contents d vii

introduction: Encountering the New Testament 1

1 some ways of Reading the Bible 8

Part One d Before the New Testament

2 christian Beginnings in context 25

3 The Gospels, Jesus, and the Earliest Tradition 57

4 The Resurrection Faith and the Expanded Tradition 85

Part Two d The Gospels and Acts

5 mark 111

6 matthew 128

7 Luke-acts 147

8 John 174

Part Three d The Pauline Corpus

9 Philemon, 1 Thessalonians, Philippians, and Galatians 215

10 1 and 2 corinthians 231

11 Romans 244

12 Perspectives on Paul 254

13 The Disputed Letters: 2 Thessalonians,

colossians, Ephesians, 1-2 Timothy, Titus 269

Brief Table of contents

viii d contents

Part Four d The General Letters and Revelation

14 The General Letters: hebrews, James, 1-2 Peter, Jude, 1-3 John 300

15 The Revelation to John 325

additional resources are available on the companion website,

www.fortresspress.com/pregeant

ix

Lists of charts, maps, and images xix Preface xxi

IntroductIon Encountering the New Testament 1

aims of This Book 1

The New Testament: origin and contents 2

Which New Testament? Translations, manuscripts, and Textual criticism 5

1 Some Ways of Reading the Bible 8

historical approaches 9

Theological and ideological approaches 10

Psychological approaches 13

steps toward a Literary approach: Form criticism and Redaction criticism 13

Literary approaches 15

This Book’s approach 17

Exegesis, hermeneutics, and contemporary Relevance 18

contents

x d contents

Prologue to Part One 24

2 Christian Beginnings in Context 25

Nature Demystified: a Prologue to western history 25

memory and hope: The hebrew People and history 28

The hellenistic age: Exportation of a culture 33

crosscurrents: Judaism in the hellenistic age 37

The context of Emerging christianity: The Roman imperial Period 45

Life and mission of the christian communities 53

3 The Gospels, Jesus, and the Earliest Tradition 57

Jesus and the Gospels 57

Jesus as Remembered: words and Deeds 61

The son of man 81

4 The Resurrection Faith and the Expanded Tradition 85

The movement in Transition 85

accounts of Jesus’ Resurrection 86

meaning of the Resurrection Faith 88

Expression of the Resurrection Faith 89

The Death of Jesus as a Redemptive Event 90

Expansion of the Jesus Tradition 93

PART ONE BEFORE THE NEW TESTAMENT

contents d xi Formation of orthodox christology: Through the New Testament and Beyond 96

Epilogue to Part One 98 sociology of the Jesus movement 98

a continuing Question: christianity and the social order 99

Prologue to Part Two 104 Getting started 104

Entering the story worlds 104

The “Narrator,” the “Reader,” and the Reading Process 105

what is a Gospel? 108

5 Mark 111

authorship, Date, and Place of composition 111

Points to Look For in mark 111

mark’s story of Jesus: a Reading 112

mark and Liberation 124

Free will, Determinism, and the Power of God 125

6 Matthew 128

authorship, Date, and Place of composition 128

Points to Look For in matthew 128

PART TWO THE GOSPELS AND ACTS

xii d contents

Notes on a Reading of matthew 129

issues in the study of matthew 138

matthew’s Theology and Jewish-christian Relations 140

a Feminist Reading of matthew 142

Postcolonial Questions 143

7 Luke-Acts 147

authorship, Date, and Place of composition 147

Points to Look For in Luke 148

Notes on a Reading of Luke 148

Points to Look For in acts 157

Notes on a Reading of acts 157

Questions about the author’s Purpose 166

Theological Questions 167

Deconstructing Luke-acts on Poverty and Riches 170

a matter of Race in acts 171

8 John 174

authorship, Date, and Place of composition 174

Points to Look For in John 175

John’s story of Jesus: a Reading 175

historical and Theological Questions concerning John 186

applying Bultmann’s Existentialist interpretation to the Gospel of John 188

contents d xiii applying Jungian Psychology to the Gospel of John 189

The Johannine Logos and Ecological Theology 190

Epilogue to Part Two 193 Diversity within the canon: Four stories of Jesus 193

Beyond the canon: Limits of Diversity 193

some motifs in the apocryphal Gospels 194

The canon as Theological Problem 196

Ethics and hermeneutics 197

Prologue to Part Three 200 The Letters, the Book of acts, and the “historical” Paul 200

studying Paul’s Letters 202

critical Questions about the Letters 203

Paul in context 203

a Note on method 204

chronologies of Paul, by John a. Darr 205

9 Philemon, 1 Thessalonians, Philippians, and Galatians 215

Philemon 215 The Story behind the Letter 215

Points to Look For in Philemon 216

The Letter to Philemon: A Reading 216

A Socio-literary Analysis 217

Concluding Comments 218

PART THREE THE PAULINE CORPUS

xiv d contents

1 Thessalonians 219 The Story behind the Letter 219

Points to Look For in 1 Thessalonians 220

Notes on a Reading of 1 Thessalonians 220

Critical Problems 221

Philippians 222 The Story behind the Letter 222

Points to Look For in Philippians 223

Notes on a Reading of Philippians 223

Development of Christology in Philippians 2:6-11 224

Did Paul Have Opposition in Philippi? 224

Galatians 225 The Story behind the Letter 225

A Preliminary Note: “Faith in Christ” or “Faithfulness of Christ”? 226

Points to Look For in Galatians 226

Notes on a Reading of Galatians 226

Concluding Comments 228

10 1 and 2 Corinthians 231

Paul’s corinthian correspondence 231

1 corinthians 231 The Story behind the Letter 231

Points to Look For in 1 Corinthians 232

Notes on a Reading of 1 Corinthians 232

Knowledge, Wisdom, Status, and Gender:

Paul’s Opponents in 1 Corinthians 236

2 corinthians 238 The Story and a Critical Problem 238

Points to Look For in 2 Corinthians 239

Notes on a Reading of 2 Corinthians 1–9 239

Notes on a Reading of 2 Corinthians 10–13 241

Paul’s Opponents in 2 Corinthians 241

contents d xv 11 Romans 244

The story behind the Letter 244

Points to Look For in Romans 245

The Letter to the Romans: a Reading 246

12 Perspectives on Paul 254

cornerstones of Paul’s Theology 254 Searching for a Center 254

Community in Christ 256

Freedom in Christ 257

Flesh and Spirit 257

This Age and the Age to Come 257

The Body 257

Human Hope and the Redemption of the Cosmos 258

an Existentialist interpretation of Paul 258

a Freudian interpretation of Paul 259

Paul as Ethicist 259 Status and Role of Women 260

Same-Sex Relations 262

Human Society and the Governing Authorities 264

Paul’s Ethics Today: Competing Approaches 266

13 The Disputed Letters: 2 Thessalonians, Colossians, Ephesians, 1–2 Timothy, Titus 269

2 Thessalonians 269 The Question of Authorship and the Author’s Purpose 269

Notes on a Reading of 2 Thessalonians 270

Problems of Interpretation 271

xvi d contents

colossians 271 The Question of Authorship 271

Points to Look For in Colossians 272

Notes on a Reading of Colossians 273

Nature of the Colossian “Heresy” 273

Ephesians 274 The Question of Authorship 274

Points to Look For in Ephesians 275

The Letter to the Ephesians: A Reading 275

The “Language of Power” in Ephesians 3:10: A Postmodern Rereading 277

Restoration Eschatology, Cosmic Christology, and Ecological Theology 279

The Pastoral Letters: 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus 279 The Question of Authorship 279

Approaching the Pastoral Letters 280

Points to Look For in the Pastoral Letters 281

Notes on a Reading of 2 Timothy 281

Notes on a Reading of 1 Timothy 282

Notes on a Reading of Titus 282

Epilogue to Part Three 285 marcion’s interpretation of Paul 285

Gnostic interpretation of Paul 286

The Paul of Legend 287

Perspectives on the issues 288

interpretation of Paul as a hermeneutical Problem 290

Prologue to Part Four 294 on the margins: inside 294

on the margins: outside 294 1 Clement 295

The Didache 295

PART FOUR THE GENERAL LETTERS AND REVELATION

contents d xvii Barnabas 296

The Shepherd of Hermas 297

Apocalypse of Peter 298

14 The General Letters: Hebrews, James, 1–2 Peter, Jude, 1–3 John 300

hebrews 300 Searching for the Story 300

Points to Look For in Hebrews 301

Notes on a Reading of Hebrews 301

A Critical Problem: Background of the Author’s Thought 304

The Old and the New in Hebrews 305

James 306 Searching for the Story 306

Points to Look For in James 306

Notes on a Reading of James 306

Theological Issues 307

1 Peter 308 Searching for the Story 308

Points to Look For in 1 Peter 309

Notes on a Reading of 1 Peter 309

The Sojourn among the Dead in 1 Peter 3:19 and 4:6 312

2 Peter and Jude 312 Jude 312

2 Peter 313

Theology, Doctrine, and the hermeneutical Question 314

The Letters of John 315 Searching for the Stories 315

Points to Look For in 1 John 317

The First Letter of John: A Reading 318

Notes on a Reading of 2 John 321

Notes on a Reading of 3 John 321

Note on “Antichrist” 322

xviii d contents

15 The Revelation to John 325

searching for the story 325

Notes on a Reading of Revelation 331

Reflections on the sources and structure of Revelation 336

Differing Evaluations of Revelation 336

Epilogue 341 after the New Testament 341

Evaluating the New Testament: The Necessity of hermeneutics 342

Glossary 345index 359

xix

Lists of charts, maps, and images

0.1 acts 9:3-5 in a sixth-century Greek manuscript 30.2 acts 9:3-5 in a contemporary critical text 32.1 Timeline of the New Testament world 30–312.2 Parthenon in athens 342.3 odeon (Theater) at the Parthenon 352.4 map of the hellenistic world 392.5 Representation of the relationship among classes in agrarian societies 412.6 caves in which the Dead sea scrolls were found 422.7 ancient ruins in masada 462.8 Jewish calendar and seasonal cycle 493.1 Two (four)-document hypothesis 593.2 Two-Gospel hypothesis 593.3 Diagram of the Jerusalem Temple 753.4 map of Jerusalem 774.1 Christ in the Sepulcher by Bartolomeo di Tommaso 884.2 crucifixion of christ with the two thieves 915.1 map of Palestine in the time of Jesus 1105.2 Great Temple of artemis in Gerasa, Jordan 1145.3 so-called “Galilee-Boat” 1155.4 crucifixion scene from the bronze doors of st. mary’s cathedral 1226.1 saint matthew the Evangelist from the Gospel of Ebbo 1306.2 The Last Supper by sadao watanabe 1366.3 christ handing the law and keys to saint Peter 1396.4 Entrance to the ancient synagogue of Qazrin in the Golan heights, israel 1417.1 The Annunciation (Ecce Ancilla Domini!) by Dante Gabriel Rossetti 1497.2 Baptism of christ and temptation of christ 1517.3 The Prodigal Son among Swine by albrecht Dürer 1547.4 Pentecost from the Gospel by the painter simeon of arces, Yerevan, armenia 1597.5 map of the Roman mediterranean world, first century c.e. 1617.6 stoa of attalos ii 1678.1 miracle of cana on a carolingian ivory panel 1768.2 Jacob’s well at sychar 1778.3 Last supper, ca. 1355–56, from the Four Gospels in slavonic 182

Figure Page

xx d Lists of charts, maps, and images

8.4 common fish in the sea of Galilee 1838.5 The Incredulity of St. Thomas by Guido da como 1859.1 chronologies dependent on the outline of acts 208–2109.2 chronologies derived from Paul’s letters 211–2129.3 apostle Paul baptized by saint ananias 2189.4 walls of Thessalonica 21910.1 archaic Temple at corinth and the acrocorinth 23511.1 arch of Titus in Rome 24511.2 Roman army taking the spoils from the Temple in Jerusalem 24611.3 saint Paul preaching to the Jews in the synagogue at Damascus 24913.1 Temple of Emperor hadrian in Ephesus, Turkey 27614.1 western wall in Jerusalem 30314.2 saint Peter holding the keys to paradise 31014.3 Christ Descending into Hell by canavesio, Giovanni and Giovanni Baleison 31114.4 saint Peter preaching and saint Peter’s crucifixion 31415.1 map of the churches in Revelation 32615.2 Four horsemen of the apocalypse 33315.3 The Fall of Babylon by John martin 334

color gallery following page 202a Saint Matthew and the Angel by Girolamo Forabosco. Pinacoteca Nazionale, Ferrara, italy B saint mark the Evangelist. Tarragona, spainc saint Luke the Evangelist. miniature from the samuhel Gospel, munich, Germany D Saint John the Evangelist by Pacino da Bonaguida. accademia, Florence, italy E Saints Peter and Paul by El Greco. hermitage, st. Petersburg, Russia F statue of augustus (octavian) from the serapion at ThessalonicaG Roman aqueduct at caesarea maritima h herod’s palace at masadai herodian floor mosaic from masada (in situ)J Saint John the Baptist Preaching by Pieter Brueghel the Elder. Budapest, hungary K stone carving of the ark of the covenant at capernaumL Byzantine ruins at capernaum m mountain of the Beatitudes near Tabgha and BethsaidaN Feeding of the multitudes, baskets with fish. mosaic in hora church, istanbul, Turkeyo Valley leading eastward from Jerusalem to Jericho P The Transfiguration by william BlakeQ Garden of Gethsemane, with view across the Kidron Valley to herod’s TempleR inscription dedicated to Emperor Tiberius, with the name of Pontius Pilate, caesarea, israel s Drawing for Southwest Pieta (1983) by Luis Jimenez