The Baptismal Episode as Trinitarian Narrative

Proto-Trinitarian Structures in Mark's Conception of God

by Hallur Mortensen

Book cover: The Baptismal Episode as Trinitarian Narrative

Extent: 319 pages

Publisher: Mohr Siebeck

Subjects: Biblical Studies, Religious Studies

Series: Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 2.Reihe

Series volume number: 535

Language: English

Paperback (Published)

(November 2020)

ISBN: 9783161596704

9.09 x 6.1 inches

Price: $124.00

In stock

Hallur Mortensen examines the concept of God in Mark’s Gospel, with particular emphasis on the baptismal scene of 1:9-11. This he closely relates to the beginning and end of the prologue (1:2-3 and 1:14-15) concerning the coming of the Lord, the gospel, and the kingdom of God. The allusions of the divine voice to Psalm 2 and Isaiah 42 reveal the function and identity of Jesus as the Son of God and thus also of God as the father of Jesus. The identity and descent of the Spirit at the baptism as an anointing is discussed in detail, and has a critical function in the coming of the kingdom and the defeat of Satan. These aspects are examined in the context of Jewish monotheism and what Hans W. Frei calls the “intention-action description” of identity – that ‘being’ is constituted by ‘action’ – and Mortensen thus argues that Mark’s Gospel portrays a proto- and narrative trinitarian conception of God.

  • By (author) Hallur Mortensen