Constructing a New Covenant
Discursive Strategies in the Damascus Document and Second Corinthians
by Thomas R. Blanton
Thomas R. Blanton, IV seeks to reconstruct the social contexts in which two discourses that involve the new covenant were written, and to which they responded. He first examines the Damascus Document from among the Dead Sea scrolls, arguing that this discourse was crafted in order to delegitimate Hasmonean claims to the high priesthood and Pharisaic claims to authority in legal interpretation. In response to the claims and practices advocated by these rival groups, the Essene sect crafted a discourse which construed the new covenant as one that supported Essene claims that they were the legitimate bearers of high priestly authority and the divinely authorized interpreters of the Torah. In the second half of the book, the author argues that Paul crafted his discourse on the new covenant in opposition to an ideology that was espoused by a rival group of missionaries, according to which, under the conditions of the new covenant, the spirit of God was thought to empower individuals to follow the Torah with perfect obedience. Paul crafted his own discourse in opposition to this view, positing that law and spirit were antithetical terms. By arguing in this way, he attempted to bolster the credibility of his own law-free message.
- By (author) Thomas R Blanton
Other Titles in this Series
The Use of the Old Testament in Hebrews
A Case Study in Early Jewish Bible Interpretation
Volume 260
The Memory of Ignatius of Antioch
The Martyr as a Locus of Christian Identity, Remembering and Remembered
Volume 581
John 4:1-42 among the Biblical Well Encounters
Pentateuchal and Johannine Narrative Reconsidered
Volume 542
Redescribing Jesus’ Divinity Through a Social Science Theory
An Interdisciplinary Analysis of Forgiveness and Divine Identity in Ancient Judaism and Mark 2:1-12
Volume 438
Proclaiming the Kerygma in Athens
The Argument of Acts 17:16-34 in Light of the Epicurean and Stoic Debates about Piety and Divine Images in Early Post-Hellenistic Times
Volume 596
The Lord of the Gospel of John
Narrative Theory, Textual Criticism, and the Semantics of Kyrios
Volume 478
Similar Books
Punning in Odd or Elegant Constructions in Jeremiah
The Convergence of Linguistics, Rhetoric, and Textuality in the Hebrew Text of Jeremiah
Shame in the Worlds of the Hebrew Bible and Akkadian Texts
A Linguistic Study and Its Implications
Volume 33
The Therapeutae as the Best Paradigm for the Contemplative Life
A Contextual Reading of Philo of Alexandria's De Vita Contemplativa
Parola di Dio, di uomo e di Re
L'assoluta verità della Bibbia nella dottrina cattolica di Bacchisio Raimondo Motzo
Wie JHWH spricht
Die temporelle Steuerung von Verbalaussagen in den Reden nach den Gottesspruchformeln
Breaking New Ground in John
Imagery, Parables, Characters, Christology, and Ethics in the Fourth Gospel
Volume 531
But the Wise Shall Understand
Reuse of Prophecies, Chronotope, and Merging of Eschatological Horizons in Daniel 10-12
Creation Concepts and Creation Care
Perspectives from Early Judaism, Early Christianity, and Beyond. Kontexte und Normen neutestamentlicher Ethik / Contexts and Norms of New Testament Ethics XVII
De-colonising the Biblical Narrative. Volume 4
The Colonial Worldview of the Book of Joshua
Volume 4
Paul and Sacrifice in Corinth
Rethinking Paul's Views on Gentile Cults in 1 Corinthians 8 and 10
Volume 623
The Characterisation of Jesus the Davidic Shepherd in Mark’s Gospel
A Narrative Analysis through the Lens of Metalepsis
Volume 626
