Search

This article examines and critiques the portrayal of Jesus as a merkabah mystic in Bruce Chilton's Rabbi Jesus. After providing a brief summary of Chilton's presentation of Jesus' spirituality, the article explores the origin of merkabah mysticism and questions whether available sources confirm the existence of a developed mysticism that included the practice of the ascent during Jesus' lifetime. The article also examines the New Testament texts to which Chilton appeals as evidence of Jesus' mysticism. The article concludes that Chilton's fascinating theory has only meager support in the canonical Gospels since a careful comparison of the words and activities of Jesus of Nazareth and the descenders of chariot in Tannaitic and hekhaloth literature discovers more differences than similarities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines and evaluates important interpretations of the εκ πιστεως; εις; πιστιν prepositional series in Rom. 1:17. It evaluates these interpretations in light of four criteria: (1) Is the interpretation consistent with usage of the construction in ancient Greek texts? (2) Does the interpretation address a theme of Romans that is prominent enough to account for its inclusion in the programmatic statement? (3) Is the interpretation consistent with Paul's normal modes of expression? (4) Is the interpretation compatible with the Hab. 2:4 citation? These criteria raise serious doubts about several well-established interpretations and suggest that scholars should more seriously consider the interpretation of Chrysostom and other Greek fathers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]