This publication presents the rich variety of critical methodologies in contemporary literary study of the New Testament. The tradition of study represented in the essays lies at the conjunction of developments in biblical studies and literary criticism: (1) the exhaustion of New Testament historical criticism in general and redaction criticism in particular; (2) the waning of Formalist-New Critical approaches in literary study; and (3) the emphasis upon the text in terms of language and discourse as the 'free play of signifiers'. The essays deal with theory, exegesis, and their interdependence in this new literary context. However, contributions of earlier epochs in the history of literary criticism and New Testament study are integrated into current approaches. For example, the issue of reference originating in the mimetic theories of classical antiquity is raised implicitly and explicitly. Implications of literary study for theology are suggested. The relationship between redaction-critical and literary approaches is examined. Theoretical and exegetical essays growing out of feminist literary study are offered. Orality, allegory, deconstruction, ideology, sociological criticism, rhetorical criticism, narrative criticism, as well as other themes and methods are discussed in the essays' treatment of writings of the New Testament. A rich variety of critical methodologies in contemporary literary study of the New Testament

Carved for a Roman city prefect who was a newly baptized Christian at his death, the sarcophagus of Junius Bassus is not only a magnificent example of "the fine style" of mid-fourth-century sculpture but also a treasury of early Christian iconography clearly indicating the Christianization of Rome--and the Romanization of Christianity. Whereas most previous scholarship has focused on the style of the sarcophagus, Elizabeth Struthers Malbon explores the perplexing elements of its iconography in their fourth-century context. In so doing she reveals the distinction between "pagan" and Christian images to be less rigid than sometimes thought. Against the background of earlier and contemporary art and religious literature, Malbon explicates the relationship of the facade's two levels of scenes depicting stories from the Old and New Testaments, the connection between the scenes on the facade with those on the lid and ends of the sarcophagus, and the integration of pagan elements within a Christian work. What emerges is a carefully constructed iconographic program shedding light on the development of early Christian art within late antique culture. Originally published in 1990. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Carved for a Roman city prefect who was a newly baptized Christian at his death, the sarcophagus of Junius Bassus is not only a magnificent example of "the fine style" of mid-fourth-century sculpture but also a treasury of early Christian iconography clearly indicating the Christianization of Rome--and the Romanization of Christianity. Whereas most previous scholarship has focused on the style of the sarcophagus, Elizabeth Struthers Malbon explores the perplexing elements of its iconography in their fourth-century context. In so doing she reveals the distinction between "pagan" and Christian images to be less rigid than sometimes thought.

Against the background of earlier and contemporary art and religious literature, Malbon explicates the relationship of the facade's two levels of scenes depicting stories from the Old and New Testaments, the connection between the scenes on the facade with those on the lid and ends of the sarcophagus, and the integration of pagan elements within a Christian work. What emerges is a carefully constructed iconographic program shedding light on the development of early Christian art within late antique culture.

Originally published in 1990.

The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Noted biblical scholar Elizabeth Struthers Malbon asks a literary question in this landmark volume: how does the Markan narrative characterise Jesus? Through a close narrative analysis, she carefully examines various ways the Gospel discloses its central character. The result is a multi-layered Markan narrative christology, focusing not only on what the narrator and other characters say about Jesus (pro-jected christology), but also on what Jesus says in response to what these others say to and about him (deflected christology), what Jesus says instead about himself and God (refracted christology), what Jesus does (enacted christology), and how what other characters do is related to what Jesus says and does (reflected christology). Holding significant implications for those who wish to use Mark's Gospel to make claims about the historical Jesus, as well as for those who wish to use Mark's Gospel to construct confessions about the church's belief, Malbon's research is a groundbreaking work of scholarship.

To hear, read, and interpret the Gospel of Mark is to become involved in the dynamic relationship between author (real or implied) and audience (implied or real). So we have learned from the 'literary turn' in biblical interpretation. But there remains another dynamic relationship in which we are of necessity involved: that of the literary and the historical questions surrounding the text. Clearly, multiple approaches are called for by anyone who wishes to claim a place in the on-going audience of the Gospel of Mark. The first three essays in this volume move in different ways between real and implied Markan realities: from implied audience to real (ancient) audience, from real (contemporary, oral) narrator to implied (ancient, oral) narrator, and from implied audience to various real (or 'unimplied') audiences. The next three essays treat the central Markan reality of parable as it connects author, narrator, and audience in challenging ways. The final three essays concern the relation of Mark's characters among themselves or the relation of narrator and character, recognizing the complexity of characterization in the Gospel as a form of communication between author and audience.

This volume explores the way in which the characters other than Jesus are portrayed in the Gospel of Mark. The author employs a literary approach that reveals the contribution of these minor characters - the 12 disciples, Bartimaeus, Jairus and his daughter, the women who followed Jesus, and the Jewish leaders - to the Gospel story. After outlining the four elements of narrative criticism - characters, settings, plot, and rhetoric - the author discusses each of the characters that appear in Mark's Gospel, showing how they advance the narrative by their interaction.

Delete ad pages from back of book and substitute new page ii included with hard copy. Disregard material on cover ii.

Originally, the Gospel of Mark was read aloud to first-century audiences eager to hear more about the life of Jesus and how his teachings could touch their own lives. Now Elizabeth Struthers Malbon, an expert who has written about and taught Mark for twenty years, brings us back to that original setting, providing an exciting new way of reading and hearing the Gospel of Mark.

In clear, non-scholarly language, Malbon begins by outlining the presuppositions that scholars use when they read this gospel. We learn that Mark's gospel, in its original context, was not meant to be read silently; it was meant to be performed, read aloud, and heard by an audience of Christians.

The chapters of Hearing Mark then follow the gospel in narrative order, from first verse to last, with each chapter of the book focusing on a theme emphasized in each gospel section: kingdom, community, discipleship, suffering. The conclusion offers "echoes" of these interrelated themes as they play out for Mark's listeners in the first century-and in the twenty-first.

Hearing Mark closes with selected suggestions for further reading and annotations. Malbon also lists resources for hearing the Gospel of Mark in various ways, including persons to contact for dramatic presentations, videotapes, and instructions for conducting a reading in a local church.