Paul's Explanation of Christ-Movement Identity in 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1: A Social Identity Approach

This article deploys a social identity approach to argue that Paul wrote 2 Cor 6:14-7:1 as an integral part of 2 Corinthians to elucidate Christ-movement identity at a key point in an integrated letter. First, I will critique arguments that the passage is an intrusion based on its alleged awkward positioning between 6:13 and 7:2, proposing instead that it is carefully sited within the larger unit of 6:11-7:4. Secondly, I will critically analyse arguments that its non-Pauline character is suggested by the language used. Thirdly, I will explain the presence of 6:14-7:1 in 2 Corinthians as a means whereby, at a critical point in his argument, Paul made a positive statement concerning Christ-movement identity for his Corinthian pistoi, that is, the ingroup of Christ-followers who accepted his version of the gospel, as opposed to apistoi. The latter category embraced both idol-worshipping non-Judeans and his Judean opponents in Corinth who advocated a rival identity based on a different gospel linked to the Mosaic law. In relation to Paul’s extended re-application of Israelite scripture in 6:16-18, I will argue for its decontextualized, indeed “oracular” character in a context where Paul aimed to communicate with actual addressees, most of whom were illiterate non-Judeans

“All that you have done … has been fully told to me”: the power of gossip and the story of Ruth

The literary qualities of the Book of Ruth are a focus of considerable scholarly attention. The aim of this article is to contribute to this research with particular reference to what Boaz says to Ruth, “All that you have done … has been fully told to me” (2:11), where what he has learned has clearly been in Ruth’s favor. Boaz can only have gained such information through what we call gossip. I will first outline social-scientific research into gossip, which has already been fruitfully applied to various parts of the New Testament. Secondly, I will discuss informal networks among ancient Israelite women that feature in the way gossip functions in the narrative. Thirdly, I will apply these perspectives to the passages in the text that depend upon gossip’s occurrence. This exercise will substantiate the dictum of anthropologist Robert Paine that “gossip is a catalyst of social process,” by uncovering the remarkable extent to which character is developed, and the plot of the book propelled to its resolution, by gossip

Female Agency by the Dead Sea: Evidence from the Babatha and Salome Komaїse Archives

The Babatha archive contains thirty-five legal papyri dating from 94 to 132 CE. They belonged to a Judean woman Babatha, from Maoza on the south-eastern shore of the Dead Sea, where date cultivation was a valuable cash crop. The Salome Komaïse archive, also concerning a family of date farmers until the kingdom became the Roman province of Arabia in 106. These papyri provide a rich array of evidence relating to the life of Babatha, Salome Komaïse and her mother Salome Grapte, and of other women, Judean and Nabatean, in this context. Particularly noteworthy is that women possessed considerable wealth, in cash and real property, and regularly acted as business-women, including by loans to their husbands. The papyri also reveal seizure of assets and frequent recourse to litigation by these women in defence of their rights. Although this was a patrilineal and patrilocal culture, the papyri provide striking examples of potent female agency, as women deployed and protected their wealth by every legal means

‘The Righteousness of Joseph: Interpreting Matt 1.18-25 in Light of Judean Legal Papyri’

This article seeks to explain Matthew’s description of Joseph as righteous (δίκαιος) by investigating Matt 1.18-25 within its ancient context, especially Judean practices of marriage and divorce as illuminated by Judean legal papyri from the Dead Sea region in the first and second centuries CE and from the Judean politeuma of Herakleopolis in the mid second century BCE. This examination will demonstrate the importance of these papyri for understanding the narrative in Matt 1.18-25 in its original social setting where honour was a dominant value, especially the extent to which it reveals Joseph to be an exemplar of Matthean righteousness

Prototypes, antitypes and social identity in First Clement: outlining a new interpretative model

First Clement is a text replete with references to great figures from the past, either characters from Israelite tradition or heroes of the Christ-movement such as Peter and Paul. Yet it also includes reference to villains, such as Cain. This is a phenomenon going to the heart of this important text and therefore demanding an explanation. The social identity approach pioneered by social psychologist Henri Tajfel offers rich resources in this regard. It postulates “prototypes” as expressing group identity and “antitypes” as expressing the opposite of such identity. The former offer models to be imitated by Christ-followers in the acquisition and interiorization of group identity, while the latter represent models to be shunned. The former tell whom they should be and the latter whom they should not be. This paper explores such an approach to First Clement and shows that it produces significant interpretative gains. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature, San Antonio, Tex, N 21 2004. Bibliography: p 144-146

Deus Victor: The Nature and Defeat of Evil in the Book of the Watchers (1 Enoch 1-36)

The ancient Israelite work known as 1 Enoch is generally regarded as an Old Testament text for the Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox Churches.1 Enoch has a continuous and honorable tradition of use among Ethiopian Christians since the fifth or sixth centuries CE when it was first translated into Ge‘ez from Greek. This essay is aimed at demonstrating that the Book of the Watchers (1 Enoch 1-36) has an important theological contribution to make in our understanding of evil and the way in which God has dealt and will deal with it

Painting 1 Enoch: Biblical Interpretation, Theology, and Artistic Practice

This article inaugurates a new approach to biblical interpretation that involves close collaboration on a particular text between a biblical interpreter (Philip Esler) and a practicing artist (Angus Pryor) culminating in the production of works of art that generate a new understanding of the text in question. This approach reflects the recent scholarly interest in how artists who paint biblical scenes are active interpreters of biblical texts. Here the text selected is 1 Enoch, while the artworks in question are four 2 x 2 meter paintings, in oil on canvas, that depict pivotal scenes from that text. The collaboration draws on Ethiopian tradition reflecting the scriptural status and widespread influence of 1 Enoch in Ethiopia and the fact that the complete text of the work was only preserved there until its rediscovery in modern times. The interpretative process includes a focus on the original meaning of 1 Enoch, which then influences the creation of artworks laden with theological meaning. This approach is equally available to interpreters more interested in the contemporary (rather than the historical) meaning of other biblical and extra-biblical texts where the connection with national traditions, if present, may be quite different