Böcker i Beihefte zur Zeitschrift fur die Neutestamentliche Wissenschaft-serien

In kaum einem anderen christlichen Text des zweiten Jahrhunderts werden die Juden derartig haufig und aggressiv beschuldigt, fur den Tod Jesu verantwortlich zu sein wie im Petrusevagelium (EvPetr). Diese antijudische Tendenz ist in der bisherigen Forschung haufig erwahnt, aber kaum eingehender untersucht worden. Die vorliegende Arbeit schliet diese Lucke und bietet eine ausfuhrliche, narratologisch fundierte Analyse aller judischen Figuren des EvPetr. Das Evangelium wird dabei Vers fur Vers kommentiert und die Charakterisierung der judischen Figuren innerhalb der Erzahlung herausgearbeitet. Ausgehend von diesen Ergebnissen wird die Judendarstellung des EvPetr mit anderen erzahlenden Texten des zweiten Jahrhunderts verglichen und dadurch theologiegeschichtlich kontextualisiert. Die Arbeit leistet damit einen wichtigen Beitrag fur das Verstandnis des Petrusevangeliums und das Verhaltnis von Christentum und Judentum im zweiten Jahrhundert.

Welche Bedeutung besitzt die Jesuswortuberlieferung fur Paulus? Die vorliegende Untersuchung beschaftigt sich mit dieser Frage anhand ausgewahlter synoptischer Parallelen in den Paulusbriefen. Anders als die Evangelien prasentiert Paulus einige dieser Traditionsgehalte nicht als Worte Jesu, sondern als allgemeine urchristliche Uberlieferung. Traditionen wie die vom Umgang mit dem Feind (Rom 12), die synoptisch als Feindesliebegebot Jesu begegnet, erweisen sich als fruhchristliche Neuinterpretation alttestamentlich-fruhjudischer Uberlieferungen im Licht des Christusgeschehens. Der irdische Jesus spielt als Urheber solcher Lehren jedoch keine Rolle. Auch die Herrenworte, die Paulus im 1. Korintherbrief anfuhrt, besitzen nur insofern Geltung, als sie auf den erhohten Kyrios zuruckgefuhrt werden. Traditionsmodelle, die gema dem synoptischen Bild in der Verkundigung Jesu den entscheidenden Ausgangspunkt des Traditionsprozesses sehen, sind daher zu uberprufen. Die Paulusbriefe weisen vielmehr auf eine eigene fruhchristliche Uberlieferungsbildung, die wesentlich vom Glauben an die Heilsbedeutung des Todes Jesu und an seine Auferweckung gepragt ist. Der Befund zeitigt somit Konsequenzen fur die alte Frage nach "e;Paulus und Jesus"e;.

What accounts for the seemingly atypical pattern of scriptural exegesis that Paul uses to interpret Exodus 34 in 2 Cor 3:7-18? While previous scholars have approached this question from a variety of angles, in this monograph, Michael Cover grapples particularly with the evidence of contemporaneous Jewish and Greco-Roman commentary traditions. Through comparison with Philo of Alexandria's Allegorical Commentary, the Pseudo-Philonic homilies De Jona and De Sampsone, the Anonymous Theaetetus Commentary, the Dead Sea Scrolls, Seneca's Epistulae morales, and other New Testament texts, Paul's interpretation of Exodus emerges as part of a wider commentary practice that Cover terms "e;secondary-level exegesis."e; This study also provides new analysis of the way ancient authors, including Paul, interwove commentary forms and epistolary rhetoric and offers a reconstruction of the context of Paul's conflict with rival apostles in Corinth. At root was the legacy of Moses and of the Pentateuch itself, how the scriptures ought to be read, and how Platonizing theological and anthropological traditions might be interwoven with Paul's messianic gospel.

Luke-Acts contains a wealth of material that is relevant to politics, and the relationship between Jesus and his followers and the Roman Empire becomes an issue at a number of points. The author's fundamental attitude toward Rome is hard to discern, however. The complexity of Luke's task as both a creative writer and a mediator of received tradition, and perhaps as well the author's own ambivalence, have left conflicting evidence in the narrative. Scholarly treatments of the issue have tended to survey in a relatively short scope a great amount of material with different degrees of relevance to the question and representing different proportions of authorial contribution and traditional material. This book attempts to make a contribution to the discussion by narrowing the focus to Luke's depiction of the Roman provincial governors in his narrative, interpreted in terms of his Greco-Roman literary context. Luke's portraits of Roman governors can be seen to invoke expectations and concerns that were common in the literary context. By these standards Luke's portrait of these Roman authority figures is relatively critical, and demonstrates his preoccupation with Rome's judgment of the Christians more than a desire to commend Roman rule.

In seiner profunden Kenntnis der neutestamentlichen Wissenschaftsgeschichte und dem Verstandnis von Exegese als Auslegung im Miteinander von historischer Rekonstruktion und theologischer Interpretation eroffnet der Erlanger Neutestamentler Otto Merk pragnante Zugange zum Neuen Testament und seiner Erforschung. Der erste Teil der Aufsatzsammlung bietet Studien zur Geschichte der neutestamentlichen Forschung von der Aufklarung bis in das 20. Jahrhundert. Dabei gilt ein besonderes Augenmerk dem Wirken von Adolf Julicher, Albert Schweitzer und Werner Georg Kummel sowie der Lage der neutestamentlichen Wissenschaft im Umfeld des Zweiten Weltkriegs. Der zweite Teil enthalt exegetische Studien zu verschiedenen Themen und Aspekten des Neuen Testaments. Dabei zeigt sich neben dem wissenschaftsgeschichtlichen Impetus das besondere Interesse Merks an den Thessalonicherbriefen sowie dem Bezug der Exegese zur Kirche und ihrer Praxis. Aber auch Aspekte der personlichen theologischen Existenz sowie des Menschlichen im Bereich von theologischer Forschung und Universitat werden thematisiert. So prasentiert der Band wesentliche Ertrage des Schaffens Otto Merks aus den vergangenen 15 Jahren.

This monograph examines the concept of Jesus' perfection in the Epistle to the Hebrews in relation to the broader theological themes of divine beneficence and divine "e;philanthropia"e;. Three times in Hebrews Jesus is described as being perfected (Hebrews 2:10, 5:9, 7:28), and in two of these instances (Hebrews 2:10, 5:8-9) the author explicitly links the theme of Jesus' suffering to the content of his perfection. By examining representative selections of Greek non-literary papyri, this study argues that the customary application of the Greek verb I I I I I I I to denote the idea of legal notarization of a public document suggests the more comprehensive idea of official, definitive attestation. Informed by such a notion of perfection as official, definitive attestation, this study argues that the language of Christ's perfection in Hebrews functions as a christological grammar for reflecting upon the character of Christ. Far from being remotely transcendent, Jesus is characterized instead by divine beneficence and "e;philanthropia"e;, by a motivation to draw near to the community of the faithful gathered around his memory. This study argues for the cogency of this proposal based on exegetical grounds, the literary character of Hebrews as an epistolary homily, and the social setting of Hebrews as one characterized by social distress and/or persecution in or near the vicinity of Rome.

After a survey of recent approaches to the study of Paul's use of Scripture, the four main chapters explore the use of Isa. 54:1 in Gal. 4:27, the catena of scriptural texts in 2 Cor. 6:16-18, Hos. 1:10 and 2:23 in Rom. 9:25-26 and Isa. 57:19 in Eph. 2:17.In each case, the ancienwriter seeks to place the letter in its historical context and rhetorical situation, identify the significance of any conflations or modifications that have taken place in the citation process, analyse the citation's function within its immediate context, compare its use by Paul with the various ways in which the text is interpreted and appropriated by other Second Temple writers, and evaluate the main proposals offered as explanations for the riddle posed by the citation. That done, he offers his own account of the hermeneutic at work, based on an analysis of the explicit and implicit hermeneutical pointers through which the letter guides its readers in their appropriation of Scripture.This book compares the hermeneutical approaches of the four letters and draws conclusionsconcerning the interplay of continuity and discontinuity between Scripture and gospel in Paul's letters and the relationship between grace and Gentile inclusion in his theology.

Die Reihe Beihefte zur Zeitschrift fur die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft (BZNW) ist eine der renommiertesten internationalen Buchreihen zur neutestamentlichen Wissenschaft. Seit 1923 publiziert sie wegweisende Forschungsarbeiten zum fruhen Christentum und angrenzenden Themengebieten. Die Reihe ist historisch-kritisch verankert und steht neuen methodischen Ansatzen, die unser Verstandnis des Neuen Testaments befordern, gleichfalls offen gegenuber.

Die Reihe Beihefte zur Zeitschrift fur die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft (BZNW) ist eine der renommiertesten internationalen Buchreihen zur neutestamentlichen Wissenschaft. Seit 1923 publiziert sie wegweisende Forschungsarbeiten zum fruhen Christentum und angrenzenden Themengebieten. Die Reihe ist historisch-kritisch verankert und steht neuen methodischen Ansatzen, die unser Verstandnis des Neuen Testaments befordern, gleichfalls offen gegenuber.

Die Reihe Beihefte zur Zeitschrift fur die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft (BZNW) ist eine der renommiertesten internationalen Buchreihen zur neutestamentlichen Wissenschaft. Seit 1923 publiziert sie wegweisende Forschungsarbeiten zum fruhen Christentum und angrenzenden Themengebieten. Die Reihe ist historisch-kritisch verankert und steht neuen methodischen Ansatzen, die unser Verstandnis des Neuen Testaments befordern, gleichfalls offen gegenuber.

Die Reihe Beihefte zur Zeitschrift fur die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft (BZNW) ist eine der renommiertesten internationalen Buchreihen zur neutestamentlichen Wissenschaft. Seit 1923 publiziert sie wegweisende Forschungsarbeiten zum fruhen Christentum und angrenzenden Themengebieten. Die Reihe ist historisch-kritisch verankert und steht neuen methodischen Ansatzen, die unser Verstandnis des Neuen Testaments befordern, gleichfalls offen gegenuber.

Die Studie geht dem Selbstverstandnis und dem Verhaltnis der Kirche in Rom zur politischen und sozialen Umwelt im spaten 1. Jahrhundert nach. Im Fokus der Untersuchungen steht dabei der 1. Clemensbrief.

In der Untersuchung wird das Wechselspiel von Sprache und Erfahrung in Johannes 15 und 16 einer genauen Betrachtung unterzogen. Der Autor prasentiert exegetische und sprachphilosophische Untersuchungen zu einem Stuck johanneischer Theologiegeschichte. Es werden theologische Denkbewegungen und Reflexionsprozesse in der Spatphase der Genese des Johannesevangeliums offengelegt.

In the last several decades, scholars largely agree that the NT term "e;mysterion"e; is a terminus technicus, originating from Daniel. "e;Mystery"e; constitutes a revelation of God's hidden eschatological wisdom. This project traces the word in the Dead Sea Scrolls and other sectors of Judaism. Like Daniel, the term consistently retains eschatological connotations. The monograph then examines how mystery functions within 1 Corinthians and seeks to explain why the term is often employed. Throughout the letter, Paul alludes to Daniel, especially in conjunction with the notion of mystery. Of particular interest is the polemical nature of the term in 1 Cor 1-2 that may reflect its narratival use in Daniel - God's wisdom is superior to the wisdom of the "e;wise"e; Babylonians. Paul's overall concern of unity within the Corinthian community is central to the rhetorical effect of the epistle. The divided Corinthian community must rally around mystery of the cross - the Messiah reigning in the midst of defeat. In addition, the Apostle is a "e;steward of mysteries"e; (4:1), a claim that may reflect a conscious effort to align himself with the character Daniel. Other uses of the apocalyptic term concern eschatological revelations and tongues, charismatic exegesis, and the transformation of believers into the image of the last Adam.

Die Arbeit untersucht die in der religionswissenschaftlichen und theologischen Forschung verbreitete These, dass in der Antike der Besitz burgerlicher Rechte und die Moglichkeit und auch Pflicht zur Teilnahme am Kult eng gekoppelt waren. Verschiedene Ausformungen dieser These werden kritisch diskutiert. Epigraphische und literarische Quellen der hellenistischen Zeit aus griechischen Poleis, Rom und Judentum zu Kultpraxis und Sakralrecht werden vorgestellt, ubersetzt und interpretiert.

This study is the first to investigate why Paul makes exclusive use of 'epangelia' for the divine pledge when referring to the Abrahamic covenant, a usage of the term never found in the OT-LXX. After examining Jewish writings and Greek literature of the classical and Hellenistic periods, this study demonstrates that Paul is rather unique in his exclusive use of the 'epangelia' word group for the divine pledge and for using the term predominantly in reference to the Abrahamic promises. This exclusive usage is further deemed unexpected in that the'horkos' and 'omnymi' lexemes are by far the terms most commonly associated with God's promises to Abraham in the OT, the literature with which Paul was most familiar. The study then moves to explain why Paul has chosen this path of discontinuity, where it is argued that Paul's exclusive choice of 'epangelia' for the divine promise is driven by its conceptual and linguistic correspondence with the 'euangelion', one of the terms Paul adopted from the early church that forms the core of his ministry. This conceptual word study of the divine promise will benefit Pauline scholars interested in Paul's use of the OT as well as his association of the 'euangelion' and 'epangelia' word groups.

This book seeks to identify a distinct approach to interpreting Scripture in the New Testament that makes use of assumptions about a text's author or time of composition. Focusing upon the Epistle to the Hebrews, the Acts of the Apostles and the Davidssohnfrage in the Synoptic Gospels, it is argued that in certain cases the meaning of a scriptural text is understood by the New Testament author to be contingent upon its history: that the meaning of a text is found when the identity of its author is taken into account or when its time of origin is considered. This approach to interpretation appears to lack clear precedents in intertestamental and 1st Century exegetical literature, suggesting that it is dependent upon distinctly Christian notions of Heilsgeschichte. The analysis of the Davidssohnfrage suggests also that the origins of this approach to interpretation may be associated with traditions of Jesus' exegetical sayings. A final chapter questions whether an early Christian use of history in the interpretation of Scripture might offer something to contemporary discussion of the continuing relevance of historical criticism.

This study proposes that both constitutively and rhetorically (through ironic, inferential, and indirect application), Ps 106(105) serves as the substructure for Paul's argumentation in Rom 1:18-2:11. Constitutively, Rom 1:18-32 hinges on the triadic interplay between "e;they (ex)changed"e; and "e;God gave them over,"e; an interplay that creates a sin-retribution sequence with an a-ba-ba-b pattern. Both elements of this pattern derive from Ps 106(105):20, 41a respectively. Rhetorically, Paul ironically applies the psalmic language of idolatrous "e;(ex)change"e; and God's subsequent "e;giving-over"e; to Gentiles. Aiding this ironic application is that Paul has cast his argument in the mold of Hellenistic Jewish polemic against Gentile idolatry and immorality, similar to Wis 13-15. In Rom 2:1-4, however, Paul inferentially incorporates a hypocritical Jewish interlocutor into the preceding sequence through the charge of doing the "e;same,"e; a charge that recalls Israel's sins recounted in Ps 106(105). This incorporation then gives way to an indirect application of Ps 106(105):23, by means of an allusion to Deut 9-10 in Rom 2:5-11. Secondarily, this study suggests that Paul's argumentation exploits an intra-Jewish debate in which evocations of the golden calf figured prominently.

Although Roman centurions appear at crucial stages in the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles, the significance of the centurion's office for the development of Luke's story has not been adequately researched. To fill in that void, this study engages the relevant Greco-Roman and Jewish sources that reflect on the image of the Roman military and applies the findings to the analysis of the role of the Roman centurion in the narrative of Luke-Acts. It argues that contemporary evidence reveals a common perception of the Roman centurion as a principal representative of the Roman imperial power, and that Luke-Acts employs centurions in the role of prototypical Gentile believers in anticipation of the Christian mission to the Empire.Chapter 1 outlines the current state of the question. Chapter 2 surveys the background data, including the place of the centurion in the Roman military organization, the role of the Roman army as the basis of the ruling power, the army's function in the life of the civilian community, Luke's military terminology, and the Roman military regiments in Luke-Acts. Chapter 3 reviews Greco-Roman writings, including Polybius, Julius Caesar, Sallust, Livy, Velleius Paterculus, Tacitus, Appian, Cornelius Nepos, Plutarch, Suetonius, Plautus, Cicero, Virgil, Horace, Petronius, Quintilian, Epictetus, Juvenal, Fronto, Apuleius, as well as non-literary evidence. Chapter 4 engages the Jewish witnesses, including 1 Maccabees, the Dead Sea Scrolls, Jewish pseudepigrapha, Philo, Josephus, Talmudic sources, and non-literary sources. Chapter 5 examines the relevant accounts of Luke-Acts, focusing on Luke 7:1-10 and Acts 10:1-11:18. The Conclusion reviews the findings of the study and summarizes the results.

The Apostle Paul was the greatest early missionary of the Christian gospel. He was also, by his own admission, an Israelite. How can both these realities coexist in one individual? This book argues that Paul viewed his mission to the Gentiles, in and of itself, as the primary expression of his Jewish identity. The concept of Israel's divine vocation is used to shed fresh light on a number of much-debated passages in Paul's letter to the Romans.

Even a brief comparison with its canonical counterparts demonstrates that the Gospel of Luke is preoccupied with the power of spoken words; still, words alone do not make a language. Just as music without silence collapses into cacophony, so speech without silence signifies nothing: silences are the invisible, inaudible cement that hold the entire edifice together. Though scholars across diverse disciplines have analyzed silence in terms of its contexts, sources, and functions, these insights have barely begun to make inroads in biblical studies. Utilizing conceptual tools from narratology and reader-response criticism, this study is an initial exploration of largely uncharted territory - the various ways that narrative intersections of speech and silences function together rhetorically in Luke's Gospel. Considering speech and silence to be mutually constituted in intricate and inextricable ways, Dinkler demonstrates that attention to both characters' silences and the narrator's silences helps to illuminate plot, characterization, theme, and readerly experience in Luke's Gospel. Focusing on both speech and silence reveals that the Lukan narrator seeks to shape readers into ideal witnesses who use speech and silence in particular ways; Luke can be read as an early Christian proclamation - not only of the gospel message - but also of the proper ways to use speech and silence in light of that message. Thus, we find that speech and silence are significant matters of concern within the Lukan story and that speech and silence are significant tools used in its telling.

As the first comparative study of Colossians and 1 Peter, the book fills a lacuna by exploring each author's understanding of the new existence and the means to righteous living. If the epistles end up offering almost identical paraenesis, why do they have such distinctive theological patterns of thought? The conventional starting point in Colossian and 1 Peter studies centers on the recipients' needs. Much has been learned from these investigations and is kept in view. However, the extent to which each epistle's theology reflects an underlying pattern of ideas within each author's worldview is less well understood. Setting the author's views in the context of the literature of early Judaism throws fresh light on his thought-world and understanding of the new existence and moral enablement. Evidence exists which indicates that streams of traditions in Early Judaism Literature, factors other than the recipients' needs, contribute to the theology within each epistle and may account for distinctive aspects identified between Colossians and 1 Peter. Exploration of 4QInstruction and the Hodayot, texts discovered at Qumran, provides precedents, precursors, and parallels for the distinctive emphases investigated. Thus, they shed new light on each epistle.

This monograph examines the place of chapters 3 and 4 in the larger argument of Hebrews, particularly the relationship of the people of God in Heb 3:7-4:13 to the surrounding discussion of the high priest. The connection between the great high priest and the people of God proved a central question for twentieth-century scholars, including Ernst Kasemann. The first chapter of this work examines previous attempts to explain the flow of the argument and revisits the proposal of J. Rendel Harris, who thought attention to the two Joshuas of the Hebrew Bible was the key to connecting Heb 3:7-4:13 to its frame. The second chapter examines reading practices within Second Temple Judaism that shaped those of the author of Hebrews. Two subsequent chapters explore the history of Second Temple interpretation of the texts central to Harris's proposal: Numbers 13-14 and Zechariah 3. The Levi-priestly tradition receives particular attention. The following chapter provides a careful study of the early chapters of Hebrews that explores allusions and echoes to Numbers and to Zechariah. The monograph concludes with a positive assessment of much of Harris's proposal.

Why are so many speakers interrupted in Luke and in Acts? For nearly a century, scholars have noted the presence of interrupted speech in the Acts of the Apostles, but explanations of its function have been limited and often contradictory. A more effective approach involves grounding the analysis of Luke-Acts within a larger understanding of how interruption functions in a wide variety of literary settings. An extensive survey of ancient Greek narratives (epics, histories, and novels) reveals the forms, frequency, and functions of interruption in Greek authors who lived and wrote between the eighth-century B.C.E. and the second-century C.E.This comparative study suggests that the frequent interruptions of Jesus and his followers in Luke 4:28; Acts 4:1; 7:54-57; 13:48; etc., are designed both to highlight the pivotal closing words of the discourses and to draw attention to the ways in which the early Christian gospel was received. In the end, the interrupted discourses are best understood not as historical accidents, but as rhetorical exclamation points intended to highlight key elements of the early Christian message and their varied reception by Jews and Gentiles.

Die inhaltlichen und sprachlichen Gemeinsamkeiten der sogenannten Pastoralbriefe haben die bisherige Forschung zu der Annahme gefuhrt, es handele sich bei diesen drei Briefen um intentional zusammengehorige Schreiben unddemnach um unzertrennliche Drillinge"e; (Holtzmann). Da auf diese Weise jedoch die ebenfalls vorhandenen Differenzen zwischen den Briefen nicht hinreichend erklart werden konnen, wagt die vorliegende Monographie einen neuen Zugang zur Pastoralbriefexegese: Die einzelnen Briefe werden nicht mehr als Teil eines Corpus Pastorale"e; verstanden, sondern als Einzelschreiben gewurdigt. Die Untersuchung zentraler Begriffe ermoglicht es, das Profil der einzelnen Schreiben herauszuarbeiten und dadurch das literarische Verhaltnis der drei Briefe neu zu bestimmen. Im Ergebnis kann gezeigt werden, dass es sich bei dem ersten Timotheusbrief um den jungsten der drei Briefe handelt. Dessen Verfasser setzt die beiden anderen Pastoralbriefe bereits als Teil der paulinischen Tradition voraus und rezipiert sie als Element seiner Autorfiktion. Diese Neubestimmung des literarischen Verhaltnisses der Pastoralbriefe verandert nicht zuletzt die Voraussetzungen fur das Verstandnis der Entwicklung der Paulustradition.

Can Pauline soteriology be categorized as a form of deification? This book attempts to answer this question by keen attention to the Greco-Roman world. It provides the first full-scale history of research on the topic. It is also the first work to fully treat the basic historical questions relating to deification. Namely, what is deity in the Greco-Roman world? What are the types of deification in the Greco-Roman world? Are there Jewish antecedents to deification? Does Paul consider Christ to be a divine being? If so, according to what logic? How is Pauline deification possible in light of ancient Jewish "e;monotheism"e;? How is deification possible with a strong notion of creation? Although a rigorously historical study, no attempt is made to avoid theological issues in their historical context. Deification, it is argued, provides a new historical category of perception with which to deepen our knowledge of the Apostle's religious thought in its own time. This book is intended for an academic audience. The range of topics discussed here should interest a wide-array of scholars in the fields of Hebrew Bible, New Testament, Classics, and Patristics.

It has often been observed that Jesus' filial obedience is an important Matthean theme. In this work the author argues that the articulation of Jesus as Son of God in Matthew is significantly influenced by the Deuteronomic concept of obedient sonship.After noting the complexities of Matthew's use of Scripture - including the subtle ways he engages texts - Deuteronomy's pervasive influence in ancient Judaism and Christianity is considered. It is argued that the requirement of Israel's covenantal obedience as God's son(s) is a major concern in Deuteronomy, as well as in other Jewish and Christian texts that appear to echo Deuteronomy. Indeed, it is argued that a pattern can be detected in which the sonship of Israel is invoked either to summon Israel to obedience, or to rebuke the nation for disobedience.The author concludes that the necessity of Israel's obedient sonship is an important part of Matthew's interpretive milieu that derives ultimately from Deuteronomy, and our understanding of Matthean Christology is greatly enhanced when viewed in this context. This study may further help us understand why Matthew's concern with obedient sonship applies not only to Jesus uniquely, but also to the early Christian community.

This narrative study uses Mark 3:22-30 as an interpretive lens to show that the Gospel of Mark has a thoroughly apocalyptic outlook. That is, Mark 3:22-30 constructs a symbolic world that shapes the Gospel's literary and theological logic. Mark utilizes apocalyptic discourse, portraying the Spirit-filled Jesus in a struggle against Satan to establish the kingdom of God by liberating people to form a community that does God's will. This discourse develops throughout the narrative by means of repetition and variation, functioning rhetorically to persuade the reader that God manifests power out of suffering, rejection, and death. This book fits among literary studies that focus on Mark as a unified narrative and rhetorical composition, and uses narrative analysis as a key tool. While narrative approaches to Mark generally offer non-apocalyptic readings, this study clarifies the symbols, metaphors and themes of Mark 3:22-30 in light of the religious and social context in which the Gospel was produced in order to understand Mark's persuasive aims towards the reader. Accordingly, a comparative analysis of Jewish apocalyptic literature informs the use of Mark 3:22-30 as a paradigm for the Gospel.