Contours in the Text: Textual Variation in the Writings of Paul, Josephus and the Yahad (The Library of New Testament Studies) - Hardcover

Norton, Jonathan D.H.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0567229394 ISBN 13: 9780567229397

Publisher: T&T Clark, 2011

Synopsis

This is an examination of Paul's possible awareness of the plurality of Ancient Jewish Scripture. Norton-Piliavsky places Paul's work within the context of ancient Jewish literary practice, bridging the gap between textual criticism and social history in contemporary discussions. The author argues that studies of ancient Jewish exegesis draw on two distinct analytical modes: the text-critical and the socio-historical. He then shows that the two are usually joined together in discussions of ancient Jewish literature arguing that as a result of this commentators often allow the text-critical approach to guide their efforts to understand historical questions. Norton argues that text-critical and historical data must be combined, but not conflated and in this volume sets out a new approach, showing that exegesis was part of an ongoing discussion, which included mutually supporting written and oral practices. Norton shows that Josephus' and Dead Sea sectarians' use of textual variation, like Paul's, belongs to this discussion demonstrating that neither Paul nor his contemporaries viewed Jewish scripture as a fixed literary monolith. Rather, they took part in a dynamic exegetical dialogue, constituted by oral as much as textual modes.

About this title

About the Authors

Jonathan Norton specialises in Second Temple Jewish history, in particular Paul's letters and the Dead Sea Scrolls. Holding a doctorate from Oxford, he lectures at the University of London. He publishes primarily on New Testament, Qumran and the Judaean manuscripts.

Chris Keith is Research Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion and Society, Norway. He is the author of The Pericope Adulterae, the Gospel of John and the Literacy of Jesus, a winner of the 2010 John Templeton Award for Theological Promise, and Jesus' Literacy: Scribal Culture and the Teacher from Galilee. He is also the co-editor of Jesus among Friends and Enemies: A Historical and Literary Introduction to Jesus in the Gospels, and was recently named a 2012 Society of Biblical Literature Regional Scholar.

Edition details

• Publisher: T&T Clark
• Publication date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0567229394
• ISBN 13: 9780567229397
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 224