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The early Christian texts discussed in this book are often treated as "gnostic" ones. The studies by Ismo Dunderberg collected here, however, approach them as witnesses to the views of educated second-century Christians engaged in dialogue with philosophical traditions. Following the idea that ancient philosophical schools first and foremost provided their adherents with a way of life, the author explores issues related to morality and lifestyle in non-canonical gospels and among groups that were gradually denounced as heretical in the church. Prominent themes he deals with in this book include the soul's progress from material concerns to a life dominated by spirit, the control of emotions (such as desire, anger and grief), the avoidance of luxury, the ideal "perfect human" as a tool in moral instruction, classifications of humankind into distinct groups based upon their moral advancement, and Christian debates about the value of martyrdom. In addition Dunderberg offers a critical review of some recent trends and attitudes towards New Testament scholarship, especially those in which the non-canonical texts discussed in this book are either ignored or deemed as irrelevant, irrational, and sometimes even dangerous.

Der vorliegende Band präsentiert Artikel aus unterschiedlichen Perspektiven und Disziplinen, die aus Vorträgen auf fünf Mainz Moral Meetings zum Thema "Zeit und Ethik" erwachsen sind. Hierbei werden Grundfragen zum Zeit-Ethik-Geflecht thematisiert und im Dialog mit Texten der Antike auch neue Perspektiven für gegenwärtige Handlungsfelder (z. B. die Klimakrise) gewonnen.

The essays by Heikki Räisänen (1941-2015) collected in this volume deal with a broad array of topics, ranging from early Christian identities to bibliodrama and other modern-day approaches to the scriptures. The exegetical studies in the first part explore issues related to early Christian eschatology, virginal conception, and Paul's complex argumentation about the Jews and their salvation in Romans 9-11. The essays on ancient and modern interpretations of the Bible in the second part pay special attention to ethical issues, address the "dark sides" of its reception, and discuss the biblical interpretations of Marcion and Joseph Smith. The third section comprises studies on the Bible and Qur'an, while the concluding chapter provides a comprehensive description of the Bible as scripture from a comparative perspective.

The Gospel of Luke has long been known for its variation between good, educated Greek and Semitic influences. In the last century, five theories have attempted to explain the Semitic influence: Semitic sources; imitation of the Greek Bible; the Greek of the ancient synagogue; literary code-switching between standard Greek and semitized Greek; and the social background of bilingualism. Albert Hogeterp and Adelbert Denaux revisit Luke's Greek and evaluate which alleged Semitisms of vocabulary and syntax are tenable in light of comparative investigation across corpora of Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic, literary as well as documentary, texts. They contend that Semitisms in Luke's Greek are only fully understood in light of a complementarity of linguistic backgrounds, and evaluate them in diachronic respect of Synoptic comparison and in synchronic respect of their place in Luke's narrative style and communicative strategy.

Patricia A. Duncan examines the fourth-century Christian novel traditionally known as the Pseudo-Clementine Homilies (but here referred to as the Klementia) in order to show how the lengthy and complex narrative coheres as a rhetorical whole and works to initiate the reader into a revised, esoteric vision of the origins of Christianity. The novel is well known for its distinctive doctrine of "false pericopes" in the scriptures of the Jews, but equally important is the way it capitalizes on its narrative genre to correct false pericopes in the Gospels of the New Testament. Key to the novel's project is a construction of the apostle Peter as the chief tradent and the fully authorized interpreter of the words and deeds of the True Prophet Jesus. This Peter offers up of a law-abiding, monotheistic "Christianity" that is fully continuous with the religion of the followers of Moses.

Pious Jews of the Second Temple period sought to conform their lives to Torah, the law God had given Israel. Their different sects disagreed, however, on how to interpret particular laws and even on the question of who had the authority to interpret them. Jesus and his earliest followers, while focusing primarily on what they believed God was doing in their own day, were repeatedly confronted with issues raised by its relation to God's prior revelation in Torah. This volume contains studies by Stephen Westerholm devoted to the meaning and place of Torah in Early Judaism as well as to New Testament understandings, particularly those of the gospels and Pauline literature. Attention is also given to the "New Perspective on Paul," to recent discussions of justification and Paul's relation to Judaism, and to aspects of the transmission of Jesus tradition among his earliest followers.

This volume contains thirty-one essays by Richard Bauckham, a well-known New Testament scholar, most of which have been previously published in journals or in multi-authored volumes. Many aspects of early Christianity in the New Testament and early patristic periods are covered. Major topics include Gospel audiences and Gospel traditions, Christian apocryphal literature, and early Christian people. The collection reflects the author's conviction that the historical study of early Christianity should not isolate the New Testament literature from other early Christian literature, but must take full account of such sources as the apostolic fathers and Christian apocryphal literature.

The contributions in this volume critically engage with Mogens Müller's work on ancient Judaism, the Septuagint, the New Testament gospels, and the reception history of the Bible, covering a variety of topics within the field of biblical rewriting and reception. Rewriting and reception are parts of a continuous process that began within biblical literature itself and have continued in the history of interpretative communities where the Bible has been received and cherished in innumerable ways until today. The present volume aims to further the scholarly debate on important topics within biblical studies. It demonstrates that the notion of reception can be addressed from very different angles and from diverse hermeneutical and methodological viewpoints, all of which offer fresh insights into ancient texts and their afterlife. Contributors:Gitte Buch-Hansen, Troels Engberg-Pedersen, Tilde Bak Halvgaard, Ingrid Hjelm, Thomas Hoffmann, Jesper Høgenhaven, Martin Karrer, Siegfried Kreuzer, Michael Labahn, Martin Meiser, Halvor Moxnes, Jesper Tang Nielsen, Heike Omerzu, Christina Petterson, Frederik Poulsen, John Strange, Thomas Thompson, Francis Watson

Why did the early followers of Jesus call themselves "Christians"? What was their social and religious capital? Why did Christianity attract both poor widows and wealthy women? What did pagans think of early Christians? Integrating the major apocryphal Acts of the Apostles in the study of Christianity and the ancient world, Jan N. Bremmer illustrates their prominence of women and their, sometimes surprising, usage of magic as well as establishing a new chronology and place of composition for these Acts. He also shows that the early Christian tours of hell derive from both Jewish and Greek models, although they become increasingly Christianised. The author concludes by decoding the intriguing visions in the Passion of Perpetua by placing them in the contemporary world, thereby compelling us to sympathize with the hopes and fears of young Christian martyrs. It is the close attention to both pagan and Christian traditions that make these papers, which have all been updated and some of them revised, an exciting read for scholars and advanced students alike.

The impetus for this collection of essays on canonical and non-canonical Acts is to honor the scholarly achievements of Richard I. Pervo. Pervo pioneered the view that canonical Acts is comparable to ancient fiction - the various episodes about Peter, Paul, and the other apostles composed to entertain, even as they inform. In the spirit of this work, contributors prod and provoke readers, traveling at different speeds and with notable variation from the center of the broad orbit of canonical Acts. The hope is that the essays foster conversation about the things discussed, offering no small measure of delight along the way. Contributors:Harold W. Attridge, Clayton N. Jefford, Amy-Jill Levine, Dennis R. MacDonald, Troy W. Martin, Shelly Matthews, David Moessner, Mikeal C. Parsons, Mark Reasoner, Clare K. Rothschild, Melissa Harl Sellew, Janet E. Spittler, Angela Standhartinger

This volume comprises fifteen new essays on the Apostolic Fathers with a focus on 1 and 2 Clement. An introductory essay investigates the role of seventeenth-century librarians in the origination of the collection's title. Five essays concern 1 Clement, exploring its relationship to 1 Corinthians, its generic classification, the discussion of "Christian education" (1 Clem. 21:8), the golden calf tradition, and the well-known legend of the regeneration of the phoenix. Three essays treat 2 Clement, including problems with recent translations of chapter 1, the motif of the barren woman in chapter 2, and the analogy of faith as a race in chapter 7. The volume ranges widely within and beyond early Christian literature-from the streets of ancient Achaean and Asian the early modern libraries of Europe.

The present volume aims at a comparative study of the processes of reception, rewriting and interpretation between canonical and apocryphal texts in early Jewish and early Christian literature. A closer look at the respective developments in both corpora of literature can open up new perspectives for understanding the developments and changes between texts that were already considered authoritative and their reception in new, 'parabiblical' or 'apocryphal' compositions. The way of reception may also influence the perspective on canonical texts. The range of texts considered includes the LXX, Targumim and Pesharim, books such as Jubilees, the Genesis Apocryphon, the Gospel of Thomas, and Apocryphal Acts, traditions about Esther, Ezra, Manasseh, Peter and Paul, depictions of hell from Enoch to the Apocalypse of Paul, and the development of miracle stories. Contributors:Veronika Bachmann, Michael Becker, Claire Clivaz, Jörg Frey, Wolfgang Grünstäudl, David Hamidovic, Meghan Henning, Alberdina Houtman, Jutta Jokiranta, Stefan Krauter, Martin Meiser, Simon Mimouni, Tobias Nicklas, Karl-Heinz Ostmeyer, Enno-Edzard Popkes, Jörg Röder, Julia Snyder, Michael Sommer, Janet Spittler

This volume consists of previously published articles by Frances Young, a scholar of early Christianity, well-known for her work Biblical Exegesis and the Formation of Christian Culture, together with a few newly composed additions. The studies collected here are concerned with the New Testament, but their approach is often not in the modern historico-critical mode. Rather, they bring new insight through being informed by the author's patristic specialism, by methodological enquiries, by her interest in doctrinal and theological reading, and by exploration of the very nature and function of sacred scriptures. The significance of this volume lies in the way it exemplifies the extraordinarily interesting changes which have taken place in biblical hermeneutics during the last 50-60 years. Many of the essays could be useful, not only to research specialists, but to advanced undergraduates as well as clergy and preachers.

A key to understanding the Gospel of John is, in many respects, its prologue; yet questions regarding its origin and background, its structure, use of Greek philosophical terms, and indeed its relationship to the rest of the gospel still remain open. The papers in this volume address each of these questions and were presented at the first meeting of the Colloquium Ioanneum, a group of distinguished international Johannine scholars broadly representing different nationalities, religious traditions and approaches to the gospel. The first part offers differing assessments of the background, literary, and theological elements of the prologue, while the second examines presuppositions, methods, and perspectives involved in philosophical interpretation of the Gospel of John. Contributors:John Ashton, R. Alan Culpepper, Jörg Frey, Christos Karakolis, Craig R. Koester, William R. G. Loader, George L. Parsenios, Udo Schnelle, Michael Theobald, Marianne Meye Thompson, Jan G. van der Watt, Catrin H. Williams, Ruben Zimmermann, Jean Zumstein

This collection of essays contains the papers given at the Sixth International East-West Symposium of New Testament Scholars in Belgrade, Serbia. The symposium was a project of the Eastern Europe Liaison Committee of Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas. Main subject matters of the volume are the Holy Spirit in New Testament writings (particularly Luke-Acts, the Gospel of John and Paul), the reception and interpretation of biblical texts about the Holy Spirit in patristic theology, ancient Christian liturgy and iconography, and reflection on the role of the Holy Spirit in church life. Contributions from seminars are devoted to extra-biblical ancient Jewish and early Christian sources. All topics are discussed from a "Western" (Protestant and Roman-Catholic) theological and exegetical perspective as well as from an Orthodox point of view. An introduction reflects the results of the symposium, sketches recent research on the Holy Spirit in the New Testament scholarship and briefly points to texts and problems belonging to the topic but not dealt with in the volume. Contributors: Demetrios Bathrellos, Katharina Bracht, Harald Buchinger, Andreas Dettwiler, Predrag Dragutinovi¿c, John Fotopoulos, Oksana Gubareva, Carl R. Holladay, Bishop Irinej of Novi Sad and Bachka, Christos Karakolis, Taras Khomych, Rodoljub S. Kubat, Joel Marcus, Daniel Marguerat, Tobias Nicklas, Karl-Wilhelm Niebuhr, Armand Puig i Tàrrech, Volker Rabens, Vladan Tatalovi¿c, Ekaterini Tsalampouni, Manuel Vogel, James Buchanan Wallace, Nicholas Thomas Wright

Parable research has to a large degree ignored the Sermon on the Mount (SM) and for its part, research into the SM has likewise left the parables by the wayside. However, the use of parabolic language in more than one third of the SM influences its interpretation and indeed opens up a new approach to it. In the current volume, Ernst Baasland focuses on this important factor, whilst also taking the rhetoric of Jesus' teaching into consideration. The author maintains that rhetorical features have a great bearing on the interpretation of the text with the overall structure illuminating the entire composition of the sermon. Fresh insights into its oration therefore serve to challenge the source problem in a new way. The religious and philosophical settings of this most well-known of Christ's preachings are clarified by its parables and rhetoric; and the sermon's Jewish background has often been investigated. While the author continues with that particular task, he simultaneously affords more emphasis to the parallels in (Greek) Hellenistic literature. The combining of all these factors leads to a clearer comprehension of the Sermon on the Mount's philosophy of life and provides a better understanding of this classical text.

Ethnic values changed as Imperial Rome expanded, challenging ethnocentric values in Rome itself, as well as in Greece and Judea. Rhetorically, Roman, Greek, and Judean writers who eulogized their cities all claimed they would receive foreigners. Further, Greco-Roman narratives of urban tensions between rich and poor, proud and humble, promoted reconciliation and fellowship between social classes. Luke wrote Acts in this ethnic, economic, political context, narrating Jesus as a founder who changed laws to encourage receiving foreigners, which promoted civic, missionary growth and legitimated interests of the poor and humble. David L. Balch relates Roman art to early Christianity and introduces famous, pre-Roman Corinthian artists. He shows women visually represented as priests, compares Dionysian and Corinthian charismatic speech and argues that larger assemblies of the earliest, Pauline believers "sat" (1 Cor 14.30) in taverns. Also, the author demonstrates that the image of a pregnant woman in Revelation 12 subverts imperial claims to the divine origin of the emperor, before finally suggesting that visual representations by Roman domestic artists of "a category of women who upset expected forms of conduct" (Bergmann) encouraged early Christian women like Thecla, Perpetua and Felicitas to move beyond gender stereotypes of being victims. Balch concludes with two book reviews, one of Nicolas Wiater's book on the Greek biographer and historian Dionysius, who was a model for both Josephus and Luke-Acts, the second of a book by Frederick Brenk on Hellenistic philosophy and mystery religion in relation to earliest Christianity.

The Dead Sea Scrolls include many texts that were produced by a sectarian movement (and also many that were not). The movement had its origin in disputes about the interpretation of the Scriptures, especially the Torah, not in disputes about the priesthood as had earlier been assumed. The definitive break with the rest of Judean society should be dated to the first century BCE rather than to the second. While the Scrolls include few texts that are explicitly historical, they remain a valuable resource for historical reconstruction. John J. Collins illustrates how the worldview of the sect involved a heightened sense of involvement in the heavenly, angelic world, and the hope for an afterlife in communion with the angels. While the ideology of the sect known from the Scrolls is very different from that of early Christianity, the two movements drew on common traditions, especially those found in the Hebrew Scriptures.

Charles E. Carlston and Craig A. Evans examine in detail five major motifs in the theology of Matthew: Christology, Law, Church, Scripture and Tradition, as well as History and Eschatology.In this study they reveal a Jewish-Christian author who attempts to mediate the traditions of Judaism and early Christianity to Christian churches in his area that are becoming increasingly composed of former Gentiles. Diversity then, as now, offers both a challenge and an opportunity. The evangelist, moreover, was faced with rejection by the synagogue and strongly voiced skepticism with regard to the proclamation of Jesus as Israel's Messiah. To encourage believers and defend the story of Jesus, the evangelist shows how prophetic Scripture and the demands of Torah have been fulfilled.While not all of the specifics of Matthew's program are immediately usable today, the evangelist offers valuable guidance for the contemporary church in our vastly different historical situation.

This collection of essays contains the papers given at the Fifth International East-West Symposium of New Testament Scholars in Minsk (Belarus). The authors deal with the parables of Jesus, with his Galilean ministry, with the passion narrative in Mark, and with the death of Christ according to Paul's letters. All topics are discussed from a "Western" (Protestant and Roman-Catholic) exegetical perspective as well as from an Orthodox point of view. A concluding report recapitulates the group discussions and seminar sessions of the symposium. Contributors: Charalampos Atmatzidis, Reimund Bieringer, Predrag Dragutinovic, Carl R. Holladay, Christos Karakolis, Dominika A. Kurek-Chomycz, Ulrich Luz, Joel Marcus, Vasile Mihoc, Tobias Nicklas, Karl-Wilhelm Niebuhr, Marius Reiser, Armand Puig i Tàrrech, Sviatoslav Rogalsky, Ekaterini G. Tsalampouni, Konstantinos Th. Zarras

Nähere Informationen zu diesem Buch erhalten Sie direkt vom Verlag / For further information about this title please contact Mohr Siebeck

Following a scholarly conference given in honor of Adela Yarbro Collins, this collection of essays offers focused studies on the wide range of ways that women and gender contribute to the religious landscape of the ancient world. Experts in Greek and Roman religions, Early Christianity, Ancient Judaism, and Ancient Christianity engage in literary, social, historical, and cultural analysis of various ancient texts, inscriptions, social phenomena, and cultic activity. These studies continue the welcomed trend in scholarship that expands the social location of women in ancient Mediterranean religion to include the public sphere and consciousness. The result is an important and lively book that deepens the understanding of ancient religion as a whole. With contributions by:Patricia D. Ahearne-Kroll, Loveday Alexander, Mary Rose D'Angelo, Stephen J. Davis, Robert Doran, Radcliffe G. Edmonds III, Carin M. C. Green, Fritz Graf, Jan Willem van Henten, Paul A. Holloway, Annette B. Huizenga, Jeremy F. Hultin, Sarah Iles Johnston, James A. Kelhoffer, Judith L. Kovacs, Outi Lehtipuu, Matt Jackson-McCabe, Candida R. Moss, Christopher N. Mount, Susan E. Myers, Clare K. Rothschild, Turid Karlsen Seim

Despite its importance, the parable of the wicked tenants has been an enigma to modern interpretation. The approaches to the parable have been quite varied. Some interpreters place this parable at the apex of the ministry of Jesus, while others assign little importance to it or virtually ignore it. In some cases the conclusions drawn have been unsatisfactory either because of presuppositions that are too rigid or that have been shown to be erroneous by recent developments. Any discussion of the parable is necessarily a complex one in that it involves the relation of the three Synoptic accounts, an assessment of the account in the Gospel of Thomas, the religious and economic background in Palestine, the self-designation of Jesus, and the theological shaping of the parable by the tradition and by evangelists. Because of the importance of this parable as a possible key to understanding the ministry of Jesus, particularly since its relevance has often been minimized, this parable deserves closer analysis.