A Prophet like Elijah or according to Isaiah? Rethinking the Identity of Jesus
(2014) p.70-86- Abstract
- According to John Meier, the identity of the historical Jesus was shaped by early Jewish understandings of the prophet Elijah. This article assesses five points of alleged similarity between Jesus and Elijah and draws attention to two neglected distinctions: the distinction between the earthly Elijah and the eschatological one, and the distinction between the formative and interpretative functions of the figure of Elijah. Meier’s construal of the intention and identity of Jesus is put into question. Whereas it is possible to take Jesus’ election of the Twelve as an indication of his intention to play the role of Elijah, the present article argues instead for an Isaianic
background of the key saying Q 22:30b. The role according to... (More) - According to John Meier, the identity of the historical Jesus was shaped by early Jewish understandings of the prophet Elijah. This article assesses five points of alleged similarity between Jesus and Elijah and draws attention to two neglected distinctions: the distinction between the earthly Elijah and the eschatological one, and the distinction between the formative and interpretative functions of the figure of Elijah. Meier’s construal of the intention and identity of Jesus is put into question. Whereas it is possible to take Jesus’ election of the Twelve as an indication of his intention to play the role of Elijah, the present article argues instead for an Isaianic
background of the key saying Q 22:30b. The role according to which Jesus shaped his identity was that of Isaiah’s anointed prophet, whose task was also to begin the restoration of Israel by appointing those who would soon be “judging” the twelve tribes. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/4464151
- author
- Hägerland, Tobias LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2014
- type
- Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Elijah, historical Jesus, Isaiah, Messiah, prophets, restoration of Israel, the Twelve
- host publication
- The Identity of Jesus: Nordic Voices
- editor
- Byrskog, Samuel ; Holmén, Tom and Kankaanniemi, Matti
- pages
- 70 - 86
- publisher
- Mohr Siebeck
- ISBN
- 9783161522048
- 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
- f7625307-5745-49eb-9b05-5f674e3db4a0 (old id 4464151)
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-04 10:34:00
- date last changed
- 2018-11-21 20:59:30
@inbook{f7625307-5745-49eb-9b05-5f674e3db4a0, abstract = {{According to John Meier, the identity of the historical Jesus was shaped by early Jewish understandings of the prophet Elijah. This article assesses five points of alleged similarity between Jesus and Elijah and draws attention to two neglected distinctions: the distinction between the earthly Elijah and the eschatological one, and the distinction between the formative and interpretative functions of the figure of Elijah. Meier’s construal of the intention and identity of Jesus is put into question. Whereas it is possible to take Jesus’ election of the Twelve as an indication of his intention to play the role of Elijah, the present article argues instead for an Isaianic<br/><br> background of the key saying Q 22:30b. The role according to which Jesus shaped his identity was that of Isaiah’s anointed prophet, whose task was also to begin the restoration of Israel by appointing those who would soon be “judging” the twelve tribes.}}, author = {{Hägerland, Tobias}}, booktitle = {{The Identity of Jesus: Nordic Voices}}, editor = {{Byrskog, Samuel and Holmén, Tom and Kankaanniemi, Matti}}, isbn = {{9783161522048}}, keywords = {{Elijah; historical Jesus; Isaiah; Messiah; prophets; restoration of Israel; the Twelve}}, language = {{eng}}, pages = {{70--86}}, publisher = {{Mohr Siebeck}}, title = {{A Prophet like Elijah or according to Isaiah? Rethinking the Identity of Jesus}}, year = {{2014}}, }