Few New Testament texts have had their meaning debated so vigorously as those in which Jesus discusses divorce: Matthew 5:32, Matthew 19:6, 9; Mark 10:9-12; Luke 16:18; and 1 Cor 7:11. From the early Church, through there formation, and into the present day, they have continued to rouse debate within the Churches and among believers.
This work focuses on one aspect of that debate; namely, what Jesus has to say regarding divorce when his sayings are interpreted in their literary and historical context. To aid in this contextual understanding, the sayings are studied in the order in which they were written down in ancient times. Not every aspect of the debate therefore is addressed - nor could it be on an issue of such personal and pastoral complexity. Yet it is the challenge of biblical scholars to study the Word of God - in all its complexity - and to try to make that Word understandable. This work is offered to scholars and believers alike in the hope of adding to that understanding.
Reihe
Sprache
Verlagsort
Zielgruppe
Für höhere Schule und Studium
Für Beruf und Forschung
Produkt-Hinweis
Maße
Höhe: 216 mm
Breite: 140 mm
Dicke: 24 mm
Gewicht
ISBN-13
978-0-8146-5691-4 (9780814656914)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Klassifikation
Raymond F. Collins is a Roman Catholic priest and a New Testament scholar. Most of his academic career was spent at the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium, the world's oldest Catholic university, and at The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, where he taught and served as the dean of the School of Religious Studies. Among his twenty books are major commentaries on Paul's First and Second Letters to the Corinthians and the Pastoral Epistles, 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus.
Contents
Abbreviations ix
Introduction 1
1. A Problem at Corinth 9
A Wife's Separation from Her Husband 13
A Divorce? 15
A Real or Hypothetical Situation? 22
A Fait Accompli? 25
The Situation 27
"Not I, but the Lord" 29
The Saying 32
And What If? 35
What About Husbands? 37
2. A Related Matter 40
Mixed Marriages 40
"I Say, Not the Lord" 42
Marriage with Unbelievers 44
A Christian's Response 46
A Reasoned Plea 47
A Rejected Spouse 58
A Final Reason 60
A Brief Aside 62
Free to Marry? 62
3. The Debate 65
The Text 67
The Form of the Narrative 70
Mark the Evangelist 71
The Literary Genre 77
The Context of the Debate 85
Mark's Line of Thought 91
A Few Remarks 93
A Reflection 102
4. The Debate Reconsidered 104
Matthew's Text 106
Matthew's Line of Thought 108
Instruction of the Disciples 118
A Synoptic Reading of the Text 132
Confrontation with the Pharisees 141
The Jesuanic Logion 143
5. An Old Saying 146
Matthew's Text 147
The Context 149
Matthew's Line of Thought 158
A Synoptic Reading of Matt 5:31-32 169
Another Synoptic Reading of Matt 5:31-32 172
Luke's Version of Jesus' Teaching 175
The Q-Saying 181
6. An Exception 184
An Exceptional Exception 184
A Matter of Semantics 186
The Historical Context 189
Various Opinions 199
A Reflection 205
A Discussion 207
7. The Development of a Tradition 214
Jesus' Saying 215
A Prophetic Saying 218
The Church's Role 222
Endnotes 233
Select Bibliography 329
Index of Scripture References 369
Index of Names 381
