The Old Testament Background of Reconciliation in 2 Corinthians 5–7 and its Bearing on the Literary Problem of 2 Corinthians 6.14–7.1

1989 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 550-581 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. K Beale
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
2 Corinthians ◽  
Word Group ◽  
Roman World ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
Hebrew Word

Few scholars have proposed that there is any precise OT background for Paul's view of reconciliation, even though there has been much discussion about the formulation of the doctrine. There is no Hebrew word for ‘reconciliation’ in the OT; there is general agreement that Paul obtained this word from not only the Jewish but also the Greco-Roman world. The καταλλάσσω–διαλλάσσομαι word group is found in the Septuagint (rarely), 2 and 4 Maccabees and Josephus as well as in classical, hellenistic and koine writings. The use of the word group in these writings has been well documented.

Paul’s Defense: Masculinity and Authority in 2 Corinthians 10–13

2021 ◽  
pp. 0142064X2110248
Author(s):  
Kyung Min Kim
Keyword(s):  
Hegemonic Masculinity ◽  
Essential Element ◽  
Church Members ◽  
Cultural Assumptions ◽  
2 Corinthians ◽  
Roman World ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
Power And Control ◽  
Paternal Control ◽  
And Control

In 2 Cor. 10–13, Paul tries to prove his authority as a reliable leader by using two different masculinity standards. Paul manifests his power and control over the Corinthian church members by using an image of paterfamilias (11.2-3; 12.14). Paternal control of others was an essential element of hegemonic masculinity in the Greco-Roman world. Moreover, Paul proves his manliness by revealing his endurance and submission to divine authority (11.21b–12.10) according to the Hellenistic Jewish masculinity. I argue that Paul is embedded in these different cultural assumptions regarding masculinity and that he refers to these assumptions to persuade Gentile and Jewish groups in the Corinthian church.

scholarly journals The Concept of Atonement in the Old Testament, Greco-Roman World and the New Testament

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 75-81
Author(s):  
Ubong Ekpenyong Eyo
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
Religious Study ◽  
Relationship Maintenance ◽  
Roman World ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
Content Analysis Method ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Formed Part ◽  
Comparative Theory

The Concept of Atonement has been an old concept in the biblical world. The Old Testament speaks of it using mainly the Hebrew word כפר (kphr), with its attendant various implications. This concept wasn’t alien in the Greco-Roman world which formed part of the New Testament background. The New Testament writers pushed the concept of atonement beyond the level of animal sacrifice in the Old Testament, and the gods allowing themselves to be reconciled to sinful humanity in the Greco-Roman religious context, to the point of Jesus Christ being viewed as the Lamb of God, i.e. both the sacrificial lamb and the priest that offers the sacrifice. In this way, Christ is presented both as the offering and the offeror. The New Testament uses two main Greek words καταλλαγή/ (katallage) and ἱλασμός (hilasmos) in driving home this important concept which stems from God’s love towards the creation and results in forgiveness, restoration of estranged relationship, maintenance of divine justice and expression of divine mercy. The work used content analysis method of research and comparative theory in the study of religion in dealing with the subject of atonement in the Old Testament, Greco-Roman Context and the New Testament. Significantly, the work draws a thread of thought from Old Testament through Greco-Roman thought on atonement to that of the New Testament. It therefore also serves a point of comparative religious study of this thought among these three world views.

Das frühe Christentum und die Bildung

2015 ◽  
Vol 61 (2) ◽  
pp. 113-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Udo Schnelle
Keyword(s):  
Old Testament ◽  
Early Christianity ◽  
Lower Class ◽  
Literary Production ◽  
Roman Religion ◽  
Literary Genres ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
Urban Congregations ◽  
Intellectual Level

Early Christianity is often regarded as an entirely lower-class phenomenon, and thus characterised by a low educational and cultural level. This view is false for several reasons. (1) When dealing with the ancient world, inferences cannot be made from the social class to which one belongs to one's educational and cultural level. (2) We may confidently state that in the early Christian urban congregations more than 50 per cent of the members could read and write at an acceptable level. (3) Socialisation within the early congregations occurred mainly through education and literature. No religious figure before (or after) Jesus Christ became so quickly and comprehensively the subject of written texts! (4) The early Christians emerged as a creative and thoughtful literary movement. They read the Old Testament in a new context, they created new literary genres (gospels) and reformed existing genres (the Pauline letters, miracle stories, parables). (5) From the very beginning, the amazing literary production of early Christianity was based on a historic strategy that both made history and wrote history. (6) Moreover, early Christians were largely bilingual, and able to accept sophisticated texts, read them with understanding, and pass them along to others. (7) Even in its early stages, those who joined the new Christian movement entered an educated world of language and thought. (8) We should thus presuppose a relatively high intellectual level in the early Christian congregations, for a comparison with Greco-Roman religion, local cults, the mystery religions, and the Caesar cult indicates that early Christianity was a religion with a very high literary production that included critical reflection and refraction.

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