Reading Hypotyposeis this morning on Some Would-be Discoveries reminded me of the report from two years ago today on the discovery of Q, to which Stephen refers. And that thread reminded me of a talk I gave two years ago that I have never got published, and I have decided to publish it here. It was a lecture given as part of a series of Cadbury Lectures in the University of Birmingham's Department of Theology and Religion on the theme of "Religion and Globalization". My lecture focused on an urban legend, commonly given the title "Is hell exothermic or endothermic" and in the piece I reflect on the way in which urban legends develop on the net, and make some playful analogies with Christian origins:
The Tale of Theresa Banyan (MS Word format)
Is Hell Exothermic or Endorthermic: Text Types (MS Word format)
The Tale of Theresa Banyan (PDF format)
Is Hell Exothermic or Endorthermic: Text Types (PDF format)
Saturday, April 01, 2006
Friday, March 31, 2006
SBL Pauline Epistles Paper
I made two proposals to the SBL Annual Meeting to be held in Washington, DC in November this year. The first, for the Bible in Ancient and Modern Media section, was entitled "How The Passion of the Christ Reads the Scholars: Cliché and Misrepresentation in Reactions to Gibson's Film", but I had news that this was rejected several weeks ago. I was therefore delighted to hear today that my proposal for the Pauline Epistles section has been accepted. Here is the proposal:
Already Circumcised: Paul’s Letter of Rebuke to Apostate Galatians
Thesis to be argued: The epistle to the Galatians is best understood on the assumption that Paul thinks, at the time of writing, that a substantial number of the Galatians have already been circumcised. Paul is writing to rebuke converts whom he sees as apostate.
Outline of the argument: It is commonly assumed that the epistle to the Galatians is addressed to Gentile Christians who have not been circumcised, and that Paul is attempting to dissuade them from what he sees as a disastrous course of action. But the letter's substance and rhetoric are better explained on the assumption that Paul is addressing churches in which the process of circumcision is already underway. This scenario is preferable to the standard view for several reasons: (1) 6.12 speaks of the agitators compelling the Galatians to be circumcised. ἀναγκάζω is here used of successful and not attempted compulsion, as elsewhere in Greek literature, including Gal. 2.14. (2) The conditional sentence in 5.2 is misread when it is used to imply a process not yet underway. (3) The tense of Paul’s statements in 5.4 should be taken seriously “You have been severed from Christ . . . you have fallen from grace” (cf. 5.7). (4) Paul's language of astonishment (1.6), foolishness (3.1) and spells (3.1) tells the same story of successful coercion. (5) The Galatians are already keeping special days (4.10), which gives no hint that they would hold off on circumcision. (6) Paul’s picture of the agitators depicts them with knife in hand (5.12); they are practising circumcision as well as teaching it. (7) Nothing short of a new birth can turn this drastic situation around (4.19).
Relationship to previous or current research on the topic: (1) This proposal coheres with scholarship that sees Galatians as a letter of ironic rebuke (Dahl, Nanos). (2) On rare occasions, scholars have hinted at the possibility that circumcision was already underway in Galatia (Lightfoot, Martyn, Stanton), but this has never been subject to a full exposition, and the vast majority assume that this was not the case. (3) This proposal coheres with, but is not dependent on, the view that Paul lost the battle in Galatia, and that it was written after 1 Corinthians (see 16.1) but before 2 Corinthians (see 9.1-4).
Stephen Carlson has links to other bibliobloggers presenting papers at the SBL, including himself, on Hypotyposeis. As well as Stephen, Rick Brannan, Adam Kotsko, Michael Bird and Jim Davila are on the bill. Any more?
Update (3 April 2006): how could I have forgotten Sean the Baptist, whom I have known longer than any of the rest of them? In comments, Peter Head notes that a couple of the Evangelical Textual Critics are also giving papers at the SBL, as revealed deep in the comments section of an Westcott and Hort as Manuscript Scholars. Loren Rosson has a great summary in the latest Biblical Studies Carnival.
Already Circumcised: Paul’s Letter of Rebuke to Apostate Galatians
Thesis to be argued: The epistle to the Galatians is best understood on the assumption that Paul thinks, at the time of writing, that a substantial number of the Galatians have already been circumcised. Paul is writing to rebuke converts whom he sees as apostate.
Outline of the argument: It is commonly assumed that the epistle to the Galatians is addressed to Gentile Christians who have not been circumcised, and that Paul is attempting to dissuade them from what he sees as a disastrous course of action. But the letter's substance and rhetoric are better explained on the assumption that Paul is addressing churches in which the process of circumcision is already underway. This scenario is preferable to the standard view for several reasons: (1) 6.12 speaks of the agitators compelling the Galatians to be circumcised. ἀναγκάζω is here used of successful and not attempted compulsion, as elsewhere in Greek literature, including Gal. 2.14. (2) The conditional sentence in 5.2 is misread when it is used to imply a process not yet underway. (3) The tense of Paul’s statements in 5.4 should be taken seriously “You have been severed from Christ . . . you have fallen from grace” (cf. 5.7). (4) Paul's language of astonishment (1.6), foolishness (3.1) and spells (3.1) tells the same story of successful coercion. (5) The Galatians are already keeping special days (4.10), which gives no hint that they would hold off on circumcision. (6) Paul’s picture of the agitators depicts them with knife in hand (5.12); they are practising circumcision as well as teaching it. (7) Nothing short of a new birth can turn this drastic situation around (4.19).
Relationship to previous or current research on the topic: (1) This proposal coheres with scholarship that sees Galatians as a letter of ironic rebuke (Dahl, Nanos). (2) On rare occasions, scholars have hinted at the possibility that circumcision was already underway in Galatia (Lightfoot, Martyn, Stanton), but this has never been subject to a full exposition, and the vast majority assume that this was not the case. (3) This proposal coheres with, but is not dependent on, the view that Paul lost the battle in Galatia, and that it was written after 1 Corinthians (see 16.1) but before 2 Corinthians (see 9.1-4).
Stephen Carlson has links to other bibliobloggers presenting papers at the SBL, including himself, on Hypotyposeis. As well as Stephen, Rick Brannan, Adam Kotsko, Michael Bird and Jim Davila are on the bill. Any more?
Update (3 April 2006): how could I have forgotten Sean the Baptist, whom I have known longer than any of the rest of them? In comments, Peter Head notes that a couple of the Evangelical Textual Critics are also giving papers at the SBL, as revealed deep in the comments section of an Westcott and Hort as Manuscript Scholars. Loren Rosson has a great summary in the latest Biblical Studies Carnival.
Monday, March 27, 2006
Gospel of Judas availability
On Xtalk, James Spinti notes that he has "just received word that the official availability date for the "Gospel of Judas" is 4/6/2006 [that's 6 April, not 4 June]. Eisenbrauns will be carrying it, along with the companion volume, "The Lost Gospel: The Quest for the Gospel of Judas Iscariot." They changed the date to align with the TV special.
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Death of Daryl Schmidt
I was very sorry to read in Jim West's blog of the death of Daryl Schmidt on 21 March. The announcement also appears on the Westar Institute website, with an obituary here:
Westar mourns loss of Fellow, Daryl Schmidt
And it adds a link to his "Odyssey" from The Fourth R in 1995:
Fundamentally Pluralistic
I met Daryl once and greatly enjoyed his company. We appeared together on the Radio 4 programme Beyond Belief on the resurrection, which also featured a short interview with Michael Goulder. It's still available on-line to listen to -- go to 25 March 2002 and hit "Go".
Westar mourns loss of Fellow, Daryl Schmidt
And it adds a link to his "Odyssey" from The Fourth R in 1995:
Fundamentally Pluralistic
I met Daryl once and greatly enjoyed his company. We appeared together on the Radio 4 programme Beyond Belief on the resurrection, which also featured a short interview with Michael Goulder. It's still available on-line to listen to -- go to 25 March 2002 and hit "Go".
Beyond Belief on Judas
Next Monday's Beyond Belief is advertising a programme on Judas:
Monday 27 March 2006
Judas
Monday 27 March 2006
Judas
Not many babies are called Judas these days – and to be labelled such is considered by many to be a serious insult, suggesting unreliability and untrustworthiness.I don't know who is on the programme yet. I haven't done a Beyond Belief myself for some time now. It's on Radio 4 on at 16.30 BST, and is always available for ages on "Listen Again" streaming afterwards.
But was the original Judas really as black as he's painted? Was he really a traitor or simply misunderstood? So, Judas: victim or villain?
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
More of Alan Bandy's Interviews
The fine series of interviews on fellow North Carolinian Alan Bandy's blog Cafe Apocalypsis takes a serious dip in quality with the following:
Mark Goodacre on Faith-based Scholarship
But then it quickly recovers itself with:
Peter Williams on Faith-based Scholarship
Thanks, Alan, for the fine work here, even if those of us outside the evangelical camp are beginning to look a little outnumbered.
PS: Many thanks for all the links to the interview with me. Goodness, anyone would think it was my birthday.
Update (22.57): On the remark above, note that Alan says now that "a number of other non-evangelical scholars but they have not yet responded or have declined". Typical! You might add to my comments that one of the great advantages of the evangelicals is that they foreground the importance of sharing their views with the public at large; that's something to be learned by us all!
Mark Goodacre on Faith-based Scholarship
But then it quickly recovers itself with:
Peter Williams on Faith-based Scholarship
Thanks, Alan, for the fine work here, even if those of us outside the evangelical camp are beginning to look a little outnumbered.
PS: Many thanks for all the links to the interview with me. Goodness, anyone would think it was my birthday.
Update (22.57): On the remark above, note that Alan says now that "a number of other non-evangelical scholars but they have not yet responded or have declined". Typical! You might add to my comments that one of the great advantages of the evangelicals is that they foreground the importance of sharing their views with the public at large; that's something to be learned by us all!
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Lecturer in New Testament Studies, Sheffield
A post has been advertised in New Testament at the University of Sheffield in the Department of Biblical Studies. Full details here:
Lecturer in New Testament Studies
University of Sheffield
Lecturer in New Testament Studies
University of Sheffield
"Faith and scholarship" blog thread
Over on Deinde, Danny Zacharias is doing a great job of tracking all the relevant blog posts on the current thread on "faith and scholarship", which all began with an article in the SBL Forum article by Michael Fox, but has continued with multiple blog postings, including some interesting interviews on Cafe Apocalypsis, mainly with evangelical scholars (Blomberg, McKnight, Evans and Bock) but also with James Crossley. I wonder who else Alan has lined up? Anyway, here's Danny's summary post, which he updates regularly:
Deinde: Bloggercooler: Faith and Scholarship
Deinde: Bloggercooler: Faith and Scholarship
Monday, March 20, 2006
Review of Biblical Literature Latest
Latest from the SBL Review of Biblical Literature under the New Testament heading:
Arterbury, Andrew
Entertaining Angels: Early Christian Hospitality in Its Mediterranean Setting
Reviewed by Craig Blomberg
Coutsoumpos, Panayotis
Paul and the Lord's Supper: A Socio-Historical Investigation
Reviewed by George Heyman
Hull, Michael F.
Baptism on Account of the Dead (1 Cor 15:29): An Act of Faith in the Resurrection
Reviewed by David Garland
Hull, Michael F.
Baptism on Account of the Dead (1 Cor 15:29): An Act of Faith in the Resurrection
Reviewed by Tobias Nicklas
Murphy, Frederick J.
An Introduction to Jesus and the Gospels
Reviewed by Joel Green
Murphy, Frederick J.
An Introduction to Jesus and the Gospels
Reviewed by Sean Kealy
Also on-line today is Michael Pahl's review of Delbert Burkett's Rethinking the Gospel Sources, reproduced from the JETS (see Stuff of Earth):
Review of Rethinking the Gospel Sources
Michael's review is clear and very helpful. I've read the book twice, parts of it several times, and am writing a review of it for JTS.
Arterbury, Andrew
Entertaining Angels: Early Christian Hospitality in Its Mediterranean Setting
Reviewed by Craig Blomberg
Coutsoumpos, Panayotis
Paul and the Lord's Supper: A Socio-Historical Investigation
Reviewed by George Heyman
Hull, Michael F.
Baptism on Account of the Dead (1 Cor 15:29): An Act of Faith in the Resurrection
Reviewed by David Garland
Hull, Michael F.
Baptism on Account of the Dead (1 Cor 15:29): An Act of Faith in the Resurrection
Reviewed by Tobias Nicklas
Murphy, Frederick J.
An Introduction to Jesus and the Gospels
Reviewed by Joel Green
Murphy, Frederick J.
An Introduction to Jesus and the Gospels
Reviewed by Sean Kealy
Also on-line today is Michael Pahl's review of Delbert Burkett's Rethinking the Gospel Sources, reproduced from the JETS (see Stuff of Earth):
Review of Rethinking the Gospel Sources
Michael's review is clear and very helpful. I've read the book twice, parts of it several times, and am writing a review of it for JTS.
Sunday, March 19, 2006
Gospel of Judas on Sunday
The lead feature on this morning's Sunday programme on Radio 4 was on the Gospel of Judas. Simon Gathercole, Senior Lecturer in New Testament at the University of Aberdeen, was interviewed by Roger Bolton. You can listen here:
Sunday
The interview with Simon runs from about 9:10 to 13:30.
I can claim a little influence here. I had a long phone-call with the producer about the Gospel on Friday morning, expressed a little reluctance about the thought of driving in to Durham on a Saturday to do an interview, and recommended Simon, who did an excellent job, especially in explaining that the Gospel cannot tell us anything of interest about the historical Jesus and the historical Judas, which is always, of course, the angle the media are inclined to explore. Simon explained that the Gospel was written long after the living memory of the apostles, and that it featured anachronisms equivalent to our writing a document about Queen Victoria in which she comments on The Lord of the Rings and on her CD collection.
Sunday
The interview with Simon runs from about 9:10 to 13:30.
I can claim a little influence here. I had a long phone-call with the producer about the Gospel on Friday morning, expressed a little reluctance about the thought of driving in to Durham on a Saturday to do an interview, and recommended Simon, who did an excellent job, especially in explaining that the Gospel cannot tell us anything of interest about the historical Jesus and the historical Judas, which is always, of course, the angle the media are inclined to explore. Simon explained that the Gospel was written long after the living memory of the apostles, and that it featured anachronisms equivalent to our writing a document about Queen Victoria in which she comments on The Lord of the Rings and on her CD collection.
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Magdalene Review various
Lesa Bellevie's Magdalene Review is always well worth a read and I enjoyed the reflections today on the issue of the women's witness at the resurrection of Jesus (Women, the resurrection and disbelief). There are also some interesting reflections on Mary Magdalene in Jesus Christ Superstar and The Gospel Road in Mary Magadelene, circa 1973. I have not seen The Gospel Road but would love to, at some point, since I've been a Johnny Cash fan since I saw him on the Columbo episode Swan Song, also made in 1973, as it happens. Another oddity from the same year is Godspell (dir. David Greene) in which there is no Mary Magdalene at all.
But to get to the reason I wanted to mention The Magdalene Review, in a post on Cecil B. DeMille's The King of Kings, Lesa writes:
But to get to the reason I wanted to mention The Magdalene Review, in a post on Cecil B. DeMille's The King of Kings, Lesa writes:
The bright spot of this film for me, as expected, was the scene in which Jesus healed Mary Magdalene of her demons. To my knowledge, this is the only feature film that has depicted this scene. * If anyone knows of another, I’d love to hear about it!Well, I can think of one: The Miracle Maker, claymated, and voiced by Julie Christie. For the scene depicting the seven demons, the film goes into two-dimensional animation and you actually see the seven demons.
Review of Biblical Literature latest
Latest from the SBL Review of Biblical Literature under the NT heading:
Dettwiler, Andreas, Jean-Daniel Kaestli, and Daniel Marguerat, eds.
Paul, une théologie en construction
Reviewed by Matthew Mitchell
Gelardini, Gabriella, ed.
Hebrews: Contemporary Methods-New Insights
Reviewed by C. Patrick Gray
Hays, Richard B.
The Conversion of the Imagination: Paul as Interpreter of Israel's Scripture
Reviewed by Maarten Menken
Hays, Richard B.
The Conversion of the Imagination: Paul as Interpreter of Israel's Scripture
Reviewed by Stephen Moyise
Neyrey, Jerome H.
Render to God: New Testament Understandings of the Divine
Reviewed by John Bertone
Dettwiler, Andreas, Jean-Daniel Kaestli, and Daniel Marguerat, eds.
Paul, une théologie en construction
Reviewed by Matthew Mitchell
Gelardini, Gabriella, ed.
Hebrews: Contemporary Methods-New Insights
Reviewed by C. Patrick Gray
Hays, Richard B.
The Conversion of the Imagination: Paul as Interpreter of Israel's Scripture
Reviewed by Maarten Menken
Hays, Richard B.
The Conversion of the Imagination: Paul as Interpreter of Israel's Scripture
Reviewed by Stephen Moyise
Neyrey, Jerome H.
Render to God: New Testament Understandings of the Divine
Reviewed by John Bertone
Around the biblioblogs
Brandon Wason and Jim West continue their good job of interviewing the bibliobloggers over on Biblioblogs.com, and in March it is the turn of Christopher Heard of Higgaion. As always, it's an interesting interview. I've been a fan of Christopher's since he first launched iTanakh, which I have always thought of as a good OT companion to the NT Gateway.
Meanwhile, Loren Rosson has the call up for the next Biblical Studies Carnival, on The Busybody.
Meanwhile, Loren Rosson has the call up for the next Biblical Studies Carnival, on The Busybody.
Bart Ehrman on The Daily Show
I heard about this but forgot to mention it; Jim West notes on Xtalk and Biblical Studies that Bart Ehrman appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart on Comedy Central last night and that you should be able to catch repeats during the day today. And those in the UK: you can get The Daily Show on More 4, but you already knew that, right?
Update (15 March, 21.06): caught the 8 pm repeat. It was good stuff, ten minutes or so, Bart Ehrman looking smart in a grey suit and a purple-ish tie, in good humour, pretty relaxed. Jon Stewart clearly loved the book and sang its praises at the end of the interview and held it up to camera. Stewart asked at one stage which the authentic version of the Bible was; was it the one in the hotel rooms? He also asked why God revealed the Bible in Greek, to which Ehrman replied (to the effect of) to keep the Greek professors in jobs. There was some talk about the Woman Taken in Adultery, and Stewart asked whether this got added in order to sex up the New Testament a bit. But Stewart also asked a really interesting and perceptive question, pointing out that he thought that what Ehrman was describing was in fact a kind of living, organic text, and that there was a dynamism there that showed it was not the static text assumed by some literalists. It got to the heart of where I think many Christians would disagree with Ehrman. For Ehrman, the discovery of the texts and textual tradition of the New Testament was something that ultimately undermined rather than enhanced his faith; for others of us, that has not been our experience. Overall, I was delighted to see a top NT Scholar talking about serious stuff in a popular show. All strength to his elbow.
So is Ehrman now more popular than Crossan? I think so. In fact, dare we say that he is now even more popular than Pagels?
Update (21.07): Joe Weaks comments on the Macintosh Biblioblog.
Update (Thursday, 00.56): Viola comments on The Americanization of Emily.
Update (Thursday, 08.40): David Ritsema notes, on Xtalk, that the video is now available on-line. Go to The Daily Shows Videos -- Most Recent and click on Bart Ehrman.
Update (15 March, 21.06): caught the 8 pm repeat. It was good stuff, ten minutes or so, Bart Ehrman looking smart in a grey suit and a purple-ish tie, in good humour, pretty relaxed. Jon Stewart clearly loved the book and sang its praises at the end of the interview and held it up to camera. Stewart asked at one stage which the authentic version of the Bible was; was it the one in the hotel rooms? He also asked why God revealed the Bible in Greek, to which Ehrman replied (to the effect of) to keep the Greek professors in jobs. There was some talk about the Woman Taken in Adultery, and Stewart asked whether this got added in order to sex up the New Testament a bit. But Stewart also asked a really interesting and perceptive question, pointing out that he thought that what Ehrman was describing was in fact a kind of living, organic text, and that there was a dynamism there that showed it was not the static text assumed by some literalists. It got to the heart of where I think many Christians would disagree with Ehrman. For Ehrman, the discovery of the texts and textual tradition of the New Testament was something that ultimately undermined rather than enhanced his faith; for others of us, that has not been our experience. Overall, I was delighted to see a top NT Scholar talking about serious stuff in a popular show. All strength to his elbow.
So is Ehrman now more popular than Crossan? I think so. In fact, dare we say that he is now even more popular than Pagels?
Update (21.07): Joe Weaks comments on the Macintosh Biblioblog.
Update (Thursday, 00.56): Viola comments on The Americanization of Emily.
Update (Thursday, 08.40): David Ritsema notes, on Xtalk, that the video is now available on-line. Go to The Daily Shows Videos -- Most Recent and click on Bart Ehrman.
Gospel of Judas Book Details
On Xtalk James Spinti has the bibliographical details for the new books on the Gospel of Judas:
--
The titles and bibliographic information on the Nat'l Geographic "Judas"
volumes was released on Monday PM. Here's the skinny:
The Gospel of Judas
by National Geographic
National Geographic Society, Forthcoming April 2006
352 pages, English, Cloth
ISBN: 1426200420
List Price: $22.00
Eisenbrauns' Price: $16.50
And of course the companion volume:
The Lost Gospel: The Quest for the Gospel of Judas Iscariot
by National Geographic
National Geographic Society, Forthcoming April 2006
192 pages, English, Cloth
ISBN: 1426200412
List Price: $27.00
Eisenbrauns' Price: $20.25
Unfortunately there are no cover graphics yet, but I heard (unofficially) that it might be released a bit before the April 24th date.
--
--
The titles and bibliographic information on the Nat'l Geographic "Judas"
volumes was released on Monday PM. Here's the skinny:
The Gospel of Judas
by National Geographic
National Geographic Society, Forthcoming April 2006
352 pages, English, Cloth
ISBN: 1426200420
List Price: $22.00
Eisenbrauns' Price: $16.50
And of course the companion volume:
The Lost Gospel: The Quest for the Gospel of Judas Iscariot
by National Geographic
National Geographic Society, Forthcoming April 2006
192 pages, English, Cloth
ISBN: 1426200412
List Price: $27.00
Eisenbrauns' Price: $20.25
Unfortunately there are no cover graphics yet, but I heard (unofficially) that it might be released a bit before the April 24th date.
--
The Book of Bart
No doubt other bloggers have noticed this; I spotted it on fellow NC NT blogger blog Dave Black on-line. But it's worth mentioning, a careful and at the same time entertaining article in the Washington Post about Bart Ehrman:
The Book of Bart
In the Bestseller 'Misquoting Jesus,' Agnostic Author Bart Ehrman Picks Apart the Gospels That Made a Disbeliever Out of Him
By Neely Tucker
The reporter has clearly spent some time with Bart, and has not just done an interview over the phone. He reports from the classroom, the bar, the BMW convertible and home:
The Book of Bart
In the Bestseller 'Misquoting Jesus,' Agnostic Author Bart Ehrman Picks Apart the Gospels That Made a Disbeliever Out of Him
By Neely Tucker
The reporter has clearly spent some time with Bart, and has not just done an interview over the phone. He reports from the classroom, the bar, the BMW convertible and home:
Ehrman's desk is filled with open books. His study is sun-filled, with a glass door giving onto a patio and the gentle pines of the Carolina forests.Perhaps those gentle Carolina pines and the sounds of the wildlife in the woods a few feet from where I am sitting now will encourage my writing and research too.
Where does faith reside? Does it leave a residue when it is gone?
Bart Ehrman begins writing, the day unfolding, shafts of light falling through the window, the mysteries of the Gospels open before him.
Monday, March 13, 2006
Fifth Greek Study Day for Teachers of Greek
This notice is from Jane McLarty:
--
Helping Students over the Hurdles in Reading the New Testament in Greek
Fifth study day for teachers of Greek
Thursday 11th May 2006
10.30 a.m. to 4.00 p.m.
Lucy Cavendish College, University of Cambridge
Sessions will include: modern language/TEFL teaching methods – can they help with teaching Koine?; textual criticism for beginners; feedback on using Jeremy Duff’s Elements of NT Greek (the new Wenham).
This will be a practical day with presentations and discussions aimed both at those teaching beginners and also those teaching intermediate students. It is the fifth such day, and the previous days have been highly valued by participants.
Cost: £20, including lunch and morning and afternoon tea and coffee. For further information and a booking form, please contact:
Jane McLarty (Admissions Tutor, Lucy Cavendish College, Lady Margaret Road, Cambridge CB3 0BU; tel: 01223 332197; fax 01223 332178; email: jdm35@cam.ac.uk).
With thanks for the support of the Subject Centre for Philosophical and Religious Studies.
--
If I may add a personal note, I am sorry to be missing this day. I have very much enjoyed the previous Greek Study Days, the last three of which have been hosted at the University of Birmingham. But I am delighted to see that these are continuing and I would strongly encourage teachers of Greek to get to this day if you can -- it will be stimulating, interesting, educational and fun! For details of previous days, see the link here: Greek Study Days.
--
Helping Students over the Hurdles in Reading the New Testament in Greek
Fifth study day for teachers of Greek
Thursday 11th May 2006
10.30 a.m. to 4.00 p.m.
Lucy Cavendish College, University of Cambridge
Sessions will include: modern language/TEFL teaching methods – can they help with teaching Koine?; textual criticism for beginners; feedback on using Jeremy Duff’s Elements of NT Greek (the new Wenham).
This will be a practical day with presentations and discussions aimed both at those teaching beginners and also those teaching intermediate students. It is the fifth such day, and the previous days have been highly valued by participants.
Cost: £20, including lunch and morning and afternoon tea and coffee. For further information and a booking form, please contact:
Jane McLarty (Admissions Tutor, Lucy Cavendish College, Lady Margaret Road, Cambridge CB3 0BU; tel: 01223 332197; fax 01223 332178; email: jdm35@cam.ac.uk).
With thanks for the support of the Subject Centre for Philosophical and Religious Studies.
--
If I may add a personal note, I am sorry to be missing this day. I have very much enjoyed the previous Greek Study Days, the last three of which have been hosted at the University of Birmingham. But I am delighted to see that these are continuing and I would strongly encourage teachers of Greek to get to this day if you can -- it will be stimulating, interesting, educational and fun! For details of previous days, see the link here: Greek Study Days.
Sunday, March 12, 2006
How to cope without British TV and Radio II @ The Americanization of Emily
No fresh blog posts here today, but I have a non-NT guest blog on The Americanization of Emily, a follow-up to my earlier post there, How to Cope without British TV and Radio, called How to cope without British TV and Radio II, focusing on free on-line video availability from the BBC on News and Politics.
Saturday, March 11, 2006
More on Jesus' House
I posted recently on the topic, Did Jesus have a house in Capernaum? and I am grateful for a bunch of comments, emails and links to the post. Here is a bibliographical update:
John Painter, "When is a house not home?: Disciples and Family in Mark 3.13-35", NTS 45 (1999): 498-513:
John Painter, "When is a house not home?: Disciples and Family in Mark 3.13-35", NTS 45 (1999): 498-513:
Though not supported by modern translations, a better case for identifying a house as Jesus’ home is found in Mark 2.15. Studies note that ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ αὐτοῦ is ambiguous. The αὐτοῦ might refer to Levi or to Jesus. Elizabeth Struthers Malbon argues that because Levi followed Jesus (2.14), he cannot have followed Jesus to Levi’s house. Rather Mark depicts Jesus as the host of ameal in his own home in Capernaum. But, in 2.14, ‘following’ is a metaphor for discipleship. A ‘follower’ in this sense may still offer hospitality to Jesus.Elizabeth Struthers Malbon, ‘TH OIKIA AUTOU: Mark 2.15 in Context’, NTS 31 (1985): 282–3.
The flow of the narrative from 2.14 to 2.15 favours the identification of the house as Levi’s. In 2.14 Levi is the subject (active agent), following Jesus. No change of subject is indicated at the opening of 2.15. Thus it is Levi reclining at dinner ‘in his house’. Only when this has been said does Mark, in the same sentence, name Jesus, saying ‘many tax collectors and sinners reclined with Jesus and his disciples’. Luke certainly understands the meal to be in Levi’s house (Luke 5.29). There is no reason to think he intentionally changed Mark’s meaning. Rather Luke is a guide to the way an early reader understood Mark. (499-500)
This is the article referenced by Painter above, and thanks to Sharyn Dowd for mentioning this to me in an email.David M. May, "Mark 2.15: The Home of Jesus or Levi?", NTS 39 (1993): 147-149
David mentioned this in a comment to the original post, for which many thanks. His conclusion, "based on social-science criticism (specifically reciprocity) was that 'the cultural setting of the first-century world supports the position that the home in which Jesus dined and was condemned by the scribes of the Pharisees was not his home but Levi's.'"Update (Monday, 08:36): Jamie Houghton emails: "I remember coming across this in my first year of Greek and was wondering what was going on? But then I found David Garland's commentary on Mark (see p104) and he stated "The 'house' in Mark is connected to Jesus." At least I wasn't the only one who thought so!"
Friday, March 10, 2006
Jesus, Torah, Sanders, Hengel and Deines
Over on Euangelion, Michael Bird has a post headed Jesus and Torah: I featuring a quotation from Martin Hengel and Roland Deines, ‘E.P. Sanders’ “Common Judaism”, Jesus, and the Pharisees’, JTS 46 (1995): 1-70 (15-16). It is not an article that Sanders himself was keen on:
Update (Sunday, 22.52): thanks to Mark Nanos for these useful comments:
Bill Farmer had urged me to read Josephus’ Jewish War while I was at Perkins (1959-62), and I had complied. What he saw in it, however, was (1) that lots of Jews were zealous for the law, which led to the view (2) that the Pharisees controlled Judaism and made people zealous, which was bad because (3) zeal for the law is the same as legalism, which is horrible. I eventually learned that none of this was true, but this experience made me miss most of the actual treasures in Josephus. Farmer’s views of Judaism were taken entirely from Joachim Jeremias. Approximately this same view of Josephus and Pharisaic control has now been argued by Martin Hengel and Roland Deines, “E.P. Sanders’ ‘Common Judaism,’ Jesus, and the Pharisees,” JTS n.s. 46, 1995, 1-70. The view is no better now than it was then. (E. P. Sanders, "Comparing Judaism and Christianity: An Academic Autobiography", April-May 2004: 36, n. 51).One or two thoughts on the paragraph quoted by Michael:
Both Jesus and the Church fall outside the framework provided by the idea – valued so highly by Sanders – of a harmonious ‘common Judaism’.The term "harmonious" added before 'common Judaism' illustrates one of the difficulties with Hengel and Deines's reading of Sanders. The point of Sanders' "common Judaism" is to find elements common to the majority of Jews in the Second Temple Judaism, not to imply that the Jews living then, or their views overall, were harmonious. That's why Sanders also uses terms like "common denominator Judaism". It is a simple point, but absolutely key if one is to interpret Sanders's views correctly.
After all, it is no accident that the movement initiated by Jesus opened itself step by step to an increasingly ‘law-free’ Gentile mission just a short time after his death. Nor is it an accident that the three ‘pillars’ at the Apostolic Council about eighteen years later, who were closely associated with Jesus, acknowledge uncircumcised Gentile Christians who were not under obligations to the Torah as full members of the Church, destined to experience eschatological salvation.I have some trouble with this perspective. What is the evidence for a "step by step" movement "to an increasingly 'law-free' Gentile mission"? If anything, the evidence suggests the opposite -- Paul's Gentile converts are not compelled to be circumcised, and Gentiles eat food in fellowship with Jews in Antioch. But then some groups, the people from James in Antioch, the agitators in Galatia, push for some observance of works of the law among Gentile Christians. The natural assumption is that this kind of "Judaizing" (as Paul calls it) was an innovation and was not part of the earliest scene. As Paula Fredriksen points out in an article that should be compulsory reading for all NT students, Judaism, the Circumcision of Gentiles, and Apocalyptic Hope: Another Look at Galatians 1 and 2, JTS 42 (1991): 532-64, the early Christian inclusion of Gentiles into the people of God coheres with apocalyptic hope of the period, and it is a mistake to confuse inclusion with conversion. The key in the quotation above is "destined to experience eschatological salvation". The (male) Gentile who thinks himself to be included in the people of God, now that the Messiah has come, indeed experiences the hope of eschatological salvation, and does not contemplate circumcision. This is the earliest phase of the Jesus movement; it is later that people began to take the unprecedented step of suggesting circumcision and law-observance for Gentiles, and it is that new crisis -- in the 50s -- that Paul first meets in Antioch, and shortly afterwards finds himself reacting to in Galatians.
Update (Sunday, 22.52): thanks to Mark Nanos for these useful comments:
I would like to bring to your attention that the view you express [above], while widely shared, is precisely what my work on both Galatians in Irony of Galatians and my essay on the Antioch Incident in the edited vol. Galatians Debate and essay in Porter's vol. Paul and his opponents on the Jer. meeting seek to challenge. I like Fredriksen's essay too, and recommend it, but I do disagree on some points, one to discuss here.I hope to comment on this in due course.
I don't believe these texts support that there was (at Jer. meeting or Antioch from Galatians data, or in Galatia) this kind of judaizing from forces with the Christ-believing Judaism at work, arising later or not, but rather normal Jewish communal forces for conformity. These forces would likely have been at work from the start, although no doubt the case in Antioch is a later example of capitulating to this pressure that Paul can use to teach the Galatians. I offer several reasons for my views in these works; you might want esp. to see the Antioch essay in Debate.
I don't think the Gentiles were compelled to be circ. from before Paul; it was what made these Jewish groups suspect from the beginning. Otherwise they conformed to the common Judaism denominators (here I am supportive of the basic category Sanders seeks to establish; actually, it is an important element in my logic for identifying what makes the Christ-groups different but still falling within common Judaism, at least for Paul's groups, albeit at the boundaries, where controversy is stirred, and punishment exercised). In this policy alteration they argued that they still conformed, but made the change because of the force of God's hand which made clear that the end of the ages had dawned, when those from outside of Israel would join Israel in worship of the One God. Other Jewish (not-Christ-believing) groups, they contended, remained hitched to this-age terms for identifying these Gentiles turning to the One God when they demanded that they become members of Israel (the only place for righteous ones in the present age).
I do not deny that there were likely some Christ-believing Jewish groups who upheld proselyte conversion for non-Jews (as in Jervell's mighty-minority of early Acts 15), but I do not believe that Galatians is evidence of that case, or its example from Antioch.
The major difference I want to bring to your attention here is that your view (the common one, in this case) posits a difference between James and others of the so-called Jewish Christianity and Pauline Christianity that I do not see that the text of Galatians supports. I recognize that this was not what you were discussing, but thought you might like to know where an important element of your construction is under challenge. I hope eventually to do so in a more clearly defined big-project way.
Thursday, March 09, 2006
Context and Nuance in Jesus' Sayings
One of the reasons I am sceptical about the laudable aim to recover the sayings of Jesus, and to use a sayings itinerary in reconstructions of the historical Jesus, is a point nicely articulated by E. P. Sanders:
And I am not sure that we consider sufficiently the problem of nuance. We have all heard ourselves quoted by others in such a way that our meaning is subtly changed. "But I didn't say it like that! That's not what I meant."
When discussing Jesus' sayings with students, I like to draw attention to a couple of analogies, one contemporary and one ancient. The ancient one is Paul. We actually have at least seven of Paul's own writings, and yet his meaning is debated more than ever. If we can't work out to the satisfaction of all what Paul's view of the Law was, how likely are we to be able to pick up particular nuances in Jesus' teaching about the kingdom? The modern one is Richard Nixon. One of the reasons that Nixon, in the end, had to resign after the Watergate crisis was that he had followed Lyndon Johnson's practice of recording Oval Room conversations. The Nixon tapes are a fascinating, revealing aid to Nixon's biographer. Alas, we do not have the Jesus tapes, and much as we might wish we did, that desire should not encourage us to behave as if we do.
Ignorance of the precise context in which sayings were formulated often prevents the recovery of precision and nuance in interpreting Jesus’ teaching. Meaning is determined by context, and sayings whose context is unknown cannot be pressed too hard in the quest of original meaning. Often we shall have to remain content with a more general understanding than we might wish. (E. P. Sanders and M. Davies, Studying the Synoptic Gospels (London: SCM; Philadelphia: Trinity Press International 1989): 188).Only a moment's reflection confirms to us the truth of this observation. Even in the contemporary world, we are all aware of the problem of sayings and their context. “I was quoted out of context!” I found myself saying something like that after one of the first pieces of television I was involved with, back in 1999, when I saw myself saying something that had a quite different meaning because of the fresh context in which it was placed (used to endorse something Hyam Maccoby had just said, with which I did not in fact agree).
And I am not sure that we consider sufficiently the problem of nuance. We have all heard ourselves quoted by others in such a way that our meaning is subtly changed. "But I didn't say it like that! That's not what I meant."
When discussing Jesus' sayings with students, I like to draw attention to a couple of analogies, one contemporary and one ancient. The ancient one is Paul. We actually have at least seven of Paul's own writings, and yet his meaning is debated more than ever. If we can't work out to the satisfaction of all what Paul's view of the Law was, how likely are we to be able to pick up particular nuances in Jesus' teaching about the kingdom? The modern one is Richard Nixon. One of the reasons that Nixon, in the end, had to resign after the Watergate crisis was that he had followed Lyndon Johnson's practice of recording Oval Room conversations. The Nixon tapes are a fascinating, revealing aid to Nixon's biographer. Alas, we do not have the Jesus tapes, and much as we might wish we did, that desire should not encourage us to behave as if we do.
Prophetisch-messianische Provokateure der Pax Romana
This from James Spinti at Eisenbrauns:
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Eisenbrauns is pleased to announce the availability of the following
title:
From Eisenbrauns' distribution partner Academic Press Fribourg, in the NTOA series:
Prophetisch-messianische Provokateure der Pax Romana: Jesus von Nazaret und andere Storenfriede im Konflikt mit dem Romischen Reich
by Christoph Riedo-Emmenegger
Novum Testamentum et Orbis Antiquus - NTOA 56
Academic Press Fribourg, Cloth. German.
ISBN: 372781540X
Your Price: $84.00
--
--
Eisenbrauns is pleased to announce the availability of the following
title:
From Eisenbrauns' distribution partner Academic Press Fribourg, in the NTOA series:
Prophetisch-messianische Provokateure der Pax Romana: Jesus von Nazaret und andere Storenfriede im Konflikt mit dem Romischen Reich
by Christoph Riedo-Emmenegger
Novum Testamentum et Orbis Antiquus - NTOA 56
Academic Press Fribourg, Cloth. German.
ISBN: 372781540X
Your Price: $84.00
--
When Prophecy Became Passion
I have had a few requests for a copy of the Swan Lecture I gave at the Nebraska Wesleyan University a fortnight ago (blog entry here) so I am making it available temporarily here (MS Word format):
When Prophecy Became Passion: The Death of Jesus and the Birth of the Gospels
A copy of the handout is also available. The lecture is a revision of a piece that I gave earlier in a different format, as the Elizabeth Luce Moore Lecture on Christian Studies, Wellesley College, Boston, March 2003. Now I am going to put it out to pasture for a bit, in the hope that I will eventually expand it into a book.
Update (23:07): PDF version of the paper; PDF version of the handout.
When Prophecy Became Passion: The Death of Jesus and the Birth of the Gospels
A copy of the handout is also available. The lecture is a revision of a piece that I gave earlier in a different format, as the Elizabeth Luce Moore Lecture on Christian Studies, Wellesley College, Boston, March 2003. Now I am going to put it out to pasture for a bit, in the hope that I will eventually expand it into a book.
Update (23:07): PDF version of the paper; PDF version of the handout.
Electronic Critical Edition of 1 Clement
On ITSEE news from the University of Birmingham comes this important announcement:
An Electronic Critical Edition of the Syriac Version of Clement's Epistle to the Corinthians
Aaron Neill
I was in Birmingham while Aaron was working on this project, which was supervised by David Parker. Congratulations, Aaron, on this great contribution to scholarship.
Aaron W. Neill has completed his electronic critical edition of Clement's First Epistle in Syriac, Latin and Greek which he produced as his thesis for his MA in Editing Texts in Religion at the University of Birmingham. The contents page is found here.And just to give it a nice big link in bold:
An Electronic Critical Edition of the Syriac Version of Clement's Epistle to the Corinthians
Aaron Neill
I was in Birmingham while Aaron was working on this project, which was supervised by David Parker. Congratulations, Aaron, on this great contribution to scholarship.
Monday, March 06, 2006
Malina and Pilch Shine A Brilliant New Light on the World of Paul
This press release arrived today from Fortress. Several of us are already familiar with the book because of Loren Rosson's "heads up" (as they say here) a few weeks ago (see Social Science Commentary on the Letters of Paul on The Busybody)
MINNEAPOLIS (March 6, 2006)— Fortress Press is happy to announce the release of Social-Science Commentary on the Letters of Paul. This latest addition to the Fortress Social-Science Commentaries on New Testament writings illuminates the values, perceptions, and social codes of the Mediterranean culture that shaped Paul and his interactions —both harmonious and conflicted — with others. Authors Bruce J. Malina and John J. Pilch add new dimensions to our understanding of the apostle as a social change agent, his coworkers as innovators, and his gospel as an assertion of the honor of the God of Israel.
"If you are tired of reading the same 'new' book on Paul over and over, this commentary on the letters of Paul is the place to go next. In addition to traditional material on rhetoric and background, this social-scientific commentary brings to the fore necessary, significant and enlightening ways of understanding the social role of Paul and his social dynamics with the churches he founded. In this it is unique; it is the only comprehensive social-science reading of Paul. The reading scenarios at the end are themselves worth the price of this book."
— Jerome Neyrey, University of Notre Dame
"This is not the typical introspective, individualistic Paul of Western theology. Rather Malina and Pilch reveal Paul as a thoroughgoing Mediterranean person, functioning as a change agent among Israelites living in minority communities around the Greco-Roman world. Pauline theology will never look the same again."
— Richard L. Rohrbaugh, Lewis and Clark College
Bruce J. Malina is Professor of New Testament at Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska. He has written many books, including The Social World of Jesus and the Gospels (1996), and The Social Gospel of Jesus (Fortress Press, 2000). He is also co-author of Social-Science Commentary on the Gospel of John (Fortress Press, 1998) and Social Science Commentary on the Book of Revelation (Fortress Press, 2000). He is co-editor of The Social Setting of Jesus and the Gospels (Fortress Press, 2001).
John J. Pilch is Professor of Biblical Studies at Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. His works include Healing in the New Testament (Fortress Press, 2000) and Social-Science Commentary on the Book of Revelation (with Bruce J. Malina; Fortress Press, 2000).
Format: Paperback 448 pages 6 X 9 inches
Item No: 0800636406
Price: $27.00
Publisher: Fortress Press
To order Social-Science Commentary on the Letters of Paul call Fortress Press at 1-800-328-4648 or visit the web site at www.fortresspress.com. To request review copies (for media) or exam copies (for potential classroom use) please call 1-800-426-0115 ext. 234 or e-mail toddb@augsburgfortress.org. For speaking engagements and interviews call Bob Todd at 612-330-3234 or e-mail toddb@augsburgfortress.org.
MINNEAPOLIS (March 6, 2006)— Fortress Press is happy to announce the release of Social-Science Commentary on the Letters of Paul. This latest addition to the Fortress Social-Science Commentaries on New Testament writings illuminates the values, perceptions, and social codes of the Mediterranean culture that shaped Paul and his interactions —both harmonious and conflicted — with others. Authors Bruce J. Malina and John J. Pilch add new dimensions to our understanding of the apostle as a social change agent, his coworkers as innovators, and his gospel as an assertion of the honor of the God of Israel.
"If you are tired of reading the same 'new' book on Paul over and over, this commentary on the letters of Paul is the place to go next. In addition to traditional material on rhetoric and background, this social-scientific commentary brings to the fore necessary, significant and enlightening ways of understanding the social role of Paul and his social dynamics with the churches he founded. In this it is unique; it is the only comprehensive social-science reading of Paul. The reading scenarios at the end are themselves worth the price of this book."
— Jerome Neyrey, University of Notre Dame
"This is not the typical introspective, individualistic Paul of Western theology. Rather Malina and Pilch reveal Paul as a thoroughgoing Mediterranean person, functioning as a change agent among Israelites living in minority communities around the Greco-Roman world. Pauline theology will never look the same again."
— Richard L. Rohrbaugh, Lewis and Clark College
Bruce J. Malina is Professor of New Testament at Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska. He has written many books, including The Social World of Jesus and the Gospels (1996), and The Social Gospel of Jesus (Fortress Press, 2000). He is also co-author of Social-Science Commentary on the Gospel of John (Fortress Press, 1998) and Social Science Commentary on the Book of Revelation (Fortress Press, 2000). He is co-editor of The Social Setting of Jesus and the Gospels (Fortress Press, 2001).
John J. Pilch is Professor of Biblical Studies at Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. His works include Healing in the New Testament (Fortress Press, 2000) and Social-Science Commentary on the Book of Revelation (with Bruce J. Malina; Fortress Press, 2000).
Format: Paperback 448 pages 6 X 9 inches
Item No: 0800636406
Price: $27.00
Publisher: Fortress Press
To order Social-Science Commentary on the Letters of Paul call Fortress Press at 1-800-328-4648 or visit the web site at www.fortresspress.com. To request review copies (for media) or exam copies (for potential classroom use) please call 1-800-426-0115 ext. 234 or e-mail toddb@augsburgfortress.org. For speaking engagements and interviews call Bob Todd at 612-330-3234 or e-mail toddb@augsburgfortress.org.
Friday, March 03, 2006
Jesus on Trial -- What Really Happened
This is in from Fortress Press:
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Jesus on Trial—What Really Happened
MINNEAPOLIS (February 28, 2006)— How did Jesus, a much-loved and highly respected Jewish teacher, get sentenced to death as a criminal? The questions of students and scholars about the actual circumstances, legal situation, and subsequent development of the Passion Narratives are here answered in Sloyan's second edition of this reliable resource, first published by Fortress Press in 1973. This second edition includes additional text, updated bibliography and notes, and a new preface.
“I am convinced that a serious and dispassionate inquiry into the trial of Jesus from the Gospels and contemporary sources is capable of doing something—however little—to improve the climate of Christian-Jewish discourse. This is true if only because so much that has been written on the trial that is harmful to good relations is demonstrably false.”
—from Chapter 1
“This new edition of Sloyan’s classic study offers a significant contribution to historical Jesus research and to ongoing efforts at improving the climate of contemporary Christian-Jewish relations. His exegetical expertise and knowledge of extra-biblical sources are matched by a dispassionate commitment to inquiry that refuses to settle for convenient solutions or to claim more than the evidence will allow. . . . Taking issue with many recent studies on the execution of Jesus, Sloyan demonstrates an exemplary devotion to critical responsibility, which, in the long run, will prove more satisfying than the ‘quick fix ’suggestions that have been proffered.”
—Mark Allan Powell, Professor of New Testament, Trinity Lutheran Seminary, Columbus, OH
"Unraveling theological and historical strands in the sources of the Gospel narratives, Sloyan seeks to disclose the social and political realities of the trial of Jesus. Let a new generation of Christian and Jewish interpreters take notice!"
— David L. Tiede, Augsburg College
Gerard S. Sloyan is Professor Emeritus of Religion at Temple University and Visiting Professor of Religion and Religious Education at Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. He is the author of numerous books, including The Crucifixion of Jesus (Fortress Press, 1995); Why Jesus Died (Fortress Press, 2004); and Preaching from the Lectionary: An Exegetical Commentary with CD-ROM (Fortress Press, 2004).
Format: Paperback 168 pages 5.5 x 8.5 inches
Item No: 0800638298
Price: $18.00
Publisher: Fortress Press
To order Jesus on Trial call Fortress Press at 1-800-328-4648 or visit the web site at www.fortresspress.com. To request review copies (for media) or exam copies (for potential classroom use) please call 1-800-426-0115 ext. 234 or e-mail toddb@augsburgfortress.org. For speaking engagements and interviews call Bob Todd at 612-330-3234 or e-mail toddb@augsburgfortress.org.
--
--
Jesus on Trial—What Really Happened
MINNEAPOLIS (February 28, 2006)— How did Jesus, a much-loved and highly respected Jewish teacher, get sentenced to death as a criminal? The questions of students and scholars about the actual circumstances, legal situation, and subsequent development of the Passion Narratives are here answered in Sloyan's second edition of this reliable resource, first published by Fortress Press in 1973. This second edition includes additional text, updated bibliography and notes, and a new preface.
“I am convinced that a serious and dispassionate inquiry into the trial of Jesus from the Gospels and contemporary sources is capable of doing something—however little—to improve the climate of Christian-Jewish discourse. This is true if only because so much that has been written on the trial that is harmful to good relations is demonstrably false.”
—from Chapter 1
“This new edition of Sloyan’s classic study offers a significant contribution to historical Jesus research and to ongoing efforts at improving the climate of contemporary Christian-Jewish relations. His exegetical expertise and knowledge of extra-biblical sources are matched by a dispassionate commitment to inquiry that refuses to settle for convenient solutions or to claim more than the evidence will allow. . . . Taking issue with many recent studies on the execution of Jesus, Sloyan demonstrates an exemplary devotion to critical responsibility, which, in the long run, will prove more satisfying than the ‘quick fix ’suggestions that have been proffered.”
—Mark Allan Powell, Professor of New Testament, Trinity Lutheran Seminary, Columbus, OH
"Unraveling theological and historical strands in the sources of the Gospel narratives, Sloyan seeks to disclose the social and political realities of the trial of Jesus. Let a new generation of Christian and Jewish interpreters take notice!"
— David L. Tiede, Augsburg College
Gerard S. Sloyan is Professor Emeritus of Religion at Temple University and Visiting Professor of Religion and Religious Education at Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. He is the author of numerous books, including The Crucifixion of Jesus (Fortress Press, 1995); Why Jesus Died (Fortress Press, 2004); and Preaching from the Lectionary: An Exegetical Commentary with CD-ROM (Fortress Press, 2004).
Format: Paperback 168 pages 5.5 x 8.5 inches
Item No: 0800638298
Price: $18.00
Publisher: Fortress Press
To order Jesus on Trial call Fortress Press at 1-800-328-4648 or visit the web site at www.fortresspress.com. To request review copies (for media) or exam copies (for potential classroom use) please call 1-800-426-0115 ext. 234 or e-mail toddb@augsburgfortress.org. For speaking engagements and interviews call Bob Todd at 612-330-3234 or e-mail toddb@augsburgfortress.org.
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Rivals of Jesus
Thanks to Eric Meyers, my colleague in the Dept of Religion here, for this interesting notice. The programme features Prof. Meyers and no doubt other academics in the area:Morningstar Entertainment invites you to watch the world premiere of "Rivals of Jesus" Wednesday, March 1st at 7:00pm PST. The encore presentations will be as follows:
Wednesday, March 1st at 10:00pm PST
Sunday, March 5th at 11:00am PST
Wednesday, March 8th at 3:00pm PST
Times may vary from coast to coast. Note that the program will be listed as "Science of the Bible: Rivals of Jesus".
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It is in National Geographic's Science of the Bible series.
There are more details on the this postcard.
Biblical Studies Carnival -- and its value
The next Biblical Studies Carnival is posted at Ricoblog:
Biblical Studies Carnival III
I'd like to add a word of huge appreciation to Tyler Williams for getting this whole show on the road. For me, these carnivals have come at just the right time. The massive, healthy and to-be-encouraged expansion of the blogosphere in our area, as in every other area, makes it impossible to engage with all the blogs one would like to engage with. I remember a time when reading the biblioblogosphere was a matter of looking at Paleojudaica, Hypotyposeis and a handful of others. On the whole, where you wanted to reference or engage with a given post, you had time to do so. Not so now. I struggle to read everything in my blogroll and I can only read a limited number of posts with any attention. Indeed, I suppose that my own blog has changed substantially over the last 12 months from one in which I tried to reference everything on-line in the area that interested me to something much more limited. And to be honest, I am pretty happy with that. Every day I think, "Oh, I must blog that", and subsequently discover that someone else has already done it. Well and good. More time for me to focus on other things here.
That is to say that there is a problem with the current blog scene in Biblical Studies. The growing number of great blogs and interesting posts makes it far more likely that one can miss some gems. The Carnival steps in to help us here, and month by month isolates a few key posts of interest. I, for one, am most grateful to those who are taking on the task of doing this.
Biblical Studies Carnival III
I'd like to add a word of huge appreciation to Tyler Williams for getting this whole show on the road. For me, these carnivals have come at just the right time. The massive, healthy and to-be-encouraged expansion of the blogosphere in our area, as in every other area, makes it impossible to engage with all the blogs one would like to engage with. I remember a time when reading the biblioblogosphere was a matter of looking at Paleojudaica, Hypotyposeis and a handful of others. On the whole, where you wanted to reference or engage with a given post, you had time to do so. Not so now. I struggle to read everything in my blogroll and I can only read a limited number of posts with any attention. Indeed, I suppose that my own blog has changed substantially over the last 12 months from one in which I tried to reference everything on-line in the area that interested me to something much more limited. And to be honest, I am pretty happy with that. Every day I think, "Oh, I must blog that", and subsequently discover that someone else has already done it. Well and good. More time for me to focus on other things here.
That is to say that there is a problem with the current blog scene in Biblical Studies. The growing number of great blogs and interesting posts makes it far more likely that one can miss some gems. The Carnival steps in to help us here, and month by month isolates a few key posts of interest. I, for one, am most grateful to those who are taking on the task of doing this.
Thursday, March 02, 2006
Did Jesus have a house in Capernaum?
I've always been intrigued with this verse in Mark, as suggesting that Jesus may have had a house in Capernaum:
But Mark's text encourages the reader to imagine Jesus hosting the party at his own place in Capernaum. After all, he has just asked Levi to follow him (Mark 2.14) and from that point onwards, Levi is absorbed into the anonmymous following disciples group in Mark, not even listed as one of the twelve in Mark 3.13-19. Mark 2.15-18 is a new pericope in Mark, and it is probably Mark himself who has bolted this pericope onto the Call of Levi in 2.13-14, in which case he may well have inherited this tradition about Jesus partying in his house without a link with the Levi tradition.
I am not sure why we should be surprised at the note that Jesus may have had a house in Capernaum. After all, Capernaum does seem to be the hub of his mission in Galilee. Perhaps we allow ourselves to be seduced by the saying in Matt. 8.20 // Luke 9.58, "Foxes have their holes and the birds of the air have their nests . . ." But even if Jesus said that, we don't know when he said it, and it could reflect a later, itinerant stage of his mission.
If Jesus the craftsman had a career in Capernaum, perhaps this is how he got to know those later to become his disciples.
If Mark 2.1-12 also depicts Jesus at his house (2.1, ἐν οἴκῳ, "at home"), perhaps that is why he says "Child, your sins are forgiven" -- they've just dug a big hole through the roof of Jesus' house and he's going to have to get up there later on to mend it.
Mark 2.15: καὶ γίνεται κατακεῖσθαι αὐτὸν ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ αὐτοῦ καὶ πολλοὶ τελῶναι καὶ ἁμαρτωλοὶ συνανέκειντο τῷ Ἰησοῦ καὶ τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ ἦσαν γὰρ πολλοὶ καὶ ἠκολούθουν αὐτῷThis may be an example of the criterion I was recently discussing, accidental information, or material given away in passing, where a piece of data (here: Jesus had a house in Capernaum) is assumed and not narrated. However, there is another way to take the verse. Is Mark intending the reader to take the αὐτοῦ (his) with reference to Levi, who has just been called to follow Jesus? This is the way that most commentators across the centuries have taken it, but I suspect that this is under the influence of Luke, who makes this a great party in Levi's house (Luke 5.29). Incidentally, I can't help wondering how Levi had the resources to finance this big party if he had just left everything (Luke 5.28); perhaps it was long last big bash with his old mates before setting off on the road with Jesus; or perhaps by "everything", Luke means his career and his means of earning a living (cf. the same pattern in the Zacchaeus story in Luke 19.1-10, where the tax-collector is called, and Jesus invites himself to tea).
And it happened that he was reclining in his house, and many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who were following him . . .
But Mark's text encourages the reader to imagine Jesus hosting the party at his own place in Capernaum. After all, he has just asked Levi to follow him (Mark 2.14) and from that point onwards, Levi is absorbed into the anonmymous following disciples group in Mark, not even listed as one of the twelve in Mark 3.13-19. Mark 2.15-18 is a new pericope in Mark, and it is probably Mark himself who has bolted this pericope onto the Call of Levi in 2.13-14, in which case he may well have inherited this tradition about Jesus partying in his house without a link with the Levi tradition.
I am not sure why we should be surprised at the note that Jesus may have had a house in Capernaum. After all, Capernaum does seem to be the hub of his mission in Galilee. Perhaps we allow ourselves to be seduced by the saying in Matt. 8.20 // Luke 9.58, "Foxes have their holes and the birds of the air have their nests . . ." But even if Jesus said that, we don't know when he said it, and it could reflect a later, itinerant stage of his mission.
If Jesus the craftsman had a career in Capernaum, perhaps this is how he got to know those later to become his disciples.
If Mark 2.1-12 also depicts Jesus at his house (2.1, ἐν οἴκῳ, "at home"), perhaps that is why he says "Child, your sins are forgiven" -- they've just dug a big hole through the roof of Jesus' house and he's going to have to get up there later on to mend it.
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
SBL Proposals
I can tell that there are others getting together their proposals for the SBL Annual Meeting in Washington DC today ahead of the midnight deadline because they are coming through regularly at the moment for the Synoptics Section. Stephen Carlson has a cracker of a proposal for the TC section, in which he's on the trail of another forgery, and Jim Davila has a session of the SBL Pseudepigrapha Section devoted to his new book. Now I am strongly reminded of the need to get my proposal(s) together in time.
Review of Biblical Literature latest
I've had no time for regular blogging recently, with travel to and from Nebraska, late nights grading mid-terms, re-negotiating the email mountain and all the other usual chores, but there's always a moment spare to note the latest from the SBL Review of Biblical Literature under the NT heading:
Davies, W. D., and Dale Allison
Matthew: A Shorter Commentary: Based on the Three-Volume International Critical Commentary
Reviewed by James Sweeney
Epp, Eldon Jay
Junia: The First Woman Apostle
Reviewed by Tobias Nicklas
Yee, Tet-Lim N.
Jews, Gentiles and Ethnic Reconciliation: Paul's Jewish Identity and Ephesians
Reviewed by Eung Chun Park
And under "General and Other" there is material of interest too:
Berlinerblau, Jacques
The Secular Bible: Why Nonbelievers Must Take Religion Seriously
Reviewed by Paul Sanders
Madigan, Kevin and Carolyn Osiek, eds.
Ordained Women in the Early Church: A Documentary History
Reviewed by Mary Coloe
Madigan, Kevin and Carolyn Osiek, eds.
Ordained Women in the Early Church: A Documentary History
Reviewed by Glenna Jackson
Vander Stichele, Caroline and Todd Penner, eds.
Her Master's Tools?: Feminist and Postcolonial Engagements of Historical-Critical Discourse
Reviewed by Erin Runions
Davies, W. D., and Dale Allison
Matthew: A Shorter Commentary: Based on the Three-Volume International Critical Commentary
Reviewed by James Sweeney
Epp, Eldon Jay
Junia: The First Woman Apostle
Reviewed by Tobias Nicklas
Yee, Tet-Lim N.
Jews, Gentiles and Ethnic Reconciliation: Paul's Jewish Identity and Ephesians
Reviewed by Eung Chun Park
And under "General and Other" there is material of interest too:
Berlinerblau, Jacques
The Secular Bible: Why Nonbelievers Must Take Religion Seriously
Reviewed by Paul Sanders
Madigan, Kevin and Carolyn Osiek, eds.
Ordained Women in the Early Church: A Documentary History
Reviewed by Mary Coloe
Madigan, Kevin and Carolyn Osiek, eds.
Ordained Women in the Early Church: A Documentary History
Reviewed by Glenna Jackson
Vander Stichele, Caroline and Todd Penner, eds.
Her Master's Tools?: Feminist and Postcolonial Engagements of Historical-Critical Discourse
Reviewed by Erin Runions
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Lecturing in Nebraska
On Thursday I will be giving the Swan Lecture at Nebraska Wesleyan University. It's open to the public:
Swan Lecture: "When Prophecy Became Passion: the Death of Jesus and the Birth of the Gospels"
Thursday 23 February 2006, 1 p.m., Callen Conference Center (More here).
I travel tomorrow (Wednesday). I will take the blogging machine with me, but I don't know how much opportunity I will have to use it because I will also have a bunch of mid-term papers with me to grade (= to mark).
Swan Lecture: "When Prophecy Became Passion: the Death of Jesus and the Birth of the Gospels"
Thursday 23 February 2006, 1 p.m., Callen Conference Center (More here).
I travel tomorrow (Wednesday). I will take the blogging machine with me, but I don't know how much opportunity I will have to use it because I will also have a bunch of mid-term papers with me to grade (= to mark).
Review of Biblical Literature Latest
Latest from the SBL Review of Biblical Literature under the NT heading:
Blomberg, Craig L.
Contagious Holiness: Jesus' meals with sinners
Reviewed by James Crossley
Chétanian, Rose Varteni, ed.
La Version Arménienne Ancienne des Homélies sur les Actes des Apotres de Jean Chrysostome Homélies I, II, VII, VIII
Reviewed by Robert Charles Hill
Herzog, William R., II.
Prophet and Teacher: An Introduction to the Historical Jesus
Reviewed by David Miller
Theobald, Michael
Studien zum Römerbrief
Reviewed by Heike Omerzu
Blomberg, Craig L.
Contagious Holiness: Jesus' meals with sinners
Reviewed by James Crossley
Chétanian, Rose Varteni, ed.
La Version Arménienne Ancienne des Homélies sur les Actes des Apotres de Jean Chrysostome Homélies I, II, VII, VIII
Reviewed by Robert Charles Hill
Herzog, William R., II.
Prophet and Teacher: An Introduction to the Historical Jesus
Reviewed by David Miller
Theobald, Michael
Studien zum Römerbrief
Reviewed by Heike Omerzu
Friday, February 17, 2006
Forgotten Criteria in the Jesus Quest II: View Common to Friend and Foe
I blogged last week on the first Forgotten Criterion in the Quest for the Historical Jesus, accidental information. This comes from a suggestion made almost thirty years ago by Michael Goulder. The suggestion is that we are on secure ground when someone like Paul gives away material that he is taking for granted, assuming as given between himself and his audience in an argument or discussion about something else. I don't think that enough people have reflected on just how strong the Pauline evidence here is, especially the evidence from 1 Corinthians, and I would like to return to this in a future post. As far as I am aware, no one has developed Goulder's interesting suggestion about this as a criterion in the historical Jesus quest. I suspect that part of the problem there is that Goulder's article was only a sketch, and it appeared in a book (The Myth of God Incarnate) that was notorious at the time for its theological reflections on the incarnation, in which Michael Goulder's comments on the historical Jesus were quickly forgotten. Goulder himself never developed those ideas in print, except in one place, a book review of Ben Meyer's Aims of Jesus, in which he commented on the similarity between Meyer's "indices" and his criteria.
In this post, I would like to bring forward another forgotten criterion in the search for the historical Jesus, the view common to friend and foe. I have looked through several discussions of criteria in historical Jesus research and have not found, yet, a single reference to this criterion, let alone any engagement with it. More is the shame, because here we are on solid ground.
E. P. Sanders and Margaret Davies, Studying the Synoptic Gospels (London: SCM; Philadelphia: Trinity Press International, 1989):
This discussion gets ignored, I would guess, for the same reason that many others of the gems in Studying the Synoptic Gospels get missed (e.g. the best discussion of form-criticism available anywhere, brilliant discussion of the Synoptic Problem). For some reason that I have never been able to fathom, scholars do not seem to read this book. Sanders's second example of this criterion (or "test", as he calls it) is the king / kingdom material, and I am less sure of the historicity of the kingship material in Mark's Passion Narrative than Sanders is, and I don't want to take away from the discussion of a strong criterion by bringing in a less certain example. But I would want to add other elements in the tradition that this criterion helps us with, on which more anon.
Update (Sunday, 17.55): Gary Greenberg emails: "I think this criterion needs stronger controls. The example cited doesn't really show that the foes had the view attributed to them. It is a polemic written long after the event by someone who was not a witness and it may be an invention or misrepresentation of what was said. What I suggest may be more useful is where a view is attributed to a foe contemporaneous with the author, say as in the disputes mentioned in Paul's letters between Paul and the Jerusalem Church or factional disputes in the Churches founded by Paul. While not a perfect control, it seems to exert more pressure on the author to come closer to what the opponent says than if he were writing about someone who wasn't around to respond."
See also the comments. I will comment on these points when I next have a moment.
In this post, I would like to bring forward another forgotten criterion in the search for the historical Jesus, the view common to friend and foe. I have looked through several discussions of criteria in historical Jesus research and have not found, yet, a single reference to this criterion, let alone any engagement with it. More is the shame, because here we are on solid ground.
E. P. Sanders and Margaret Davies, Studying the Synoptic Gospels (London: SCM; Philadelphia: Trinity Press International, 1989):
At first it seems that all the evidence is biased towards jesus. It is, however, extremely important to note that, while we have for Jesus no equivalent to Aristophanes on Socrates, we can discern in the gospels that he offended many and that he was executed on a serious charge. That is, the gospels, though biased in his favour, give us a glimpse of the views held by those who were biased against him.
Once we can discern both favourable and unfavourable portraits of Jesus, we can ask what is common to both portraits and we may have considerable confidence that what is common is historically sound . . . (302).
. . . .The gospels are based on 'propaganda', bias (in this case, in a good cause). We would understand more about Jesus and his impact -- or lack of it -- if we knew what his enemies thought. What friend and foe agreed on is presumably reliable material. Two facets of his career and message stand out as proved on this basis.
1. Miracles. In Jesus the Magician Morton Smith pointed out that we possess the enemies' view of Jesus as a miracle-worker. He was a magician. He could, they granted, cast out demons, but he did so by invoking Beelzebul . . . . (330)
This discussion gets ignored, I would guess, for the same reason that many others of the gems in Studying the Synoptic Gospels get missed (e.g. the best discussion of form-criticism available anywhere, brilliant discussion of the Synoptic Problem). For some reason that I have never been able to fathom, scholars do not seem to read this book. Sanders's second example of this criterion (or "test", as he calls it) is the king / kingdom material, and I am less sure of the historicity of the kingship material in Mark's Passion Narrative than Sanders is, and I don't want to take away from the discussion of a strong criterion by bringing in a less certain example. But I would want to add other elements in the tradition that this criterion helps us with, on which more anon.
Update (Sunday, 17.55): Gary Greenberg emails: "I think this criterion needs stronger controls. The example cited doesn't really show that the foes had the view attributed to them. It is a polemic written long after the event by someone who was not a witness and it may be an invention or misrepresentation of what was said. What I suggest may be more useful is where a view is attributed to a foe contemporaneous with the author, say as in the disputes mentioned in Paul's letters between Paul and the Jerusalem Church or factional disputes in the Churches founded by Paul. While not a perfect control, it seems to exert more pressure on the author to come closer to what the opponent says than if he were writing about someone who wasn't around to respond."
See also the comments. I will comment on these points when I next have a moment.
Hays on da Vinci Code
This is not a topic I often (ever?) blog about, but there's some local interest here so I thought I'd mention it. It's from the Biblical Recorder and link spotted on the Duke Divinity School website:
"Da Vinci Code" roundtable highlights conference
From contributed reports
"Da Vinci Code" roundtable highlights conference
From contributed reports
WAKE FOREST - More than 1,000 people ranging from high school and college students to seminary students, faculty and curious visitors gathered at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary Feb. 3-4 to hear scholars discuss Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code and the issues it raises regarding the reliability of the New Testament . . . .Well, I suppose it shows that discussions of Brown's wretched book at least get people engaging in some useful and interesting discussions.
. . . . Featured in the panel discussion were Norman Geisler, president of Southern Evangelical Seminary; University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill professor Bart Ehrman, the chairman of the school's Department of Religious Studies; Duke University Divinity School associate professor of New Testament Richard Hays; and Southeastern professor of New Testament Andreas Kostenberger . . . .
. . . . Hays was even less complimentary of the book.
Calling The Da Vinci Code "dreadful literature," "full of egregious historical errors," "a teeth-grinding experience," and "deeply confused theologically," Hays noted that it also has a readily observable anti-Catholic bias.
"It is characterized from start to finish by a virulent anti-Catholicism, a terrible bias against the Catholic church as an institution," said Hays, who belongs to the United Methodist denomination. "I find this a deeply morally offensive view on these grounds, and I should make clear that I'm not a Roman Catholic." . . . .
. . . . Perhaps the most contested question for panelists involved the New Testament as it relates to history and reliability. While Kostenberger and Geisler contended strongly for biblical inerrancy, both Hays and Ehrman found that explanation wanting.
"While the New Testament gospels do bear witness to the historical record of Jesus, they bring a theological witness, not a historical witness, to record," Hays said, adding that the New Testament contains "factual discrepancies that cannot be swept under the rug by any honest reader."
Ehrman, an agnostic who said that he formerly held to scriptural inerrancy while a student at Moody Bible College, told listeners that he changed his position during his studies at Princeton University, realizing that "God did not want me to throw away my mind." He urged students to read the New Testament to judge for themselves whether it contains errors . . . .
Library of New Testament Studies Page update
I've made some minor changes to the Library of New Testament Studies page which I host here on the NT Gateway. It's only a very basic information page still, but at least the information is now accurate. I've adjusted my details, from Birmingham to Duke. If anyone has sent emails to my old email address at Birmingham, they will have bounced -- it was switched off a month or two ago. I've also changed the name of the page to Library of New Testament Studies to reflect the name change from Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement Series. There are several more major things I will add in due course: the names of the editorial board, a comprehensive back list of JSNTS / LNTS volumes and, I hope, a space where we can push out the latest news on new volumes quickly and efficiently.
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Schottroff on the Parables
This is new from Fortress Press:
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Envisioning the Reign of God Through Parables
MINNEAPOLIS (February 14, 2006)— The Parables of Jesus from Fortress Press envisions the reign of God through parables—and the social structures they imply.
In this startling work, Luise Schottroff proposes an alternative reading of Jesus' parables. Her work decries the traditional allegorizing of Jesus' stories, with their easy identification of God as one of the characters in the stories.
"A far-ranging, stimulating, and provocative volume that proposes a holistic and integrated approach to the parables. A special strength of the volume can be found in Schottroff's concerted effort to set the parables in the tradition of Jewish parabolic literature."
— William R. Herzog II, Colgate Rochester Divinity School
"This book is a brilliant combination of social history, literary acumen, and feminist/liberationist perspectives. It is a 'must read' for anyone, scholar, pastor, or student alike, who has ever tried to interpret or preach from the parables."
— Mary Ann Tolbert, Pacific School of Religion and the Graduate Theological Union
Luise Schottroff is an internationally-renowned New Testament scholar who has pioneered both feminist criticism of the New Testament and bold social-justice readings of the Gospels. She currently teaches at Union Theological Seminary, New York City. She is the author of twenty-two books, including Feminist Interpretation: The Bible in Women's Perspective (1999).
The Parables of Jesus
By Luise Schottroff, translated by Linda M. Maloney
Format: Paperback, 6” x 9”, 288 pages
Item No: 0-8006-3699-6
Price: $18.00
Publisher: Fortress Press
To order The Parables of Jesus call Fortress Press at 1-800-328-4648 or visit the web site at www.fortresspress.com. To request review copies (for media) or exam copies (for potential classroom use) please call 1-800-426-0115 ext. 234 or e-mail toddb@augsburgfortress.org. For speaking engagements and interviews call Bob Todd at 612-330-3234 or e-mail toddb@augsburgfortress.org.
--
--
Envisioning the Reign of God Through Parables
MINNEAPOLIS (February 14, 2006)— The Parables of Jesus from Fortress Press envisions the reign of God through parables—and the social structures they imply.
In this startling work, Luise Schottroff proposes an alternative reading of Jesus' parables. Her work decries the traditional allegorizing of Jesus' stories, with their easy identification of God as one of the characters in the stories.
"A far-ranging, stimulating, and provocative volume that proposes a holistic and integrated approach to the parables. A special strength of the volume can be found in Schottroff's concerted effort to set the parables in the tradition of Jewish parabolic literature."
— William R. Herzog II, Colgate Rochester Divinity School
"This book is a brilliant combination of social history, literary acumen, and feminist/liberationist perspectives. It is a 'must read' for anyone, scholar, pastor, or student alike, who has ever tried to interpret or preach from the parables."
— Mary Ann Tolbert, Pacific School of Religion and the Graduate Theological Union
Luise Schottroff is an internationally-renowned New Testament scholar who has pioneered both feminist criticism of the New Testament and bold social-justice readings of the Gospels. She currently teaches at Union Theological Seminary, New York City. She is the author of twenty-two books, including Feminist Interpretation: The Bible in Women's Perspective (1999).
The Parables of Jesus
By Luise Schottroff, translated by Linda M. Maloney
Format: Paperback, 6” x 9”, 288 pages
Item No: 0-8006-3699-6
Price: $18.00
Publisher: Fortress Press
To order The Parables of Jesus call Fortress Press at 1-800-328-4648 or visit the web site at www.fortresspress.com. To request review copies (for media) or exam copies (for potential classroom use) please call 1-800-426-0115 ext. 234 or e-mail toddb@augsburgfortress.org. For speaking engagements and interviews call Bob Todd at 612-330-3234 or e-mail toddb@augsburgfortress.org.
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Wrightsaid latest
The N. T. Wright page has the latest Wrightsaid Q and A session, in which Tom Wright answers the punters' questions on matters Biblical, theological and biographical:
Bishop Tom Wright responds to Wrightsaid questions (February 2006)
Includes: is God the Father YHWH, or is the entire Trinity YHWH? And an interesting question on Wright's views on the context group, featuring this enjoyable line:
Update (12.17): Loren Rosson comments on The Busybody.
[This is the 2,000th NT Gateway blog post]
Bishop Tom Wright responds to Wrightsaid questions (February 2006)
Includes: is God the Father YHWH, or is the entire Trinity YHWH? And an interesting question on Wright's views on the context group, featuring this enjoyable line:
What they succeed in doing, and what we need to pay close attention to, is joggling us out of our comfortable assumptions that, as I think Neyrey puts it, the ancient Mediterranean world was much like ours except without electronic toys.
Update (12.17): Loren Rosson comments on The Busybody.
[This is the 2,000th NT Gateway blog post]
Monday, February 13, 2006
Busybody Book Reviews
Don't miss a couple of very interesting book reviews on Loren Rosson's blog The Busybody:
The Rolling Gospel of Thomas
Recovering the Original Gospel of Thomas, by April DeConick. T&T Clark International, Dec 2005. ISBN 0-567-04342-8.
Social Science Commentary on the Letters of Paul
Social Science Commentary on the Letters of Paul, by Bruce Malina and John Pilch. ISBN 0-8006-3640-6.
As often, Loren is up to speed on the latest stuff and has read and digested these two books and has some very helpful reflections. I am inclined to agree with Loren on DeConick, which I have read (I edit the series in which it appears) and plan to comment on myself in due course. I have read some of Malina and Pilch too, and there has been a little discussion of it on Corpus-Paulinum, particularly in relation to the claim that Paul was not apostle "to the Gentiles" but to Greek Israelites. It would take a lot to convince me of that, and so far Malina and Pilch have not done so.
Update (17 February): Stephen Carlson comments on DeConick in Hypotyposeis.
The Rolling Gospel of Thomas
Recovering the Original Gospel of Thomas, by April DeConick. T&T Clark International, Dec 2005. ISBN 0-567-04342-8.
Social Science Commentary on the Letters of Paul
Social Science Commentary on the Letters of Paul, by Bruce Malina and John Pilch. ISBN 0-8006-3640-6.
As often, Loren is up to speed on the latest stuff and has read and digested these two books and has some very helpful reflections. I am inclined to agree with Loren on DeConick, which I have read (I edit the series in which it appears) and plan to comment on myself in due course. I have read some of Malina and Pilch too, and there has been a little discussion of it on Corpus-Paulinum, particularly in relation to the claim that Paul was not apostle "to the Gentiles" but to Greek Israelites. It would take a lot to convince me of that, and so far Malina and Pilch have not done so.
Update (17 February): Stephen Carlson comments on DeConick in Hypotyposeis.
John Lyons' new blog
Another British New Testament scholar has joined the blogging community ("assimilated to the blogosphere" as Jim Davila would say):
Reception of the Bible
Reception of the Bible
So what does interest me? Real readers of the Bible interest me. I was trained to do historical critical work on ‘original meanings’ and still do it occasionally. I also teach such approaches. But what really interests me is seeing how people encounter texts and what they do with them.The author is John Lyons, Lecturer in New Testament in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Bristol. The blog begins with some enjoyable reflections on "Why blog?", from which the above quotation is taken (and you don't have to be concerned about my family, John; they all spend as long staring at computers as I do, and my wife Viola spends longer blogging than I do). John goes on with two posts on Jonathan Edwards (second here), the eighteenth century American evangelical, and not the contemporary British triple-jumper-come-TV presenter, about whom, I must admit, I know more. Anyway, a warm welcome to the blogosphere, John.
Sunday, February 12, 2006
Historical Jesus Forgotten Criteria I: Accidental Information
I am doing some thinking about the notorious "criteria" for dividing authentic from inauthentic material in Historical Jesus research, brought on because I am in the middle of teaching this at the moment. Having re-read various of the scholarly discussions of criteria, I have been struck by a couple of promising and helpful criteria that are missing in recent literature. The first of these is particularly badly represented in the literature. Indeed, the only person I know who mentions it is Michael Goulder, almost thirty years ago:
Update (14 January, 09.48): thanks for all the comments on the post, several of which show that some more clarity is required in defining this criterion. Goulder's point, as I see it, is that a given author will give away information that is shared by him/herself and his/her audience in the course of constructing an argument about something else. So when Paul says "Have I not got the right to take a believer as wife . . . as do the brothers of the Lord" (1 Cor. 9.5), the information here provided en passant is "Jesus had brothers" and, what's more, "Jesus' brothers were married". His point is not to convey this information; he is not narrating this information, or making it available afresh to readers who previously knew nothing of it. Rather, it is shared information that Paul can take for granted, but which gets conveyed (to us as historians) while he is relating other information as part of an argument. To try to make the point more clearly still, Paul's point in 1 Cor. 9.5 only makes sense if it was reasonably widely known that Jesus had brothers who went on mission. The argument takes for granted that there were such people, and the assumption is necessary for the argument to work. It is not the point of the argument.
Accidental Information. “Paul is trying to tell the Corinthians that Jesus rose from the dead, and he says, ‘He appeared to Cephas’: he tells us by accident that there was a man known as Cephas, and this is therefore dependable. Detection, both criminal and historical, is largely based on this criterion.” (Michael Goulder, “Jesus: The Man of Universal Destiny” in John Hick (ed.), The Myth of God Incarnate (London: SCM, 1977): 48-63, 50).I need to think about this a little more, but I reckon that this is actually a criterion people are often working with without realizing it. The problem with Goulder's discussion is that it is only a sketch, and he gives few examples of this kind of material, where early Christian writers reveal information en passant, but he also points to "the Twelve" in 1 Cor. 15.5 as another example (Goulder, "Jesus": 54). One might add other information that Paul provides in passing, like the fact that Jesus had brothers who were married (where the point is that people have a right to take a believing wife on mission, 1 Cor. 9.5), or likewise that Cephas was married (also 1 Cor. 9.5). And I reckon the criterion could be applied to some of the Gospel material too, e.g. that Jesus had a house in Capernaum (Mark 2.15)?
Update (14 January, 09.48): thanks for all the comments on the post, several of which show that some more clarity is required in defining this criterion. Goulder's point, as I see it, is that a given author will give away information that is shared by him/herself and his/her audience in the course of constructing an argument about something else. So when Paul says "Have I not got the right to take a believer as wife . . . as do the brothers of the Lord" (1 Cor. 9.5), the information here provided en passant is "Jesus had brothers" and, what's more, "Jesus' brothers were married". His point is not to convey this information; he is not narrating this information, or making it available afresh to readers who previously knew nothing of it. Rather, it is shared information that Paul can take for granted, but which gets conveyed (to us as historians) while he is relating other information as part of an argument. To try to make the point more clearly still, Paul's point in 1 Cor. 9.5 only makes sense if it was reasonably widely known that Jesus had brothers who went on mission. The argument takes for granted that there were such people, and the assumption is necessary for the argument to work. It is not the point of the argument.
Saturday, February 11, 2006
Lots of blogs of interest
There are lots of new blogs of interest in our area. Here are the latest additions to my blogroll:
Bible and History Lists Comments
To collect various notes and comments of mine regarding list posts on various Bible and Ancient Near East related lists
Yitzak Sapir
This one was via Paleojudaica. The next is one I spotted myself while surfing:
Markus McDowell's Blog
Teaching, researching, and writing about the Second Temple period and early Christianity
Mark McDowell is Assistant Professor of New Testament at Westmont College, Santa Barbara, California, and his homepage has publications list, class materials and so on.
This one has been posted in various places (e.g. Bible Software Review Weblog) and will be of interest to Mac enthusiasts, and especially Accordance enthusiasts (and there are lots of those):
Accordance Blog
News, How-tos, and assorted Views on Accordance Bible Software.
The authors appear to be Helen Brown and David Lang.
The next one has stalled a bit after its first week of postings at the beginning of the year, but it's worth mentioning in case it returns again:
Biblia Theologica
Biblical and theological postings of varied lengths by a student of the New Testament and of Biblical Theology
A. B. Caneday
The author is professor of New Testament Studies & Biblical Theology at Northwestern College, Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA. This one was noticed by Michael Bird on Euangelion.
Next up is another recommendation of Michael Bird on Euangelion:
Pantodapos
Sundry thoughts on Biblical Studies, History, Philosophy, Greek, Textual Criticism and Literature
Eric Sowell
If the name sounds familiar, it is because Eric already has a tech blog called The Coding Humanist.
A third recommendation from Michael Bird on Euangelion is:
Gospel of Matthew
Blogging on the New Testament (especially its first book) and other things
J. B. Hood
The author explains "This blog is a forum for my thoughts and those of others with similar interests. I'm currently pursuing a PhD in New Testament from Highland Theological College, University of Aberdeen, and Matthew's Gospel (the subject of my dissertation) will be a key theme."
Back to Jim Davila's recommendations on Paleojudaica, with his characteristic "assimilated to the blogosphere" header is:
Targuman
Christian Brady
Observatório Bíblico
Blog sobre estudos acadêmicos da Bíblia. Associado à Ayrton's Biblical Page. A weblog about academic studies of the Bible
Airton José da Silva
A good one for practising your Portuguese, and nice to see a few links to this blog there too.
It also emerges that I had not linked to this before now:
Chrisendom
My research topic (under the supervision of Max Turner) concerns the christological significance of the language Paul used to decribe the relationship between risen Lord and believer
Chris Tilling
I think I was put off by the fact that the blog was originally called "Brain poo", surely one of the worst blog titles in living memory, now happily adjusted to Chrisendom (minus the "t"). It was blog of the month on Biblioblogs.com
I have also dropped one or two of the blogs that have stalled into limbo.
Bible and History Lists Comments
To collect various notes and comments of mine regarding list posts on various Bible and Ancient Near East related lists
Yitzak Sapir
This one was via Paleojudaica. The next is one I spotted myself while surfing:
Markus McDowell's Blog
Teaching, researching, and writing about the Second Temple period and early Christianity
Mark McDowell is Assistant Professor of New Testament at Westmont College, Santa Barbara, California, and his homepage has publications list, class materials and so on.
This one has been posted in various places (e.g. Bible Software Review Weblog) and will be of interest to Mac enthusiasts, and especially Accordance enthusiasts (and there are lots of those):
Accordance Blog
News, How-tos, and assorted Views on Accordance Bible Software.
The authors appear to be Helen Brown and David Lang.
The next one has stalled a bit after its first week of postings at the beginning of the year, but it's worth mentioning in case it returns again:
Biblia Theologica
Biblical and theological postings of varied lengths by a student of the New Testament and of Biblical Theology
A. B. Caneday
The author is professor of New Testament Studies & Biblical Theology at Northwestern College, Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA. This one was noticed by Michael Bird on Euangelion.
Next up is another recommendation of Michael Bird on Euangelion:
Pantodapos
Sundry thoughts on Biblical Studies, History, Philosophy, Greek, Textual Criticism and Literature
Eric Sowell
If the name sounds familiar, it is because Eric already has a tech blog called The Coding Humanist.
A third recommendation from Michael Bird on Euangelion is:
Gospel of Matthew
Blogging on the New Testament (especially its first book) and other things
J. B. Hood
The author explains "This blog is a forum for my thoughts and those of others with similar interests. I'm currently pursuing a PhD in New Testament from Highland Theological College, University of Aberdeen, and Matthew's Gospel (the subject of my dissertation) will be a key theme."
Back to Jim Davila's recommendations on Paleojudaica, with his characteristic "assimilated to the blogosphere" header is:
Targuman
Christian Brady
The Name - "Targuman" comes from my field of study (that of the targumim, the Aramaic versions of the Bible) but the full story is a little better than just that. Back when eWorld was a reality I had an email address that attempted to reflect my field, "otman" for "Old Testament." But that was only part of my field and my undergraduate supervisor suggested "meturgeman" (the one in the synagogal service who would translate the Hebrew reading into Aramaic). That seemed to lack the super hero quality I was looking for, so I settled for "Targuman." Now I just need a "T" to sew on my chest...The next is one I thought I had added to my blogroll, but it turns out I had not. It was mentioned by Jim Davila in Paleojudaica back in December:
The Purpose - I intend to follow Ralph's lead and simply post that which is of interest to me. Sometimes scholarly and theological at other times Mac related or political. Who knows? (Yab -- yet another blog)
Observatório Bíblico
Blog sobre estudos acadêmicos da Bíblia. Associado à Ayrton's Biblical Page. A weblog about academic studies of the Bible
Airton José da Silva
A good one for practising your Portuguese, and nice to see a few links to this blog there too.
It also emerges that I had not linked to this before now:
Chrisendom
My research topic (under the supervision of Max Turner) concerns the christological significance of the language Paul used to decribe the relationship between risen Lord and believer
Chris Tilling
I think I was put off by the fact that the blog was originally called "Brain poo", surely one of the worst blog titles in living memory, now happily adjusted to Chrisendom (minus the "t"). It was blog of the month on Biblioblogs.com
I have also dropped one or two of the blogs that have stalled into limbo.
Friday, February 10, 2006
Hearing Mark's Endings
Another book I was delighted to hear about was this one:
Hearing Mark's Endings: Listening to Ancient Popular Texts through Speech Act Theory
by Bridget Gilfillan Upton
2006
ISBN 90 04 14791 8
Hardback (xviii, 246 pp.)
EUR 95.- / US$ 128.-
Biblical Interpretation Series, 79
This is one I've not read yet, but I am looking forward to doing so, and I would like to offer my congratulations to Bridget on the publication (which has some cracking endorsements on the Brill website). (Spotted on Evangelical Textual Criticism).
Hearing Mark's Endings: Listening to Ancient Popular Texts through Speech Act Theoryby Bridget Gilfillan Upton
2006
ISBN 90 04 14791 8
Hardback (xviii, 246 pp.)
EUR 95.- / US$ 128.-
Biblical Interpretation Series, 79
This is one I've not read yet, but I am looking forward to doing so, and I would like to offer my congratulations to Bridget on the publication (which has some cracking endorsements on the Brill website). (Spotted on Evangelical Textual Criticism).
Ancient Compositional Practices and the Synoptic Problem
Allow me to echo Stephen Carlson's notice on Hypotyposeis of the good news that the following is out:
Ancient Compositional Practices and the Synoptic Problem
R. A. Derrenbacker, Jr.
It's published by Peeters (BETL, 186) and mentioned in Bob's Blog. I read (own) a copy of the dissertation on which the book is based, and I am looking forward to reading this (even if Bob does underestimate the strength of the Farrer theory).
Ancient Compositional Practices and the Synoptic Problem
R. A. Derrenbacker, Jr.
It's published by Peeters (BETL, 186) and mentioned in Bob's Blog. I read (own) a copy of the dissertation on which the book is based, and I am looking forward to reading this (even if Bob does underestimate the strength of the Farrer theory).
Biblical Studies Carnival
I missed the boat on this one and didn't submit anything to Tyler Williams on time; and I have almost missed the boat even in mentioning it in time, but not quite. So here, belatedly, is notice of Biblical Studies Carnival II. The carnival idea is new to me, and intriguing. The idea is that bloggers submit their favourite posts in a given month to a host who makes his or her own selection and posts annotated links to them. I don't know where the term "carnival" comes from in this context, but it's rather a nice one and evokes images of smiling faces, crowds and waving flags that is a fun way to celebrate what are sometimes quite serious academic blog entries. Anyway, it looks like Tyler has got a whole bunch of hosts lined up for future Biblical Studies Carnivals, and it is to be a monthly phenomenon. So a big thanks to Tyler and to all those who have contributed, and I promise to try to contibute myself in the future.
Scholars: H
I have refreshed the NT Gateway Scholars: H page -- a new URL for Charles Hedrick, changed details for KC Hanson and deletions of Peter Hofrichter and Bernard Heininger, neither of whom can I find.
Roy Ciampa's Resources for New Testament Exegesis
Latest update to the NT Gateway page of Biblical Resource Index Pages is the following:
Resources for New Testament Exegesis
By Roy E. Ciampa: very useful series of links to materials on New Testament exegesis originally prepared for students at Gordon-Conwell Seminary, but this is not just an index page. Special features include a set of reference charts for NT textual criticism, tutorials for using several software and web resources, and some creative links to resources available at Amazon.com (including translations of early Jewish literature, scripture indices, Aland's chart of synoptic parallels.
Roy Ciampa is at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.
While updating the page, I noticed that Jerry Truex and Loren Stuckenbruck's Webnexus has finally bitten the dust. It had not been updated for several years, but now the link has gone too, a shame because it was a great resource, and once upon a time a Featured Link (February 2000).
Resources for New Testament Exegesis
By Roy E. Ciampa: very useful series of links to materials on New Testament exegesis originally prepared for students at Gordon-Conwell Seminary, but this is not just an index page. Special features include a set of reference charts for NT textual criticism, tutorials for using several software and web resources, and some creative links to resources available at Amazon.com (including translations of early Jewish literature, scripture indices, Aland's chart of synoptic parallels.
Roy Ciampa is at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.
While updating the page, I noticed that Jerry Truex and Loren Stuckenbruck's Webnexus has finally bitten the dust. It had not been updated for several years, but now the link has gone too, a shame because it was a great resource, and once upon a time a Featured Link (February 2000).
Apostolic Fathers links update
Speaking of the apostolic fathers, thanks to Jamie Phelps for pointing out that the UPenn link to Lightfoot's translation of the Apostolic Fathers is no longer functional. I've now removed that from the NT Gateway Early Church and Patristics Page and have replaced it with a link to Rick Brannan's Apostolic Fathers Look Up Tool.
The New Testament and the Apostolic Fathers
Thanks to Katharine Hellier of Oxford University Press for sending these over:
The Reception of the New Testament in the Apostolic Fathers
Edited by Andrew Gregory and Christopher Tuckett
* Detailed, clearly focused, up-to-date and comprehensive surveys of the books of the New Testament that may have been used by each of the Apostolic Fathers
1 December 2005 | £55.00 | Hardback | 389 pages
For more details, visit: http://www.oup.co.uk/isbn/0-19-926782-0
Trajectories through the New Testament and the Apostolic Fathers
Edited by Andrew Gregory and Christopher Tuckett
* Wide-ranging essays looking at the development of Christianity as seen in sources both within the New Testament and in other early Christian literature
1 December 2005 | £65.00 | Hardback | 524 pages
For more details, visit: http://www.oup.co.uk/isbn/0-19-926783-9
The New Testament and the Apostolic Fathers
Edited by Andrew Gregory and Christopher Tuckett
1 December 2005 | £100.00 | Hardback | 928 pages
For more details, visit: http://www.oup.co.uk/isbn/0-19-926784-7
The Reception of the New Testament in the Apostolic Fathers
Edited by Andrew Gregory and Christopher Tuckett
* Detailed, clearly focused, up-to-date and comprehensive surveys of the books of the New Testament that may have been used by each of the Apostolic Fathers
1 December 2005 | £55.00 | Hardback | 389 pages
For more details, visit: http://www.oup.co.uk/isbn/0-19-926782-0
Trajectories through the New Testament and the Apostolic Fathers
Edited by Andrew Gregory and Christopher Tuckett
* Wide-ranging essays looking at the development of Christianity as seen in sources both within the New Testament and in other early Christian literature
1 December 2005 | £65.00 | Hardback | 524 pages
For more details, visit: http://www.oup.co.uk/isbn/0-19-926783-9
The New Testament and the Apostolic Fathers
Edited by Andrew Gregory and Christopher Tuckett
1 December 2005 | £100.00 | Hardback | 928 pages
For more details, visit: http://www.oup.co.uk/isbn/0-19-926784-7
N. T. Wright podcast
It's not every day that you can get a podcast featuring a prominent N. T. scholar, but the N. T. Wright Page alerts us to this:
N. T. Wright and New Insights on Paul
What did the phrase 'Son of God' mean to a first century Jew? What did it mean to a first century Roman? Bishop N.T. Wright, the most inflential New Testament scholar in the English-speaking world, talks with Jerry about his new book, "Paul."
To recieve [sic] this Podcast, click here.
It is an interview with a certain Jerry Bowyer. I've not listened to it myself yet, not having caught up with more leisurely, non NT podcasts that remind me of England, but I'm sure this will be of interest to many.
So who will be the next NT scholar to podcast, or be interviewed on a podcast? Ehrman? Pagels? Crossan?
N. T. Wright and New Insights on Paul
What did the phrase 'Son of God' mean to a first century Jew? What did it mean to a first century Roman? Bishop N.T. Wright, the most inflential New Testament scholar in the English-speaking world, talks with Jerry about his new book, "Paul."
To recieve [sic] this Podcast, click here.
It is an interview with a certain Jerry Bowyer. I've not listened to it myself yet, not having caught up with more leisurely, non NT podcasts that remind me of England, but I'm sure this will be of interest to many.
So who will be the next NT scholar to podcast, or be interviewed on a podcast? Ehrman? Pagels? Crossan?
Thursday, February 09, 2006
Jesus the Craftsman and the Evidence from Paul
I was thinking this morning about Jesus as a τέκτων, a craftsman, and it occurred to me that the fact that Jesus was known (at least by Mark, 6.3) to have worked with his hands could have provided Paul with a useful argument in 1 Cor. 9. The background of that chapter appears to be that Paul has been criticized for earning a living and so not sponging off the Corinthians when he was on mission there. It seems that his apostolic credentials have been called into question, that apostles would be expected to earn their living by preaching the gospel, and that Paul and Barnabas are exceptions to this rule. I have always felt a bit sorry for Paul here, working hard with his hands in between his missionary activity, and then getting criticized for it. But what I began to wonder today was about one of the arguments that Paul did not use.
Paul could have said in this context, "Did not the Lord himself work with his hands? Was he not a craftsman?" Or something like that. This might have been quite a useful point for Paul in a context where he is up against the practice of the apostles, Cephas, even Jesus' own brothers (cf. 1 Cor. 9.5), and where there is apparently a command of the Lord (9.14) that these people are under, to the effect that evangelists should earn their living by evangelizing. So why does he not appeal to that precedent? What are the possibilities? Here are a few options:
(1) Paul did not know that Jesus was a craftsman. He had never thought to ask Peter, James or anyone else, and they had not volunteered the information.
(2) Jesus was not a craftsman; Mark 6.3 is not a reliable tradition.
(3) Paul knew the tradition but did not think to use it in this context, especially as he is up against the practice of those who actually knew Jesus, and who were quoting his words.
(4) Jesus was not (thought to have been) a craftsman during his active, itinerant mission. He began his mission in Capernaum, but he had only been a craftsman in Nazareth and its surrounds. If this was (thought to have been) the case, it would have been counter-productive for Paul to have brought up Jesus' job, because the natural answer would be: "Yes, and the Lord did not work with his hands when he was preaching the gospel, for he said 'Let the one who preaches the gospel get his living by the gospel.'"
I think (3) is perhaps the most likely, but option (4) ought to be entertained too. The Mark 6.1-6 story, in which the reference occurs, assumes that Jesus' job was known to his audience in Nazareth. Was it perhaps associated with Jesus in Nazareth, and does Jesus' move to and activity in Capernaum coincide with his gospel-preaching activity, according to which he now lives off others? The tradition in Mark 3.21 and 31-5, where Jesus' family come to restrain him might then reflect a time when Jesus was no longer a craftsman at home in Nazareth, but now a charismatic on a mission, and they think he is mad, having left the family home and business.
Or perhaps not. Just a thought.
Incidentally, one of the things that got me thinking about this area was a post from a while ago by Michael Bird of Euangelion on Jesus the Stonemason, which discusses translations of Mark 6.3 and refers to an interesting recent article by Ken Campbell in a journal I don't think I've read before, I'm ashamed to say, called Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, "What was Jesus' Occupation?", JETS 48.3 (2005): 501-20. The second half of the article is a rather uncritical lumping together of Synoptic data en masse in the search for the imagery used in Jesus' teaching (with no reference to the carefully sifted itinerary of imagery in Goulder's sadly underrated and underused Midrash and Lection in Matthew), but the first half was a clear and very useful working through the lexical evidence on the meaning of τέκτων in Greek literature, making it pretty clear that the term on its own without qualification should be translated something like "craftsman". "Carpenter" or "stone-mason" or "metal worker" would all be too specific.
Paul could have said in this context, "Did not the Lord himself work with his hands? Was he not a craftsman?" Or something like that. This might have been quite a useful point for Paul in a context where he is up against the practice of the apostles, Cephas, even Jesus' own brothers (cf. 1 Cor. 9.5), and where there is apparently a command of the Lord (9.14) that these people are under, to the effect that evangelists should earn their living by evangelizing. So why does he not appeal to that precedent? What are the possibilities? Here are a few options:
(1) Paul did not know that Jesus was a craftsman. He had never thought to ask Peter, James or anyone else, and they had not volunteered the information.
(2) Jesus was not a craftsman; Mark 6.3 is not a reliable tradition.
(3) Paul knew the tradition but did not think to use it in this context, especially as he is up against the practice of those who actually knew Jesus, and who were quoting his words.
(4) Jesus was not (thought to have been) a craftsman during his active, itinerant mission. He began his mission in Capernaum, but he had only been a craftsman in Nazareth and its surrounds. If this was (thought to have been) the case, it would have been counter-productive for Paul to have brought up Jesus' job, because the natural answer would be: "Yes, and the Lord did not work with his hands when he was preaching the gospel, for he said 'Let the one who preaches the gospel get his living by the gospel.'"
I think (3) is perhaps the most likely, but option (4) ought to be entertained too. The Mark 6.1-6 story, in which the reference occurs, assumes that Jesus' job was known to his audience in Nazareth. Was it perhaps associated with Jesus in Nazareth, and does Jesus' move to and activity in Capernaum coincide with his gospel-preaching activity, according to which he now lives off others? The tradition in Mark 3.21 and 31-5, where Jesus' family come to restrain him might then reflect a time when Jesus was no longer a craftsman at home in Nazareth, but now a charismatic on a mission, and they think he is mad, having left the family home and business.
Or perhaps not. Just a thought.
Incidentally, one of the things that got me thinking about this area was a post from a while ago by Michael Bird of Euangelion on Jesus the Stonemason, which discusses translations of Mark 6.3 and refers to an interesting recent article by Ken Campbell in a journal I don't think I've read before, I'm ashamed to say, called Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, "What was Jesus' Occupation?", JETS 48.3 (2005): 501-20. The second half of the article is a rather uncritical lumping together of Synoptic data en masse in the search for the imagery used in Jesus' teaching (with no reference to the carefully sifted itinerary of imagery in Goulder's sadly underrated and underused Midrash and Lection in Matthew), but the first half was a clear and very useful working through the lexical evidence on the meaning of τέκτων in Greek literature, making it pretty clear that the term on its own without qualification should be translated something like "craftsman". "Carpenter" or "stone-mason" or "metal worker" would all be too specific.
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Bible Films Blog
One of the latest additions to my Blogroll is:
Bible Films Blog
Looking at film interpretations of the stories in the bible - past, present and future as well as current film releases with spiritual significance, and odd bits and pieces on the bible
The author is Matt Page and we have corresponded for some years now on Jesus films; I don't think we have ever met (though Matt lives in my birth county of Leicestershire). Matt has lots of interesting things to say about the Bible in film, and his knowledge on the subject is second to none. There is already a ton of interesting stuff on the Bible Films Blog and I am looking forward to digesting it when I get a moment (one of these days I will be able to find a spare moment) and, I hope, adding some comments.
Welcome to the blogosphere, Matt.
Bible Films Blog
Looking at film interpretations of the stories in the bible - past, present and future as well as current film releases with spiritual significance, and odd bits and pieces on the bible
The author is Matt Page and we have corresponded for some years now on Jesus films; I don't think we have ever met (though Matt lives in my birth county of Leicestershire). Matt has lots of interesting things to say about the Bible in film, and his knowledge on the subject is second to none. There is already a ton of interesting stuff on the Bible Films Blog and I am looking forward to digesting it when I get a moment (one of these days I will be able to find a spare moment) and, I hope, adding some comments.
Welcome to the blogosphere, Matt.
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