The Silencing of Slaves in Early Jewish and Christian Texts

291 Pages·2019·12.63 MB·English

by  Ronald Charles

“Ronald Charles is an important voice in the studyof early Christian slavery.
A postcolonial historian of antiquity, he situates his investigation of slave
characters in Jewish and Christian writings in the theoretical context of sub-
altern studies. Instead of perpetuating grand narratives, he deliberately con-
centrates on small tales. Attentive to the voices of ancient slaves and the
silences of modern historians and theologians, Charles joins the chorus of
those who insist we finally hear the voices of those who cry for justice on
behalf of those they love.”
Jennifer Glancy, Le Moyne College, USA

THE SILENCING OF SLAVES IN EARLY JEWISH
AND CHRISTIAN TEXTS
The Silencing of Slaves in Early Jewish and Christian Texts analyzes a large
corpus of early Christian texts and Pseudepigraphic materials to understand
how the authors of these texts used, abused and silenced enslaved characters
to articulate their own social, political and theological visions.
The focus is on excavating the texts “from below” or “against the grain” in
order to notice the slaves, and in so doing, to problematize and (re)imagine
the narratives. Noticing the slaves as literary iterations means paying atten-
tion to broader theological, ideological and rhetorical aims of thetextswithin
which enslaved bodies are constructed. The analysis demonstrates that by
silencing slaves and using a rhetoric of violence, the authors of these texts
contributed to the construction of myths in which slaves functioned as a
useful trope to support the combined powerof religion and empire. Thuswas
created not only the perfect template for the rise and development of a
Christian discourse of slavery, but also a rationale for subsequent violence
exercised against slave bodieswithin the Christian Empire.
The study demonstrates the value of using the tools and applying the
insights of subaltern studies to the study of the Pseudepigrapha and in early
Christian texts. This volume will be of interest not only to scholars of early
Christianity, but also to thoseworking on the historyof slaveryand subaltern
studies in antiquity.
Ronald Charles is Assistant Professor in the Religious Studies Department at
St. Francis Xavier University, Canada.
ROUTLEDGE STUDIES IN THE EARLYCHRISTIAN
WORLD
Routledge Studies in the Early Christian World offers monographs and edited
collectionswhich explorethemost cutting-edgeresearch inEarlyChristianity.
Covering all aspects of world of early Christianity, from theology, archae-
ology and history, to urbanism, class, economics, and sexuality and gender,
the series aims to situate these early Christians within the wider context of
Late Antiquity.
Comprising both regional studies and broader thematic surveys, this series
explores what changed with the advent of Christianity, what remained the
same, and how early Christians interacted with, made sense of, and shaped
the world around them. Aimed at early Christian scholars, classicists and
historiansalike,StudiesintheEarlyChristianWorldisaninvaluableresource
for anyone researching this fascinating period.
RECONCEIVING RELIGIOUS CONFLICT
New Views from the Formative Centuries of Christianity
Edited by Wendy Mayer and Chris L. de Wet
JEWISH GLASS AND CHRISTIAN STONE
A Materialist Mapping of the ‘Parting of the Ways’
Eric C. Smith
THE SLAVE METAPHOR AND GENDERED ENSLAVEMENT IN
EARLYCHRISTIAN DISCOURSE
Double Trouble Embodied
Marianne Bjelland Kartzow
BETWEEN JEWS AND HERETICS
Refiguring Justin Martyr’s ‘Dialogue with Trypho’
Matthijs den Dulk
THE SILENCING OF SLAVES IN EARLY JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN
TEXTS
Ronald Charles
For more information on this series, visit: https://www.routledge.com/Routle
dge-Studies-in-the-Early-Christian-World/book-series/SECW
THE SILENCING OF
SLAVES IN EARLY JEWISH
AND CHRISTIAN TEXTS
Ronald Charles
Firstpublished2020
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FILIIS CARISSIMIS
ROMINE OLIVIER AND RANDY SÉBASTIEN

CONTENTS
List of illustrations xii
Acknowledgments xiii
Abbreviations xv
1 Introduction 1
1.1 Plan of the study 2
1.2 Silencing in texts 5
1.3 Subaltern historiography 10
1.4 Summary and conclusion 16
2 Slaves in the Pseudepigrapha 26
2.1 Slaves in the Sibylline Oracles 26
2.2 Slaves in the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs 28
2.3 Slaves in the Testament of Job 31
2.4 Slaves in the Letter of Aristeas 36
2.5 Slaves in the Book of Jubilees 40
2.6 Slaves in Joseph and Aseneth 41
2.7 Slaves in the Wisdom literature 45
2.8 Slaves in 3 Maccabees 46
2.9 Slaves in Pseudo-Phocylides 49
2.10 Slaves in The Sentences of the Syriac Menander 154–168;
228; 347 50
2.11 Conclusion 52
3 Slaves in Paul 66
3.1 Slaves in 1 Corinthians 66
3.2 A (freed) slave in Philippians 77
ix