Jerome Murphy-O'Connor

John the Baptist and Jesus: History and Hypotheses

The most recent addition to the library of books on John the Baptist is that of Josef Ernst, Johannes der Taufer, Interpretation-Geschichte-Wirkungsgeschichte. Like many of its predecessors, it is wide-ranging in scope, extensive in documentation, thorough in analysis, and clear inits conclusions. But also like them it has its blind spots. There are questions thatarenot asked, and answers that are given too glibly. In both cases we are deprived of valuable information.

The Corinth that Saint Paul Saw

Corinth in the first century A.D. was a wide-open boomtown at the crossroads of the ancient world. Based on historical texts and extensive excavations conducted at the site, this article recreates the city that was so important to the Pauline mission.

Paul and Macedonia: the Connection Between 2 Corinthians 2.13 and 2.14

The major objection to the hypothesis that 2 Cor. 2.14 is the beginning of a new letter, one of several said to have been combined to create 2 Corinthians,l is the fact that such a letter has no clearly defined ending. The customary claim that it terminates at 7.4 is not justified by any noticeable lack of continuity at that point. The argument is rather that, since 7.5 appears to be the logical continuation of 2.13, there must be a break between 7.4 and 7.5. Just to state the argument in this way explains why it fails to convince; the reasoning is entirely subjective. The close connection between 7.4 and what follows has been most ably demonstrated by M. Thrall.2 Paradoxically, it has also been underlined by some of those who see 2.14-7.4 as a separate letter, at least insofar as they maintain that 7.4 was composed by a redactor in order to achieve a smooth transition from one letter to another.3

A First-Century Jewish Mission to Gentiles?

When critically interpreted, the contemporary evidence does not support the common opinion that first-century Jews were aggressive missionaries and that the Roman empire gave an enthusiastic reception to Jewish values and institutions. As data accumulates, the mysterious God-fearers become even more enigmatic. Thus a revisionist view of Pauls relationship to the Law cannot claim support from the hypothesis that he was once a Jewish missionary.

Christ and Ministry

Circumstances at Corinth forced Paul to develop a profoundly christological vision of ministry on both communal and individual levels. The need to differentiate the church from the world, and to overcome divisions within the community led to the insight that believers formed an organic unity, a body, which he then saw as the active presence of Christ in the world. This understanding deepened when accusations of “weakness” brought him to the realisation that the comportment of an authentic minister manifests “the life of Jesus”.

The Essenes in Palestine

A fresh look at the covenant people of the Dead Sea Scrolls, their origin, their history, and their literature.

The Original Text of CD 7:9–8:2 = 19:5–14

Ideally, textual criticism should precede literary criticism, because the objectivity of the latter is compromised if variants are selected on the basis of their contribution to the literary analysis. In some instances, however, a rigid separation of the two disciplines defeats its own purpose. The Damascus Document (CD ) provides a case in point. To date the application of purely textual criticism to 7:9–8:2 = 19:5–14 has yielded no satisfactory and generally accepted solution. In this study I hope to show that the recognition of one paragraph as a secondary insertion simplifies the textual problem to the point where it can be resolved by a simple and plausible hypothesis. The distinction of different levels in a text is one of the many analogies between literary criticism and archaeology, and to this extent makes this contribution an appropriate one in a volume designed to honour the memory of Paul Lapp.