Table Of ContentEarly Christian Ethics
in Interaction with Jewish and
Greco-Roman Contexts
Studies in
Theology and Religion
(STAR)
Edited on behalf of the
Netherlands School for Advanced Studies
in Theology and Religion (NOSTER)
EditorinChief
JanWillemvanHenten
AssociateEditors
HermanBeck,MeertenterBorg,
KeesvanderKooi,DanielaMüller
Assistant
WinnifredJelier
EditorialBoard
RuardGanzevoort,MaaikedeHaardt,AbdeJong,
Anne-MarieKorte,ArieMolendijk,PeterNissen,
HermanNoordegraaf,WimWeren
VOLUME17
Thetitlespublishedinthisseriesarelistedatbrill.com/star
Early Christian Ethics
in Interaction with Jewish and
Greco-Roman Contexts
Editedby
JanWillemvanHenten
JosephVerheyden
LEIDEN•BOSTON
2013
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
EarlyChristianethicsininteractionwithJewishandGreco-Romancontexts/editedbyJanWillem
vanHenten,JosephVerheyden.
p.cm.–(Studiesintheologyandreligion(STAR),ISSN1566-208X;v.17)
Includesbibliographicalreferences(p. )andindexes.
ISBN978-90-04-23700-1(hardback):alk.paper)–ISBN978-90-04-24215-9(e-book)
1.Christianethics–History–Earlychurch,ca.30-600.2.Judaism–History–Post-exilicperiod,586
B.C.-210A.D.3.Greece–Religion.4.Rome–Religion.5.Bible.N.T.–Criticism,interpretation,etc.6.
Ethics.I.Henten,J.W.van.II.Verheyden,Jozef.
BJ1212.E272013
241.09'015–dc23
2012037571
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ISSN1566-208X
ISBN978-90-04-23700-1(hardback)
ISBN978-90-04-24215-9(e-book)
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CONTENTS
ListofContributors..................................................... vii
Preface.................................................................. ix
Introduction............................................................ 1
JanWillemvanHentenandJosephVerheyden
EarlyChristianityinItsHellenisticContext:ACriticalSurveyof20th
CenturyResearch................................................... 17
ReinhardFeldmeier
EarlyChristianityinItsJewishContext:ABriefLookat20thCentury
Research............................................................ 31
GerbernS.Oegema
FindingaBasisforInterpretingNewTestamentEthosfroma
Greco-RomanPhilosophicalPerspective........................... 53
AndersKlostergaardPetersen
SomeIssuesbehindtheEthicsintheQumranScrollsandTheir
ImplicationsforNewTestamentEthics ............................ 83
GeorgeJ.Brooke
TheRelevanceofJewishInscriptionsforNewTestamentEthics ....... 107
AndrewChester
TheImportanceofHellenisticJudaismfortheStudyofPaul’sEthics .. 147
ThomasH.Tobin
“Ethical”Traditions,FamilyEthos,andLoveintheJohannine
Literature........................................................... 167
JörgFrey
GoodasaMoralCategoryintheEarlyJesusTradition.................. 205
HermutLöhr
EthicsandAnthropologyintheLetterofJames:AnOutline ........... 223
Karl-WilhelmNiebuhr
EssentialsofEthicsinMatthewandtheDidache:AComparisonata
ConceptualandPracticalLevel..................................... 243
HuubvandeSandt
vi contents
Bibliography ............................................................ 263
IndexofPassages ....................................................... 291
SubjectIndex ........................................................... 303
LISTOFCONTRIBUTORS
GeorgeJ.Brooke,UniversityofManchester
AndrewChester,UniversityofCambridge
ReinhardFeldmeier,UniversityofGöttingen
JörgFrey,UniversityofZurich
JanWillemvanHenten,UniversityofAmsterdam,UniversityofStellenbosch
AndersKlostergaardPetersen,AarhusUniversity
HermutLöhr,UniversityofMünster
Karl-WilhelmNiebuhr,FriedrichSchillerUniversityJena
GerbernS.Oegema,McGillUniversity
HuubvandeSandt,TilburgUniversity
ThomasH.Tobin,LoyolaUniversityChicago
JosephVerheyden,CatholicUniversityofLeuven
PREFACE
The present volume is the outcome of three scholarly meetings focusing
uponEarlyChristianityinitsJewishandHellenisticContexts,whichwere
partofalargeinternationalandinterdisciplinaryresearchprojectonOrtho-
doxyandAdaptationasConflictingReligiousIdentities,conductedbythe
NetherlandsSchoolforAdvancedStudiesinTheologyandReligion(NOS-
TER) and the Theological Faculty of the Catholic University of Leuven.
These meetings were organised by Maarten Menken (School of Catholic
Theology, Tilburg University), Joseph Verheyden (Catholic University of
Leuven),andJanWillemvanHenten(UniversityofAmsterdam,University
ofStellenbosch).Aconferencewasdevotedtothethemeoftheinterconnec-
tionsbetweentheNewTestamentandRabbinicpassages,andtherelevance
of Rabbinic literature for the interpretation of early Christian passages.
Asecondmeetingfocusedonmethodologicalissuesandwhattwentieth-
centuryscholarshiponthecontextsofEarlyChristianityhasyielded.During
a third meeting we concentrated on the issue of early Christian Ethics in
interaction with Jewish and Hellenistic Contexts. The essays in this book
resultfromthesecondandthirdmeeting.Wewarmlythanktheboardsof
theNetherlandsSchoolforAdvancedStudiesinTheologyandReligionand
theCatholicUniversityofLeuvenaswellastheNetherlandsOrganisation
for Scientific Research (NWO) for supporting our meetings, and NOSTER
alsoforacceptingthisvolumeforpublicationinitsSTARseries.Weextend
ourgratitudetoWinnifredJelier,theeditorialassistantfortheSTARseries,
forhermeticulouspreparationofthemanuscript.
JanWillemvanHentenandJosephVerheyden
May2012
