Novum Testamentum, Supplements - Böcker

The Gospel Behind the Gospels portrays all the major areas of current discussion and debate regarding the early source of Jesus' sayings known as Q. Sixteen gospel scholars have advanced the debate about this source's nature, history and significance.Contributors discuss Q's existence, its relationship to Mark's gospel and to the Gospel of Thomas, its genre, its redactional history with special reference to the Son of Man and to wisdom and prophetic traditions, its social history with respect to family structures and the Cynics, a feminist analysis of Q, its significance for the historical Jesus and for Jesus' parables.The volume sheds important light on Jesus and Christian origins as well as upon Q itself, and it is significant for the diversity of major North American, European and Japanese scholarship which is represented.

This work argues that many early Christian quotations of the Old Testament derive not from scriptural manuscripts, but rather from authoritative written testimonia collections developed to support basic Christian beliefs. Combining recent patristic studies (notably on Justin and Barnabas) and evidence from Qumran with detailed examination of quotations in the New Testament, the book builds a fresh case for a neglected scholarly hypothesis.After reviewing the scholarly literature and analogous Jewish and Greco-Roman literary collections, the book presents a comprehensive overview of extant testimonia traditions from the second to the fourth century C.E. The final chapters argue for the use of written testimonia collections in the New Testament. This study offers solid evidence for a remarkably unified early Christian scriptural tradition that extended throughout the Mediterranean world.

This collection of essays in honour of Heikki Räisänen, New Testament professor at the University of Helsinki, consists of 22 essays written by his colleagues and students on Jesus, the gospels, Paul, early Christianity, and biblical interpretation.Räisänen's own research has been characterized by methodological awareness combined with a keen interest in ethical issues. Both these aspects come to expression in his insistence on "fair play" as a correct scholarly attitude involving an honest dialogue, a real encounter, and a recognition of diverging opinions. In this spirit, most of the essays in this book lay emphasis on issues related to early Christian diversity and conflicts, and to their challenge in modern society.The book is useful for scholars, academic teachers and students interested in various aspects of the New Testament, early Christianity, and hermeneutics.

A high proportion of the many articles published by the papyrologist T.C. Skeat (1907-2003), a former Keeper of Manuscripts at the British Museum, concerns the New Testament. This present collection gathers together papers on Biblical and related matters contributed by Skeat for over sixty years to various publications. The book divides these into three sections: ancient book production, studies on particular Biblical manuscripts and textual criticism. In his Introduction J.K. Elliott assesses the importance of Skeat's work and he incorporates from personal correspondence some of Skeat's later thinking on these topics. A full Bibliography of Skeat's writings is included.

Salvation in the New Testament offers an analysis of the soteriological perspectives and language of the different books of the New Testament. Special attention is given to the imagery used in expressing soteriological ideas. Salvation deals with becoming part of the people of God. In Salvation in the New Testament special attention is given to the nature and power of the salvific language used in the New Testament to express the dynamics of salvation. Individual articles on the different books of the New Testament highlight the diverse perspectives offered in these documents. The emphasis especially falls on the different images and metaphors which were used to express the event and moment of salvation, rather than on the results (ethics or behaviour) of salvation. An overview of the different perspectives on soteriology in the New Testament offers the opportunity to compare similarities and differences in concepts and expressions. It also illustrates the dynamic interaction between historical situations and salvific language and expression.

This collection of essays by leading experts in New Testament scholarship addresses core themes in the study of early Christianity. The topics addressed include text-critical issues relating to the New Testament, the historical situation in which the earliest Christian documents were composed, early Christian rituals, historical questions concerning Jesus and Paul, and the origin and development of important theological ideas in the early Church. This volume is dedicated to Henk Jan de Jonge (Emeritus Professor in the New Testament, Leiden University) in honour of his important contributions to the field of New Testament Studies.

Although scholarship has noted the thematic importance of peace in Ephesians, few have examined its political character in a sustained manner throughout the entire letter. This book addresses this lacuna, comparing Ephesians with Colossians, Greek political texts, Dio Chrysostom’s Orations, and the Confucian Four Books in order to ascertain the rhetorical and political nature of its topos of peace. Through comparison with analogous documents both within and without its cultural milieu, this study shows that Ephesians can be read as a politico-religious letter “concerning peace” within the church. Its vision of peace contains common political elements (such as moral education, household management, communal stability, a universal humanity, and war) that are subsumed under the controlling rubric of the unity and cosmic summing up of all things in Christ.

In Corinth in Contrast, archaeologists, historians, art historians, classicists, and New Testament scholars examine the stratified nature of socio-economic, political, and religious interactions in the city from the Hellenistic period to Late Antiquity. The volume challenges standard social histories of Corinth by focusing on the unequal distribution of material, cultural, and spiritual resources. Specialists investigate specific aspects of cultural and material stratification such as commerce, slavery, religion, marriage and family, gender, and art, analyzing both the ruling elite of Corinth and the non-elite Corinthians who made up the majority of the population. This approach provides insight into the complex networks that characterized every ancient urban center and sets an agenda for future studies of Corinth and other cities rule by Rome.

The Scriptures of Israel in Jewish and Christian Tradition is a collection of studies in honour of Professor Maarten J.J. Menken (Tilburg/Utrecht) and illustrates the rich diversity of approaches to biblical interpretation at the beginning of the Common Era. An international team of specialists share their insights on such topics as the availability of Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek texts, Jewish and Christian hermeneutics, notions of authority and inspiration and even a study of inscriptions. Each in its own way demonstrates that the relationship between text and tradition, culture and belief is always complex.

Paul, John, and Apocalyptic Eschatology offers fresh studies by leading New Testament scholars. It considers Paul’s use of tradition, his views on Christian life in the light of mysticism and eschatology. It also discusses the identity formation of the “Johannine community” and the role of “exaltation” in the Fourth Gospel. The focus on apocalyptic eschatology is broadened by studies on the reception of Pauline eschatology, the dating of Revelation, and chiliasm. The collection is complemented by a study on the text of John 3:13 and one on the coinage of the name “Ambrosiaster.”

In God, Grace, and Righteousness in Wisdom of Solomon and Paul's Letter to the Romans, Jonathan A. Linebaugh places the Wisdom of Solomon and the Letter to the Romans in conversation. Both texts discuss the relationship of Jew and Gentile, the meaning of God's grace and righteousness, and offer readings of Israel's scripture. These shared themes provide talking-points, initiating a dialogue on anthropology, soteriology, and hermeneutics. By listening in on this conversation, Linebaugh demonstrates that while these texts have much in common, the theologies they articulate are ultimately incommensurable because they think from different events - Wisdom from the pre-creational order crafted by Sophia and exemplified in the Exodus; Paul from the incongruous gift of Christ which justifies the ungodly.

The study sheds fresh light on aspects of the lawsuit motif in John from the background of Diaspora-Jewish and Greco-Roman data and perspectives. – John’s narrative of the attempts on Jesus for such crimes as breaking the Sabbath, blasphemy, and seduction are illuminated from Philo’s perspectives on vigilante execution. – Furthermore, John’s narrative of the official Jewish and Roman forensic procedures against Jesus can also be situated within the framework of the Greco-Roman administration exemplified by the legal papyri from the Roman Egypt. – Philo’s expectation of an eschatological emperor, who shall rule over many nations, provides a cultural context for the way John’s gospel re-inscribed Jesus as the true “Emperor” of all the nations.

In Christus Militans knüpft Gabriella Gelardini an Interpretationen an, die das Markusevangelium im Kontext des jüdisch-römischen Krieges und des Aufstiegs der Flavier interpretieren. Von Interesse sind darin aber nicht nur „ideologische Macht- oder Herrschaftsdiskurse“ und damit „politische Theologie,“ sondern insbesondere auch die militärischen Zusammenhänge und die Kriegssemantik im engeren Sinn. Dies erfolgt eingedenk der großen Bedeutung, die das Militär und der Krieg für die Herstellung und Aufrechterhaltung von Herrschaft in der Antike hatten, besonders bei Dynastiewechseln, etwa wie hier von der julisch-claudischen zur flavischen Dynastie.Diesen Wechsel zur flavischen Dynastie zeichnet die Autorin zunächst in einer umfassenden kontextuellen Analyse nach, nicht allein auf der Basis des Werkes von Josephus und antiken Historikern, sondern erstmals auch unter Einbezug zeitnaher Militärhistoriker. Die Rekonstruktion dieses durch Militär und Krieg erzielten Aufstiegs, der seinen krönenden Abschluss in der Machtergreifung und einem den Krieg beendenden Triumph in Rom fand, trägt sie dann an den Evangelientext heran, und stellt in der Erzählung des Protagonisten Jesus Christus vergleichbare politisch-militärische Inkodierungen fest, nicht zuletzt auch in Form von „hidden transcripts,“ welche diesen Herrschaftsantritt ebenfalls als einen Dynastiewechsel darstellen, nämlich von der herodianischen zur davidisch-messianischen Dynastie.Politisch-militärische Inkodierungen ließen sich in jeder Szene finden, so dass die Autorin das Repertoire von Anknüpfungsmöglichkeiten des markinischen Texts an den literarisch-historischen Kontext des ersten jüdisch-römischen Kriegs um viele, neue und oft auch plausiblere Deutungsangebote erweitert konnte. Inkodierungen stellte sie aber auch auf lexikalischer Ebene fest; denn nicht weniger als ein Drittel des markinischen Lexikons trägt im Blick auf seine Semantik auch oder ausschließlich militärische Bedeutung. Eine zentrale Rolle misst sie der sogenannten Passion Jesu zu. Denn zwar steht der Kreuzestod als Sinnbild für die militärische Niederlage, interpretiert man seinen Tod jedoch konsequent im Kontext des „Triumphzugs,“ dann wäre er auch als sühnendes und von Kriegsschuld reinigendes Opfer zu deuten. Und als solches – lässt sich schließen – hätte Jesus die religiös zwingende Voraussetzung für eine gottgewollte und siegreiche, durchaus auch militärisch zu verstehende Rückkehr geschaffen.In Christus Militans, Gabriella Gelardini builds on interpretations that construe the Gospel of Mark in the context of the Jewish-Roman War and the rise of the Flavians. She explores not only “ideological discourses of power and domination,” but also military contexts and the semantics of war. This book thus acknowledges the great importance of the military and warfare for establishing and maintaining power in antiquity.

In Public Reading in Early Christianity: Lectors, Manuscripts, and Sound in the Oral Delivery of John 1-4 Dan Nässelqvist investigates the oral delivery of New Testament writings in early Christian communities of the first two centuries C.E. He examines the role of lectors and public reading in the Greek and Roman world as well as in early Christianity. Nässelqvist introduces a method of sound analysis, which utilizes the correspondence between composition and delivery in ancient literary writings to retrieve information about oral delivery from the sound structures of the text being read aloud. Finally he applies the method of sound analysis to John 1–4 and presents the implications for our understanding of public reading and the Gospel of John.

In this volume, Paul Robertson re-describes the form of the apostle Paul’s letters in a manner that facilitates transparent, empirical comparison with texts not typically treated by biblical scholars. Paul’s letters are best described by a set of literary characteristics shared by certain Greco-Roman texts, particularly those of Epictetus and Philodemus. Paul Robertson theorizes a new taxonomy of Greco-Roman literature that groups Paul’s letters together with certain Greco-Roman, ethical-philosophical texts written at a roughly contemporary time in the ancient Mediterranean. This particular grouping, termed a socio-literary sphere, is defined by the shared form, content, and social purpose of its constituent texts, as well as certain general similarities between their texts’ authors.

Matthew crowds more Old Testament quotations and allusions into the prologue than anywhere else in his gospel. In this volume, Nicholas G. Piotrowski demonstrates the narratological and rhetorical effects of such frontloading. Particularly, seven formula-quotations constellate to establish a redemptive-historical setting inside of which the rest of the narrative operates. This setting is defined by Old Testament expectations for David’s great son to end Israel’s exile and rule the nations. Piotrowski contends that the rhetorical effect of this intertextual storytelling was to provide the Matthean community with an identity—in a contentious atmosphere—in terms of God’s historical design for the ages, now fulfilled in Jesus and his followers.

In Sōtēria: Salvation in Early Christianity and Antiquity, an international team of scholars assembles to honour the distinguished academic career of New Testament scholar Cilliers Breytenbach. Colleagues and friends consider in which manner concepts of salvation were constructed in early Christianity and its Jewish and Graeco-Roman contexts. Studies on aspects of soteriology in the New Testament writings, such as in the narratives on Jesus’ life and work, and theological interpretations of his life and death in the epistolary literature, are supplemented by studies on salvation in the Apostolic Fathers, Marcion, early Christian inscriptions and Antiochian theology. The volume starts with some exemplary studies on salvation in the Hebrew Bible, the Dead Sea scrolls, the Septuagint, and popular Graeco-Roman literature and philosophy. Furthermore, some contributions shed light on the ancient cultural background of early Christian soteriological concepts.