Example Stories: Perspectives on Four Parables in the Gospel of Luke

451 Pages·24.994 MB·English

by  Jeffrey T. Tucker

l i b r a r y o f n e w t e s t a m e n t s t u d i e s
ExAmpLE SToriES
perspectives on Four parables in the Gospel of Luke

Jeffrey T. Tucker
JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
SUPPLEMENT SERIES
162
Executive Editor
Stanley E. Porter
Editorial Board
David Catchpole, R. Alan Culpepper, Margaret Davies,
James D.G. Dunn, Craig A. Evans, Stephen Fowl, Robert Fowler,
Robert Jewett, Elizabeth Struthers Malbon, Robert W. Wall
Sheffield Academic Press

Example Stories
Perspectives on Four Parables
in the Gospel of Luke
Jeffrey T. Tucker
Journal for the Study of the New Testament
Supplement Series 162
For
Jessica Marie Tucker and
Samuel Jefferson Tucker
With whom I am well pleased and
in whom I delight
Copyright © 1998 Sheffield Academic Press
Published by Sheffield Academic Press Ltd
Mansion House
19 Kingfield Road
Sheffield SI 19AS
England
Typeset by Sheffield Academic Press
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available
from the British Library
EISBN 9781850758976
f
CONTENTS
Preface 7
Abbreviations 11
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION: PERSPECTIVES ON THE EXAMPLE STORIES 13
The Problem: Example Stories 14
Adolf Julicher' s Famous Proposal 16
A Preview of the Debate: 'Parables versus Examples' or
'Parables of Jesus versus Parables of Luke' 19
The Purpose of This Study 41
Chapter 2
THE EXAMPLE STORIES BEFORE DIE GLEICHNISREDEN JESU 45
C.E. van Koetsveld: De Gelijkenissen van den Zaligmaker 47
Bernhard Weiss: 'Ueber das Bildliche im Neuen Testamente' 53
Siegfried Gobel: Die Parabeln Jesu methodisch ausgelegt 56
Adolf Julicher: The First Edition of Die Gleichnisreden Jesu 60
Immanuel Stockmeyer: Exegetische und praktische
Erkldrung ausgewdhlter Gleichnisse Jesu 64
Comments and Conclusions 67
Chapter 3
THE EXAMPLE STORIES ACCORDING TO
DIE GLEICHNISREDEN JESU 11
A Summary of Die Gleichnisreden Jesu 72
'The Essence of the Parable Speeches of Jesus' 80
Julicher's Summary of Results 128
Comments and Conclusions 129
6 Example Stories
Chapter 4
AFTER DIE GLEICHNISREDEN JESU: THE EXAMPLE
STORIES IN MODERN PARABLE SCHOLARSHIP 145
From Rhetoric to Form Criticism: The Example Stories
According to Rudolf Bultmann 148
Beyond Bultmann: The Example Stories in Recent
Parable Research 156
Naming People: An Aspect of Character in the Example
Stories 248
Comments and Conclusions 264
Chapter 5
PARABLE AND EXAMPLE IN THE ANCIENT
RHETORICAL TRADITION 275
Parable and Example in Rhetorica ad Alexandrum 280
Parable and Example in 'Art' of Rhetoric 289
Parable and Example in Rhetorica ad Herennium 317
Parable and Example in De Inventione and De Oratore 337
Parable and Example in Institutio Oratoria 353
Comments and Conclusions 383
Chapter 6
CONCLUSION: A PERSPECTIVE ON FOUR PARABLES
IN THE GOSPEL OF LUKE 396
A Review: Findings and Implications 397
A Recurrent Trend in Parable Research 403
A Digression: The Parables as Utopian Fictions 407
The Future of the Example Stories 412
A Name for the Example Stories 417
Bibliography 419
Index of References 433
Index of Authors 442
PREFACE
This book is a revision of my dissertation, which was written under the
direction of Professor Mary Ann Tolbert.1 The title of this work in its
present form denotes the subject of concern, while the subtitle connotes
a certain slant. If I were to punctuate the title to suggest my take on the
topic, it would read 'Example Stories' to serve as a visable indication
that I consider the categorization of four parables in the Gospel of Luke
as such to be problematical.
Indeed, the name for that category is not without its problems. First,
'example story' is a rather inexact translation of 'Beispielerzdhlung',
Adolf Jiilicher's designation for a category of Jesus' parables. While
'example narrative' is a more precise translation, I have retained the
more familiar rendering 'example story' since that is commonly
regarded as the English equivalent of the German term in New Testa-
ment scholarship, particularly in parable scholarship. I do, however, use
both terms interchangeably throughout this study. Secondly, scholars
before Jiilicher placed the same four parables in a group, but they did
not call them by the same name. Thus, in a discussion of how scholars
who antedate Jiilicher treated that group of four parables, any reference
to them as 'example stories' is, technically speaking, an anachronism.
The category 'example story', in my opinion, presents problems of
more moment than simply how we should refer to it. The ensuing
chapters make manifest my reasons for challenging the categorization
of four parables in the Gospel of Luke as 'example stories' and for
wanting to do away with the term. Still, I needed to use the term
'example story' in order to discuss the group of four parables called by
that name. I avoided the temptation to imitate Jacques Derrida's
graphic gesture of placing the term under erasure.2 Had I decided in
1. 'Four Parables in the Gospel of Luke: Perspectives on the Example Narra-
tives' (PhD dissertation, Vanderbilt University, 1994).
2. See Derrida's use of this gesture in, among other places, Of Grammatology
8 Example Stories
favor of that ploy, I would have written the term 'example story' and
then crossed it out. Such a gesture would make the term legible since it
is necessary, but would also be an initial move toward striking the term
since it is inaccurate. Moreover, such a gesture would make us mindful
that even if irrefutable evidence could be produced to prove that the
four parables in question are not 'example stories', the term has been
inscribed in New Testament scholarship, and the trace of it will always
be present. The advantages of putting 'example story' under erasure
notwithstanding, I decided against employing that gesture because my
aim is not to deconstruct, in the strictest philosophical sense, the term
or the category. Nevertheless, even though the term 'example story'
cannot be erased, my intent is to call the category into question.
One gesture I would be remiss to forgo is the giving of thanks to
those whose significant acts of kindness and generosity enabled me to
complete this project. I remain indebted to those whom I acknowledged
in the dissertation, and I reaffirm my gratitude to all of them, especially
the readers on my dissertation committee, Professors Daniel Patte,
Fernando F. Segovia, Peter J. Haas and F. Carter Philips. I am pro-
foundly indebted to my adviser, Professor Mary Ann Tolbert, who has
always been gracious to me, constantly offering encouragement, and I
will continue to owe her more than she knows for that. I must express
my appreciation to Vanderbilt University for allowing me to continue
my research at the Alexander and Jean Heard Library. The fine people
at Sheffield Academic Press deserve special mention, for without their
efforts and considerable patience, the publication of this work in its
present form would not have been possible; in particular, I thank
Professor Stanley E. Porter, Jean R.K. Allen, Ailsa Parkin and Vicky
Acklam for all that they have done for me. Above all others, I thank my
lovely wife, Allison, who has ceaselessly given me more than I
expected to receive from anyone, who gave me her hand and two won-
derful children, my treasures, thanks to whom I have experienced
incredible moments of sudden joy and through whom I have been
blessed. I dedicated the dissertation to her; I dedicate this book to our
children.
In several places throughout this study, I have reproduced passages
from various texts—several of which are scarce, and many of which
have not appeared in English—in their original language so that the
(trans. Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak; Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University
Press, 1976).
Preface 9
nuance of an important point will not be lost in translation3. Unless
explicitly stated otherwise, all translations are my own.
3. Those who would like to read the words of several scholars in their own
language (especially in Chapters 2, 3 and 4) may wish to consult my dissertation,
for here I have either translated or omitted altogether a number of passages.