen kann, Adv Haer V 6. 1; 7. 1–2; 8. 1–3; 9. 1; 10.1; 11. 1; 12. 2, 3, 4; 13. 3, 4, 5; 14. 1, 3. etc. Niemals versucht Irenäus einen Ausgleich, also Paulus im Verhältnis zu den anderen Apostel, z.B. als gleichgestellt oder unter-geordnet, darzustellen. Irenäus ist hier als Beispiel erwähnt. Es ist auch möglich Paulus als der Apostel schlechthin zu erwähnen, ohne den Titel überhaupt zu verwenden, so z.B. Polykarp Phil 3. 2; 9. 1; 11. 2–3 und in den Paulusakten 8. 1, 3, 4. Und wenn Paulus als untergeordnet oder gleichgeordnet dargestellt wird, dann kommt eine Darstellung zur Sicht, die nichts mit der Apostelgeschichte des Lukas gemein hat.