Pages 207-217
Alan Millard
Summary
The Bible presents writing as a normal activity of daily life, but no Hebrew books survive from Iron Age Palestine to attest that. The written documents found there are few and brief in comparison with those from Egypt and Mesopotamia, yet they attest a varied use of writing which, this paper argues, reached beyond the scribal circles of palace and temple. Considered in the light of inscriptions from neighbouring lands, Hebrew epigraphy presents a richer source, lacking only royal monuments. On the basis of that evidence and analogies from other parts of the ancient Near East, a case is made for the possibility of written literature existing in the land from at least the tenth century B.C. onwards.
PAUL'S TRAVELS THROUGH CYPRUS (ACTS 13:4-12)
Pages 220-229
David W.J. Gill
Summary
The location of an Augustan milestone on the road along the south coast of Cyprus suggests that this is a likely route for Paul and Barnabas on their tour 'through the whole of the island'. This would have allowed them to have visited some of the key cities of the province.
WHAT HAS ARISTOTLE TO DO WITH PAUL? RHETORICAL CRITICISM AND 1 THESSALONIANS
Pages 229-251
Steve Walton
Summary
This article considers the application of rhetorical critical methods to 1 Thessalonians, summarising the approaches of significant scholars before considering the rhetorical genre of the letter. After considering the options, a key issue is identified: the question of whether Paul faced opponents in the church at Thessalonica. The evidence favours a negative conclusion, and the rhetorical genre is concluded to be epideictic, because of the focus of the letter on praise and blame.
THE DATE OF THE MAGDALEN PAPYRUS OF MATTHEW (P. MAGD. GR. 17 = P64): A RESPONSE TO C.P. THIEDE
Pages 251-285
Peter M. Head
Summary
This article considers Carsten P. Thiede's arguments concerning the date of P64 and suggests that he has both over-estimated the amount of stylistic similarity between P64 and several Palestinian Greek manuscripts and under-estimated the strength of the scholarly consensus of a date around AD 200. Comparable manuscripts are adduced and examined which lead to the conclusion that the later date is to be preferred.
PAULINE THEOLOGY OR PAULINE TRADITION IN THE PASTORAL EPISTLES: THE QUESTION OF METHOD
Pages 287-314
Philip H. Towner
Summary
This article re-examines the common positioning of the Pastoral Epistles at the transition from second to third generation Christianity. While there is validity in recognising theological development in the Pastoral Epistles, this need not be explained in terms of late discontinuity with Pauline theology; unnecessary methodological assumptions lie behind such a view. It is more likely that the Pastoral Epistles develop Pauline theology at the juncture of first and second generation Christianity.
GENESIS 1:1-2:3 AS A PROLOGUE TO THE BOOK OF GENESIS
Pages 315-337
Ian Hart
Summary
The creation narrative of Genesis 1:1-2:3 is characterised by three fundamental ideas which are linked to each other by the theme of man's work: creation in six days, man as the image of God, and the Sabbath. This theme is sustained in the main body of the book of Genesis, as one would expect with material which was intended to serve as a careful prologue to the rest of the book.
SENDING LETTERS IN THE ANCIENT WORLD: PAUL AND THE PHILIPPIANS
Pages 337-357
Stephen Robert Llewelyn
Summary
How did Paul maintain contact with believers in Philippi whilst he was imprisoned? Does the number of journeys implied in Philippians argue against the letter's composition in Rome? The conveyance of letters and news in antiquity is discussed with particular reference to the imperial post and the suggestion that Paul may have used it. The nature of the contact between Paul and the Philippians is investigated. The conclusion is reached that the Macedonian church most probably learned of Paul's despatch from Caesarea to Rome whilst he was en route. Epaphroditus may have already been in Rome when Paul arrived. The number of journeys implied in Philippians does not preclude a Roman provenance.
THE JEWISHNESS OF JOHN'S USE OF THE SCRIPTURES IN JOHN 6:31 AND 7:37-38
Pages 357-380
Glenn Balfour
Summary
Two of some eighteen citations of scripture in the Fourth Gospel are examined in detail in order to demonstrate that John's use of the Old Testament is based on received Jewish exegetical methods. His treatment of scripture is essential to major facets of his gospel, namely his christology and polemical thrust.
CONSTRUCTING THE WORLD: AN EXEGETICAL AND SOCIO-RHETORICAL ANALYSIS OF PAUL'S USES OF 'WORLD' AND 'CREATION'
Pages 381-384
Edward Adams
First Paragraph:
The recent application of sociological perspectives to the study of the New Testament has generated interest in the construction and maintenance of social worlds in early Christianity. The theoretical model which provides the paradigm for this line of inquiry is derived from the work of T. Luckmann and P.O. Berger in the sociology of knowledge. This study attempts to elucidate and refine our understanding of the phenomenon of world-construction in Pauline Christianity by exploring the roles of the words 'world' and 'creation' , which are Paul's main terms in this process.
'I WILL GIVE YOU REST': THE BACKGROUND AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE REST MOTIF IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
Pages 385-388
John Laansma
First Paragraph:
This study examines Matthew 11:28-30 and Hebrews 3:7-4:11 as the New Testament passages in which the rest motif is expressed thematically. It investigates both passages as products of first-century Judaism and Christianity in the light of the realisation that the Old Testament is the most important factor for establishing the concerns and thinking of the New Testament writers. For both, God's promises of rest to Israel, as those promises were expressed in the Old Testament, were coming to fulfilment in Christ.
THE ETHICS OF DEUTERONOMY: AN EXEGETICAL AND THEOLOGICAL STUDY
Pages 389-392
J.G. Millar
First Paragraph:
The introduction reviews recent work in OT ethics, highlighting the persistent methodological confusion. The discussion points out the importance of distinguishing between the related tasks of describing, synthesising and applying the ethics of the OT. Deuteronomy is proposed as a case study in description and synthesis, and an appropriate method developed. The implications of the outcome of this study for the possibility of speaking of a coherent ethical 'system' within the OT as a whole are examined.
THE USE OF ISRAEL'S SCRIPTURES IN EPHESIANS
Pages 393-396
Thorsten Moritz
First Paragraph:
This thesis argues that the use and influence of the Jewish Scriptures in Ephesians pertains directly to our (and the originally intended readers') understanding of the letter and that this influence is rather greater and more deliberate than has been suggested. It examines those instances where the author manifestly made use of wording which can be directly or indirectly traced to the Jewish Scriptures. I have therefore focused on quotations and allusions (1:20-3; 2:13-7; 5:14; 5:31; 6:2f.; 6:10, 14-7) and on what I believe to be deliberate reformulation of a Biblical text in the light of its perceived misuse by the author's, or his community's, opponents (Eph. 4:8). In addition there is a chapter on the cluster of Old Testament phraseology in Ephesians 4:25-30.
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