Category: Reception

Robertson, “1 Timothy 1:3–4 in the Memory of Irenaeus, Tertullian, Athanasius, and Chrysostom”

December 5, 2023 /

Michael Scott Robertson has added a article in reception history to the secondary literature on the Pastorals:

Michael Scott Robertson, “1 Timothy 1:3–4 in the Memory of Irenaeus, Tertullian, Athanasius, and Chrysostom.” Religions 14.9 (2023), article 1123.

The article is open access, and is available here.

Abstract: In this article, I discuss reception history, its place within the history of historical critical methods, and social memory theory. I apply a reception historical lens buttressed by social memory theory to 1 Timothy 1:3–4. I show that the historical circumstances of this passage’s reception problematize using early understandings of it to reconstruct the referent behind “myths and endless genealogies”. I first show how the phrase “myths and endless genealogies” is ambiguous in the historical setting of the author. Then, I demonstrate that Irenaeus, Tertullian, Athanasius, and Chrysostom use this phrase against very different groups; however, all of these authors use 1 Timothy 1:4 for a (perceived) problem against their present group.

Persig, “The Language of Imperial Cult and Roman Religion in the Latin New Testament: The Latin Renderings of ‘Saviour’”

December 2, 2023 /

Anna Persig, “The Language of Imperial Cult and Roman Religion in the Latin New Testament: The Latin Renderings of ‘Saviour.’” New Testament Studies 69.1 (2023): 21–34.

Students of the Pastorals may benefit from Persig’s work on σωτήρ reflected in this article, given the significance of the term in the letters. Here’s the abstract:

The title σωτήρ, ‘saviour’, is bestowed on Christ and God in the New Testament and rendered in the Latin translations by conseruator, saluificator, salutificator, salutaris and saluator. Although these terms convey the same meaning, they are not interchangeable: this study argues that conseruator, which is the most frequent word for saviour on imperial coins, is rarely attested in the Latin versions because of its association with the imperial cult. The predominant translation, saluator, was coined as an alternative rendering to the other words which had religious and political connotations.

The article is open access and is available here.

Krauter, “Cretan Memories”

February 22, 2023 /

Stefan Krauter has a new article highlighting the different ways Titus and Acts of Titus portray Crete.

Krauter, Stefan. “Cretan Memories: Crete in the Letter to Titus and the Acts of Titus.” Early Christianity 13 (2022). DOI 10.1628/ec-2022-0027

Abstract: Es ist sehr unwahrscheinlich, dass Paulus auf Kreta zusammen mit seinem Mitarbeiter Titus Gemeinden von Christusgläubigen gegründet hat, wie es Tit 1,5 behauptet wird. Dennoch ist der fiktive kretische Schauplatz des Titusbriefes nicht einfach Zufall, sondern spielt in der Argumentation des Briefes eine wichtige Rolle: Die Kreter dienen als paradigmatische Barbaren, die zivilisiert werden müssen. Dazu werden negative Stereotypen über die Kreter aus der hellenistischen und frührömischen Zeit aktiviert. Die Titusakten sind vom Titusbrief abhängig. Ihr Bild von Kreta unterscheidet sich jedoch deutlich von dem negativen Bild, das im Brief gezeichnet wird. Sie stützen sich beispielsweise auf Erinnerungen an Minos, den König und Gesetzgeber der Kreter, und knüpfen an positive Aspekte der kretischen Vergangenheit an, die für die lokale kretische Elite im Römischen Reich wichtig waren. (DeepL translation to English)

I found the following footnote (7) in Krauter’s article helpful as a guide for any scholars in Titus who wish to pursue the historical background of Crete: “The groundbreaking archaeological work on Roman Crete was the posthumously published dissertation by I. F. Sanders, Roman Crete: An Archaeological Survey and Gazeteer of Late Hellenistic, Roman, and Early Byzantine Crete (Warminster: Aris & Phillips, 1982). For an easily accessible overview, cf. T. Bechert, Kreta in römischer Zeit (Darmstadt: von Zabern, 2011). Historical (esp. epigraphical) research on Hellenistic and Roman Crete has been carried out by Angelos Chaniotis. A summary of his work, which is readable also for non-specialists, is given in A. Chaniotis, Das antike Kreta, 3rd ed. (Munich: Beck, 2020). For a comprehensive treatment of Cretan history in English, cf. C. Moorey, A History of Crete (London: Haus, 2019), esp. 55–107.”

Zamfir, “‘You, Man of God, Pursue Righteousness’: The Reception of 1 Timothy 6:11 in Some Third and Fourth Century Writers”

March 14, 2022 /

A new reception-historical study:

Zamfir, Korinna. “‘You, Man of God, Pursue Righteousness’: The Reception of 1 Timothy 6:11 in Some Third and Fourth Century Writers.” Pages 261–75 in Bibel und Patristik: Studien zur Exegese und Rezeption von Septuaginta und Neuem Testament. Festschrift für Martin Meiser. Biblische Zeitschrift Supplements 3. Leiden: Brill Schöningh, 2022. DOI: https://doi.org/10.30965/9783657793372_015

Cousland, “‘What the Thunder Said’: A Note on Charlotte Brontë’s Shirley and I Timothy 2.11–14”

July 6, 2021 /

An article for those interested in the reception history of the Pastorals, and of 1 Tim 2:8–15 in particular:

J. R. C. Cousland, “‘What the Thunder Said’: A Note on Charlotte Brontë’s Shirley and I Timothy 2.11–14.” Brontë Studies (2021). (doi) [the individual article appears to be available online without having been formally incorporated into a journal issue yet]

Abstract: Charlotte Brontë’s Shirley (1849) offers a revealing example of how she herself might interpret Scripture when she has her heroine Caroline Helstone offer an alternative reading of I Timothy 2. 11–14. Her reading is prescient in recognising the hermeneutical problems posed by the passage, but also reveals a deep-rooted dissatisfaction with the social structures that prohibit women from gaining the theological education afforded to men. Brontë’s innate conviction that women are also made in the imago dei is the propelling force in her willingness to question patriarchal narratives of Scripture.

If the title of the article intrigues you (as it did me!), you can find Brontë’s Shirley online here, and the pertinent section appears to be on pp. 270–72.

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