Die lukanische Darstellung der Jerusalemer Gemeinde ist von vielerlei Einflüssen geprägt. Unbeachtet blieben bisher Elemente, die sich auch und vor allem im antiken Vereinswesen finden: familienähnliche Beziehungen, das Freundschaftsideal, die Gütergemeinschaft als Wohltäterschaft einzelner, die zentrale Bedeutung von Mahlfeiern, die Versammlung in Privaträumen, die hierarchische Struktur sowie eine grundsätzliche egalitäre Ausrichtung. Diese Parallelen, aber auch die Differenzen im Blick etwa auf die Bedeutung von Status und den uneingeschränkten Zugang zur christlichen Gemeinde, lassen das Profil der lukanischen Darstellung geschärft hervortreten: Lukas wollte eine neue Form von Gemeinschaft, die antike Ideale verwirklicht und übersteigt.

This article introduces extra-canonical traditions into the debate about the purpose of the gospels and the risks of sociological mirror-reading. Often seen as reflecting sectarian communities, some of these texts are actually no more ‘heterodox’ than their canonical counterparts, and might just as well have been written ‘for all Christians’. However, applying similar criteria, we find that canonical as well as extra-canonical gospels are best understood as intended for a group of churches with similar outlook. Why certain gospels came to be widely distributed had more to do with power structures; intention and reception should not be confused.

Polyvalenz durch Intertextualität kommt in den Blick, wenn gefragt wird, wie sich der Bedeutungsspielraum von anzitierten bzw. alludierten Texten verändert. Diese referenztext-orientierte Funktion von Intertextualität erlangt dort, wo der pseudepigraphe 2. Thessalonicher als ‘Leseanweisung’ für den 1. charakterisiert wird (Roloff, Reinmuth), zentrale Bedeutung. Der 1. Thessalonicher wird im Rahmen dieses Modells implizit zu einem polyvalenten Text erklärt, dessen Bedeutungsspielräume sich durch den intertextuellen Bezug auf den 2. Thessalonicher verschieben (sollen). Dieses im Modell angelegte Postulat der Polyvalenz des 1. Thessalonicher wird jedoch bisher kaum eingelöst, da die Auslegungen zu einseitig danach fragen, wie der Verfasser des 2. Thessalonicher den 1. verarbeitet.

A close analysis of the report of 2 Pet 3.4, paying attention to its precise wording, and a careful reading of the author's response to it in the verses that follow show that the prevailing interpretation of the scoffers' eschatological mockery is unsound. The target of the scoffers' criticism was not so much the parousia of Jesus as the OT promise of a final, eschatological irruption underlying it. Their scepticism was founded neither on the failure of Jesus to come back within a generation, nor on a denial of divine intervention. Rather, it was based on the long period of time that had elapsed since the promise was originally made and the assumption that the eschatological promise involved the prospect of cosmic destruction, which the scoffers rejected on philosophical grounds.

Various passages in the Paralipomena Jeremiae, a writing largely neglected by NT scholarship so far, may shed further light on the background in early Judaism of the theological terminology of the NT. This is exemplified below: ευαγγελιζεσθαι is seen to stand for the preaching of eschatological salvation, κατηχειν for catechetical instruction, αναπαυσις for the quiet between death and resurrection, the ‘Jerusalem above’ for the eventual place of salvation, ‘tent’ and ‘fleshly house’ for the mortal body. ‘Steward’ is employed metaphorically; the metaphor of fragance and light symbolism are used. A certain interpretation of the site mentioned at Mk 15.21 is confirmed also.

The unresolved difficulty of Acts 18.12–17 involves finding an adequate explanation for the (seemingly) unprovoked hostile reaction of the crowd toward Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue in Corinth. This investigation places this incident within the larger social context of urban uprisings and mob violence in the Roman world in order to highlight the socio-economic factors (poverty, overcrowding, etc.) that inevitably gave rise to such frequent outbursts of urban aggression during this period. As such, this study illumines not only Acts 18, but other passages in Acts where mob violence plays a leading role.

Whenever a blast of turbulence falls upon the assembly … we find jibes and brawling and laughter.

Dio Chrysostom

After surveying the debate over the relation of the Gospel of Thomas to the NT gospels, this essay argues that Gos. Thom. merits comparison with second-century Christian literature, in order to discern the similarity or dissimilarity with regard to the use of NT material. The second-century sources considered are found to manifest various types of literary dependence on the canonical gospels. A comparison suggests that Gos. Thom. does show many of the characteristics of this Christian literature known to depend on NT material, and, moreover, that Gos. Thom. appears to draw from all four of the canonical gospels. In fact, the significance of Gos. Thom. may not be as a witness to the historical Jesus, as some have hoped, but as one of the earliest witnesses to a four-gospel collection.

The Bodmer miscellaneous codex contains not only P72 (Jude, 1–2 Peter), but eight other biblical and Christian writings as well. Three independent sections (I–II–III) of the codex have been identified, and a different sequence from the traditional is suggested as original. There are strong connections between sections I and III and they probably followed in sequence. The most significant connection is P72, copied by one single scribe who displays both a liturgical and a theological tendency. This scribe may have been the final collector of the codex, a miscellany of an apologetic character, bearing the marks of incipient orthodoxy.

This article explores dimensions of the pre-Christian religious beliefs of Paul's converts in Galatia to gain a better understanding of the contextual setting of his letter. The research draws on a corpus of inscriptions that have come to be known as the ‘Lydian-Phrygian confessional inscriptions’, as well as inscriptions from the cult of Hosios and Dikaios (‘Holy’ and ‘Just’). The author concludes that the obligation to fulfill cultic requirements and perform good works to maintain a favorable standing with the local deities in their pre-Christian religious experience would have made the Galatian Christians susceptible to the message of Paul's opponents.

In 1997 T. C. Skeat, at 90 years of age, published an important article entitled ‘The Oldest Manuscript of the Four Gospels?’ in New Testament Studies.T. C. Skeat, ‘The Oldest Manuscript of the Four Gospels?’, NTS 43 (1997) 1–34. This article has recently been reprinted in J. K. Elliott (ed.), The Collected Biblical Writings of T. C. Skeat (NovTSup 113; Leiden: Brill, 2004) 158–92. Skeat was born on 15 Feb 1907, so I suppose there is a chance that the first issue of the year may have been published when he was but 89. He died on 25 June 2003. For an obituary by J. K. Elliott (reprinted from The Independent of 8 July 2003), see TC 8 (2003): http://rosetta.reltech.org/TC/vol08/Skeat2003obit.html. In this article Skeat put forward a number of important arguments concerning the papyrus fragments P64 and P67 (which have long been recognised as fragments of Matthew's Gospel from the same original manuscript) and P4 (which comprises material from Luke's Gospel). Skeat argued that all these fragments came from the same original manuscript – a position already advocated by some other scholars; he went further, to argue that this original manuscript was a single-quire codex containing Matthew, John, Luke and Mark (probably in that order, although this is not a central feature of the argument) dating from late in the second century, and thus indeed was ‘The Oldest Manuscript of the Four Gospels’.