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Mark and Mission : Mk 7:1-23 in its Narrative and Historical Contexts

Svartvik, Jesper LU (2000) In Coniectanea Biblica, New Testament Series 32.
Abstract
Few passages in the New Testament Gospels can compete with Mk 7:1-23 when it comes to the history of influence in biblical scholarship. Generations of scholars have turned to this pericope in order to find the message of the historical Jesus, the theology of early Christianity or even the essence of Christianity. In this thesis it is argued that the mainstream interpretation of the cardinal saying (Mk 7:15/Mt 15:11) can no longer be maintained. Whereas Mk 7:1-23 has played an important role both in the quest for the historical Jesus and in literary critical studies on Mk, few scholars have studied the interaction between the two. This investigation is a combination of both text-internal and text-external methods (biblical exegesis,... (More)
Few passages in the New Testament Gospels can compete with Mk 7:1-23 when it comes to the history of influence in biblical scholarship. Generations of scholars have turned to this pericope in order to find the message of the historical Jesus, the theology of early Christianity or even the essence of Christianity. In this thesis it is argued that the mainstream interpretation of the cardinal saying (Mk 7:15/Mt 15:11) can no longer be maintained. Whereas Mk 7:1-23 has played an important role both in the quest for the historical Jesus and in literary critical studies on Mk, few scholars have studied the interaction between the two. This investigation is a combination of both text-internal and text-external methods (biblical exegesis, rabbinics, patristics and belles lettres), and seeks to further a better understanding of both the literary and historical contexts of the pericope. The four main sections of the book survey respectively (1) the interpretation of the pericope in New Testament scholarship during the last century (with focus on narrative criticism and the third quest), (2) the effect the pericope had on life in early Christianity (from earliest times to John Chrysostom), (3) the role that the pericope plays in Mk (being the first known narrative presentation of Jesus of Nazareth), and (4) the place of food laws in first-century Judaism and the emergence of a distinct metaphor in Jewish paraenetic literature which, it is argued, is instrumental in interpreting the cardinal saying in Mk 7:15/Mt 15:11. (Less)
Abstract (Swedish)
Popular Abstract in Swedish

I religionernas värld står inga grupper så nära varandra som judendomen och kristendomen. Inte i något annat fall har det förekommit så mycket okunskap, illvilja och förföljelser. Det är ett ofrånkomligt faktum att Förintelsen ägde rum i den världsdel som mest av alla präglats av den kristna kyrkan. Det är därför en angelägen uppgift att studera den tidigaste kristendomens utveckling från en inomjudisk rörelse till en statsreligion. Denna avhandling undersöker en specifik fråga: hur har kristna förhållit sig till de judiska matföreskrifterna? Utgångspunkten är ett jesusord i det äldsta evangeliet: Markus 7:15 (Bibel 2000: "Inget av det som kommer in i människan utifrån kan göra henne oren. Bara... (More)
Popular Abstract in Swedish

I religionernas värld står inga grupper så nära varandra som judendomen och kristendomen. Inte i något annat fall har det förekommit så mycket okunskap, illvilja och förföljelser. Det är ett ofrånkomligt faktum att Förintelsen ägde rum i den världsdel som mest av alla präglats av den kristna kyrkan. Det är därför en angelägen uppgift att studera den tidigaste kristendomens utveckling från en inomjudisk rörelse till en statsreligion. Denna avhandling undersöker en specifik fråga: hur har kristna förhållit sig till de judiska matföreskrifterna? Utgångspunkten är ett jesusord i det äldsta evangeliet: Markus 7:15 (Bibel 2000: "Inget av det som kommer in i människan utifrån kan göra henne oren. Bara det som kommer ut ur människan kan göra henne oren."). I avhandlingens fyra huvuddelar diskuteras följande frågor: (1) Hur har denna bibeltext tolkats av bibelforskare under de senaste hundra åren? (2) Hur tolkades den av kristna under kyrkans första fyrahundra år? (3) Vilken roll spelar den här bibeltexten i Markusevangeliet? (4) Hur kan jesusordet förstås i ljuset av dåtida judiska texter? Slutsatsen är att Jesus inte UPPHÄVER matföreskrifterna, utan VÄGER dem mot något han ansåg vara ännu viktigare: att inte tala illa om andra. På ett märkligt sätt blir därför denna lilla vers i Markusevangeliet en sammanfattning av vad som krävs för konstruktiva religionsmöten idag: (a) att inte göra anspråk på att göra om intet andras religiösa erfarenheter & (b) att inte förtala andras religiösa traditioner. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
supervisor
opponent
  • Professor Fredriksen, Paula, Boston University
organization
publishing date
type
Thesis
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Jewish-Christian relations, missiology, church fathers, Gospel of Thomas, purity, food, anti-Judaism, third quest, narrative criticism, Judaism, Gospel of Mark, Jesus, Bible, New Testament, rabbinic literature, evil speech, Bibelvetenskap
in
Coniectanea Biblica, New Testament Series
volume
32
pages
459 pages
publisher
Almqvist & Wiksell International
defense location
May 22, 2000, 1:15 p.m., Edens hörsal
defense date
2000-05-22 13:15:00
external identifiers
  • other:ISRN: LUREDN/RENE-2000/1010-SE + 476
ISSN
0069-8946
ISBN
91-22-01863-8
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
The information about affiliations in this record was updated in December 2015. The record was previously connected to the following departments: Centre for Theology and Religious Studies (015017000)
id
80d3dde5-6980-49eb-88a2-2b4b13bb84dc (old id 19651)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 15:49:48
date last changed
2019-05-21 11:23:31
@phdthesis{80d3dde5-6980-49eb-88a2-2b4b13bb84dc,
  abstract     = {{Few passages in the New Testament Gospels can compete with Mk 7:1-23 when it comes to the history of influence in biblical scholarship. Generations of scholars have turned to this pericope in order to find the message of the historical Jesus, the theology of early Christianity or even the essence of Christianity. In this thesis it is argued that the mainstream interpretation of the cardinal saying (Mk 7:15/Mt 15:11) can no longer be maintained. Whereas Mk 7:1-23 has played an important role both in the quest for the historical Jesus and in literary critical studies on Mk, few scholars have studied the interaction between the two. This investigation is a combination of both text-internal and text-external methods (biblical exegesis, rabbinics, patristics and belles lettres), and seeks to further a better understanding of both the literary and historical contexts of the pericope. The four main sections of the book survey respectively (1) the interpretation of the pericope in New Testament scholarship during the last century (with focus on narrative criticism and the third quest), (2) the effect the pericope had on life in early Christianity (from earliest times to John Chrysostom), (3) the role that the pericope plays in Mk (being the first known narrative presentation of Jesus of Nazareth), and (4) the place of food laws in first-century Judaism and the emergence of a distinct metaphor in Jewish paraenetic literature which, it is argued, is instrumental in interpreting the cardinal saying in Mk 7:15/Mt 15:11.}},
  author       = {{Svartvik, Jesper}},
  isbn         = {{91-22-01863-8}},
  issn         = {{0069-8946}},
  keywords     = {{Jewish-Christian relations; missiology; church fathers; Gospel of Thomas; purity; food; anti-Judaism; third quest; narrative criticism; Judaism; Gospel of Mark; Jesus; Bible; New Testament; rabbinic literature; evil speech; Bibelvetenskap}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Almqvist & Wiksell International}},
  school       = {{Lund University}},
  series       = {{Coniectanea Biblica, New Testament Series}},
  title        = {{Mark and Mission : Mk 7:1-23 in its Narrative and Historical Contexts}},
  volume       = {{32}},
  year         = {{2000}},
}