Mutual Boasting in Philippians: The Ethical Function of Shared Honor in its Biblical and Greco-Roman Context (The Library of New Testament Studies)($24.53Value)

Description

Isaac Blois argues that Paul’s focus in Philippians on the mutual boasting shared between himself and his converts draws on the mutual boasting shared between Israel and her covenant God, as apparent in both Deuteronomy and Isaiah. Using the appearance of this central theme in the pivotal passages of Phil 1:25-26 and 2:14-16 as his focus, Blois stresses the integral relation between mutual boasting and the role that it plays in Paul’s exhortations to the Philippian believers, exploring its backdrop in both the biblical tradition and the cultures surrounding them. Blois demonstrates how the mutual boasting that Paul shares with his beloved community is culturally appropriate; the sharing of honor among friends and family was common in antiquity, as seen through the epistolary writing of prominent Roman authors such as Cicero, Seneca, and Fronto. In light of the Scriptural and cultural basis for this motif of shared boasting, Blois argues that the apostle is able to deploy the motif in order to motivate an appropriate response from his audience in the letter. Focusing on the prominence of mutual honor and its use for motivation in Philippians 1 and 2, Blois offers a fresh perspective on the exhortative function of the eschatological boasting that is to exist between Paul and his congregation on the day of Christ. “Isaac D. Blois's Mutual Boasting in Philippians adds a fascinating facet to this fruitful field [of Paul within Judaism], by wedding Paul's Jewish and Greco-Roman contexts in exploring the theme of “mutual boasting” and other related themes throughout the scriptural backdrop of Deuteronomy and Isaiah, the writings of prominent pagan authors such as Cicero and Seneca, and Philippians... Pauline scholars are deeply indebted to Blois for his excellent exegetical and theological analyses, which make important contributions to biblical studies and beckon further exploration” ―Gregory E. Lamb, Society of Biblical Literature “Blois' work deserves to be read carefully by the Pauline scholars.” ― Biblica (Bloomsbury Translation) Isaac D. Blois is Assistant Professor of New Testament at the Torrey Honors Institute, Biola University, USA. Chris Keith is Research Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion and Society, Norway. He is the author of The Pericope Adulterae , the Gospel of John and the Literacy of Jesus , a winner of the 2010 John Templeton Award for Theological Promise, and Jesus' Literacy: Scribal Culture and the Teacher from Galilee . He is also the co-editor of Jesus among Friends and Enemies: A Historical and Literary Introduction to Jesus in the Gospels , and was recently named a 2012 Society of Biblical Literature Regional Scholar.