scholarly journals The Term ἀντίψυχος as an Expiatory Sacrifice of Martyrs in the Light of The Fourth Book of Maccabees and Other Ancient Extra-Biblical Literature

Verbum Vitae ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 725-748
Author(s):  
Marcin Tomasz Chrostowski
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Jewish People ◽  
Roman Religion ◽  
Biblical Literature ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Voluntary Character ◽  
Fourth Book ◽  
Ancient Texts

The Fourth Book of Maccabees (4 Macc) in the description of Eleazar's prayer, before he suffered a martyr’s death  (6:29) as well as the martyrdom of seven brothers and their mother who suffered for the nation (17:21), the term ἀντίψυχος  (which means “given in exchange for life”) is used twice. This adjective appears only twice in the Septuagint (LXX), to be precise, in 4 Macc The context of both passages suggests a broader meaning of the term, translated with reference to a sacrifice of life having a propitiatory, expiatory, vicarious and voluntary character, and even atonement for the sins of the Jewish people. In this article, the subject of expiatory martyrdom in 4 Macc will be taken in the context of the biblical, apocryphal and other ancient texts, with reference to the flow of ideas and terminology of Greco-Roman religion, poetry and philosophy. In addition, possible translations of the term ἀντίψυχος will be analyzed, included in the broader context of Greek and other terminologies, so as to show possible connections between the idea of ​​expiatory martyrdom and the ideas described in the New Testament.

scholarly journals The role of title and epigraph in the essay “The Vision of Mirza” by Joseph Addison

2021 ◽  
pp. 37-45
Author(s):  
Iurievna Makarova Liudmila
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Literary Studies ◽  
Joseph Addison ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
Epic Poem ◽  
Comprehensive Examination ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Russian Literary ◽  
The Subject

The object of this research is the essay “The Vision of Mirza” by Joseph Addison. The relevance of studying J. Addison's essay is substantiated by undue attention to his works in the Russian literary studies, as well as the need for tracing the dynamics in the genre of vision in the Age of Enlightenment. The subject of this research is the title and epigraph as parts of the work that determine its structure and artistic distinctness. Analysis is conducted on the images of the viewer, visionary hero, and his guide, chronotope of the essay and allusive links. The essay is based on the combination of systemic-structural, comparative-historical, and hermeneutic methods. The novelty consists in the fact that the comprehensive examination of the role of the title ensemble within the structure of the essay allows reconstructing the link of the essay with the traditions of the medieval genre of vision manifested in the traditional topic and consistent motifs, imagery system, space and time arrangement, and dialogical structure of the text. The author provides interpretation to the allusive links between J. Addison's essay and Greco-Roman mythology, epic poem “The Aeneid” by Virgil, and psalms from the New Testament, and “The Voyage of St. Brendan”. It is established that the dialogue set by the epigraph passes through the entire plotline of the essay and reveal the characters of its participants. The extensively presented Christian theme alongside the images from ancient mythology and Virgil’s texts are essential for the author to express the enlightening program.

‘Public Theology’ in Luke-Acts: The Witness of the Gospel to Powers and Authorities

2016 ◽  
Vol 62 (2) ◽  
pp. 227-252
Author(s):  
James R. Edwards
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Public Theology ◽  
Military Officers ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Roman Military

This study surveys the numerous and diverse powers and authorities to which the gospel is addressed in Luke-Acts, including major Jewish institutions and officials, Herodian rulers, Roman military officers, Greco-Roman officials, diverse officials, and pagan cults and supernatural powers. Well over half the references to authorities in Luke-Acts occur nowhere else in the New Testament. The frequent and diverse references to powers defend Christianity in a preliminary and obvious way from charges of political sedition. In a broader and more important way, however, they redefine power itself according to the standard of the gospel.

scholarly journals Die godsdienshistoriese agtergrond van die Nuwe Testament: Kommentaar op 'n onlangse publikasie

2001 ◽  
Vol 57 (1/2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Johan C. Thom
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Religious Traditions ◽  
Recent Introduction ◽  
General Orientation ◽  
Close Interaction ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Historic Background ◽  
Ancient Texts

The religio-historic background of the New Testament: Commentary on a recent publication. The religiohistoric background of the NT is of cardinal importance for its interpretation; however, it is far from easy for New Testament scholars to attain a thorough knowledge of this background. What is needed is not only a broad, general orientation, but also first-hand interaction with texts in which Graeco-Roman religious traditions themselves appear and are expressed. But available introductions are either too general or do not offer a satisfactory theoretical framework for understanding textual materials within context. Hans-Josef Klauck's recent introduction to the religio-historical context of the  NT, by presenting not only an "external", theoretical but also an "intemal" perspective emanating from close interaction with the ancient texts themselves, satisfies to an exceptional degree the requirements mentioned above.

New Testament

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Wheeler-Reed
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Values ◽  
Sexual Intercourse ◽  
New Testament ◽  
The Other ◽  
1 Corinthians ◽  
Pastoral Epistles ◽  
Roman World ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
Thessalonians 1 ◽  
The New Testament

This chapter maintains that two ideologies concerning marriage and sex pervade the New Testament writings. One ideology codifies a narrative that argues against marriage, and perhaps, sexual intercourse, and the other retains the basic cultural values of the upper classes of the Greco-Roman world. These two ideologies are termed “profamily” and “antifamily.” The chapter proceeds in a chronological fashion starting with 1 Thessalonians, 1 Corinthians, and Mark. It concludes by examining Matthew, Luke, the Pastoral Epistles, and the Acts of Paul and Thecla.

A Taxonomy of Sin in the New Testament Worlds

2020 ◽  
pp. 17-36
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Siker
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Early Christianity ◽  
Second Century ◽  
Apostle Paul ◽  
Jerusalem Temple ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
Moral Failure ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Jewish Scriptures

Understanding the contextual worlds within which the New Testament perceptions of sin arose is crucial. The immediate context for early Christianity was the Jewish world out of which Jesus also operated, which included Jewish understandings of sin especially as delineated in the Jewish Scriptures and as addressed within the sacrificial cult of the Jerusalem Temple. But in turning to the Apostle Paul and other later New Testament writers, it is equally important to understand the moral worlds envisioned in Greco-Roman religiosity and philosophy. In this realm, sin as moral failure was much less prominent than sin as ignorance or error in judgment. As Christianity moved into the second century and beyond we find understandings of sin that retain both Jewish and Greco-Roman sensibilities regarding human sin.

The Paradox of the Easy Yoke: A Survey of χρηστός in Greek Literature and the Interpretational Implications for Matthew 11:30

2019 ◽  
Vol 131 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-19
Author(s):  
Clark Bates
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Old Testament ◽  
First Century ◽  
Greek Literature ◽  
Word Study ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
Roman Literature ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
The Common ◽  
Apostolic Fathers

Matthew 11:30 could easily be considered one of the most recognizable passages of the New Testament. Many find comfort and fortitude in the words of Jesus, and warm to the idea that his ‘yoke’; is ‘easy’ and ‘burden’, ‘light’. However recognized and familiar this passage may be, it has not gone unnoticed throughout scholarship as a persistent word study in need of incessant explanation. While copious amounts of ink have been spilt discussing the nature of the ‘yoke’ in Matthew 11:30, it is the position of this article that the author of Matthew, had no intention of creating such a mystery. Rather, that the emphasis is to be found in the nature of the yoke itself and the attributive use of χρηστός in Greco-Roman literature, including that of the Greek Old Testament, and the writings of the first-century Christians. This article seeks to demonstrate that the use of χρηστός in the Matthean Gospel does not mean ‘easy’ by English standards, nor was this what the audience of this Gospel would have taken it to mean, given the common use of the term. This is accomplished through an engagement of the text and message of Matthew, followed by an examination of the word’s use in Classical Greek compositions and the Apostolic Fathers, as well as its use in the LXX and the New Testament.

scholarly journals Rhetorical criticism and the hermeneutics of the New Testament

2000 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
E.M. Cornelius
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Rhetorical Criticism ◽  
Potential Effectiveness ◽  
Biblical Literature ◽  
The New Testament

It is argued that rhetorical criticism is increasingly recognized as a method of interpretation of biblical literature. From the discussion in this article it becomes clear that there are different perspectives of rhetorical criticism just as there are different theories of rhetoric. It is argued that contemporary critics need to develop an interdisciplinary method of rhetorical criticism in order to answer questions about the potential effectiveness of a rhetorical act. It is concluded that the rhetorical critic needs a combination of "old" methods in order to answer new questions.

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