bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Pauline Theology in the Letter to the Colossians
Authors: Lohse Eduard
Published: February 2009

The letter addressed to the Christian Chruch in Colossae speaks to a definite situation of Christianity in Asia Minor. This situation is not known to us from direct reports, but has to be inferred from hints and allusions within the letter. Though an absolutely certain result cannot be attained in every respect, nevertheless a sufficiently clear picture emerges. From the polemical argument carried on in the second chapter of the letter one can gather a whole series of catch-words and themes which were used by a group that worked their way into the congregation and offered it a new teaching. What sort of a teaching was it, and why does it present such a dangerous threat to a congregation which wants to remain true to the apostolic Gospel?
Zur Christologie des Apokryphons des Johannes
Authors: Arai Sasagu
Published: February 2009

In meiner Arbeit über die Christologie des EV (=Evangelium Veritatis) bin ich zu dem Schuß gelangt, daß diese sekundär ist. Als Gründe führte ich unter anderem an, daß sie bzw. die kaum gnostische Auffassung der Person christi in die kaum gnostiche Auffassung der Person Christi in die Voraussetzungen einer Christologie, nämlich in die kosmologie, Anthropologie und Soteriologie, nicht ganz hineinpaßt. Diese Schlußfolgerung wurde neulic zwar angegriffern, aber ich halte weiterhin daran fest, daß die Christologie des EV ein Fremdkörper im gesamten Text bleibt, zumal dasselbe Ergebnis auch für andere gnostische Schriften gelten könnte. Ich werde im folgenden versuchen, festzustellen, daß auch die Christologie oder die Gestalt Jesu Christi im AJ (=Apokryphon des Johannes) sekundär ist. Allerdings werde ich in der vorliegenden Untersuchung nicht mehr die Methode anwenden, die ich in meiner obengenannten Arbeit durchgeführt habe, zumal diese angezweifelt wurde. Ich werde hier die allgemein anerkannte, literarkritische Methode aufnehmen, da uns glücklicherweise vier Versionen des AJ zur Verfügung stehen.
Zum Text Der Zweiten Vaterunserbitte
Authors: Freudenberger Rudolf
Published: February 2009

Handschriftliche Varianten im Text der synoptischen Evangelien gelten oft als Marksteine einer manchmal sehr verewickelten Auslegungsgeschichte. In dieser Hinsicht bieten die ersten drei Bitten des Vaterunsers ein besonders lehrreiches, aber auch besonders schwieriges Problem. Zwar spielt die Textkritik für die lukanische Fassung dieser drei Bitten bei Matthäus (vi. 9f.) praktisch keine Rolle; für die lukanische Fassung des Vaterunsers dagegen (xi. 2) sind Zahl und Inhalt der drei ersten Bitten von den Textzeugen her nichts weniger als einheitlich überliefert.
Jesus in Nazareth (Mark VI. 1–6a): Notes on the Redaction and Theology of St Mark
Authors: Grässer Erich
Published: February 2009

Mark vi. I–6ais a story told with a fullness of vivid detail, and it is devoid of any edificatory ending. These two facts give the ‘impression of uninventable authenticity’, The result has been—and it is one that is still with us—that in the history of research interpreters have been all too prone to look at it only from the perspective of its historical value. In Mark vi. I–6a we seem to find ourselves ‘on the soil of the best tradition’, just because there is a series of concrete individual points which are indeed very likely to give confidence in their historical credibility. Inv.3 ‘personal details are given, which can have no other origin than old Galilean tradition’. Verse 5aandv. 6adraw features of such human truth into the picture of Jesus that the reader must be convinced of their authenticity.4 But—granted all these points— what is won for the historical facts from our pericope? Well, there are mentioned the origin and profession of Jesus, the names of his mother and of four of his brothers, the existence of sisters and the fact of an unsuccessful visit to his native town. This is really quite a lot.
The First Resurrection Appearance and the Ending of Mark's Gospel
Authors: Trompf G. W.
Published: February 2009

Early Christian literature leaves us with apparently conflicting traditions about the first appearance of the risen Lord, although these traditions can be reduced to at least two main classes. On the one hand, some writers give Peter pride of place; he heads the list in Paul's ‘official’ παράδοσις of I Corinthians xv, and takes priority in both Luke (xxiv. 34) and the late second-centuryGospel of Peter(xiii. 57 – xiv. 60). On the other hand, some connect women with the first appearance; Matthew presents an albeit brief account of Jesus meeting the three women who had visited the tomb (xxviii. 9–10), whilst John (xx. 11–18) and the longer ending of Mark (xvi. 9) single out Mary Magdalene as the special recipient of the first appearance. As appearances of the resurrected kúpios came to acquire importance for the early Church in establishing apostolic authenticity and leadership, it is surprising that this second line of tradition persisted along with the contradictory ‘pro-Petrine’ material. Was it a source of embarrassment for those wishing to give pre-eminence to Peter? The question has usually been evaded because of the common supposition that Matthew was the first to ‘invent’ the tradition of such an appearance to women, so as to overcome ‘the impasse presented by Mark's (empty tomb) story’ before passing on towards the great summation of his Gospel; but it is also possible to affirm that Matthew (who is pro-Petrine enough, cf. xvi. 17–19) made astonishingly little out of this appearance, sparing as his comments are.
Textual Evidence of Tatian's Dependence upon Justin's 'AΠOMNHMONEYMATA
Authors: Petersen William L.
Published: February 2009

Because of their early date (mid-second century) and interesting variants, the gospel citations of Justin Martyr — he almost always refers to his source as άπομνημονεύματα τν άποστόλων (‘memoirs of the apostles’), and only rarely as a ‘gospel’ — have long attracted scholars’ attention. It is self-evident that the citations contain numerous variant readings and are frequently harmonized; the dispute has been over what best explains this phenomenon. Semisch and Zahn said that the variant readings and harmonizations were due to lapses of Justin's memory. Credner argued that Justin's non-standard citations were the result of his reliance upon extracanonical gospels. Bousset opined that Justin had access to presynoptic traditions; this explained both the similarities and the differences between Justin's text and the later (revised) synoptic text. Von Engelhardt suggested that Justin used a post-synoptic gospel harmony. This position found support in the researches of Bellinzoni, who investigated the ‘sayings of Jesus’ genre in Justin. He noted passages cited more than oncein exactly the same harmonized form, suggesting a written document, and passages paralleled in other early Christian sourcesin very similar harmonized form. Bellinzoni interpreted this as indicating that Justin had used a gospel harmony, which was also used by other early Christian writers. He noted that Justin's variant citations and harmonizations seemed especially close to those found in the Pseudo- Clementine Homilies and Recognitions. Bellinzoni concluded that this harmony was post-synoptic, excluded John, and ‘had great influence on the later manuscript tradition of Matthew, Mark and Luke’. In the last paragraph of his book, Bellinzoni speculated that the harmony used by Justin might have links with the Diatessaron: ‘Tatian was a pupil of Justin, … It is now apparent that the concept of a gospel harmony did not originate with Tatian.’
Rethinking Romans 12–15
Authors: Moiser Jeremy
Published: February 2009

The bulk of these chapters is invariably understood as a general, or as it were abstract, exposition of Christian virtues, without particular reference to a situation at Rome. We read in Luther, for example, that ‘the apostle is about to teach a Christian ethic’ when he begins chapter 12. Nygren states that none of Romans is aimed at circumstances peculiar to Rome, and that chapters 12–13 contain Paul's ‘central view of the ethical life of the Christian’. Käsemann regards 12–13 as general exhortation, only 14.1–15.3 being directed at problems in Rome. According to E. P. Sanders, nothing in Romans is called forth by the situation of the letter's recipients. ‘It seems best’, he writes, ‘to view Romans as being Paul's reflection on the problem of Jew and Gentile, in the light of the coming encounter in Jerusalem’. There are, however, several difficulties with this view. One is that the chapters do not include areas of Christian ethics with which we know Paul was concerned, such as marriage (1 Cor 7; Col 3.18 ff.), slavery (Col 3.22 ff.; Phlm), slander (1 Cor 6.10), suffering for Christ (2 Cor 1.7), generosity (2 Cor 8.6 ff.), avoiding witchcraft and gluttony (Gal 5.20; Phil 3.19), working hard (1 Thess 4.9–11). If Paul were writing a deliberatelygeneralethic, we should have expected perhaps more system and certainly a greater range of items.6More importantly, the view leads to fussy, artificial or disjointed divisions of the chapters into a multiplicity of exhortations which fail to grasp the broad sweep of Paul's thought. In particular the precise relevance of 13.1–7 is left obscure.
Living Creatures in the Midst of the Throne: Another Look at Revelation 4.6
Authors: Hall Robert G.
Published: February 2009

R. H. Charles, noting that no one had successfully explained how the living creatures of Rev 4.6 could be at the same time ‘in the middle of the throne’ and ‘around the throne’, boldly but logically throws out έν μέσῳ το θρόνου καί as a gloss. Since no manuscript omits the phrase έν μέσῳ το θρόνου, those with a literary conscience less robust than Charles' have tried to explain it. Yet attempts to interpret έν μέσῳ το θρόνου as ‘in the middle of each side of the throne’, ‘at the height of the middle of the throne’, or ‘in the center where the throne was’ heighten our surprise at the author's choice of words even as they explain his phraseology. Affirming that John has added ‘around the throne’ to the traditional ‘in the middle of the throne’ explains how the contradiction might have arisen but hardly lessens the tension between the two phrases.
A New Approach to 1 Corinthians 13.1
Authors: Sanders Todd K.
Published: February 2009

The opening words of 1 Corinthians 13 have undergone numerous translations since their initial composition in the first century C.E. Although translators have often differed in semantic emphasis, there is remarkable agreement regarding the function of ἤ. Indeed, in every translation ἤ has been rendered as a disjunctive conjunction, equivalent to the English ‘or’. Unfortunately, this consensus has never produced a wholly satisfactory translation, resulting instead in some rather creative etymological crusades.
The Coherence of Paul's View of the Law: The Evidence of First Corinthians
Authors: Thielman Frank
Published: February 2009

Students of Paul's theology have directed much attention in recent years to the coherence of Paul's view of the law. Fascination with the subject is understandable since, at least for some, nothing less than the value of Paul's thinking for Christian theology is at stake in the debate.1 Most of the debate's energy has naturally focused not upon First Corinthians but upon the three epistles in which Paul speaks most fervently and frequently about the law: Gal-atians, Romans, and Philippians.2 Paul does, after all, use the word νόμος only eight times3 in First Corinthians whereas in Galatians, Romans, and Philippians, he uses it over a hundred times. In these three letters, moreover, the issue of the law is front and centre, for Paul is arguing energetically in all three against opponents who are trying to impose the law upon his Gentile converts. In First Corinthians, however, even if Cephas at one time passed through the community, there is nearly nothing to indicate that Judaizing had become a problem.4
Paradise Regained or Still Lost? Eschatology and Disorderly Behaviour in 2 Thessalonians
Authors: Menken M. J. J.
Published: February 2009

In the third chapter of 2 Thess, the author of this letter addresses himself to the problem that some members of the church behave ἀτάκτως, ‘in a disorderly way’, and not according to the tradition (3.6). As it seems, this behaviour amounts to a refusal to work for a living. The brothers in question take advantage of others (cf. 3.8), and busy themselves with useless things, causing unrest (3.11–12).
‘To Proclaim Liberty to the Captives’
Authors: Charette B.
Published: February 2009

The description of Wisdom in Sirach has exercised a profound influence on the interpretation of Matt 11.28–30. Many scholars, impressed with the evident parallels between Sir 51.23–7; 6.23–31 and the Matthean logion,1have regarded the latter as dependent on the former.2Others, taking a further step, have felt justified in interpreting the logion with reference to a wisdom christology. According to this view, Jesus, represented as Wisdom incarnate,3offers rest to those burdened by the legal interpretations of the Pharisees4through his yoke, which stands for his teaching, or, more precisely, for his interpretation of the law.5This approach to the logion has had its detractors,6and some scholars have questioned the suitability of positing any connection between Sirach and the logion.7It is not the purpose of the present discussion to enter into this debate, but rather to draw attention to what might be termed a neglected feature in the discussion of Matt 11.28–30, namely the relation of the logion to certain OT prophetic themes.8
Style and the Rhetorical Situation of Romans 8.31–39
Authors: Snyman A. H.
Published: February 2009

The long history of research on Paul's style has neglected to a large extent the question of the functions of the various stylistic techniques used in his letters. This statement, however, needs some clarification. By ‘style’ here is not meant the traditional figures of speech and figures of thought, but all the linguistic choices an author has made in the light of restrictions imposed on him by the rhetorical situation. These choices include such things as vocabulary, grammatical forms, sentence patterns, sentence length, coherence devices, rhetorical figures, paragraphing, etc. ‘Function’ again does not refer to the familiar efforts of linking these linguistic choices with Greek and Roman textbooks on rhetoric and style; nor does it refer to the general remarks in grammars and other works on the Greek NT, when they speak of the emotional or emphatic or forceful function of certain stylistic figures. By ‘function’ here is meant what Kennedy calls ‘function in context’.
Christ and Reproof (Matthew 7.1–5/Luke 6.37–42)
Authors: Derrett J. Duncan M.
Published: February 2009

The saying of the Mote and Beam (properly Chaff and Pole) has caused some difficulty; but alas an intricate and subtle saying, paradoxical (not absurd), has been domesticated by being seen as a trite commonplace. The obvious questions are why onlyoneeye is involved: for only if both were affected could a foreign body not be extricated; and why does the seer of the Chaff have to have a Pole inhiseye; why, again, does he take the initiative, offering to attend to his ‘brother’, whereas in a case of a foreign body the initiative comes from the sufferer; why is it assumed that a ‘casting out’ will occur (έκβάλλειν has a very sombre semantic scope); and whence comes that grotesque Pole (conventionally ‘beam’)? The answers must be sought in many quarters, viz. (1) a popular saying known in more than one culture, (2) the behaviour of the eye, (3) a common Jewish cluster of idioms, (4) the pious ideal in Israel on the subject of rebuke, reproof, and (5) the Law and the Prophets. Our saying has languished because information from these quarters has not been combined.
Paul's Theology: Consistent or Inconsistent?
Authors: Beker J. C.
Published: February 2009

. Recent discussions of Paul's theology have reached a virtual consensus that Paul is not a dogmatic theologian, but rather an interpreter of the gospel. In this light we would expect that the tendencies of the history of Christian thought to discover a dogmatic ‘Mitte’, from which all other elements of his thought can be deduced, would have ceased. And yet the immense dogmatic pressure of the Christian tradition still persists: with their search for ‘die Mitte’ of Paul's thought which they locate in justification by faith and/or in the righteousness of God, both Barth and Käsemann show that the dogmatic quest of the church from the time of Augustine to Luther and Calvin is still alive.
La Soumission aux Autorités d'après 1 Pierre 2.13–17: Version Spécifique d'une Parénèse Traditionelle
Authors: Légasse S.
Published: February 2009

L'encyclique aux chrétiens d'Asie Mineure que constitue la première épître de Pierre (1 P) offre de nombreux contacts avec l'ensemble de la parénèse apostolique. À ce propos l'instruction sur la soumission au pouvoir civil (2. 13–17) se signale à l'attention en raison de sa parenté avec Rm 13. 1–7 (Tt 3. la). Pourtant cette pièce dispense aussi un enseignement particulier qu'il est intéressant d'étudier pour lui-même. C'est ce que je me propose d'abord et principalement de faire, avant de tenter une comparaison avec Rm 13. 1–7 et, pour finir, de mener une brève enquête sur l'arrière-plan historique de la péricope.
Is Paul Defending his Apostleship in Galatians?
Authors: Lategan Bernard
Published: February 2009

In recent research, the claim has been made that Paul's statements about the law in Galatians are often misread from the perspective of the post-reformation law/gospel debate. The thesis of this article is that Galatians has also suffered from a different kind of misreading, that is a reading from a specific perspective of the Corinthian correspondence and which mistakenly assumes that the main issue in Galatians is a defense of Paul's apostolic authority. It will be argued that the main focus is on thenatureof Paul's gospel and, therefore, on the theological basis on which it rests. For this purpose, a number of arguments will be presented relating to the function of Gal 1. 10–11 and 2. 20, both critical transitions in the structure of the letter. These arguments are based on a pragmatic analysis of the letter as a whole, which cannot be discussed here in any detail. It should be stressed, however, that for the determining of the rhetorical function of any subsection of the letter, an analysis of the entire text as a communicative unity is essential. Therefore it is necessary to explain certain methodological implications of the approach which will be followed here.
Paul's Gentile Mission and the Jewish Christian Community:A Study of the Narrative in Galatians 1 and 2
Authors: Verseput D. J.
Published: February 2009

Paul's autobiographical notes in Gal 1.11–2.21 have long attracted considerable attention because of their rather sensational portrayal. The dramatic picture of a stubbornly independent Paul marching determinedly into the Jewish capital to ‘have it out’ with the Jerusalem apostles, or the spectacle of two great church leaders raising the dust in Antioch certainly excites the imagination. Yet the work of the exegete begins not with the reconstruction of the events themselves, but with the question of the literary purpose behind Paul's tendentious representation of the facts. And it is to this end that we would like to re-examine briefly the Pauline narrative.
James 2 in Light of Greco-Roman Schemes of Argumentation
Authors: Watson Duane F.
Published: February 2009

J. H. Ropes has written of James: ‘As in the diatribes, there is a general controlling motive in the discussion, but no firm and logically disposed structure giving a strict unity to the whole, and no trace of the conventional arrangement recommended by the elegant rhetoricians’. Challenging Rope's assessment, the thesis of this study is that James 2 is constructed according to a standard elaboration pattern for argumentation discussed by the Greco-Roman rhetoricians.
Das Ius Talionis im Neuen Testament
Authors: Broer Ingo
Published: February 2009

Die Talio ist keineswegs nur in der Heiligen Schrift der Juden und Christen belegt,2sondern findet sich in vielen Kulturräumen der Antike. Auf das Abendland bezogen sind hier vor allem Griechen-land3und das Römische Reich zu nennen, in denen die Talio breit bezeugt ist, aber auch die Ägypter, Altbabylonier, Perser und Germanen haben sie gekannt.4Im Iran kann sich noch heute ein Mörder durch die Zahlung des sog. Blutgeldes an die Angehörigen des Opfers (arab.diyah, pers.dieh) Strafmilderung oder in be-stimmten Fällen sogar Straffreiheit ‘erkaufen’, obwohl im Islam normalerweise Mord grundsätzlich durch den Tod des Mörders gesühnt wird.5An dieser Regelung ist der Charakter der Talio als Milderung (gegenüber der Ausübung der unbeschränkten Rache) noch erkennbar.6
Narrative Predictions, Old Testament Prophecies and Luke's Sense of Fulfilment
Authors: Frein Brigid Curtin
Published: February 2009

Since the publication of Paul Schubert's article, ‘The Structure and Significance of Luke 24’, considerable attention has been paid to what Schubert called Luke's ‘proof-from-prophecy theology’ and what others have identified as the pattern of prophecy/promise and fulfilment. Whatever term is used, it is generally agreed that Luke–Acts presents Jesus' life and the beginning of the church as the fulfilment of God's design for salvation as announced through his prophets. Yet most discussions of this aspect of Luke's theology have focused on Luke's interest in showing that Jesus and the earliest Christians fulfilled OT prophecy, while less attention has been paid to the predictions made in the narrative itself.Even less attention has been paid to the relationship between the fulfilment of OT prophecy and the fulfilment of these narrative predictions. This study will show how the narrative predictions in Luke–Acts contribute to Luke's theology of fulfilment and discuss the ways in which these predictions interface with Luke's emphasis on the fulfilment of OT prophecy.
A Tomb with a View: John 11.1–44 in Narrative-Critical Perspective
Authors: Stibbe Mark W. G.
Published: February 2009

It is one of the more surprising facts of academic life that no one has as yet attempted a detailed literary analysis of John 11.1–44. This narrative text, perhaps more than any other in the New Testament, calls out for sustained aesthetic appreciation. In many ways, John's story of the raising of Lazarus represents the pinnacle of the New Testament literature. It is a tale artfully structured, with colourful characters, timeless appeal, a sense of progression and suspense, subtle use of focus and no little sense of drama. Yet, even in the context of the well-documented paradigm shift from historical to text-immanent approaches to the Gospels, I know of no article or book which has exposed this story to a synchronic and aesthetic interpretation. This article is therefore a long overdue contribution to Fourth Gospel research. In it, I shall be examining John 11.1–44 from the following, recognizably literary, angles: context, genre, form, plot, narrator and point of view, structure, characterization, themes, implicit commentary, and reader response. My hope is that this article helps readers not only to appreciate the riches of John's storytelling, but also demonstrates in accessible terms how to approach the New Testament narrative literature.
Reconsidering Paul's Marriage Analogy in Romans 7.1–4
Authors: Earnshaw John D.
Published: February 2009

While for many the mention of Romans 7 calls immediately to mind the problem of the identity of the ἐγώ in w. 7–25, one could argue that Paul's marriage analogy at the outset of the chapter, though receiving less scholarly attention, has proved to be equally perplexing for interpreters of Romans. Stephen Westerholm indicates the complexity of this passage in his comment that Paul's picture ‘is not the most perspicuous in the literature’, while John A. T. Robinson speaks for many in asserting that the details of the analogy are ‘the more difficult the more you inspect them’.p
The Ideal of the Christian Couple: Ign. Pol. 5.1–2 Looking Back to Paul
Authors: Macdonald Margaret Y.
Published: February 2009

Reflecting upon ethical ideals upheld by the Apostolic Fathers scholars have noted the presence of a ‘positive attitude towards pagan society’, ‘ideas comparable to those of nineteenth-century petty bourgeoisie’, a vision of the church made up of ‘generous householders, well-disciplined children, submissive wives, and reliable slaves’. Commenting on the renunciation of Paul's preference for virginity by the beginning of the second century, Elizabeth A. Clark concludes that ‘… the ordering of the household deemed normal by late ancient pagan society tended to prevail in Christianity as well’. Recent work on the implications of remaining unmarried for the lives of early Christian women has perhaps allowed the tipping of the scale away from the preference for the privileges of virginity towards the ideal of wifely submission to stand out in even fuller relief. The obvious question is why the Christian ideal of the married couple with its apparent openness to Greco-Roman ethics emerges so boldly at the turn of the century. The attractive solution most frequently proposed is, as Clark puts it, that wives exhibiting the characteristic virtues of good domestic order, discretion and modesty, stood as ‘apologists for the new faith’.
The Composition of 1 Corinthians
Authors: De Boer Martinus C.
Published: February 2009

Proposals urging that 1 Corinthians is a composite of two or more letters have not won wide support. Those who reject such proposals argue that the letter's abrupt shifts in subject matter can be readily accounted for by deeming them Paul's seriatim response to a diverse range of issues and problems made known to him through a combination of oral reports (1.11; 5.1; 11.18; 15.12) and a letter from the Corinthians (7.1). While 2 Corinthians is widely regarded as a composite of several letters, 1 Corinthians by contrast is not.
The Gospel and Social Practice according to 1 Corinthians
Authors: Engberg-Pedersen T.
Published: February 2009

Paul's thought forms a unity of a very peculiar kind. It certainly has a single focus: Christ, but this fact is not in itself sufficient to bring the many disparate elements in his thought together to form the unity that it manifestly has. Nor is that unity that of a system. The search for a Pauline ‘system’ of beliefs (δόγματα) with clearly defined relations between them is in vain – and even more so is the attempt to find asingleformula supposed to express the whole of his thought. The immense diversity of his thinking should never be forgotten.
When Men Wore Veils to Worship: the Historical Context of 1 Corinthians 11.4
Authors: Oster Richard
Published: February 2009

1 Corinthians 11. 2–16, because of the social concerns of much contemporary exegesis and theology, has provided a rich vein from which to quarry materials for current feminist agendas. However, exegetes have tended to neglect the ‘male issue’ in this text and the Corinthian context underlying it. The purpose of this article is to reconstruct the most plausible matrix of the practices addressed by Paul in 1 Cor 11. 4 when he refers to. Numerous exegetical issues and ancient social practices relevant to a full study of 1 Cor 11. 2–16 do not fall within the purview of this narrow investigation. Questions such as the origin and character of Paul's views of women as well as their apparel, and the question of ancient Greek, Roman, and Jewish customs concerning the veiling of women in their domestic and street apparel will not be broached here.
A Question Too Often Neglected
Authors: Mattila Sharon Lea
Published: February 2009

Classical scholar T. J. Luce has highlighted an important question too often neglected by source critics:
Fuldensis, Sigla for Variants in Vaticanus, and 1 Cor 14.34–5
Authors: Payne Philip B.
Published: February 2009

This article identifies two previously unnoticed items of textual evidence that support the view that 1 Cor 14.34–5 (‘Let women keep silence in the churches …’) was an interpolation. I conclude that Bishop Victor ordered the rewriting of 1 Cor 14.34–40 in the margin of Codex Fuldensis (see photograph on page 261) with w. 34–5 omitted and that there is a text-critical siglum that indicates the scribe's awareness of a textual variant at the beginning of 1 Cor 14.34 in Codex Vaticanus (see photograph on page 262). This text-critical evidence, plus the evidence from the non-Western Greek ms. 88* and Vulgate ms. Reginensis with w. 34–5 transposed after v. 40, makes an already strong case for interpolation even stronger. The text-critical sigla in Vaticanus open a new window onto the early history of the NT text. While tangential to the main argument of this article, this may well be its most important contribution.
Too Weak Not to Lead: The Form and Function of 2 Cor 11.23b–33
Authors: Andrews Scott B.
Published: February 2009

Recently, several New Testament scholars have examined the lists of hardships found in the Pauline epistles and their relation to similar lists in other ancient writings. For example, inCracks in an Earthen Vessel, John Fitzgerald interprets several ‘catalogues of hardships’ in the Corinthian correspondence based upon his study of the ancient, Greco-Roman literary practice of compiling lists of hardships. Fitzgerald seeks ‘a clarification of the forms and functions ofperistasiscatalogues in general and Paul's in particular’. Similarly, Martin Ebner seeks an understanding of the forms, motifs, and functions of hardship lists throughout Paul's writings as his subtitle (Untersuchungen zu Form, Motivik und Funktion der Peristasenkataloge bei Paulus) indicates. Yet while adding to the span of knowledge ofperistasiscatalogues, both Fitzgerald and Ebner have largely ignored important aspects of the form and function of hardship lists in some ancient writings. Furthermore, a crucial connection between the ancient, Greco-Roman use ofperistasiscatalogues and Paul's apostleship of weakness as exemplified in 2 Cor 11.23b–33 has been insufficiently analyzed.
Der Verzicht Auf Die Beschneidung im Frühen Christentum
Authors: Horn Friedrich Wilhelm
Published: February 2009

Die neutestamentlichen Schriften blicken mehrheitlich mit erheblichem zeitlichem Abstand auf die Anfänge des frühen Christentums zurück. Dieser Blick ist in keinem Fall von einem ausschlieβlich historischen Interesse geleitet, er dient vielmehr durchgehend der Selbstvergewisserung der eigenen Gegenwart. So erscheint die Verhältnisbestimmung zum Judentum in fast alien Schriften durch eine klare Abgrenzung gekennzeichnet. Der weitgehend negative Verlauf der christlichen Mission an Juden einerseits und der Fall Jerusalems im Jahr 70 n.Chr. andererseits haben diese neutestamentliche Sicht im wesentlichen geprägt.
The Relationships between Pharisees and Chief Priests: Some Observations on the Texts in Matthew, John and Josephus
Authors: von Wahlde Urban C.
Published: February 2009

There are several references in the gospels of John and Matthew which indicate that members of the Pharisaic sect associated with the Jewish chief priests in a quasi-authoritative way to work for common religious or political purposes. Where these references have occurred, they have attracted attention – and indeed suspicion – as being historically inaccurate and the result of a retrojection of the role of the Pharisees in the later first century into the earlier periods of that century.
ΠOPNEYEΙΝ As Body Violation: The Unique Nature of Sexual Sin in 1 Corinthians 6.18
Authors: Fisk Bruce N.
Published: February 2009

Scholars continue to puzzle over the meaning and rhetorical function of 1 Cor 6.12–20. For many, the burning question is historical: what prompted some Corinthian Christians to defend the use of prostitutes?1 Others have suggested that the rhetoric of the argument works only when certain Corinthian ‘slogans’ are identified and decoded. Still others ponder the predominantly individualistic focus of this section, within a letter labouring at almost every turn to shape Christian community. For several, the stumbling stone is Paul's ‘body’ language. In all of this, the precise contribution of v. 18 has been elusive.2 Increasingly popular is the view that 18b – every sin a man commits is outside the body – is a Corinthian ‘slogan’ known and cited by Paul only to be soundly debunked or at least substantially modified.3 The chief advantage of this view is obvious: a notorious Pauline crux becomes a mere Corinthian quirk. Nevertheless, a majority of interpreters (probably rightly) continue to identify all of v. 18 with Paul's own position, although there is little agreement over the nature of Paul's contrast between sexual sin and other sins. Some take Paul to be arguing for a ‘quantitative’ difference: sexual sin belongs toward the end of a continuum; whatever damage sin causes is intensified in the case of sexual sin. Others detect a sharper, ‘qualitative’ difference: sexual sin is different in kind, not just in degree, from other sins. The chart below (see over, pp. 542–3) collects and orders the principal alternatives we have outlined.4
The Completion of a Religious Duty: The Background of 2 Cor 8.1–15
Authors: Ascough Richard S.
Published: February 2009

There has been a tendency among some exegetes to treat 2 Cor 8.1–15 as ‘merely’ an administrative and financial issue. Often this conclusion is based on Paul's use of ἐπιτελέω which, they argue, draws on the language of business and government. However, the distinction between ‘administrative’ and ‘religious’ is improper; one of the primary ways of demonstrating piety in antiquity was by the giving of money to a god. There is much inscriptional evidence for the use of ἐπιτελέω in contexts of religious duty.1Given the social context of Paul and the Corinthians, these inscriptions provide helpful background for the way in which Paul's injunction to give generously would have been heard and understood.2
La Figure de Dieu Selon L'epitre Aux Philippiens
Authors: Schlosser Jacques
Published: February 2009

A l'exception de quelques textes majeurs tels que Rm 8, le corpus paulinien n'offre guère de développements un peu étoffés sur la théo-logie au sens restreint de ce terme. Est-ce pour cette raison que, tout en émergeant de façon plus sensible dans les travaux récents, le thème reste sous-développé dans les études pauliniennes? Peut-être. En tout cas, quiconque s'intéresse à ce sujet doit avoir la patience de collecter des données éparses. Telle est aussi la situation dans l'épître aux Philippiens, à première vue du moins. Après inventaire il semble en effet possible de regrouper sans trop d'artifice les données principales selon trois aspects. Le premier, pour la désignation duquel on pourrait reprendre la belle épithète philonienne du θεὸς φιλόδωρος, présente Dieu dans sa générosité. Le second, qu'illustrent deux textes dont l'apparentement est communément relevé, Ph 1.6 et 2.13, met en relief l'agir souverain de Dieu. Le troisième, qui s'exprime lui aussi à travers deux passages dont le rapprochement s'impose, Ph 1.11 et 2.11, met l'accent sur Dieu en tant qu'il est le telos.
Jesus' Baptismal Vision
Authors: Marcus Joel
Published: February 2009

What really happened at Jesus' baptism? We can be quite sure that Jesus was baptized by John, if only because his baptism caused such problems for the later church, the foremost among them being the clash between the developing idea of Jesus' sinlessness and the historical memory of his participation in John's ‘baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins’ (Mark 1.4). The subordination to John implicit in the baptism, moreover, conflicts with a general tendency in the Gospels to subordinate John to Jesus. The fact of the baptism itself, therefore, is a bedrock historical datum.
Das Gleichnis Vom Ungerechten Verwalter (Lukas 16.1–8a)– Zugleich Ein Beitrag Zur Geschichte Der Restschuldbefreiung
Authors: Hoeren Thomas
Published: February 2009

Das zum lukanischen Sondergut zählende Gleichnis vom ungerechten Verwalter gehört zu den schwierigsten Passagen des Neuen Testaments. Seit der frühen Kirche haben sich Interpreten vergeblich um eine sinnvolle Deutung dieses Gleichnisses bem¨ht. Als Crux erwies sich vor allem Vers 8a: Warum lobt der Herr die Klugheit seines Verwalters, obwohl dieser betrügerisch und ungerecht handelte?
Un Christianisme Sans Jésus-Christ?
Authors: Trocmé Étienne
Published: February 2009

La théologie chrétienne contemporaine a posé et pose avec force, sous des formes trés variées, la question qui constitue le titre du présent exposé. Si paradoxale que cette interrogation puisse paraître, elle ne saurait être écartée d'un simple revers de main, qu'elle émane de philosophes, de patristiciens, de porte-parole de la théologie féministe ou de la théologie noire. La question est trop vitale pour qu'on ne l'écoute pas attentivement avant d'y répondre, fût-ce par la négative.
Der Beginn der selbständigen Mission des Paulus
Authors: Suhl Alfred
Published: February 2009

Nach der traditionellen Chronologie hat Paulus bis zum sog. Apostelkonzil in Syrien und Cilicien gewirkt, seine großen Missions-reisen also erst mindestens ‘vierzehn Jahre’ nach der Bekehrung angetreten.
The Son of Man in First-Century Judaism
Authors: Collins John J.
Published: February 2009

For much of this century the notion of aMenschensohn, or Son of Man figure, loomed large in scholarly reconstructions of Jewish eschatological expectations in the time of Jesus. The primary Jewish attestation of this figure was found, of course, in Dan 7.13, with complementary appearances in theSimilitudes of Enochand 4 Ezra 13. There was considerable diversity of opinion about the origin and precise nature of this figure. More imaginative scholars, like Sigmund Mowinckel, held that ‘Conceptions of a more or less divine Primordial Man were widespread in the ancient east. Apparently there is a historical connexion between the varying figures of this type, which seem to be derived, directly or indirectly, from Iranian or Indo-Iranian myths.’1The Jewish conception of ‘the Son of Man’ was ‘a Jewish variant of this oriental, cosmological, eschatological myth of Anthropos’,2influenced by a syncretistic fusion of Iranian and Mesopotamian concepts. At the least, the phrase ‘Son of Man’ was thought to be a well-known, readily recognizable title for a messiah of a heavenly type, in contrast to the national, earthly, Davidic messiah. As recently as 1974 Norman Perrin could claim that all the recent studies of the ‘Son of Man Problem’ he had reviewed agreed on one point: ‘there existed in ancient Judaism a defined concept of the apocalyptic Son of Man, the concept of a heavenly redeemer figure whose coming to earth as judge would be a feature of the drama of the End time.’
ΣΟΦIA in 1 Corinthians
Authors: Goulder Michael D.
Published: February 2009

1 Corinthians presents many problems, whose difficulty consists in large measure in their interrelatedness; but the major problem of the first four chapters is the nature of the σοφία against which Paul polemicizes. This is especially mysterious because the apostle treats it with unquestionable seriousness, and yet it does not apparently recur in any other letter, not even in 2 Corinthians. As it is so closely linked in the text with the σχίσματα which are the topic of 1.12–17, 3.1–17 and 3.22–3, if not other verses, it is necessary to begin with a brief discussion of that question.
Semitisms and Septuagintalisms in the Book of Revelation
Authors: Schmidt Daryl D.
Published: February 2009

The grammatical peculiarities in the Greek of the book of Revelation have long been noted. In his recent SNTS monograph Steven Thompson re-examines ‘the peculiar language associated with the verb and with clauses in the Apc which have for centuries been a source of perplexity and misunderstanding’. The major portion of this work, based on his dissertation under Matthew Black, looks at the ‘un-Greek use of the verb’ and attributes it to ‘the influence of Semitic syntax, primarily biblical Hebrew’. Reviewers have observed that Thompson uses evidence mostly from the LXX, without directly considering the influence of the LXX itself. Barnabas Lindars evaluates the evidence as suggesting ‘familiarity with the biblical Hebrew and its representation in LXX’. Max Wilcox notes Thompson's dependence on the LXX as a major weakness in the argument: ‘it is also necessary to show why those constructions may not owe their presence in Revelation to some form of influence of the LXX or perhaps even to a deliberate modelling of the language and style of the book on that of Old Testament Hebrew or Aramaic in translation’.
Revelation 1.19 and the Narrative Voices of the Apocalypse
Authors: Michaels J. Ramsey
Published: February 2009

The figure ‘like a son of man’ in John's initial vision on Patmos, after identifying himself as ‘the first and the last and the living one’ who ‘died and behold I am alive for ever and ever’, (Rev 1.17– 18), directs the prophet in v. 19 to ‘Write therefore the things you have seen [ἃ εδες] and the things that are [ἃ εἰσίν] and the things that are going to happen afterward [ἃ μέλλει γενέσθαι μετà τατα].’ This pronouncement is commonly regarded as a clue of some kind to the structure or message of the Book of Revelation, yet it is seldom discussed in detail by the commentators.
Jesus and the Adulteress
Authors: Ehrman Bart D.
Published: February 2009

The story of Jesus and the Adulteress (John 7. 53–8. 11) is fraught with historical and literary problems, many of which have seemed insoluble. On only two points is there a scholarly consensus: the passage did not originally form part of the Fourth Gospel, and it bears a close resemblance to Synoptic, particularly Lukan, traditions about Jesus. The arguments for these judgments are overwhelming and do not need to be repeated here. In some respects these unanimous conclusions have themselves brought into sharp focus the thorny problems of the story's textual and pre-literary history: (1) Textual. Since the oldest and best textual witnesses of the Gospel of John do not contain the passage, how should the allusive references to it from the second and third centuries be evaluated? Did Papias know this story? If so, did he find it in the Gospel according to the Hebrews? Or was it Eusebius, who informs us of Papias's knowledge of this or a similar story, who found it there? What form of the story was known to the author of the Didascalia and his subsequent editor, the author of the Apostolic Constitutions? Did Origen know the story? If not, when was it first accepted into the Alexandrian canon? (2) Preliterary. How should this story be classified form-critically? And in whatSitz im Lebenof the early church would it have thrived? Does the story preserve authentic tradition from the life of Jesus? Scholarship has reached an impasse on these questions because the early evidence is so sparse. Martin Dibelius's famous pronouncement from a different context applies here as well: ‘Enlightenment is to be expected not from new hypotheses but only from new discoveries.’
A Primitive Hebrew Gospel of Matthew and the Tol'doth Yeshu
Authors: Howard George
Published: February 2009

The Tol'doth Yeshu is a medieval Jewish antigospel which exists in various forms. Basically it says that Jesus was born illegitimate, learned the Name of God in the temple, performed miracles by pronouncing the Divine Name and finally was executed by the Jews. His body was stolen from the tomb by Yehuda the gardener, an act which led to the assertion by the disciples that he had arisen from the dead and had ascended into heaven.

The date of the Tol'doth Yeshu is assigned by Krauss to c. 500 CE; it is assigned by Klausner to the tenth century. Some of the traditions it draws upon are much older since they are reflected in such writings as the Talmud and Origen'sContra Celsum.
Blindness in the Johannine Tradition
Authors: Lieu J. M.
Published: February 2009

That blindness should be a theme in the Johannine literature need cause no surprise; with the dualism of light and darkness and with the emphasis on what has beenseen, witnessed and believed, the surprise is rather that the theme is not more prevalent. Only at two places in the Gospel and one in the Epistles is the language of blindness explicitly used, in John 9, John 12. 40 and 1 John 2. 11. However, since each of these can be seen as a focal point or interpretative key to the Johannine tradition the theme could be held to present in microcosm the history of the Johannine community. Chapter 9, the healing of the blind man, has played a central role in recent reconstructions of that history, while the reflection on the effects of Jesus's public ministry in 12. 37–50, before he turns away to address ‘his own’, invites similar treatment. Finally, the redirection towards internal opposition of language originally aimed outwards has long been seen as a mark of 1 John and as central to its interpretation. The exploration of the theme may serve in the same way to test in microcosm the presuppositions and results of such reconstruction. It also does more than this, for the imagery of blindness is by no means unique to John and raises clearly the question of the origins as well as of the context of Johannine thought.
Paul in Acts: Preacher of Eschatological Repentance to Israel
Authors: Moessner David P.
Published: February 2009

The ‘enigmatic ending’ of Acts continues to baffle the exegetes. Not the least of its difficulties is the status of ‘the Jews’ after Paul's peculiarly solemn pronouncement of Isa 6. 9–10 against a ‘closed’ and ‘hardened’ people (Acts 28. 26–27). Coming as it does as a climax to the equally ponderous pronouncements of judgment in Acts 13. 46 and 18. 6, for many scholars the cumulative, three-fold impact of this indictment resounds a note of finality, of foreclosure upon Israel which consequently consummates an era and looks ahead almost exclusively to a Gentile church. The two leading clusters of opinion expressing this understanding are those associated with E. Haenchen – viz., that repentance for Israel by the end of Acts is de facto now over, with Gentiles replacing Jews as the people of God – or with J. Jervell – that a core of repenting Jews constitutes a restored Israel which, along with increasing numbers of Gentiles, by the end of chapter 28 has completed its mission to unrepenting Jews who no longer have a right to the name ‘Israel’ or ‘people of God’.
The Galileans in the light of Josephus'Vita
Authors: Freyne Sean
Published: February 2009

‘With this limited area, and although surrounded by such powerful foreign nations, the two Galilees have always resisted any hostile invasion, for the inhabitants are from infancy inured to war, and have at all times been numerous; never did the men lack courage or the country men’ (War3:41 f.). It is surprising how this general characterization of the Galileans by Josephus has so often found its way into modern writings about Galilee without any detailed study of theVita, the one work of his where the Galileans occur more frequently than in all the others together.
The Oldest Manuscript of the Four Gospels?
Authors: Skeat T. C.
Published: February 2009

Since the summer of 1994 I have been studying the Gospel fragments known as P4, P64 and P67, in order to determine whether they are all the work of the same scribe, and if so the nature of the manuscript of which they formed part. The fragments have been published as follows:

P4: the definitive edition is by Jean Merell in RB 47 (1938) 5–22 and Planches I–VII.

P64: first edited by C. H. Roberts in HTR 46 (1953) 233–7 and plate; re-edited, with revised edition of P67, in R. Roca-Puig, Un papiro griego del Evangelio de San Mateo, 2a edic, con una Note de Colin Roberts (Barcelona, 1962) with plate.