The Dove in the Story of Jesus’ Baptism: Early Christian Interpretation of a Jewish Image

2018 ◽  
Vol 69 (2) ◽  
pp. 240-251
Author(s):  
Alexey Somov
Keyword(s):  
First Century ◽  
Christian Tradition ◽  
Babylonian Talmud ◽  
Early Christian

The expression “like a dove” in Mark 1.10 is syntactically related either to “Spirit” or “descending.” Although a dove was often interpreted as the symbol of the Spirit in later Christian tradition, such imagery is not found in Jewish and early Christian texts of the first century. In my paper I demonstrate that this expression resonates with Gen 1.2; 4Q521; Odes of Solomon 28:1; the Babylonian Talmud tractate Ḥagigah 15a; and Genesis Rabbah 2.4 as connected with the description of how the Spirit hovers (like a bird) over the righteous. This symbolism was adopted by the pre-Gospel tradition about Jesus’ baptism to specify the manner in which the Spirit descended upon Jesus.

scholarly journals The origin, function and disappearance of the “Twelve”: Continuity from Jesus to the post-Easter community?

2005 ◽  
Vol 61 (1/2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dietrich-Alex Koch
Keyword(s):  
First Century ◽  
Synoptic Gospels ◽  
Christian Community ◽  
People Of God ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
Leading Role ◽  
Historical Role ◽  
Origin Function ◽  
Short Time

The group of the Twelve is mentioned 28 times in the Synoptic Gospels. However, the Evangelists were not familiar with the historical role of the Twelve. Even the pre-Easter origin of Matthew 19:28/Luke 22:30 is debatable. On the other hand 1 Corinth 15:3b-5 provides a solid basis for the assumption of a pre-Easter origin of the Twelve. They functioned as a group representing the twelve tribes of Israel as the eschatological people of God. Reaffirmed in this role by the risen Lord they had for a short time a leading role in the early Christian community in Jerusalem. But their importance soon declined because after a short time the twelve former disciples from Galilee could no longer be representative of a rapidly expanding community. In the last decades of the first century the Twelve got a new importance on the literary level of the Gospels.

Imitation in Johannine Christianity

2020 ◽  
Vol 132 (3) ◽  
pp. 101-110
Author(s):  
Cornelis Bennema
Keyword(s):  
Second Century ◽  
First Century ◽  
Early Christian

Studies in Johannine ethics have flourished in recent times, but scholars have yet to reach the heart of the matter. My contention that imitation is central to Johannine ethics is perhaps surprising because the concept is not immediately evident in the Johannine writings. I will therefore explain how we can recognize and understand Johannine imitation, followed by an account of how John’s ‘imitation ethics’ works. Our findings will discover a tradition of imitation from Jesus in the early first century to Johannine Christians in the late first century, and on to the early Christian martyrs in the second century.

Suffering and Sacrifice

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-76
Author(s):  
Sarah Wolf
Keyword(s):  
Late Antique ◽  
Babylonian Talmud ◽  
Early Christian ◽  
Close Analysis ◽  
Physical Suffering ◽  
The Status ◽  
Spiritual Self ◽  
And Function ◽  
A Site ◽  
The Relationship

This article offers the argument that suffering (yisurin) in the Babylonian Talmud functions as a locus for the relationship between God and rabbinic Jews. Scholars of rabbinic martyrdom and asceticism have tended to claim that the Talmud's positive portrayal of suffering is a theodical apology for unexplained evil in the world. However, the article argues that the Talmud—in contrast to earlier rabbinic texts—presents suffering as spiritually relevant not primarily to justify preexisting suffering, but rather to develop a site at which to interpret information about an individual's spiritual status. The article draws on theories of sacrifice's structure and function, in conjunction with close analysis of rabbinic texts that relate suffering to sacrifice. The pericope at the core of the article's argument demonstrates a strikingly technical approach to the human experience of suffering, describing four examples of yisurin in which no real physical suffering occurs; in each instance the “victim” experiences extremely mild discomfort at most, and at the least barely registers an experience of inconvenience. Nonetheless, these experiences all qualify as “suffering,” and are thus still understood to bear indisputable soteriological import. Physical suffering in the Talmud is thus open for interpretation, yielding information about the status of the sufferer's spiritual self. Human suffering is viewed as religiously desirable in both late rabbinic and early Christian literatures. By developing an understanding of its hermeneutical function for the rabbis, this article helps to elucidate the value of suffering for rabbinic literature as a subset of late antique religious discourse.

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