Sharing in the inheritance : identity and the moral life in Colossians

305 Pages·2003·15.41 MB·English

by  ">Paulus

JOURNAL FOR THE STUDY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
SUPPLEMENT SERIES
226
Executive Editor
Stanley E. Porter
Editorial Board
Craig Blomberg, Elizabeth A. Castelli, David Catchpole,
R. Alan Culpepper, James D.G. Dunn, Craig A. Evans,
Stephen Fowl, Robert Fowler, George H. Guthrie,
Robert Jewett, Robert W. Wall
Sheffield Academic Press
A Continuum imprint
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Sharing in the
Inheritance
Identity and the Moral Life in
Colossians
Allan R. Severe
Journal for the Study of the New Testament
Supplement Series 226
Copyright © 2003 Sheffield Academic Press
A Continuum imprint
Published by Sheffield Academic Press Ltd
The Tower Building, 11 York Road, London SE1 7NX
370 Lexington Avenue, New York NY 10017-6550
www.continuumbooks.com
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Typeset by Sheffield Academic Press
Printed on acid-free paper in Great Britain by MPG Books Ltd, Bodmin, Cornwall
ISBN 0-8264-6207-3
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments vi
Abbreviations viii
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION 1
Chapter 2
THE BADGES OF IDENTITY:
PARALLELS BETWEEN GALATIANS AND COLOSSIANS 53
Chapter 3
THE ISRAEL MOTIF 122
Chapter 4
THE BACKGROUND OF COLOSSIANS 3.1-4 AND ITS
INTEGRATION 148
Chapter 5
VICES AND VIRTUES: 3.5-17 182
Chapter 6
THE COLOSSIAN HAUSTAFEL. 3.18-4.1 225
Chapter 7
CONCLUSION 255
Bibliography 259
Index of References 274
Index of Authors 291
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This work is a revised version of my doctoral thesis completed at
Durham University, United Kingdom, in December of 1998. I extend
my heartfelt thanks and admiration to my advisor, Dr James D.G.
Dunn. What a wonderful pleasure it was to learn from him during my
time in Durham. His scholarship, advice, and friendship are appre-
ciated beyond words. I also wish to thank my examiners, Dr Loren T.
Stuckenbruck (also of Durham University) and Dr John M.G. Bar-
clay (University of Glasgow) for their rigorous critique of my thesis.
They have made this a stronger work. I alone am responsible for what
remains insufficient.
I am also grateful to the people at Sheffield Academic Press. Pro-
fessor Stanley Porter was extremely helpful throughout the con-
sideration process, Ms Heidi Robbins, editorial assistant, provided
invaluable assistance in revision and style, and Ms Audrey Mann,
production editor, was of great help as the production process was
being completed. I also wish to thank Dr Duncan Burns who proofed
the manuscript.
I cannot fail to express my deepest thanks to the people of Mentor
United Methodist Church, in Mentor, Ohio, where I served as the
Associate Pastor throughout the time of my doctoral work. Without
their care and support my studies would have been quite impossible.
Words cannot adequately express my appreciation. I am also grateful
to the Reverand Don Adams, now retired, who served as the Senior
Pastor at Mentor UMC from 1981-91. My first two years as the
Associate were his last two as the Senior Pastor. Don was instrumental
in helping me begin my work. Reverand Dr Richard Lehto (retired as
well) succeeded Don as the Senior Pastor and gave his unwavering
support while I was in the process of writing and saw my work almost
to completion. I express my heartfelt thanks to these two men.
I am grateful to the people of Smithville United Methodist Church,
in Smithville, Ohio, whom I currently have the great pleasure of ser-
Acknowledgments vii
ving as pastor. They are a wonderful group of saints who encourage
and support me as I attempt to balance parish ministry with academia.
In addition, I owe my thanks to the administration and faculty of
Ashland Theological Seminary in Ashland, Ohio, where I teach as an
adjunct professor. Their prayers and encouragement have been
unqualified.
Finally, I must say a word about my family. I am very much aware
of the fact that life is filled with many good gifts. My life is enriched
beyond measure by the gift of my wife, Carol. Throughout these past
years she has graciously allowed me to spend more evenings with St
Paul than with her. Carol's love and care have been steadfast, and I
can only hope that I am the gift to her that she is to me. I am also
blessed with four wonderful children: Alyssa, Courtney, Joshua and
Jason. They give me no end of pride and joy, and I cannot imagine my
life without them. I pray that in the midst of all the days, evenings and
weekends I have been away from them, they will understand that there
is a larger purpose to which we are all called.
The words of this ackowledgment would be incomplete without
mention of one more individual. My grandfather was a man of pro-
found Christian character and integrity. In the words of Colossians,
he was a person 'firmly rooted and established in the faith'. Upon his
death in January of 2000,1 lost someone who was, and remains, one of
the most influential persons in my life. My great regret is that he is not
alive to see the publication of this book. So, it is with a deep sense of
gratitude for his life and witness that I dedicate this work to my
grandfather, Robert J. Mastrobuono, Sr.
A.R.B.
Feast of St. Matthew, 2001
ABBREVIATIONS
AB
Anchor Bible
AJP
American Journal of Philology
ALGHJ Arbeiten zur Literatur und Geschihte des hellenistischen
Judentums
AnBib Analecta Biblica
ANRW Hildegard Temporini and Wolfgang Haase (eds.), Aufstieg
und Niedergang der romischen Welt: Geschichte und Kultur
Roms im Spiegel des neueren Forschung (Berlin: W. de
Gruyter, 1972-)
ASNU Acta seminarii neotestamentici upsaliensis
ATJ Ashland Theological Journal
BAGD W. Bauer, William F. Arndt, F. William Gingrich and
Frederick W. Danker, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New
Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago:
University of Chicago Press, 2nd edn, 1958)
BBB Bonner biblische Beitrage
BBR Bulletin of Biblical Research
BDB Francis Brown, S.R. Driver and Charles A. Briggs, A
Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (Oxford:
Clarendon Press, 1907)
BDF F. Blass, A. Debrunner and R. Funk, A Greek Grammar of
the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2nd edn 1961)
BHT Beitrage zur historischen Theologie
Bib Biblica
Biblnt Biblical Interpretation
BJRL Bulletin of the John Rylands University Library of Manchester
BNTC Black's New Testament Commentary
BSac Bibliotheca Sacra
BZNW Beihefte zur ZNW
CBQ Catholic Biblical Quarterly
CGTC Cambridge Greek Testament Commentary
CNT Commentaire du Nouveau Testament
DPL G. Hawthorne, Ralph P. Martin and David G. Reid (eds.)
Dictionary of Paul and His Letters (Downers Grove, IL:
Inter Varsity Press, 1993).
Abbreviations IX
EBib Etudes bibliques
EGGNT Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament
EKKNT Evangelisch-katholischer Kommentar zum Neuen
Testament
EvQ Evangelical Quarterly
EvT Evangelische Theologie
ExpTim Expository Times
FRLANT Forschungen zur Religion und Literatur des Alten und
Neuen Testaments
FV Foi et Vie
HNT Handbuch zum Neuen Testament
HR Harvard Review
HTKNT Herders theologischer Kommentar zum Neuen Testament
HTR Harvard Theological Review
HUT Hermeneutische Untersuchungen zur Theology
ICC International Critical Commentary
IDE George Arthur Buttrick (ed.), The Interpreter's Dictionary
of the Bible (4 vols.; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, rev. edn,
1979-88)
IDBSup IDS, Supplementary Volume
Int Interpretation
JBL Journal of Biblical Literature
JETS Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
JQR Jewish Quarterly Review
JSNT Journal for the Study of the New Testament
JSNTSup Journal for the Study of the New Testament, Supplements
Series
JSOTMan Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, Manuals
JTS Journal of Theological Studies
KI Kirche und Israel
LEC Library of Early Christianity
LTK Lexikon fur Theologie und Kirche
Mod Th Modern Theology
NCB New Century Bible
Neot Neotestamentica
NICNT New International Commentary on the New Testament
NIDNTT Colin Brown (ed.), The New International Dictionary of New
Testament Theology (3 vols.; Exeter: Paternoster Press,
1975)
NIGTC New International Greek Testament Commentary
NovT Novum Testamentum
NTAbh Neutestamentliche Abhandlungen
NTG New Testament Guides
NTS New Testament Studies
NTT New Testament Theology