Epigraphy and New Testament Exegesis

Within the diverse paths of New Testament exegesis, a new approach is presented here, namely, interpretation against the background of epigraphic sources. Although this approach has a prehistory in the 19th and 20th centuries, it is only now being taken up again with the project of an Epigraphical C...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inReligions (Basel, Switzerland ) Vol. 15; no. 10; p. 1175
Main Authors Hill, Deborah, Oehler, Markus
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Basel MDPI AG 01.10.2024
Subjects
19th century
20th century
Bible and literature
Bible as literature
Christianity
Criticism and interpretation
Criticism, Textual
epigraphy
Exegesis & hermeneutics
Humanities
Inscriptions
Methods
New Testament
Philemon
Protestant Reformation
righteousness
Romans
Textual criticism
Theology
Israel
Greece
United Kingdom
Germany
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Summary:Within the diverse paths of New Testament exegesis, a new approach is presented here, namely, interpretation against the background of epigraphic sources. Although this approach has a prehistory in the 19th and 20th centuries, it is only now being taken up again with the project of an Epigraphical Commentary on the New Testament (ECNT). The article briefly describes the more precise procedure for compiling such a commentary and presents three examples from different areas of the New Testament to illustrate the types of insights that can be gained from inscriptions: on κατάκριμα (Rom 5:15, 18; 8:1); on the statement that someone is bound or in bonds (Phlm); and on the meaning of δικαιοσύνη as a virtuous quality in inscriptions, which influences interpretation of 1Tim, Mt, and Luke-Acts. The authors argue for recognizing the critically important role inscriptions in particular can play in illuminating the language and culture of the Mediterranean in the first century, and thus also of early Christian texts.
ISSN:2077-1444
2077-1444
DOI:10.3390/rel15101175