ANZABS Conference 2010
AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND ASSOCIATION
FOR BIBLICAL STUDIES
THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING, 6-7 DECEMBER 2010
GOOD SHEPHERD COLLEGE, 20 PONSONBY ROAD, AUCKLAND
Thirty-five to forty people gathered for the annual ANZABS Conference (there was some coming and going over the two days). As can be seen from the schedule and abstracts below, participants enjoyed a varied and rich selection of papers. They were well hosted by Good Shepherd College. Morning and afternoon tea breaks, lunch times and a convivial meal at a nearby Thai restaurant on the Monday evening, provided plenty of opportunities for socialising, conversation and "networking".
Conference Schedule
Monday December 6
9-9.30 : Coffee and Registration Welcome and Notices, Kevin Waldie
9.30-10.30: Paul Trebilco, “The Distribution of Self-Designations in Acts”
10.30-11: Carlos Olivares, “A Narrative and Textual Critical Analysis of Matt 27:16-17: Jesus Barabbas or Barabbas?”
11-11.30: MORNING TEA
11.30-12: Keith Stuart, “1 Kings 4:19 - 8:22 Text as Artefact - an Archivist's Perspective”
12-12.40: Jacqui Lloyd, “The Contribution of the Women in Luke 8.3”
12.40-1.40: LUNCH
1.40-2.40: Chris Marshall, “Why Didn't They Stop? The Priest, the Levite and the Bystander Effect”
2.40-3.20: Don Moffat, “The Identity of the Exiles in Ezekiel and Ezra”
3.20-3.50: AFTERNOON TEA
3.50-4.20: James Harding, “Theological Hermeneutics/Engendering False Prophecy: A response to Walter Moberly's reading of false prophecy in Jeremiah”
4.20-4.50: Debra Anstis, “Judas Iscariot as Necessary: A Typological Approach to Yom Kippur”
4.50-5.15: ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
5.20-6ish: Reception hosted by Good Shepherd College
Evening: CONFERENCE DINNER AT A LOCAL RESTAURANT
Tuesday December 7
9-10: Bob Robinson, “Christ the Exegete: a Theological Reading of Luke 4:16-30 in a Contemporary Context of Religious Plurality”
10-10.30: Sean du Toit, “Conversion in 1 Thessalonians”
10.30-11: MORNING TEA
11-11.40: Yael Klangwisan, “The Enigma of Life and Death in the Song of Songs”
11.40-12.10: Geoff Aimers, “Redeeming the Joban Satan”
12.10-12.50: Robert Myles, “The Flight to Egypt and Jesus’ Dislocation”
12.50-1.50: LUNCH
1.50-2.30: Mark Keown, “Paul and Rome”
2.30-3.10: Tim Harris, “Paul's Former Self as a Dialogue Partner in his Letter to the Romans.
3.10-3.30: AFTERNOON TEA
3.30-4: Sarah Hart, “Recent Research on the Tent of Meeting”
CONFERENCE ABSTRACTS
(Listed alphabetically by presenter’s surname)
Redeeming the Joban Satan
Geoff Aimers (Dunedin)
The Satan is a minor character in the Prologue of the book of Job. After a brief cameo he disappears from the scene. Recently the ‘hermeneutics of recuperation’ has been applied to the many minor characters in HB. This paper seeks to recuperate the Satan figure by asking what he would have to say if he had the chance to reprise his role. We will look at the Satan’s character, then ask what he is really seeking to test in the wager. This sees both Job and the Friends being tested for the self-conceit that whitewashes social injustice. They are judged after failing the test. Thus the Satan has been vindicated.
Judas Iscariot as Necessary: A Typological Approach to Yom Kippur
Debra Anstis (University of Auckland)
Conventional readings of Judas as 'betrayer' and failed disciple of Jesus are intended, and traditional as per the canonical Gospel texts. By bringing a typological and intertextual approach to the Yom Kippur rite of Leviticus 16 within a Girardian theory of mimetic desire, this paper surveys the Gospels through a narrative critical view and argues that Judas Iscariot is a necessary figure within the passion narrative. I propose that the role of the scapegoat was divinely employed for atonement in the passion narrative, as it was in the Yom Kippur rite. The figure of the typological scapegoat has often been ascribed to Jesus, but I will shift this metaphor, and ascribe the scapegoat type to Judas, revealing his theological function within the necessary pair. This will be carried out in light of the atonement ritual involving two apportioned goats. I contend that Judas is a crucial player in the passion of Jesus' sacrificial death, and both their roles had been illustrated in the Yom Kippur rite.
Theological Hermeneutics/Engendering False Prophecy: A Response to Walter Moberly's Reading of False Prophecy in Jeremiah
James Harding (University of Otago)
In his 2006 book Prophecy and Discernment, Walter Moberly discusses several passages in the book of Jeremiah concerned with discerning true prophecies. Moberly focuses particularly on Jer 23:9-22 and 28:1-17, though he does not regard the latter as concerned with discernment per se, and, working primarily with the final form of the MT of Jeremiah, seeks to set Jeremiah's engagement with the discernment of prophecy in the context of the book's moral theology as a whole. While this is a refreshing alternative to an approach that reduces the question of discernment to a simple matter of truth versus falsehood without considering broader moral and theological concerns, Moberly's reading of Jeremiah is nevertheless seriously deficient. He fails adequately to address the epistemological problem raised by competing prophetic claims in the name of one god, and fails also to deal with the relationship between prophetic discernment and the confessions of Jeremiah on the one hand (esp. Jer 20), and Jeremiah's conflict in Egypt with worshippers of the Queen of Heaven on the other (esp. Jer 44). More seriously, he fails adequately to address the nexus between prophecy and theodicy, and thus avoids almost entirely the ethical problems raised by works such as Lamentations and Psalm 44.
Paul's Former Self as a Dialogue Partner in his Letter to the Romans
Tim Harris (Bishopdale Theological College)
It is widely recognised that within the rhetorical modes employed by Paul in composing his letter to the Romans he engages with a number of dialogue partners. In some instances these reflect a more Socratic style of question and response, while in others the critique is more pointed and cutting. This paper proposes that lying behind Paul's critique in Romans 2:17-29 is his awareness that such views identify his own previous outlook, and goes on to inform later personal reflections ('I' statements). In this context, some brief comment will be offered on key contentions in Douglas A Campbell's 'The Deliverance of God: An Apocalyptic Rereading of Justification in Paul'.
Recent Research on the Tent of Meeting
Sarah Hart (Melbourne College of Divinity)
Diachronic methods have dominated Pentateuch research for much of the last 200 years. For example, the text on the tent of meeting [Ex 25- Lev- Num 10] is viewed as the work of Priestly writers, belonging to the Priestly source, and an amalgamation of tent and ark traditions. Change is in the air with an increasing interest in the texts of the Pentateuch as literature and fiction. This paper reviews and discusses recent research on the ‘tent of meeting.’
Paul and Rome
Mark Keown (Laidlaw College)
The paper will present an historical construct around Paul and his relationship with the Roman Church. Paul did not plant the Roman church. It most likely grew out of Pentecost with a strongly Jewish pre-Jerusalem Council feel. In AD 49 two edicts were made which I will argue greatly affected the Roman church. First, the Claudian edict which saw the Jews expelled from Rome leaving the church in the hands of Gentiles (cf. Acts 18:2). Secondly, the Jerusalem edict which agreed that being a Christian did not require a person to become a Jew, come under Torah (Acts 15). I will argue that the first edict led to the Gentilization of the Roman Church with Gentile leadership. I suggest that Paul on his second missionary journey went west as far as Illyricum and sent delegates to Rome to assist the struggling church and to deliver the edict. I suggest that this had the effect of accelerating Gentile mission as it was no longer required that Gentiles become Jews. At the return of the Jews from exile after AD 54, contention developed between those with a Jewish mindset and the many Gentiles. Part of this was an anti-Paulinism as Paul was seen as central to the problem. I suggest Romans 16 gives evidence of many friends of Paul in Rome. I will argue Romans was written into this situation and part of its rhetoric is to bring unity among the divided Romans. I will then argue that the letter itself did not resolve the problem and so when Paul arrived in Rome in AD 60, his presence excited further contention and anti-
Paulinism (Phil 1:12-18 cf. Paul and Congregational Evangelism, Ch 1).
The Enigma of Life and Death in the Song of Songs
Yael Klangwisan (Laidlaw-Carey Graduate School)
This paper explores the enigmatic expression of life and death in the Song of Songs. The Song provides a provocative association of fear of death with authority/law and love of life that transcends authority. Also significant is the paradox by which the actions that lead to the heroine’s fullness of life, involve the risk of death. The paper explores this ‘life-writing’ of the Song alongside writings on life, love and death by Helene Cixous and Emmanuel Levinas.
The Contribution of the Women in Luke 8.3
Jacqueline Lloyd (Laidlaw College)
When interpreting aitines diēkonoun autois ek tōn huparchontōn autais scholars tend to fall into two camps: those who argue that the women performed certain tasks which were familiar to them or even part of their traditional roles and used their resources to do so; and those who argue that the women financially supported Jesus and the twelve. With regard to the former, there is usually little investigation into the kinds of tasks first-century Galilean women performed, which of these could be described using the diakoneō word group, and which could realistically be performed in the context of itinerant ministry. With regard to the latter, there is often insufficient demonstration that ek tōn huparchontōn autais can qualify the meaning of diēkonoun and thus provide an alternative picture of the women’s contribution from that given in Mark 15.41. This paper will address these concerns in order to determine the contribution of the women in Luke 8.3.
Why Didn't They Stop? The Priest, the Levite and the Bystander Effect
Chris Marshall (Victoria University)
The parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) has been one of the most formative stories in the Western cultural tradition. Its influence far exceeds the realms of strictly theological or exegetical discourse. The parable is often used as the starting point in moral philosophy and social psychology for discussions about altruism and the nature of social responsibility, while in legal theory it continues to inform debates about the relationship between morality and law and the scope of personal liability. Drawing on this wider research, along with knowledge of Jewish law, this paper probes the question: just why did the priest and the Levite fail to rescue the man in the ditch?
The Identity of the Exiles in Ezekiel and Ezra
Don Moffat (Hamilton)
Identity formation is a complex process that any individual or group undertakes to understand themselves in relation to others. Group identity is formed from many factors both internal and external. It is a pattern of ideas about belonging and not belonging that results from multiple forces and is conditioned by interaction in varied situations. According to D. Rom-Shiloni, Ezekiel constructs an identity for the Judean exiles in Babylonia in which they, rather than those who remained in Judah, are the true people of God. Ezekiel’s identity elements reinforce a divide between the exiles and the people who remained in Judah. When the exiles returned to Judah a new identity formation process was initiated. The set of identity elements in Ezra has both continuities and discontinuities with Ezekiel. The exiles are still the true Israel and the locals practice abominations but the barrier between them is not impermeable. This paper will compare and contrast the notions about the identity of each exilic community and explore the ideological and practical elements that influenced the process.
The Flight to Egypt and Jesus’ Dislocation
Robert J. Myles (University of Auckland)
This paper explores the flight to Egypt in Matthew’s infancy narrative (2:13-23) from the perspective of homelessness and displacement. While conventional interpretations tend to focus on the intertextual allusions to Moses or to Christian apologetic notions of scriptural fulfilment, this reading draws out the implications of the social and geographical uprooting that is experienced by Jesus and his immediate family. It observes how this episode of forced displacement might contribute to the formation of a marginal self-identity, one that later comes into conflict with the normalized social and political institutions of society.
A Narrative and Textual Critical Analysis of Matt 27:16-17: Jesus Barabbas or Barabbas?
Carlos Olivares (University of Auckland)
Although some Bible English versions have opted to add the name Jesus to Barabbas in Matt 27:16-17 (e.g., NRSV, TEV, CEV), there is no total agreement about this textual inclusion (e.g., NJB, NASB, TNIV, ASV). On the one hand, the problem is the lack of biblical manuscripts dated before the fourth century including the variant Jesus. On the other hand, whereas about the third century Origen, though negatively, made mention of it, its inclusion still remains a possibility. In view of this, the present paper examines the presence of the variant “Jesus” from a rational eclectic textual critical approach, which implies that it gives equal attention to both external and internal evidence of the problem. Therefore, methodologically after examining the external testimony of the variant I engage in an internal analysis of it, paying special consideration to the Gospel of Matthew as a story, for the purpose to determine whether it is appropriate to include the name “Jesus Barabbas” in the text from a narrative perspective.
Christ the Exegete: A Theological Reading of Luke 4:16-30 in a Contemporary Context of Religious Plurality
Bob Robinson (Laidlaw-Carey Graduate School)
After a summary of what theological exegesis of the Bible read as Scripture purports to do, the paper turns to the assertion that such exegesis offers the possibility of “fresh readings” and “fresh meaning”—a claim that is illustrated from the passage in terms of implications for christology, and implications for our own setting of religious plurality given the passage’s portrayal of examples of faith and humility in ‘outsiders,’ eschatological reversal, and the sounding of a note of universality across two Testaments as Christ the exegete moves certain issues from “the margins of Scripture … to center stage.” The paper concludes with some reflections on theology, canon, and exegetical method.
1 Kings 4:19 - 8:22 Text as Artefact - an Archivist's Perspective
Keith Stuart (Taupo District Council)
This paper will explore a biblical text from the perspective of an author trained in both biblical research and archive management. Using the example of a leaf from a 13th Century Paris manuscript Bible aquired by the author, the paper will give an account of the appraisal, description, access and preservation of the leaf and in the process show that the archivist is dependant on biblical research in appraisal of the document while the biblical researcher depends on the archivist for description, access and preservation of the document.
Conversion in 1 Thessalonians
Sean du Toit (Laidlaw-Carey Graduate School)
Building on the work of Wayne Meeks and others, I propose that Paul advocates three elements of conversion in 1 Thessalonians. The first is the changing of allegiance to Jesus and the Father (a Binitarian devotion) inspired and directed by the Spirit. The second element is the embracing of a Christological ethic which now guides and shapes their individual and communal lives. Lastly, they are incorporated into the family of Christians, the people of God. This has good support from Shaye D. Cohen, “Crossing the Boundary and Becoming a Jew” Harvard Theological Review, 82:1 (1989), 13-33, who argues that Jewish understandings of conversion entailed a change in allegiance from idols to God, the embracing of the Torah as the determinative ethic in one's life and the adoption of the person into the community of Israel. This paper suggests that Paul has Christologically refocused these fundamental Jewish elements.
The distribution of self-designations in Acts
Paul Trebilco (University of Otago)
In Acts, Luke uses a whole range of “self-designations” or labels for “Christians”. While these have been discussed a number of times, the distribution of particular self-designations has not been discussed in the detail it deserves. For example, Luke does not call Gentile Christians “brothers and sisters” (adelfoi) until Acts 15:1 and 15:23, despite a number of opportunities to do so since 11:27. As Luke presents the story, this should be connected to the Apostolic Council of Acts 15 and is one of Luke’s ways of emphasising the significance of that Council. Now that the Jerusalem Council has affirmed the legitimacy of the salvation of Gentile Christians without them being circumcised, Luke can use adelfoi of both Jewish and Gentile Christians. Further insights are also to be gained from observing how Luke uses other self-designations throughout Acts.
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