Greek Epigraphy and Ancient Economics

After initial comments on the role of Greek inscriptions as ‘archives’, this chapter reviews the drastic changes that have occurred since Finley's book of 1973 in the picture of the ancient economy, both by acknowledging development and growth, and by adopting new concepts, not least New Institutional Economics with its emphasis on transaction costs. The methodological impact of such new approaches is sketched in four fields, each of which is illustrated with epigraphic documentation: (1) production and growth, instancing technological advance, land exploitation and textile production; (2) finance, taxes, trade and prices, with emphasis on the need and opportunities for quantification; (3) money and coinage; and (4) the transformation of uncertainty into an assessment of risk, illustrated in respect of farming practices and recourse to consultation of oracles and curse-tablets.

Gott als verlässlicher Käufer: Einige Papyrologische Anmerkungen und bibeltheologische Schlussfolgerungen zum Gottesbild der Paulusbriefe

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.