John Barclay’s Paul and the Gift features a powerful and illuminating comparison and contrast bet... more John Barclay’s Paul and the Gift features a powerful and illuminating comparison and contrast between Paul’s theology of grace and theologies of gift and reward in other Second Temple Jewish texts. Barclay is right to critique E.P. Sanders’s conflation of the priority of grace with other perfections of the gift concept, but his own assertion that Paul, like the author of 4 Ezra, regards the divine gift as necessarily circular is questionable. Both Paul and the author of 4 Ezra, rather, seem to leave open the possibility that God may freely bestow his grace on the unworthy, not only in this world, but also in the next.
In the final nine chapters of the Gospel of Mark, Jesus increasingly struggles with his disciples... more In the final nine chapters of the Gospel of Mark, Jesus increasingly struggles with his disciples’ incomprehension of his unique concept of suffering messiahship and with the opposition of the religious leaders of his day. The Gospel recounts the events that led to Jesus’ arrest, trial, and crucifixion by the Roman authorities, concluding with an enigmatic ending in which Jesus’ resurrection is announced but not displayed. In this volume New Testament scholar Joel Marcus offers a new translation of Mark 8–16 as well as extensive commentary and notes. He situates the narrative within the context of first-century Palestine and the larger Greco-Roman world; within the political context of the Jewish revolt against the Romans (66–73 C.E.); and within the religious context of the early church’s sometimes rancorous engagement with Judaism, pagan religion, and its own internal problems. For religious scholars, pastors, and interested lay people alike, the book provides an accessible and enlightening window on the second of the canonical Gospels.
The critics of JBHT in this issue have questioned three main aspects of the book: its assertion t... more The critics of JBHT in this issue have questioned three main aspects of the book: its assertion that early Christians competed with people who believed that John the Baptist was the principal figure in the history of salvation, its assertion that early in his career the Baptist was a member of the Qumran community, and the way in which the book situates the Baptist in relation to Second Temple Judaism in general. The article addresses these concerns, rebutting certain objections but acknowledging areas in which the book could have been more nuanced or further developed.
The second half of the Akhmîm fragment of the Gospel of Peter distinguishes the recalcitrant Jewi... more The second half of the Akhmîm fragment of the Gospel of Peter distinguishes the recalcitrant Jewish leaders, who suppress the truth of Jesus’ resurrection, from the Jewish people, who regret their murder of Jesus the moment he dies – a distinction best explained by the thesis that the document was produced by and for Jewish Christians living in second-century Syria. Other Christian documents related to the Gospel of Peter and written or influenced by second- and third-century Jewish Christians, especially the Didascalia Apostolorum, show a similar combination of philo- and anti-Judaism. The Gospel's reference to the disciples fasting during the interim between Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection may refer to the practice, attested in the Didascalia and elsewhere, of liturgical fasting for the Jews. Apocalypse of Peter 2, which was probably an original part of the Gospel, holds out hope for Israel's restoration. As the Akhmîm scribe excised this hopeful chapter from the Apoca...
Dale Allison is right to assert that ‘the twelve tribes in the Diaspora’ invokes Jewish ideas abo... more Dale Allison is right to assert that ‘the twelve tribes in the Diaspora’ invokes Jewish ideas about the Ten Lost Tribes, but wrong to disassociate this thesis from the scholarly consensus that the pseudepigraphal author sees the church as Israel. For James, rather, the restored Israel consists of members of the Two Tribes of Judah and Benjamin (= Jewish Christians) plus members of the Ten Tribes. The latter, rather than being far away in some mythical, inaccessible realm, have been living since the Assyrian invasion in known Diaspora realms, where they lost their Israelite identity until it was reawakened by their recent encounter with the Gospel. Gentiles who respond positively to the Christian message, then, are for James the Ten Lost Tribes.
1 Corinthians 15, and entitled it The Defeat of Death. His thesis was that, when Paul says in ver... more 1 Corinthians 15, and entitled it The Defeat of Death. His thesis was that, when Paul says in verse 26 that 'death is destroyed as the last enemy', he means this both as a prophecy of what will happen at the general resurrection and as a proclamation of what is already the ...
In one of the strangest stories in his strange Gospel, Mark records the two-stage healing of a bl... more In one of the strangest stories in his strange Gospel, Mark records the two-stage healing of a blind man by Jesus in Bethsaida (8.22–6). Jesus’ first healing action of spitting on the man's eyes and laying hands on them is only partially successful; the man now sees something, but what he sees is people who look like walking trees (8.24). His vision is still unclear, so Jesus must repeat the therapy, this time with more felicitous results: και διεβλεψεν [sc. oτυϕγoς] και απεκατεστη και ενεβλεπεν τηλαυγως απαντα. But how exactly is this clause to be translated?
Zeitschrift Fur Die Neutestamentliche Wissenschaft Und Die Kunde Der Alteren Kirche, 1989
Résumé/Abstract Les contradictions logiques de Marc 9: 11-13 disparaissent si on voit dans ces ve... more Résumé/Abstract Les contradictions logiques de Marc 9: 11-13 disparaissent si on voit dans ces versets un syllogisme régi par la treizième" midda" herméneutique de Rabbi Ishmaël. L'A. montre le parallélisme frappant entre les versets marciens et Mekhilta, Pisha, chapitre ...
Résumé/Abstract L'expression évangélique «le fils de l'homme» signifie «le fils d'... more Résumé/Abstract L'expression évangélique «le fils de l'homme» signifie «le fils d'Adam». La manière la plus naturelle d'interpréter le double article défini est qu'il désigne le fils d'un homme particulier, à savoir Adam, qui est appelé l'homme en Genèse 1-2 LXX. L'Adam en ...
... Ferment in Palestine 22 The Wilderness Motif in Mark 23 Deutero-Isaiah and ApocalypticEschato... more ... Ferment in Palestine 22 The Wilderness Motif in Mark 23 Deutero-Isaiah and ApocalypticEschatology 26 The Way ... First" 110 MARK 12:10-11: THE REJECTED AND VINDICATED STONE 111 The Old Testament Text and Its Context 111 The Eschatological Interpretation of ...
John Barclay’s Paul and the Gift features a powerful and illuminating comparison and contrast bet... more John Barclay’s Paul and the Gift features a powerful and illuminating comparison and contrast between Paul’s theology of grace and theologies of gift and reward in other Second Temple Jewish texts. Barclay is right to critique E.P. Sanders’s conflation of the priority of grace with other perfections of the gift concept, but his own assertion that Paul, like the author of 4 Ezra, regards the divine gift as necessarily circular is questionable. Both Paul and the author of 4 Ezra, rather, seem to leave open the possibility that God may freely bestow his grace on the unworthy, not only in this world, but also in the next.
In the final nine chapters of the Gospel of Mark, Jesus increasingly struggles with his disciples... more In the final nine chapters of the Gospel of Mark, Jesus increasingly struggles with his disciples’ incomprehension of his unique concept of suffering messiahship and with the opposition of the religious leaders of his day. The Gospel recounts the events that led to Jesus’ arrest, trial, and crucifixion by the Roman authorities, concluding with an enigmatic ending in which Jesus’ resurrection is announced but not displayed. In this volume New Testament scholar Joel Marcus offers a new translation of Mark 8–16 as well as extensive commentary and notes. He situates the narrative within the context of first-century Palestine and the larger Greco-Roman world; within the political context of the Jewish revolt against the Romans (66–73 C.E.); and within the religious context of the early church’s sometimes rancorous engagement with Judaism, pagan religion, and its own internal problems. For religious scholars, pastors, and interested lay people alike, the book provides an accessible and enlightening window on the second of the canonical Gospels.
The critics of JBHT in this issue have questioned three main aspects of the book: its assertion t... more The critics of JBHT in this issue have questioned three main aspects of the book: its assertion that early Christians competed with people who believed that John the Baptist was the principal figure in the history of salvation, its assertion that early in his career the Baptist was a member of the Qumran community, and the way in which the book situates the Baptist in relation to Second Temple Judaism in general. The article addresses these concerns, rebutting certain objections but acknowledging areas in which the book could have been more nuanced or further developed.
The second half of the Akhmîm fragment of the Gospel of Peter distinguishes the recalcitrant Jewi... more The second half of the Akhmîm fragment of the Gospel of Peter distinguishes the recalcitrant Jewish leaders, who suppress the truth of Jesus’ resurrection, from the Jewish people, who regret their murder of Jesus the moment he dies – a distinction best explained by the thesis that the document was produced by and for Jewish Christians living in second-century Syria. Other Christian documents related to the Gospel of Peter and written or influenced by second- and third-century Jewish Christians, especially the Didascalia Apostolorum, show a similar combination of philo- and anti-Judaism. The Gospel's reference to the disciples fasting during the interim between Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection may refer to the practice, attested in the Didascalia and elsewhere, of liturgical fasting for the Jews. Apocalypse of Peter 2, which was probably an original part of the Gospel, holds out hope for Israel's restoration. As the Akhmîm scribe excised this hopeful chapter from the Apoca...
Dale Allison is right to assert that ‘the twelve tribes in the Diaspora’ invokes Jewish ideas abo... more Dale Allison is right to assert that ‘the twelve tribes in the Diaspora’ invokes Jewish ideas about the Ten Lost Tribes, but wrong to disassociate this thesis from the scholarly consensus that the pseudepigraphal author sees the church as Israel. For James, rather, the restored Israel consists of members of the Two Tribes of Judah and Benjamin (= Jewish Christians) plus members of the Ten Tribes. The latter, rather than being far away in some mythical, inaccessible realm, have been living since the Assyrian invasion in known Diaspora realms, where they lost their Israelite identity until it was reawakened by their recent encounter with the Gospel. Gentiles who respond positively to the Christian message, then, are for James the Ten Lost Tribes.
1 Corinthians 15, and entitled it The Defeat of Death. His thesis was that, when Paul says in ver... more 1 Corinthians 15, and entitled it The Defeat of Death. His thesis was that, when Paul says in verse 26 that 'death is destroyed as the last enemy', he means this both as a prophecy of what will happen at the general resurrection and as a proclamation of what is already the ...
In one of the strangest stories in his strange Gospel, Mark records the two-stage healing of a bl... more In one of the strangest stories in his strange Gospel, Mark records the two-stage healing of a blind man by Jesus in Bethsaida (8.22–6). Jesus’ first healing action of spitting on the man's eyes and laying hands on them is only partially successful; the man now sees something, but what he sees is people who look like walking trees (8.24). His vision is still unclear, so Jesus must repeat the therapy, this time with more felicitous results: και διεβλεψεν [sc. oτυϕγoς] και απεκατεστη και ενεβλεπεν τηλαυγως απαντα. But how exactly is this clause to be translated?
Zeitschrift Fur Die Neutestamentliche Wissenschaft Und Die Kunde Der Alteren Kirche, 1989
Résumé/Abstract Les contradictions logiques de Marc 9: 11-13 disparaissent si on voit dans ces ve... more Résumé/Abstract Les contradictions logiques de Marc 9: 11-13 disparaissent si on voit dans ces versets un syllogisme régi par la treizième" midda" herméneutique de Rabbi Ishmaël. L'A. montre le parallélisme frappant entre les versets marciens et Mekhilta, Pisha, chapitre ...
Résumé/Abstract L'expression évangélique «le fils de l'homme» signifie «le fils d'... more Résumé/Abstract L'expression évangélique «le fils de l'homme» signifie «le fils d'Adam». La manière la plus naturelle d'interpréter le double article défini est qu'il désigne le fils d'un homme particulier, à savoir Adam, qui est appelé l'homme en Genèse 1-2 LXX. L'Adam en ...
... Ferment in Palestine 22 The Wilderness Motif in Mark 23 Deutero-Isaiah and ApocalypticEschato... more ... Ferment in Palestine 22 The Wilderness Motif in Mark 23 Deutero-Isaiah and ApocalypticEschatology 26 The Way ... First" 110 MARK 12:10-11: THE REJECTED AND VINDICATED STONE 111 The Old Testament Text and Its Context 111 The Eschatological Interpretation of ...
Uploads
Papers by Joel Marcus