Garrett S Craig

Traditionally the discipline of New Testament studies has not been welcoming to a Trinitarian understanding of God. In recent years, however, some scholars working in the discipline have argued for the positive exegetical bene ts for what they have called a "Trinitarian hermeneutic. " While working within the historical-grammatical paradigm, a Trinitarian hermeneutic seeks to understand the text's God-talk by attending to the relations between the Father, Christ, and the Spirit. By using this method, the article argues that the divine identity found in the letter of 1 Peter puts pressure on its readers to articulate an understanding of God that agrees with later Trinitarian confessions.

The presence of Ps 68:18 in Eph 4:8 has fostered a complex discussion within biblical studies with no apparent consensus. While various historical reconstructions and theological explanations have been offered by scholars, few have placed the citation within the larger theoretical discussion of Pauline hermeneutics. This paper argues that Eph 3:2–13 and Paul’s development of the apocalyptic narrative of the mystery of Christ provides the hermeneutical key to understanding the presence of Ps 68:18 in Eph 4:8. It is argued that by applying his hermeneutical assumptions to the context of Eph 4:7–16 we are able to understand Paul’s interpretive rationale and, therefore, explain his enigmatic citation.

A consensus among scholars has yet to be reached on the place, role, and function of 1 Thess. 2:13-16. Many scholars have considered it an interpolation. Additional concerns such as its relationship to the rest of the letter and Paul’s seemingly anti-Jewish statements have also fostered considerable debate on these few verses. By incorporating a number of observations from other scholars and engaging in fresh exegesis of the passage, this paper argues that Paul’s pastoral strategy in 1 Thess. 2:13-16 is to conjoin the Thessalonian church to himself and each other by positively affixing the church to a new social identity (τοῖς πιστεύουσιν). In addition, through a veiled critique of previous social identities, Paul attempts to loosen the ties of his Gentile, Jewish, and God-fearer converts. This is accomplished by reminding Gentile pagan converts of the opposition they currently face by their συμφυλετῶν, native Jewish converts of the prophetic martyrdom tradition, and God-fearer converts of the consequence of maintaining previous social ties to the synagogue (θεῷ μὴ ἀρεσκόντων, καὶ πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις ἐναντίων).