Semeia 52: How Gospels Began

by Dennis E. Smith

Publisher:

Society of Biblical Literature (SBL)

, 1991

Overview

Semeia is an experimental journal devoted to the exploration of new and emergent areas and methods of biblical criticism. Studies employing the methods, models, and findings of linguistics, folklore studies, contemporary literary criticism, structuralism, social anthropology, and other such disciplines and approaches, are invited. Although experimental in both form and content, Semeia proposes to publish work that reflects a well defined methodology that is appropriate to the material being interpreted.

Key Features

• Key perspectives on biblical criticism
• Includes bibliographies and index

Contents

Top Highlights

“ discovering the communications strategy already present, but beneath the surface of the text itself.” (Page 44)

“The view has become common that Mark divided his composition into two approximately equal halves.” (Page 45)

“that binds together the gospel about Jesus and the gospel Jesus preached, without confusing or identifying them.” (Page 52)

“John came, who baptized in the wilderness and preached” (Page 48)

“In all four of these, εὐαγγέλιον is certainly an objective genitive referring to the post-Easter church’s message about Jesus, not to the message preached by the pre-Easter Jesus. Thus in 1:1, εὐαγγέλιον refers to the contents and subject matter of Mark’s narrative as a whole, the story of Jesus, the saving act of God in his Son Jesus the Christ, his words, deeds, death, and resurrection, as these are expressed in the following document and as they continue to be preached in Mark’s own time.” (Page 51)

Contributors

• M. Eugene Boring
• Werner H. Kelber
• John S. Kloppenborg
• Elizabeth Struthers Malbon
• Marvin W. Meyer
• Mikeal C. Parsons
• Bernard Brandon Scott
• Dennis E. Smith
• Robert C. Tannehill
• Joseph B. Tyson

Product Details

• Title: Semeia 52: How Gospels Began
• Editor: Dennis E. Smith
• Publisher: Society of Biblical Literature
• Publication Date: 1991
• Pages: 192

About Dennis E. Smith

Dr. Smith specializes in the study of the social world of early Christianity and is a recognized authority on ancient Greco-Roman meal customs. A longtime student of Greek and Roman archeology, he recently participated in a research seminar on the archeological context for Christian origins held at the ancient site of Ephesus in Selcuk, Turkey. In his teaching he emphasizes interpreting the New Testament in its ancient context and creatively and effectively applying that interpretation to the needs of the church in the twenty-first century. His recent course offerings include New Testament Greek, Introduction to the New Testament, the Gospel of Luke, the Acts of the Apostles, the Gospel of John, 1 Corinthians, Galatians, the Social World of Early Christianity, Storytelling and the Bible, and a DMin seminar on Hospitality as a Biblical Paradigm for Ministry. Major publications include: The Chalice Introduction to the New Testament (St. Louis: Chalice Press, 2004); From Symposium to Eucharist: The Banquet in the Early Christian World (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2003); Many Tables: The Eucharist in the New Testament and Liturgy Today (London: SCM, 1990); five edited volumes of The Storyteller’s Companion to the Bible (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1996-2006), including The Storyteller’s Companion to the Bible, Volume Ten: John, which he authored (1996); and numerous articles and book reviews in scholarly journals. Dr. Smith is a member of the Society of Biblical Literature, for which he co-chairs the Seminar on Meals in the Greco-Roman World; a member of the Westar Institute, for which he chairs the Acts Seminar and serves on the steering committee for the Jesus Seminar on Christian Origins; and a member of the Association of Disciples for Theological Discussion, for which he recently served as president. An ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), he joined the PTS faculty in 1986.