Modern And Ancient Literary Criticism Of The Gospels

The Gospels continue to defy efforts to fix 'generic' boundaries for determining their meanings. This volume discloses new stirrings and sightings of broader, more heuristically promising literary, rhetorical, and cultural registers which intersect in ancient narrative. The contributors seek to build upon or vigorously critique current generic hypotheses (biography, history, tragedy); to introduce recent insights and developments in genre theory; to probe ancient reception of the Gospels as works of literature; and to illuminate the relations between the literary characteristics of the Gospels and methodological advances in narratology, social memory, intertextuality, and performance.

"For many years scholars have concentrated on the literary sources used by the author/editors of the books of the New Testament, and regarded these books as self-consciously created. William A. Beardslee turns literary criticism in a new direction by looking at the New Testament as unselfconscious popular literature and attempting to understand its aesthetic structure and force. After a survey of literary criticism, both ancient and modern, the author examines selected literary forms found in the New Testament--gospel, proverb, history (as seen in the canonical book of Acts), and apocalypse. In each case he shows how the form reflects the faith of those who worked with it. Also included are chapters on the literary history of the Synoptic Gospels and on the relationship of literary criticism to contemporary theological concerns."--Back cover.

The Book of Acts in Its Ancient Literary Setting includes fourteen chapters devoted to the literary framework that undergirds the Book of Acts. Topics include the text as historical monograph, ancient rhetoric and speeches, the Pauline corpus, biblical history, subsequent ecclesiastical histories, and modern literary method. All of these chapters arise out of a consultation by the project's scholars at Cambridge in March 1993.

This publication presents the rich variety of critical methodologies in contemporary literary study of the New Testament. The tradition of study represented in the essays lies at the conjunction of developments in biblical studies and literary criticism: (1) the exhaustion of New Testament historical criticism in general and redaction criticism in particular; (2) the waning of Formalist-New Critical approaches in literary study; and (3) the emphasis upon the text in terms of language and discourse as the 'free play of signifiers'. The essays deal with theory, exegesis, and their interdependence in this new literary context. However, contributions of earlier epochs in the history of literary criticism and New Testament study are integrated into current approaches. For example, the issue of reference originating in the mimetic theories of classical antiquity is raised implicitly and explicitly. Implications of literary study for theology are suggested. The relationship between redaction-critical and literary approaches is examined. Theoretical and exegetical essays growing out of feminist literary study are offered. Orality, allegory, deconstruction, ideology, sociological criticism, rhetorical criticism, narrative criticism, as well as other themes and methods are discussed in the essays' treatment of writings of the New Testament. A rich variety of critical methodologies in contemporary literary study of the New Testament

Although the Gospel of Matthew emphasizes Jesus as the son of David, no one has systematically investigated how 1-2 Samuel influence Matthew's portrayal of Jesus as the son of David. This work addresses that lacuna and shows how the sustained use of 1-2 Samuel in Matthew evokes the themes of mercy and righteousness as the hallmarks of a proper Davidic shepherd. The book's systematic intertextual and narrative approach offers another way to understand Matthew’s Christology and portrayal of the kingdom of heaven. It helps the reader appreciate the justice-focused nature of Jesus’ rule and its religious and political implications.

Mary Ann Tolbert, George H. Atkinson Professor of Biblical Studies at Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California, offers "one of the freshest interpretations of Mark's Gospel I have ever had the privilege to read. . . . It marks a milestone in the recent history of Markan research" (Jack Dean Kingsbury).

The annual Review of Biblical Literature presents a selection of reviews of the most recent books in biblical studies and related fields, including topical monographs, multi-author volumes, reference works, commentaries, and dictionaries. RBL reviews German, French, Italian, and English books and offers reviews in those languages.

This commentary expands Johannine studies in two directions. First, drawing on the methods of literary criticism, it gives new force to a view which is both ancient and modern--that John's gospel, far from being a poorly-edited mixture of sometimes-conflicting traditions, is in fact a coherent unity, an account of Jesus which, however diverse its sources, is a finely-chiselled work of art. Second, it indicates that the unity of John's gospel is founded ultimately not on history or theology but on spirituality. This too corresponds to a view which is both very old--John was always known as the spiritual gospel--and very recent. The present study spells out that idea in new detail. It indicates that the account of Jesus is so written that the tensions and complexities of the text reflect the tensions and complexities of human life, providing the reader not only with an account of Jesus but also with an anthropology--a map of the development of the human spirit.