Cover

Foreword

Table of Contents

Ruben Zimmermann / Susanne Luther: Moral Language in the New Testament. An Introduction

1. Ethics and Language – Interactions

1.1 Ethics and Language – Two Contradictory Statements

1.2 A Linguistic Turn in New Testament Ethics?

1.3 Three Dimensions of the Interrelatedness

a) Intra-textual level (linguistic and analytic philosophical methods)

b) Textual and intertextual level (form criticism, discourse analysis)

c) Extra-textual level (but still in relation to the text – speech act analysis, rhetorical criticism, reader-response criticism)

2. The Contributions

I. Ethics and Language

Ruben Zimmermann: Ethics in the New Testament and Language: Basic Explorations and Eph 5:21–33 as Test Case

1. Terminological and Methodological Approach

1.1 “Ethos remembered”

1.2 Ethics and Implicit Ethics

1.3 The Search for an “implicit ethics of the New Testament” (basic grid)

2. Forms of Ethical Language with New Testament Examples

2.1 On the intra-textual Level

a) The Imperative Mood

b) The ‘Grammatical Logic’ of Ethics

3.2 On the inter-textual Level (i.e. Form Criticism)

3.3 On the extra-textual Level (e.g. Speech Act Analysis)

4. Ephesians 5:21–33 as a Test Case

4.1 Intra-textual Observations

a) Imperative

b) Ethical Syntax/Basic Structure: Metaphoric Interaction

4.2 Inter-textual Level: Genre Household-Code

4.3 Extra-textual Level (Speech Acts)

Etienne de Villiers: Defining Morality in Christian Ethics and the Study of New Testament Ethics

1. Introduction

2. What Moral Philosophy has to Offer with Regard to the Definition of Morality

3. How to Deal with the Definitions of Morality Moral Philosophy Offers

3.1 The Diversity and Divergence of the Offer have to be Taken Seriously

3.2 New Testament Studies and Christian Ethics should take One Another seriously

4. Conclusion

Sean Freyne: In Search of Identity: Narrativity, Discipleship and Moral Agency

1. Identity, Narrativity and Agency according to Ricoeur

2. Character, Constancy and Moral Agents in Mark and John

(A) The Markan Disciples as Characters

(B) Disciples in the Fourth Gospel: Being True to One’s Word

3. Christian Discipleship and Moral Agency

II. Jesus and the Gospels

Karl-Wilhelm Niebuhr: Jesus’ “Conception of Man” as an Expression of his “Ethics”

1. The Center of Jesus’ Ministry

2. Contexts of Jesus’ Preaching

3. Jesus’ “Ethics” as a Consequence of his Conception of Man

4. Fundamental Human Attitudes and Experiences in the Encounter with Jesus

5. Life emerging from the Encounter with Jesus

6. The Surrender of Life as a Principle of Jesus’ “Ethics”

7. Conclusion

Matthias Konradt: “Whoever humbles himself like this child ...” The Ethical Instruction in Matthew’s Community Discourse (Matt 18) and Its Narrative Setting

I

II

III

IV

V

VI

VII

Jan G. van der Watt: Ethics through the Power of Language: Some Explorations in the Gospel according to John

1. Introduction

2. Ethics in John?

3. Performative Texts? John 20:28–31 in the Light of some Theoretical Considerations

3.1 John 20:28–31 as a Performative Text

3.2 Is the Concept of ‘Performative Text’ a Modern Construct or an Ancient Practice?

4. John, Language and Ethics

5. The Role of Language in John with Special Emphasis on John 8

5.1 Words (Word Grammar) and Ethics

5.1.1 The Use of Particular Words in Ethical Meanings

5.1.2 The Use of Literary Features related to Word Grammar

5.1.2.1 Irony

5.1.2.2 Contextual-semantic Influence and the Ethical Meaning of a Word: Murder or Execution? – The Use of αποκτείνω/

5.2 Breaks in the Structural Flow of the Argument and their Ethical Implications: Openness/Open Spaces, Discontinuous and Conflicting Dialogue

5.3 Discourse Grammar with Ethical Implications

5.3.1 Propositions and Proverbial Statements

5.3.2 Characterization

5.3.2.1 Functionality of Characterization

5.3.2.2 Vilification of Characters

5.4 Imagery in Service of Ethics

5.4.1 The Imagery of Light in Chapter 8

5.4.1.1 The Use of the Metaphor of Light in 8:12

5.4.1.2 The Imagery of Light and Life in Service of Communicating Ethical Material in Chapter 8

5.4.2 Forensic Imagery with a Performative Function

6. Some Concluding Remarks

Kobus Kok: As the Father has sent me, I send you: Towards a missional-incarnational Ethos in John 4

1. Introduction

2. Basis, Ethics, Ethos, and Context

3. The Basis of Ethics and Ethos

4. The Samaritans: a Story of Crisis, Disorientation, and Socio-religious Brokenness

5. Jesus as Transformation Agent offers the Gift of Life (4:7–18)

6. Revelation and Transformational Ethos

7. Missional Ethos and Ethics

8. As the Father has sent me I also send you

9. Conclusion

III. Pauline Literature

Hermut Löhr: The Exposition of Moral Rules and Principles in Pauline Letters. Preliminary Observations on Moral Language in Earliest Christianity

1. Introduction

2. The Exposition of Fundamental Moral Rules and Principles in Pauline Letters

2.1 Repetition and Extension

2.2 Generalizations

2.2.1 Agents

2.2.2 Objects and Actions

2.2.3 Norms and Virtues

2.3 Personification

2.4 Authority and Example

2.5 Climax and Progress

3. Conclusion

Jeremy Punt: “Unethical” Language in the Pauline Letters? Stereotyping, Vilification and Identity Matters

1. Introduction

2. First-century Language and Discourse

3. Pauline Language, and Stereotyping and Vilification

3.1 First-century Stereotyping and Vilification

3.1.1 Racial and Ethnic Identification as Stereotyping

3.1.2 Stereotyped Othering in the New Testament: the Identification of Opponents and Beyond

3.1.3 Curse Rhetoric

3.1.4 Stereotyped Sexual Slander

3.2 The Power of Stereotyping and Vilification: Identity and (Social) Control

3.3 Resisting or Confirming Imperial Rhetoric?

4. Conclusion

Friedrich Wilhelm Horn: Putting on Christ: On the Relation of Sacramental and Ethical Language in the Pauline Epistles

1. Linguistic Conditions

2. The Usage of the Evidence in the Pauline Corpus

3. Gal 3:27

4. Rom 13:14

5. Col 3:10–11

6. The religio-historical context of the imagery

7. The Ethical Use of the Metaphor

François S. Malan: Moral Language in the New Testament: Language and Ethics in 2 Corinthians 3

1. The implied moral impact of 2 Corinthians 3

2. The context and course of 2 Corinthians 3

3. Consider the kind of attestation needed – 3:1–3a

4. Life under the law vs. life through the Spirit – 3:3b–6

5. The glory of the old vs. the glory of the new – 3:7–11

6. Veiled vs. unveiled – 3:12–18

Pieter G. R. de Villiers: Moral Language in Philemon

1. Introduction

2. Philemon and Ethics

3. Fellowship as Norm

4. Love as Norm

4.1 Love in Philemon

4.2 Characterization in Philemon: Believers, Brothers and Beloved

5. The Aim of Love

6. The Role of Mission in Philemon’s Moral Language

7. Conclusion

IV. Later New Testament and Early Christian Writings

Jörg Frey: Disparagement as Argument: The Polemical Use of Moral Language in Second Peter

1. Preliminaries

2. Polemical Rhetoric and the Use of Moral Accusations in 2 Peter 2

2.1 Implicit References to the Opponents before Their Explicit Introduction

2.2 The Introduction and First Characterization of the Opponents in 2:1–3a

2.3 The Utilization of the Biblical Examples from Jude (2:4–10a)

2.4 The Ultimate Vilification of the Opponents (2:10b–22)

3. The Image of the Opponents in 2 Peter 2: the Accusations Systematized

3.1 The Opponents’ Teaching and its Effect

3.2 The Mode of the Opponents’ Agitation

3.3 The Opponents’ Immoral Lifestyle

3.4 The Opponents’ Sinful and Animal-like “Nature”

3.5 The Eschatological Condemnation

4. Reality or Fiction? The Polemical Image of the Opponents and the Question of their Actual Profile

4.1 Charges Adopted from Jude

4.2 Standard Charges and Polemical Stereotypes

4.3 Particular Charges and Hints about the Actual Situation

4.4 Tentative Historical Conclusions

5. Afterthoughts: Immoral Usage of Moral Language?

Gert J. Steyn: Some Possible Intertextual Influences from the Jewish Scriptures on the (Moral) Language of Hebrews

1. Introduction

2. Possible Intertextual Influences from the Moral Language of the Decalogue and other Laws on the Language and Theology of Hebrews

2.1 Possible Intertextual Connections with the Decalogue

2.2 Examples of Intertextual Connections with some other Laws and Instructions

3. Narrative Intertexts from the Commemoratios of Heb 10:32–12:24 and a Lifestyle of Perseverance

3.1 The First Cycle

3.1.1 The Past (Commemoratio: Heb 10:32–34)

3.1.2 The Present (Heb 10:35–39): Continue with the Good Behaviour of the Past

3.2 The Second Cycle

3.2.1 The Past (Commemoratio: Heb 11)

3.2.2 The Present

4. Scripture and Festivals as Intertexts for Some of the Maxim-like Formulas?

5. Conclusion

Susanne Luther: Protreptic Ethics in the Letter of James: The Potential of Figurative Language in Character Formation

1. Introduction

2. Examples of Figurative Forms of the Communication of Ethics

2.1 Metaphoric Examples

2.2 Typological Examples

2.3 Macaristic Examples

2.4 Parabolic Examples

2.5 Parabolic Examples in Situational Adaptation

2.6 Parabolic Example based on Traditional Material

2.7 Comparative Examples in the Context of an Ekphrasis

3. The Ethics Conveyed

4. Conclusions: The Conveyance of Ethics through Figurative Language

Lambert D. Jacobs: The “Ethics” of Badmouthing the Other: Vilification as Persuasive Speech Act in First Clement

1. Introduction

2. Hypocrisy and falseness

3. Belittling the opponents

4. Inflated self-esteem

5. The charge of blasphemy

6. Obscure, shadowy characters

7. Evil / witchery / sorcery

8. Moral depravity

9. A perversive influence

10. Associated with dubious historical characters

11. Prone to judgement

12. Ludicrous characters

13. Conclusion

V. Hermeneutical Questions

Richard A. Burridge: Ethics and Genre: The Narrative Setting of Moral Language in the New Testament

1. Introduction

2. Apartheid and Biblical Interpretation

3. Ethics and Genre at the Micro-level: Literary Forms

3.1 Rules

3.2 Principles

3.3 Paradigms/examples

3.4 World-view

4. Ethics and Genre at the Macro-level: a Biographical Approach to New Testament Ethics

4.1 Jesus’ teaching

4.2 Jesus’ example

4.3 Paul

4.4 The four gospels

5. Biblical Understandings of Apartheid and the Inclusive Community

6. Conclusion

Elijah Mahlangu: The Familial Metaphorical Language of Inclusion in the New Testament and HIV/AIDS Destigmatization in Africa

1. Introduction

2. Stigma, Exclusion and Discrimination

3. HIV/AIDS Stigmatization: The Challenge to the New Testament Scholar and Exegete

4. Familial Language in the New Testament

5. Familial Language in Mark

6. The Family of God in Matthew

7. The Household of God in Luke-Acts

8. The Church (as Family) in John’s Gospel

9. Pauline Ecclesiology, an Inclusive Laos

10. Conclusion

Authors and Editors

Index of References

Old Testament

New Testament

Judaica

Early Christian Writings

Graeco-Roman Literature

Index of Modern Authors

Index of Subjects and Key Terms