Sacred Texts & Sacred Figures: The Reception and Use of Inherited Traditions in Early Christian Literature

In tribute to the scholarly legacy of Edmondo F. Lupieri, in Sacred Texts & Sacred Figures an international group of esteemed biblical scholars offer essays on the ways religious traditions, texts, and even the legacies of notable figures were received, re-interpreted, and used by the authors of gospels, epistles, and apocalypses to address the ever-evolving circumstances of emerging Christianity. In the first and second centuries CE, oral and written traditions about the life of Jesus proliferated and formed the basis for written narratives. The authors of the gospels received and redacted those traditions to make distinctive theological claims about Jesus and to address their specific milieu and the wider movement of Jesus-followers. Among some groups of Jesus-followers the sacred texts of Judaism remained paramount. Authors like that of the Epistle to the Hebrews re-examined their inheritance of Jewish scriptures in order to demonstrate the continuity of their novel claims about Jesus with the sacred texts and traditions of Judaism. Similarly, the authors of first- and second-century apocalypses drew on the heritage of Jewish apocalypticism to write and record new revelations of and about Jesus. In addition to traditions and texts, authors in the first and second centuries re-examined the legacy of significant Jewish figures and followers of Jesus and wrote about them in the context of their own contemporary circumstances. Using innovative strategies and written in an engaging style, the essays assembled here explore the reception and reinterpretation of sacred traditions, texts, and figures in the writings of early Christianity.

Introduction. Sacred Texts & Sacred Figures: A Reflection on the Scholarship of Edmondo F. Lupieri (Cambry G. Pardee)

Part One: Sacred Texts
Transfigurrection: A Christian View of the Afterlife (Troy W. Martin)
“Simon I Have Something to Say to You” (Luke 7:40): Jesus as Prophet, or, Turning the Tables on Simon (Wendy Cotter, C.S.J.)
The Hundred Fifty Three (Ρ̅Ν̅Γ) Fish (John 21:11): A Review and Critique of Modern Solutions (Jeffrey M. Tripp)
A Chiastic Approach to the Affirmations about the Son in Hebrews 1:1–4 and the Biblical Quotations of Hebrews 1:5–14 (Eric F. Mason)
Exploring a Wider Context: Interpretations of Scripture in Hebrews 1:5–6 (Thomas H. Tobin, S.J.)
« Apokalupsis Iēsou Christou » (Ap 1,1) L’étonnant incipit du livre de la prophétie de Jean (Louis Painchaud)
Die Johannesapokalypse zwischen Sozialkritik, Geschichtsdeutung und „Mythos“ (Tobias Nicklas)
The Mysticism of 2 Baruch (P. Richard Choi)

Part Two: Sacred Figures
Quelques glanures historiques sur la question de la circoncision chez les Iduméens (Simon C. Mimouni)
The Visions of Moses in Early Christianity: The Case of the Transfiguration of Jesus (Adriana Destro & Mauro Pesce)
The Lukan Baptist: cura deum di sint (Clare K. Rothschild)
“For Whose Sake Heaven and Earth Came into Being”: Anti-cosmicism and the Rejection of Alms in the Coptic Gospel of Thomas (David Creech)
Morte, sepoltura e risurrezione di Gesù nel Vangelo secondo gli ebrei: alcune annotazioni su un passo controverso (Claudio Gianotto)

Index
Contributors