Tag: Titus (Page 2 of 3)

Cook, “Titus 1,12: Epimenides, Ancient Christian Scholars, Zeus’s Death, and the Cretan Paradox”

December 21, 2021 / Chuck Bumgardner

Titus 1:12 has received disproportionate scholarly attention in the letter to Titus, both because of its citation of a pagan writer and its early example of what is often called the “liar paradox.” John Granger Cook has contributed a new treatment of the verse to the literature:

John Granger Cook, “Titus 1,12: Epimenides, Ancient Christian Scholars, Zeus’s Death, and the Cretan Paradox.” Zeitschrift für Antikes Christentum / Journal of Ancient Christianity 25.3 (2021): 367–94. https://doi.org/10.1515/zac-2021-0032

Abstract: “Many logicians and exegetes have read Titus 1,12 as an example of the Liar’s Paradox without paying sufficient attention to the nature of ancient oracular utterance. Instead of reading the verse as a logical puzzle, it should be read from its ancient context in the history of religions—a context of which ancient Christian scholars were aware. The Syriac scholars preserved a shocking Cretan tradition about Zeus’s death that probably goes back to Theodore of Mopsuestia. The god responsible for Epimenides’ oracle presumably rejected the Cretan tradition of Zeus’s death and tomb. The truth value of 1,12 consequently depends on the oracle and not the human being (i. e., Epimenides) who delivers the oracle. A reading sensitive to the history of religions preserves the Pauline author’s perspective in Titus 1,13: ἡ μαρτυρία αὕτη ἐστὶν ἀληθής. There is, consequently, a strong analogy between Caiaphas’s words in John 11:49–50 and those of Epimenides in Titus 1,12.”

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As an aside, other literature focusing on this verse includes (chronologically) the following:

Lemme, Ludwig. “Über Tit 1,12.” Theologische Studien und Kritiken 55 (1882): 133–44.

Harris, J. Rendel, “The Cretans Always Liars.” The Expositor, 7^th series, 2.4 (1906): 305–17; “A Further Note on the Cretans.” The Expositor, 7^th series, 3 (1907): 332–37; “St. Paul and Epimenides.” The Expositor, 8^th series, 4 (1912): 348–53; “Once More the Cretans.” The Expositor 8.9 (1915): 29–35.

Anderson, Alan Ross, “St. Paul’s Epistle to Titus.” Pages 1–11 in The Paradox of the Liar. Edited by Robert L. Martin. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1970.

Renehan, R. “Classical Greek Quotations in the New Testament.” Pages 17–46 in The Heritage of the Early Church: Essays in Honor of the Very Reverend Georges Vasilievich Florovsky. Edited by D. Neiman and M. Schatkin. OCA 195. Rome: Institutum Studiorum Orientalium, 1973.

Folliet, G. “Les citations de Actes 17,28 et Tite 1,12 chez Augustin.” Revue des Études Augustiniennes 11 (1965): 293–95.

Lee, G. M. “Epimenides in the Epistle to Titus (1:12).” Novum Testamentum 22 (1980): 96.

Appel, Włodzimierz. “Epimenides [Tt 1,12].” Filomata (Kraków) 362 (1984): 221-30.

Zimmer, Christoph. “Die Lügner-Antinonie in Titus 1,12.” Linguistica Biblica (Bonn) 59 (1987): 77–99.

Stegemann, Wolfgang. “Anti-Semitic and Racist Prejudices in Titus 1:10–16.” Pages 271–294 in Ethnicity and the Bible. Edited by Mark G. Brett. Biblical Interpretation Series 19. Leiden: Brill, 1996. Translation of “Antisemitische und rassistische Vorurteile in Titus 1,10–16.” Kirche und Israel 11 (1996): 46‒61.

Kidd, Reggie M. “Titus as Apologia: Grace for Liars, Beasts, and Bellies.” Horizons in Biblical Theology 21.2 (1999): 185–209.

Faber, Riemer. “‘Evil Beasts, Lazy Gluttons’: A Neglected Theme in the Epistle to Titus.” Westminster Theological Journal 67 (2005): 135–45.

Thiselton, Anthony C. “The Logical Role of the Liar Paradox in Titus 1:12, 13: A Dissent from the Commentaries in the Light of Philosophical and Logical Analysis.” Biblical Intepretation 2 (1994): 207–23. Reprinted as “Does the Bible Call All Cretans Liars? ‘The Logical Role of the Liar Paradox in Titus 1:12, 13: A Dissent from the Commentaries in the Light of Philosophical and Logical Analysis.’” Pages 217–28 in Thiselton on Hermeneutics: Collected Works with New Essays. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2006.

Gray, Patrick. “The Liar Paradox and the Letter to Titus.” Catholic Biblical Quarterly 69.2 (2007): 302–14.

Vogel, Manuel. “Die Kreterpolemik des Titusbriefes und die antike Ethnographie.” Zeitschrift für die Neutestamentliche Wissenschaft 101 (2010): 252–66.

Koskenniemi, Erkki. “The Famous Liar and the Apostolic Truth.” Filologia Neotestamentaria 24.44 (2011): 59–69.

Wittkowsky, Vadim. “‘Pagane’ Zitate im Neuen Testament.” Novum Testamentum 51 (2009): 107–26; Warum zitieren frühchristliche Autoren pagane Texte? Zur Entstehung und Ausformung einer literarischen Tradition. Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft 218. Berlin: de Gruyter, 2015.

Szabó, Attila. “Páli paradoxonok avagy ‘szolgálati’ paradoxonok.” Studia Universitatis Babeș-Bolyai. Theologia reformata Transylvaniensis 60.1 (2015): 84–122.

Harrill, J. Albert. “‘Without Lies or Deception’: Oracular Claims to Truth in the Epistle to Titus.” New Testament Studies 63.3 (2017): 451–72.

Allen, Isaiah Luke. “Paul the Bigot? Reading the Cretan Quotation of Titus 1:12 in Light of Relevance Theory.” PhD thesis, Middlesex University / London School of Theology, 2019.

Hoklotubbe, T. Christopher. “Civilized Christ-Followers among Barbaric Cretans and Superstitious Judeans: Negotiating Ethnic Hierarchies in Titus 1:10-14.” Journal of Biblical Literature 140.2 (2021): 369–90.

The Pastorals at SBL 2021

July 22, 2021 / Chuck Bumgardner

The schedule for the SBL 2021 Annual Meeting in San Antonio is now available. The following sessions should be of interest to specialists in the Pastorals. Click here to read abstracts of these presentations.

Carson Bay, University of Bern
“To Instruct, to Rebuke, to Correct”: 2 Timothy 3:16, Josephus Against Apion 1.3, and Hellenistic Apologetic between Christian Epistolography and Jewish Historiography

Greg Beale, Reformed Theological Seminary
“Fight the Good Fight” in 1 Tim. 1:18

Brad Bitner, Westminster Seminary California
1 Timothy and the Confession Inscriptions of Asia Minor

David R. Edwards, Florida State University
“Taken Up in Glory”: Early Christian Traditions of the Ascension of Jesus in Light of 1 Tim. 3:16

Paul Robertson, University of New Hampshire
Cluster Mapping Paul’s Letters: Grouping and Identifying the Location of Stylistic Similarities

Jonathan Sanchez, University of Notre Dame
Making an Example: The Rhetorical Usefulness of Timothy in 1 Timothy

W. Andrew Smith, Shepherds Theological Seminary
Progress towards the ECM of the Pastoral Epistles

Angela Standhartinger, University of Marburg, Germany
Duties of Age: Old Women in the Pastoral Epistles in Context

Adam White, Alphacrucis College
Setting the Boundaries: Reading 1 Timothy and Titus as Community Charters

Kuruvilla, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus: A Theological Commentary for Preachers

May 5, 2021 / Chuck Bumgardner

Abraham Kuruvilla has produced numerous works meant to strengthen the preaching of God’s word, and I have personally benefited from his work. He has just released a volume on the Pastorals in his series of “theological commentaries for preachers.” You can get a peek at Google Books. A review is commissioned for this blog, and will be forthcoming in due time.

Forthcoming Publications on the Pastorals (as of April 2021)

April 9, 2021 / Chuck Bumgardner

We have produced our annual list of forthcoming publications on the Letters to Timothy and Titus. This bibliography is wide-ranging and academically oriented, containing 50 forthcoming works on the Pastoral Epistles including essays, monographs, and commentaries. We compile this list each year by contacting academic publishers and Pastorals scholars who have published previously on the letters, with the aim of helping researchers in the Pastorals to see current trends. In some cases, authors provided a brief synopsis of their work specifically for this project. Our thanks to all who contributed!

The list is available here.

Bibliography of 2020 (and Early 2021) Publications on the Pastorals

March 26, 2021 / Chuck Bumgardner

We have compiled our annual bibliography of recent publications on the Letters to Timothy and Titus, covering contributions from all of 2020 and early 2021. Over 100 items long, and international in scope, the list contains monographs, journal articles, and commentaries, as well as lists of conference presentations and dissertations on the letters. It is available for viewing and downloading here.

The Pastorals in NTA 64.1

January 18, 2021 / Chuck Bumgardner

Following are items pertinent to Pastorals studies in New Testament Abstracts 64.1 (2020). We’ve noted a number of them previously, and have provided links to posts with abstracts where possible. Note that NTA has chosen not to abstract the responses to the articles in JSPL 9.1–2 noted below.

(231) Jens Herzer. “Narration, Genre, and Pseudonymity: Reconsidering the Individuality and the Literary Relationship of the Pastoral Epistles.” Journal for the Study of Paul and His Letters 9.1–2 (2019): 30–51. [link]

(232) Rob van Houwelingen. “The Meaning of ἐπιφάνεια in the Pastoral Epistles.” Journal for the Study of Paul and His Letters 9.1–2 (2019): 89–108. [link]

(233) Jermo van Nes. “The Pastoral Epistles: Common Themes, Individual Compositions? An Introduction to the Quest for the Origin(s) of the Letters to Timothy and Titus.” Journal for the Study of Paul and His Letters 9:1–2 (2019): 6–29. [link]

(234) George Kudilil. “Paul’s ‘Pressure of Anxiety for All the Churches’ (2 Cor 11:28) and His Exhortation to Timothy in 2 Tim 4:2.” Bible Bhashyam 45.3 (2019): 81–99.

(235) Greg A. Couser. “The Believer’s Judgment in 2 Timothy, Part 2.” Bibliotheca Sacra 176.704 (2019): 444–58. [link]

(236) Janusz Wilk. “Personalia w drugim liście do Tymoteusza 4,9–15 [References to Persons in 2 Timothy 4:9–15].” Collectanea Theologica 87.1 (2017): 49–74. [Polish; English-language abstract at end]

(237) D. I. Manomi. “Towards an African Biblical Virtue Ethics? Reflections on the Letter to Titus through a Progressive-Negotiated-Ethics.” Acta Theologica 39.2 (2019): 114–29.

(238) Peter-Ben Smit. “Supermen and Sissies: Masculinities in Titus and 1 Timothy.” Journal for the Study of Paul and His Letters 9:1–2 (2019): 62–79. [link]

(239) Jermo van Nes. “Who are ‘Our People’ (οἱ ἡμέτεροι) in Titus 3,14?” Ephemerides Theologicae Lovanienses 95.4 (2019): 661–65. [link]

(p. 127) Deborah Krause, “1 Timothy,” “2 Timothy,” and “Titus.” Pages 311–22 in The Preacher’s Bible Handbook. Edited by O. Wesley Allen. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2019.

(p. 130) Suzanne W. Henderson, New Testament Conversations: A Literary, Historical, and Pluralistic Introduction. Nashville: Abingdon, 2019. [Pastorals treated on pp. 339–44]

(p. 132) Jens Herzer. “Goethes Quark und Holtzmanns Drillinge: Die Pastoralbriefe in Geschichte und Gegenwart.” Pages 125–135 in Update-Exegese 2.2: Grundfragen gegenwärtiger Bibelwissenschaft. Edited by Wolfgang Kraus and Martin Rösel. Leipzig: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, 2019.

(p. 133) Lucy Peppiatt. Rediscovering Scripture’s Vision for Women: Fresh Perspectives on Disputed Texts. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2019. [note esp. chap. 8, “A Final Barrier: 1 Timothy 2:8–15, pp. 140–157]

(p. 135) N. T. Wright and Michael F. Bird. The New Testament in Its World: An Introduction to the History, Literature, and Theology of the First Christians. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2019. [Chapter 22: “The Pastoral Epistles,” pp. 528–50]

(p. 146) Robert J. Banks. Paul’s Idea of Community: The Early House Churches in Their Cultural Setting. 3^rd ed. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2020. [note “Appendix 1: The Drift of the Pastorals,” pp. 167–72).

(p. 146) Reimund Bieringer, ed. 2 Timothy and Titus Reconsidered / Der 2. Timotheus- und der Titusbrief in neuem Licht. Colloquium Oecumenicum Paulinum 20. Leuven: Peeters, 2018.

(p. 146) Bryan Blazosky. The Law’s Universal Condemning and Enslaving Power. BBR Supplement Series 24. University Park, PA: Eisenbrauns, 2019. [note chap 6, “1 Corinthians and the Disputed Pauline Epistles,” esp. pp. 180–85]

(p. 147) David J. Downs and Benjamin J. Lappenga. The Faithfulness of the Risen Christ: Pistis and the Exalted Lord in the Pauline Letters. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2019. [Introduction focuses on 2 Tim 2:8–13]

(p. 151) Lee Gatiss and Bradley G. Green. 1–2 Thessalonians, 1–2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon. Reformation Commentary on Scripture 12. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2019. [1 Timothy, pp. 110–211; 2 Timothy, 212–264; Titus, 265–306] [review]

(p. 153) Christopher R. Hutson. First and Second Timothy and Titus. Paideia. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2019. [review]

(p. 156) Marcos Aceituno Donoso. “Déu, el nostre Soter, a primera Tiemoteu. Teologia sobre la sobirania de Déu.” Pages 235–70 in Salvació i salvacions en els escrits bíblivcs i postbiblics. Scripta Biblica 17. Tarragona: Associació Biblica de Catalunya—Publicacions de l’Abadia de Montserrat, 2018. [Catalan; English-language summary]

(p. 158) Christiane Zimmermann. “Gott, unser Retter—Christus, unsere Hoffnung: Soteriologische Aspekte des 1. Timotheusbriefs.“ Pages 405–426 in Sōtēria: Salvation in Early Christianity and Antiquity. Festschrift in Honour of Cilliers Breytenbach on the Occasion of his 65th Birthday. Edited by David S. du Toit, Christine Gerber, and Christiane Zimmermann. Leiden: Brill, 2019.

(p. 160) Andreas J. Köstenberger. “Faithful Stewardship in God’s Household: Discipleship in the Letters to Timothy and Titus.” Pages 193–212 in Following Jesus Christ: The New Testament Message of Discipleship for Today. Edited by John K. Goodrich. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2019.

Weidemann, “Die Pastoralbriefe”

August 2, 2020 / Chuck Bumgardner

A relatively recent, and rather lengthy, status quaestionis article on the Pastorals is available online:

Weidemann, Hans-Ulrich. “Die Pastoralbriefe.” Theologische Rundschau 81.4 (2016): 353‒403.

Weidemann discusses recent research on the Pastorals under four headings: (1) Drillinge oder entfernte Verwandte? Die Corpus-These in der Diskussion; (2) Neue Diskussionen um Datierung und Bezeugung der Briefe im 2. Jahrhundert; (3) »Gender Trouble of a Pastor«: Geschlechtergeschichtliche Untersuchungen der Pastoralbriefe; (4) Glaube und Erziehung: Begriffsgeschichtliche und lexikalische Untersuchungen der Pastoralbriefe. (English)

Here is the online location, and if for some reason the link is broken, here is the article in pdf.

A Bibliography of the Letters to Timothy and Titus in Africa

July 22, 2020 / Chuck Bumgardner

We have produced a bibliography which aims to list (without summary or evaluation) all scholarly studies on the Letters to Timothy and Titus with a rather direct African connection. Specifically, it includes both (1) works by authors with roots in Africa, even if publishing outside Africa; and (2) anything published in Africa (i.e., theses, dissertations, and journals, most commonly Acta Patristica et Byzantina, HTS Teologiese Studies, In die Skriflig,and Neotestamentica), even if by someone with roots outside Africa (e.g., international students at African schools). The net has been cast quite widely, and works on the Pastorals have been included from a variety of perspectives, approaches, languages, and geographical locations. Works included in the list do not necessarily make reference to the African context; the common denominator is simply that each of the works has both significant interaction with the Letters to Timothy and Titus, and a connection to Africa.

The bibliography may be accessed here.

Hidden Contributions to Pastorals Scholarship

June 23, 2020 / Chuck Bumgardner

While articles and monographs which focus specifically on the Letters to Timothy and Titus are easily found, some aspect of the letters may be helpfully treated as a distinct subsection in a larger work, and the larger work is such that one might not suspect work on the Pastorals exists in it. A list of over sixty works of that nature are provided at the link below. Works where the title or topic would make it almost inevitable that significant engagement with the Pastorals would be involved — say, church offices in the NT, widows in the NT, or the role of women in the church according to the NT — are largely excluded. For purposes of this post, we’ve limited ourselves to listing English-language scholarship.

The list is accessible here.