New Testament Studies 57/3 (2011)

NEW TESTAMENT STUDIES
Volume 57 - Issue 03 - July 2011

http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayIssue?jid=NTS&volumeId=57&issueId=03

'Blessed is Whoever is Not Offended by Me': The Subversive Appropriation of (Royal) Messianic Ideology in Q 3–7
Simon J. Joseph
New Testament Studies, Volume 57, Issue 03, July 2011, pp 307 - 324
doi:10.1017/S0028688510000329 Published online by Cambridge University Press 08 Jun 2011
Link to abstract:
http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S0028688510000329

Jesus is never explicitly identified as the ‘messiah’ or christos in Q. The conspicuous absence of this particular termâ€"so frequently used in the Pauline letters and the Gospelsâ€"is often taken to mean that the Q community was uninterested in, unaware of and/or rejected kerygmatic traditions which understood Jesus as a ‘messianic’ figure. Yet a careful analysis of the literary structure of Q 3â€"7 demonstrates that the redactor of Q both appropriated and subverted ‘traditional messianic expectations’ of a popular warrior-king by framing Jesus' baptism, temptation and Inaugural Sermon within announcement and confirmation passages that serve to both affirm and qualify Jesus' relationship to ‘messianic’ traditions. Located within a text dominated by the theme of eschatological reversal, the literary structure of Q 3â€"7 serves as a rhetorical defense in the redactor's construction of a new identity for Jesus.
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Galatians 5.11: Evidence of an Early Law-observant Mission by Paul?
Douglas A. Campbell
New Testament Studies, Volume 57, Issue 03, July 2011, pp 325 - 347
doi:10.1017/S002868851100004X Published online by Cambridge University Press 08 Jun 2011
Link to abstract:
http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S002868851100004X

Galatians 5.11 refers to Paul ‘proclaiming circumcision’â€"a proposition that he is concerned to refute because he constructs two compact but powerful inferences designed to falsify it. One argues from present persecution, the other from the cross. Following a precise reconstruction of these it can be shown that the three main previous interpretations of the reference of Paul's ‘proclamation of circumcision’ are dubious, whether in terms of a blatantly false charge by opponents, a phase in Paul's pre-Christian Jewish life, or an occasional apostolic mission to Jews. A fourth, embarrassing reading is more likely, especially when other comparable missionary work is considered. Early on Paul proclaimed a fully law-observant gospel to pagans that included circumcision, but then later revised his praxis.
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Paul's Appropriation of Philo's Theory of 'Two Men' in 1 Corinthians 15.45–49
Stefan Nordgaard
New Testament Studies, Volume 57, Issue 03, July 2011, pp 348 - 365
doi:10.1017/S0028688511000075 Published online by Cambridge University Press 08 Jun 2011
Link to abstract:
http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S0028688511000075

The present essay focuses on Paul's interactions with Philo's theory of two men in 1 Cor 15.45â€"49. It argues that instead of rejecting that theory, Paul transforms and reinterprets it in such a way as to substantiate his own doctrine of the resurrection as developed in 1 Cor 15.35â€"58 (i.e., his doctrine of eschatological bodily change). The essay provides a careful analysis of Philo's theory of two men as well as an exegesis of 1 Cor 15.35â€"58.
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Leben allein aus Gnade. Eph 2.1-10 und die paulinische Rechtfertigungsbotschaft
Christine Gerber
New Testament Studies, Volume 57, Issue 03, July 2011, pp 366 - 391
doi:10.1017/S0028688511000051 Published online by Cambridge University Press 08 Jun 2011
Link to abstract:
http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S0028688511000051

In view of some ‘Pauline’ sounding phrases, Eph 2.8-9 is held to be one of the most adequate receptions of the theologoumenon of justification by faith, not works. So could the text be an indicator in the discussion about the right ‘Perspective on Paul’? This paper argues instead that we should read Eph 2.8-9 in its own context and that means first of all that we should follow the flow of the dominant metaphor of ‘dead and alive’. While some phrases might be a Pauline reminiscence, the text as a whole deals with the grace of God in order to substantiate the demand for a life lived according to God's will, as described in greater detail in Ephesians 4â€"6. Nevertheless Eph 2.1-10 is broadly coherent with Paul's theology.
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Gott als verlässlicher Käufer: Einige Papyrologische Anmerkungen und bibeltheologische Schlussfolgerungen zum Gottesbild der Paulusbriefe
Peter Arzt-Grabner
New Testament Studies, Volume 57, Issue 03, July 2011, pp 392 - 414
doi:10.1017/S0028688511000038 Published online by Cambridge University Press 08 Jun 2011
Link to abstract:
http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S0028688511000038

Throughout his letters, Paul uses several terms and images that originate from the world of ancient economics. Some of these terms are used metaphorically to describe God’s own attitudes and actions. The term ἀρραβών (‘earnest money, advance payment, bargain money’) may exemplify the use of a business term in the papyri in comparison with its use in Paul’s letters (in 2 Cor. 1.22 and 5.5; cf. Eph 1.14). In Paul’s image, God is depicted as a purchaser who offers ‘us’ his salvation for free and guarantees to complete it in the end. In using the term ἀρραβών, Paul emphasizes God’s reliability and unlimited trustworthiness within an insecure world.
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The Encomiastic Topics of Syncrisis as the Key to the Structure and Argument of Hebrews
Michael W. Martin, Jason A. Whitlark
New Testament Studies, Volume 57, Issue 03, July 2011, pp 415 - 439
doi:10.1017/S0028688511000099 Published online by Cambridge University Press 08 Jun 2011
Link to abstract:
http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S0028688511000099

This study examines comparison in Hebrews in the light of ancient rhetorical theory of syncrisis, identifying five epideictic syncrises: the messengers/angels vs. Jesus (1.1-14; 2.5-18), Moses vs. Jesus (3.1-6), the Aaronic high priests vs. Jesus (5.1-10), the Levitical priestly ministry vs. the Melchizedekian priestly ministry (7.1-10.18), and Mt. Sinai vs. Mt. Zion (12.18-24). The study shows that these comparisons collectively function as a single syncritical project that argues for the superiority of the new covenant to the old, and that the project, like most of the individual comparisons, is arranged topically in accordance with ancient rhetorical theory.
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Why Did the Early Christians Call Themselves ἡ ἐκκλησία?
Paul Trebilco
New Testament Studies, Volume 57, Issue 03, July 2011, pp 440 - 460
doi:10.1017/S0028688511000087 Published online by Cambridge University Press 08 Jun 2011
Link to abstract:
http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S0028688511000087

It is argued that ἐκκλησία was first used by the Hellenists, probably in Jerusalem, and that it was chosen because of its strong background in the lxx. This raises the issue of why ἐκκλησία was chosen rather than συναγωγή, which occurs over twice as often in the lxx. The case is put that ἐκκλησία was chosen because συναγωγή was already in use by Jewish communities as a designation for their groups and their buildings. This view has not been argued for in detail, and the implications of this choice have not been fully explored. Through the use of ἐκκλησία the Hellenists could express their continuity with the OT ‘assembly’ of the people of God and could also distinguish themselves from other Jewish communities, without making the claim that they alone were the heirs of that people.
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Front Cover (Ofc, Ifc) And Matter
NTS volume 57 issue 3 Cover and Front matter

New Testament Studies, Volume 57, Issue 03, July 2011, pp f1 - f2
doi:10.1017/S0028688511000105 Published online by Cambridge University Press 08 Jun 2011
Link to abstract:
http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S0028688511000105

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NTS volume 57 issue 3 Cover and Back matter

New Testament Studies, Volume 57, Issue 03, July 2011, pp b1 - b7
doi:10.1017/S0028688511000117 Published online by Cambridge University Press 08 Jun 2011
Link to abstract:
http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S0028688511000117