Constructing a New Covenant: Discursive Strategies in the Damascus Document and Second Corinthians
Overview
Thomas R. Blanton IV seeks to reconstruct the social contexts in which two discourses that involve the new covenant were written, and to which they responded. He first examines the Damascus Document from among the Dead Sea Scrolls, arguing that this discourse was crafted in order to delegitimate Hasmonean claims to the high priesthood and Pharisaic claims to authority in legal interpretation.
In response to the claims and practices advocated by these rival groups, the Essene sect crafted a discourse which construed the new covenant as one that supported Essene claims that they were the legitimate bearers of high priestly authority and the divinely authorized interpreters of the Torah.
In the second half of the book, Blanton argues that Paul crafted his discourse on the new covenant in opposition to an ideology that was espoused by a rival group of missionaries, according to which, under the conditions of the new covenant, the spirit of God was thought to empower individuals to follow the Torah with perfect obedience. Paul crafted his own discourse in opposition to this view, positing that law and spirit were antithetical terms. By arguing in this way, he attempted to bolster the credibility of his own law-free message.
Key Features
- Presents new methodologies for interpreting the New Testament
- Explores different forms of Greek for a fuller understanding of New Testament interpretation
- Studies extrabiblical literature to bring context to biblical literature
Contents
- Introduction
- The Covenant According to the Damascus Document
- The New Covenant in the Damascus Document
- Rival Missionaries in Corinth
- The New Covenant According to Paul
- Conclusions
- Title: Constructing a New Covenant: Discursive Strategies in the Damascus Document and Second Corinthians
- Author: Thomas R. Blanton IV
- Series: Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament
- Volume: 233
- Publisher: Mohr Siebeck
- Print Publication Date: 2007
- Logos Release Date: 2018
- Pages: 272
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subjects: Damascus document; Bible. N.T. 2 Corinthians › Criticism, interpretation, etc; Dead Sea Scrolls; Covenant theology; Judaism › History--Post-exilic period, 586 B.C.-210 A.D
- ISBNs: 9783161515767, 9783161492075, 03409570, 3161515765, 3161492072
- Resource ID: LLS:CNSTRCTNGNWCVNN
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2023-04-18T01:25:01Z