Mit dem Erscheinen des Greek New Testament 1966 gleichzeitig in New York, London, Edinburgh, Amsterdam und Stuttgart (GNT) zeichnete sich bereits das Bemühen ab, einen Standardtext zu erstellen, der für die exegetische Arbeit die Grundlage bieten soll. Dieses Bemühen wurde von dem internationalen Komitee unter der Federföhrung von K. Aland weitergeführt und brachte mit der 3. Auflage (GNT) 1975 und der 26. völlig neu bearbeiteten Auflage des seit 1898 eingeführten Nestle Textes (N26) den Abschluß, der textkritischen Arbeit des Komitees. Der Fortschritt nicht nur in der Textgestaltung, sondern ebenso in der Qualität des gebotenen Textes ist unübersehbar. Neu gefundene Zeugen, vor allem Papyri, wie eine bessere Kollationierung der vorhandenen haben uns dem Urtext sicher ein erhebliches Stück näher gebracht. Es muß jedoch einerseits gefragt werden, ob es berechtigt ist, diesen Text nunmehr als Standardtext in den Rangeines neuen textus receptus zu erheben, der allen Konkordanzen und Wörterbüchern, allen Übersetzungen und Kommentaren den verbindlichen Maßstab setzt. Zum anderen ist zu fragen, ob das Prinzip des Komitees, die mithilfe des Computers erfolgte Kollationierung der zahlreichen Minuskeln für den Text wenn nicht bestimmend, so doch wesentlich entscheidend sein zu lassen, textkritisch gerechtfertigt ist.

The view that the Holy Spirit as the source of prophecy was believed by Jews during the tannaitic period to have withdrawn from Israel, to return only in the eschatological future, is built upon a pastiche of texts: Ps 74.9; 1 Macc 4.46, 9.27 and 14.41; Josephus's Ap. 1.37—41; 2 Apoc. Bar. 85.3; Pr Azar 15; and t. Soṭa 13.2—4. On the basis of such texts, E. Sjöberg referred to ‘a widespread theological conviction’ about the withdrawal of the Holy Spirit and J. Vos to ‘die verbreitete Tradition’. C. K. Barrett quoted G. F. Moore approvingly: ‘The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of prophecy … The Holy Spirit is so specifically prophetic inspiration that when Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, the last prophets, died, the Holy Spirit departed from Israel.’ W. D. Davies suggested cautiously, after a thorough analysis of the data, ‘… we may now assume that Paul was reared within a Judaism which, to use very moderate language, tended to relegate the activity of the Holy Spirit to the past’. G. W. H. Lampe generalized, ‘In the main, the Spirit continues to be thought of as being, pre-eminently, the Spirit of prophecy, manifested in the distant past in such great figures as Elijah (Ecclus. 48.12) or Isaiah (vs. 24), but which was now no longer present in Israel.’ J. Jeremias subtitled section nine of his New Testament Theology ‘The Return of the Quenched Spirit’, and

Matt 5. 27–32, from the Sermon on the Mount, and Mark 9. 42–10.12 are passages that contain similar material, although neither is directly dependent on the other. Both have sayings that deal with ‘offences’ caused by certain body members (the verb used is σκανδαλίζω), and both contain a version of Jesus' prohibition of divorce. Between these two passages and a third, b. Nid. 13b, from the Babylonian Talmud, there also exist several similarities. Despite this intriguing configuration of materials, which might indicate that all three passages are dependent on a common set of traditions, scholars have approached these texts from a very different perspective. Those who posit a connection between the synoptic and the rabbinic materials do so only with respect to Matt 5, never Mark 9; and several scholars have instead sought parallels to the synoptic passages in Hellenistic gnomic literature, disregarding or ignoring the rabbinic material altogether. In the present study I intend to challenge the validity of these approaches and propose that there is indeed a common set of traditions to which all three of these texts are indebted. I will begin my investigation by highlighting three peculiarities of Mark 9. 42–48, and then posit a relation between this passage and b. Nid. 13b. Following this I will bring the material from Matt 5. 27–32 and Mark 9. 49–10. 12 into consideration. One of the results of this study, as I shall explain more thoroughly in the conclusion, will be the identification of a discussion on male sexuality that took place in Jewish and Christian circles sometime in the middle of the first century C.E

Le texte d'Habacuc (ii. 4.): ó δίκαιος έκ πίστεως ήσεται semble avoir joué un grand role dans la réflexion théologique de saint Paul: it apparaît d'abord en Gal. iii. 11, puis en Rom. i. 17; et les deux fois comme une sorte de résumé de la doctrine paulinienne sur la foi. C'est à déterminer son importance pour l'intelligence de Rom. i-viii qu'est consacrée la présente monographie.

Tό κατέχξον οιδατε schrieb Paulus in seinem zweiten Briefe nach Thessalonich: seine Gemeinde kannte die geheimnivolle Kraft, die den Gang der letzten Dinge noch aufhielt. Dagegen sieht sich der Exeget, dem statt der Kenntnis em Rätsel geblieben ist, eher mit Augustin zurn Geständnis genötigt: ‘Ego prorsus quid dixerit (sc. Paulus) me fateor ignorare.’1

A magisterial and highly critical review by T. W. Manson of S. C. E. Legg's edition of Matthew in the J.T.S. of 1942 became a significant factor in causing the proposed series of critical apparatuses that was intended to cover the entire New Testament to be abandoned after only two volumes had been issued. Legg's edition of Mark had appeared in 1935, Matthew was the second volume to appear: the third volume (on Luke) was prepared but was not accepted for publication largely as a result of Manson's article.

Jesus' preaching at Nazareth in Luke 4 is usually read as the rejection of a prophet because he is too familiar to his home town, as is the case in Matthew and Mark. This reading puts Luke's text under heavy strains that make it seem inconsistent or misconstrued. We propose that it should rather be read as Jesus refusing to be used for his home country's benefits, based upon a reconsideration of Luke 4.24 in the light of Luke 4.19. We then put this reading in synoptical perspective.

These three short papers were delivered at the 72nd General Meeting of the Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas, held in Pretoria, South Africa, on 8–11 August 2017. The ‘Quaestiones disputatae’ session was chaired by the President of the Society, Professor Michael Wolter. The first two papers engage with Teresa Morgan's book, Roman Faith and Christian Faith, and Professor Morgan responds to them in the third.

The identity of the κατάλυμα in Luke 2.7 has been debated among Western scholars for over five hundred years. Proposals have ranged from an inn to a guest room. This article argues that the term κατάλυμα has a generic sense of ‘place to stay’ and that the final clause of Luke 2.7 should be rendered ‘because they had no space in their place to stay’. Moreover, three clues in the context—Joseph's compliance with the census order, the betrothal of Mary, and the manger—suggest that the accommodations presupposed by Luke are a marital chamber too small for giving birth.

There are serious problems with P. Payne's discussion of ‘distigmai’ in Codex Vaticanus, and more in particular with his identification and interpretation of so-called ‘distigme-obelos’ combinations. The ‘distigmai’ remain elusive and any ‘distigme-obelos’ is coincidental.

In John 2. 4 there is a peculiar Greek idiom which has not only given almost every translator difficulty, but which is, in the opinion of the writer, both a key to the way in which the author of the Fourth Gospel used his sources, and to his interpretation of Jesus. The verse reads ‘And Jesus said to her: τί έμοί καί σοί; woman, my hour has not yet come.’

This article seeks to explain Matthew's description of Joseph as righteous (δίκαιος) by investigating Matt 1.18–25 within its ancient context, especially Judean practices of marriage and divorce as illuminated by Judean legal papyri from the Dead Sea region in the first and second centuries ce and from the Judean politeuma of Herakleopolis in the mid-second century bce. The examination will demonstrate the importance of these papyri for understanding the narrative in Matt 1.18–25 in its original social setting where honour was a dominant value, especially the extent to which it reveals Joseph to be an exemplar of Matthean righteousness.

In popular culture, the Pauline texts referring to ‘peace’ are illustrated by serene and tranquil scenes. I shall argue that to Paul's first readers, ‘peace’ evoked rather different images – military victories, arrests of criminals and the unloading of corn. I argue this because of how εἰρήνη is normally used in documentary papyri, that is personal letters, administrative documents and other non-literary written material. I explain my method and then present the papyrological evidence, including references to the various ‘peace-officials’. I argue that εἰρήνη meant something like ‘good order’. I use this insight to interpret Rom 5.1 and Phil 4.7.

In an infamous passage in his Letter to the Galatians (2.11–14), Paul called out Peter as a ‘hypocrite’. This passage, especially when read in light of Paul's own appeal to himself as ‘all things to all people’ in 1 Cor 9.19–23, was to cause deep trouble for later Christian interpreters, who sought to defend their movement against charges from outsiders that it had a cracked and unstable foundation in dual ‘hypocrites’. This essay will introduce this ‘pagan’ critique and the cultural force it had, and the various solutions to the inherited dilemma from their scriptures that were offered by patristic authors (Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Jerome and Augustine). In light of this context, we turn to a sustained analysis of an untranslated homily by John Chrysostom, hom. in Gal 2.11 (In faciem ei restiti), which addresses not just the hypocrisy of Peter and Paul, but also the sticky problem of the hypocrisy of the Christian who reads this text approvingly as Paul's ‘in your face’ to Peter. Chrysostom does this by engaging in a convoluted pretence of his own.

Bittgebete gehören zu den besonderen Ausdrucksformen religiöser Überzeugungen. Schon in der Antike lassen sich Beziehungen zwischen Bitten, die an Menschen adressiert sind, und Bitten, die an Gott bzw. Götter gerichtet werden, ausmachen, Für einen Vergleich mit Ermutigungen zum Bittgebet im Matthäusevangelium werden Beispiele aus den Epigrammen Martials vorgestellt. Der Bittsteller, der bei Martial vor allem materielle Güter anstrebt, scheut sich beim Bitten nicht, den Kaiser mit Jupiter zu parallelisieren. Doch prägt ihn die Unsicherheit, ob die ausgesprochenen Bitten Gewährung finden. Von ‘Erhörungsgewißheit’, wie sie für die verglichenen Texte im Matthäusevangelium kennzeichnend ist, kann nicht gesprochen werden. In den Epigrammen Martials wird vor allem um die Steigerung persönlicher Lebensqualität gebeten. Demgegenüber begegnen bei Matthäus Gemeinschaftsbitten, die nicht nur persönliche Interessen im Auge haben. Nicht die bloße materielle Existenzsicherung oder persönliche Bedürfnisbefriedigung ist hier das Thema, sondern die Herrschaft Gottes.

In my The Death of the Messiah, preparatory to examining the Gospel accounts of the trial/interrogation of Jesus by the chief priest(s) and San-hedrin, I surveyed the extra-Gospel evidence for authoritative Jewish involvement in the death of Jesus, derived from Jewish, Christian, and pagan sources. From the Jewish evidence I discussed two items: the witness of Josephus (Ant. 18.3.3; #63–t) and a baraita from TalBab Sanhedrin 43a which I quoted from the London Soncino translation (Nezikin volume 3.281):

On the eve of Passover Yeshu was hanged. For forty days before the execution took place, a herald went forth and cried, ‘He is going forth to be stoned because he has practised sorcery and enticed Israel to apostacy. Anyone who can say anything in his favour, let him come forward and plead on his behalf.’ But since nothing was brought forward in his favour he was hanged on the eve of Passover.

Engeance pacifique, les spécialistes du Nouveau Testament et des origines chrétiennes sont souvent irrités par le grand retentissement que connaissent des théories tapageuses présentées au public par des personnes plus ou moins qualifiées. Nous avons quelque peine à admettre que des travaux aussi contestables monopolisent l'attention d'un grand nombre de lecteurs et leur dissimulent les recherches scientifiques sérieuses dont les auteurs ne visent ni au scandale ni à un succès facile. Toutefois, il est relativement aisé de traiter ces phénomènes déplaisants par l'indifférence ou, le cas échéant, par l'ironie.

In the fifth year of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I it was enacted by Parliament ‘that the Bishops of Hereford, Saint Davids, Asaph, Bangor and Llandaff… shall take such Order amongst themselves…, That the whole Bible…, with the Book of the Common Prayer…, as is now used within this Realm in English, to be truly and exactly translated into the British or WELSH tongue’. This authorization of a version of the Holy Scriptures by the English Parliament is unique, but that does not make the Welsh version the authorized version of the realm. What was endorsed by the 1563 Act was not the validity of the Welsh version as Scripture, but its legality despite being in Welsh. A generation earlier, the Act of Union of England and Wales had proscribed the use of Welsh in ‘any manner office or fees within this realm of England, Wales or other the Kings Dominion’. It so happened, however, that the 1563 Parliament had amongst its members a sufficient number who could be persuaded to put religious need before political expediency, having themselves but recently suffered for their religious convictions. Moreover, it was the good fortune of the Welsh people, in contrast with other Celtic groups, that they had in their midst, at this critical point in their history, men whose competence and scholarly equipment were equal to the task of producing a vernacular version. They were all alumni of the English Universities; and there they had come into contact with those movements which were radically transforming the intellectual, the religious and the political life of Western Europe. These were, of course, the rebirth of learning, the reformation of religion, the growth of national feeling with the accompanying emergence of vernacular literatures – movements whose irresistible onward surge was greatly accelerated by the printing press, an invention of the previous century. It was the dream of these Welshmen that this flood could be channelled to fructify the arid spiritual desert which they saw in their native land; and this they sought to achieve first and foremost by giving the Welsh people the Bible in printed form and in their own tongue.