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Revelation and mystery in Ancient Judaism and Pauline Christianity

This dissertation conducts a theological study of Ancient Jewish and Pauline views of revelation and of revealed mysteries. Part one offers first a general introduction consisting of a summary of Old Testament antecedents to the post-biblical topic under discussion, and some observations about the nature and delineation of the 'Judaism' under examination. The following seven Chapters then address the understanding of revelation in general, and of revealed mysteries in particular, in various bodies of Jewish writings: apocalyptic literature, the Dead Sea Scrolls, wisdom literature, Philo, Josephus, the Targums and Greek versions, and early Rabbinic literature. Part One concludes with a brief synthetic statement outlining commonalities and distinctions in the different writings surveyed, highlighting the derivative nature of revelation (and the corresponding role of Biblical interpretation), and pointing out the significance of soteriological mysteries for questions of theodicy. After a short introduction, Part Two traces our theme in the letters of Paul. Chapter 8 offers a thematic treatment of Paul's fundamental view of revelation according to its past, present, and future dimensions, together with a brief assessment of the remaining revelatory value of the Old Testament. This is followed by an analysis of some specific passages dealing with the theme of a revelation of mysteries in the Roman and Corinthian correspondence (Chapter 9) and in Colossians (Chapter 10). The Conclusion begins with a short evaluation of previous research into relevant notions of revelation and of mystery. This is followed by a summary of the overall argument. The final observations evaluate the significance of the results for Jewish and Pauline studies, suggesting <i>inter alis</i> both a paradigmatic difference in the substance of revelation and yet a certain logical symmetry in the manner of its apprehension and development.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:233680
Date January 1987
CreatorsBockmuehl, M. N. A.
PublisherUniversity of Cambridge
Source SetsEthos UK
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeElectronic Thesis or Dissertation

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