The Blind, the Lame, and the Poor: Character Types in Luke-Acts

257 Pages·13.026 MB·English

by  S.john Roth

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
The BLiNd,
The LAme, ANd
The Poor
Character Types in Luke-Acts

S. John Roth
JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
SUPPLEMENT SERIES
144
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

The Blind, the Lame,
and the Poor
Character Types in Luke-Acts
S. John Roth
Journal for the Study of the New Testament
Supplement Series 144
Copyright © 1997 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 9781850756675
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments 7
Abbreviations 8
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION 11
The Consensus regarding the Unity of Luke-Acts 12
The Consensus regarding Luke's Social Consciousness 16
Problems with the Consensuses 18
Organizing Exegetical Approaches to Luke-Acts 20
Distinguishing Text, Extra-text, and Intertext 22
Thesis 25
Procedure 26
Chapter 2
HISTORY OF SCHOLARSHIP 28
Historical Critical Backdrop 28
The Poor as Objects of Mission 34
The Poor as a Religious and Economic Combination 40
The Poor' as a Metaphor 46
Summary of Studies on the Poor in Luke-Acts 49
The Poor in Literary-Critical Commentaries on the
Gospel of Luke 50
The Path Forward 54
Chapter 3
AN AUDIENCE-ORIENTED LITERARY APPROACH
TO READING LUKE-ACTS 56
Reader-Response Criticism 57
The Nature and Ramifications of Sequential Reading 64
Constructing an Authorial Audience 69
Character Types 73
6 The Blind, the Lame, and the Poor
Chapter 4
THE SEPTUAGINT AS LUKANINTERTEXT 80
The Linguistic and Literary Competence of Luke's
Authorial Audience 80
Steering the Audience to the Septuagint 88
Chapter 5
CONSTRUCTING CHARACTER TYPES FROM THE SEPTUAGINT 95
Preliminary Comments 95
The Captive 97
The Shattered 101
The Blind 103
The Deaf Mute 106
The Lame 107
Lepers 108
The Maimed 109
The Dead 110
The Poor 112
Old Testament Pseudepigrapha 134
Summary 140
Chapter 6
APPLYING SEPTUAGINT INSIGHTS TO INTERPRETATION
OF THE CHARACTER TYPES IN LUKE'S GOSPEL 142
Preliminary Comments 142
Exegesis 151
Chapter 7
ACTS AND THE CAPTIVE, THE SHATTERED, THE BLIND,
THE DEAF MUTE, THE LAME, LEPERS, THE MAIMED,
THE DEAD, AND THE POOR 207
Chapter 8
SUMMARY OF ARGUMENTS AND CONCLUSIONS 212
Appendix
TABLES 1 AND 2 222
Bibliography 225
Index of References 239
Index of Authors 251
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This study is a slightly revised and updated version of my PhD
dissertation (Vanderbilt University, 1994), which has been written
while I have been serving as pastor of Faith Lutheran Church in
Jacksonville, Illinois, USA. I am grateful for the unfailing love,
support, and encouragement I have received from the congregation.
I would like to thank my wife, Kristina, who has lived with me and
my academic pursuits for a decade and a half, and without whose
willing partnership this effort would have been impossible. I would
like to acknowledge also two friends and colleagues, Arthur Rawlings
and Dr Brooks Schramm. I appreciate their encouragement, and their
stimulating conversations with me both challenge and delight me.
ABBREVIATIONS
AB The Anchor Bible
ATANT Abhandlungen zur Theologie des Alten und Neuen Testaments
BAGD W. Bauer, W.F. Arndt, F.W. Gingrich and F.W. Danker,
Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament
BETL Bibliotheca ephemeridum theologicarum lovaniensium
BFCT Beitrage zur Forderung christlicher Theologie
Bib Biblica
BR Biblical Research
BZNW Beihefte zur Zeitschrift fur die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft
CBQ Catholic Biblical Quarterly
CBQMS Catholic Biblical Quarterly, Monograph Series
CurTM Currents in Theology and Mission
HBT Horizons in Biblical Theology
HNT Handbuch zum Neuen Testament
IDBSup G.A. Buttrick (ed.), Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible,
Supplementary Volume
Int Interpretation
JAAR Journal of the American Academy of Religion
JBL Journal of Biblical Literature
JSNT Journal for the Study of the New Testament
JSNTSup Journal for the Study of the New Testament, Supplement Series
LCL Loeb Classical Library
LD Lectio divina
NCB New Century Bible
NovT Novum Testamentum
NovTSup Novum Testamentum, Supplements
NTS New Testament Studies
SBLDS Society of Biblical Literature Dissertation Series
SBLMS Society of Biblical Literature Monograph Series
SBLSCS Society of Biblical Literature Septuagint and Cognate Studies
Series
SBLSP Society of Biblical Literature Seminar Papers
SBS Stuttgarter Bibelstudien
SNT Studien zum Neuen Testament
SNTU Studien zum Neuen Testament und seiner Umwelt
Abbreviations
TDNT G. Kittel and G. Friedrich (eds.), Theological Dictionary of
the New Testament
THKNT Theologischer Handkommentar zum Neuen Testament
TU Texte und Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der altchristlichen
Literature
VT Vetus Testamentum
WBC Word Biblical Commentary
ZAW Zeitschrift fur die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft
ZNW Zeitschrift fur die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft
ZTK Zeitschrift fur Theologie und Kirche