“She Did That!”

2019 ◽  
pp. 155-175
Author(s):  
Shanell T. Smith
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Ancient World ◽  
Female Agency ◽  
Male Superiority

Women in the ancient world have been presented by biblical writers and understood by later interpreters as either “good” or “bad” depending on how well they followed patriarchal rule. Women who claimed their own autonomy and made decisions that benefited themselves or their loved ones, despite patriarchal hegemony, were viewed as “stepping out of their place.” However, this claiming of full personhood, of rejecting or resisting male superiority should be understood as female agency. This article examines, reimagines, and celebrates female agency in New Testament texts from a womanist perspective and encourages contemporary interpreters to do the same.

The Rhetorical Situations of Revelation 1–3

1988 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 197-207 ◽  
Author(s):  
John T. Kirby
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Rhetorical Criticism ◽  
Ancient World ◽  
Social Forces ◽  
Source Criticism ◽  
The Bible ◽  
Cultural Boundaries ◽  
Rhetorical Situations ◽  
Roman Antiquity

The publication of George Kennedy'sNew Testament Interpretation Through Rhetorical Criticismmarked the full realization of a growing trend in NT criticism, whereby scholars are beginning to look beyond the limitations of form- and source-criticism for another viable hermeneutical tool. Rhetorical criticism has its origins in the classical canons conceptualized and formulated by the principal rhetoricians of Greek and Roman antiquity, such as Aristotle and Quintilian. This methodology sprang from roots in the ancient world; rhetoric was ‘one of the constraints under which New Testament writers worked’. But it has a universality that transcends its own cultural boundaries, as well as an extraordinary practicality: ‘ … it does study a verbal reality, our text of the Bible, rather than the oral sources standing behind that text, the hypothetical stages of its composition, or the impersonal workings of social forces, and at its best it can reveal the power of those texts as unitary messages’’. Often, too, it is capable of slashing through exegetical Gordian knots that prove otherwise intractable. The ability of rhetorical criticism to evaluate even the more opaque or mystical portions of the NT is a measure of its effectiveness.

Crucifixion

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Granger Cook ◽  
David W. Chapman
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Late Antiquity ◽  
Second Temple ◽  
Ancient World ◽  
Second Temple Judaism ◽  
Near Eastern ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
Multidisciplinary Study ◽  
The New Testament

Crucifixion and related bodily suspension penalties were widely employed in Antiquity for the punishment of criminals and in times of war. Jesus of Nazareth is the most famous victim of the cross, and many scholars of crucifixion approach the topic with interest in Jesus’ death; however, scholarship on crucifixion also provides insights into (among other fields) ancient warfare, criminal law, political history, and cultural imagery. Invariably, such a subject requires multidisciplinary study. Current areas of discussion include the definition of crucifixion itself, especially in light of the range of use of ancient terminology. Further debates concern the origins of the punishment, the cessation of its practice (at least in the West), the precise means of death, and whether certain cultures (e.g., Second Temple Judaism) endorsed the penalty. A large portion of this article examines the many issues related to crucifixion as a form of execution in Antiquity. The topic of crucifixion in the ancient world includes a variety of issues: Near Eastern suspensions, Greek and Roman extreme penalties and crucifixion, the practice of penal suspension and crucifixion in Second Temple Judaism, the terminology for crucifixion and suspension, crucifixion in the New Testament, the practice of crucifixion in Late Antiquity, crucifixion and law in the ancient world, the question of crucifixion and martyrdom, Greco-Roman imagery of crucifixion and related punishments, Christian iconography of the crucifixion of Jesus, and the later history of the punishment. The last sections of this article then turn to understandings of Jesus’ crucifixion in the New Testament and other early Christian literature.

Historical and Canonical Aspects of a New Testament Theology

2003 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 629-639
Author(s):  
Robert Morgan
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
New Testament ◽  
Background Knowledge ◽  
Ancient World ◽  
Christian Faith ◽  
Theological Interpretation ◽  
Authorial Intention ◽  
Historical Methods ◽  
The Church

AbstractIn nineteenth-century discussions of the scope and methods of New Testament theology more attention was paid to the new historical methods than to the reasons for this discipline. Its independence from dogmatics was new, but it was the role of Scripture in the life of the Church which made it important in educating clergy. Theological interpretation of any passage of Scripture might serve as a source of Christian faith and theology, but for Scripture to be a norm, a survey of the whole New Testament is needed. New Testament theologies using historical exegesis and attending to all the canonical writings can offer (or imply) proposals about the identity of Christianity, and in the conversation between such proposals a measure of consensus can be expected where there is agreement to respect textual intention. Most Christian reading of Scripture to nourish and communicate faith is done through translations and without asking about authorial intention, but theologians making proposals about the identity of Christianity which accord with the witness of Scripture are subject to more constraints for the sake of consensus. They need to survey the whole New Testament using critical historical exegesis and background knowledge of the ancient world to inform a perspective derived from their contemporary understandings of Christianity. Such theologically interested surveys are properly called New Testament theologies.

Older Persons in Biblical Texts: Using Modern Gerontological Theories to Cast Light and Raise Questions on Four Older Persons in Luke 2

2021 ◽  
pp. 014610792110291
Author(s):  
June F. Dickie
Keyword(s):  
Life Expectancy ◽  
New Testament ◽  
Older Persons ◽  
Ancient World ◽  
Western World ◽  
Average Life ◽  
Average Life Expectancy ◽  
Biblical Story ◽  
World Today ◽  
The New Testament

In the ancient world, the average life expectancy was far lower than that in the western world today. There are some biblical characters, however, even in the New Testament, who lived into their 80s and beyond. In this article, modern theories of gerontology are examined to indicate questions to ask, and insights to gain, in seeking to understand four such persons of mature years who are briefly mentioned in Luke’s Gospel but who play critical roles in the biblical story. The wisdom available to them on coping with the latter years (as seen in the “aging poem” in Ecclesiastes 12:1–7) is reviewed to assess whether those values are apparent in these four characters, and to compare it with modern ideas.

scholarly journals The ethical implications of 2 John 10�11

2015 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Van der Watt
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Christian Ethics ◽  
Ancient World ◽  
Moral Issues ◽  
Ethical Implications ◽  
The Future ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Open Discussion ◽  
To Receive ◽  
Research Show

The imperative in 2 John 10�11 not to receive a visitor with a false doctrine into one�s house is one of the most controversial prohibitions in the New Testament, especially in light of the commandment of love, ancient hospitality conventions, and modern-day expectations of open discussion. This raises the question what this prohibition is specifically about and whether hospitality is really asked for. This question is considered in some detail in this article. A widely held view is that the prohibition in 2 John 10 is not in line with generally accepted Christian ethics, since it militates against the attitude of love, care, and hospitality. This view is dominant in commentaries. This article aims at countering this view by proposing that the issue is not hospitality but endangering the identity and tradition of the group. This should be regarded as a positive Christian value.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: I challenge theological readings of 2 John 10�11 that regard the text as unchristian in its exhortation. The results of the research show that hospitality is not the communicative centre of the text, but protection of the group, which was a common feature, not only in Christianity, but also in the ancient world in general. The future discourse should now move from focusing on moral issues related to hospitality to issues related to preserving tradition within a religion.

Antioch of Pisidia

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clyde E. Fant ◽  
Mitchell G. Reddish
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Ancient World ◽  
Asia Minor ◽  
Mountainous Region ◽  
Central Section ◽  
South Central ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
The One ◽  
The City ◽  
Archaeological Excavations

Although overshadowed in the New Testament by a different Antioch (Antioch on the Orontes), Antioch of Pisidia was an important city during Hellenistic and Roman times. Archaeological excavations have uncovered the remains of a thriving city, complete with theater, baths, temples, stadium, nymphaeum, paved streets, and aqueduct. Augustus had a copy of his famous Res Gestae, the list of his accomplishments, inscribed on his sanctuary in the city. Several cities in the ancient world were called Antioch, named for various members of the Seleucid dynasty who bore the name of Antiochus. Antioch of Pisidia was located approximately 0.5 mile northeast of the modern town of Yalvaç and 22 miles southwest of Akşehir. (Pisidia was a mountainous region in the south-central section of Asia Minor.) Antioch was actually not a part of the Pisidian region but lay just north of Pisidia in the region of Phrygia. The city was sometimes called Pisidian Antioch (see Acts 13:14), meaning “Antioch near Pisidia,” as a way of distinguishing it from other cities named Antioch. When the Romans established the province of Galatia in 25 B.C.E., Antioch became a part of Galatia. In 295 C.E. the Romans redivided the area, creating the province of Pisidia, with Antioch as its capital. Antioch is situated on the southern foothills of the Sultan Mountains, on the northwest side of the Yalvaç River (ancient Anthius River). The city was spread over seven small hills, reminiscent of the seven hills of Rome, a similarity that was not lost on the Romans, who divided the city into seven districts, one on each of the seven hills. Backed up to the Sultan Mountains, Antioch enjoyed good natural defenses. Strategically located, the city was important both militarily and commercially. The land around Antioch was fertile, producing a variety of fruit and grains. Although a precise date cannot be determined, the city of Antioch was founded in the first half of the 3rd century B.C.E. by the one of the Seleucid rulers, either Seleucus I, Antiochus I, or Antiochus II. The Seleucids established several cities in the region, including Apollonia, Seleucia (Seleucia Sidera), and Laodicea Catacecaumene.

Who wrote II Thessalonians?

1979 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 131-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
John A. Bailey
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Present Article ◽  
New Testament ◽  
Ancient World ◽  
European Language ◽  
World War ◽  
Rudolf Bultmann

Since World War II a considerable number of New Testament scholars (many of them German) have come to the conclusion that Paul did not write II Thessalonians. Among these the names of Rudolf Bultmann, Günther Bornkamm, Willi Marxsen, and Helmut Koester come to mind. What is curious is that to date no single commentary has appeared in any major European language which interprets II Thessalonians as pseudonymous. C. Masson in the introduction to his commentary decides against Pauline authorship, but in the commentary itself interprets as though Paul were the author – an anomaly perhaps related to his view of pseudonymity. The forth-coming commentaries of Marxsen and Koester will therefore provide scholars with the first examples of exegesis of the letter as non-Pauline. Since the issue of authorship is evidently by no means settled, the present article examines the evidence for both positions and concludes with a discussion of pseudonymity in the ancient world.

scholarly journals Hoe is Jesus gekruisig?

1996 ◽  
Vol 52 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
J. G. Van Der Watt ◽  
S. J. Joubert
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Ancient World ◽  
Archaeological Data ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
The Way

The way in which Jesus was crucified After an overview of various forms of crucifixion in the ancient world, the available archaeological data and artistic renderings of different means of crucifixion are discussed. The New Testament information concerning the crucifixion of Jesus is then discussed and evaluated. It is concluded that, in the view of the absence of convincing literary evidence, the statue representing the 'crucofixion of Marsyas in the Hermitage museum provides a contemporary example of a possible manner in which Jesus could haye been crucified.

The Samaritans in the New Testament

Horizons ◽  
1983 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerard S. Sloyan
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Ancient World ◽  
First Century ◽  
Good Samaritan ◽  
The New Testament

In a painful paradox the word “good” has become forever attached to “Samaritan” by Jesus' Lucan parable (Lk 10:29-37; see 17:16), even while bitter Jewish hostility to this group has continued over the centuries: through the highly redacted polemic against the Samaritans of 2 Kgs 17 (see Sir 50:26) and through Talmudic commentary on it such as that in bKiddushin 75. Dan Jacobson in his recentThe Story of the Stories: The Chosen People and Its Godsees a “propagandistic … intention” in the parable of the Good Samaritan:It is significant that the passerby who succors the injured man is a Samaritan—i.e., not a Jew, let alone of the priests or levites. (“For Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans,” says the fourth chapter of John, describing a meeting between Jesus and yet another strikingly well-disposed Samaritan.)In the first century, as now, the praise accorded this separated Jewish group in the Christian writings must have rankled those Judean, Galilean and diaspora Jews to whose notice it came. It would have confirmed them in their view of thenoṣrimas incorrigibly deviant fromhalakah. The principle of the ancient world was, “Your friends are my friends and your enemies are my enemies.” The favorable notice given to these enemies of the Jews by Jesus' followers could only have set the movement back in Jewish eyes.

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