Jesus Christ, Glory and Cognition. Is Eph 1:15–23 a Judaistic and/or Hellenistic Christian Text?
Waldemar Linke
Uniwersytet Kardynała Stefana Wyszyńskiego , Polandhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-9800-5341
Abstract
The paper is an interpretation of Eph 1:15-23 which is a consequence of the shorter version of Eph 1:15 (without the words: τὴν ἀγάπην). It is an attempt to answer the question of who the “saints” are in this verse and the entire pericope, what background (Hellenistic or Judaic) this concept has, and what was the character of the church community in this city in the post-Pauline period. The method used in this paper consists of historical and contextual analysis of lexicographical end ideological material used in the pericope. The first step is a study of the rhetorical structure of Eph as the instrument for interpretation of the role of the pericope in the meaning of the text. The second part of the paper is presented the binary way of exposition: in the language of Judaism and in the Hellenistic terms. From this perspective the category of “saints” is described. From this analysis it is concluded: “saints” are the group belonging to the Judeo-Christian component of the Church, the political substructure of the Church but not in terms of the separation, but of the pluralistic unity.
Keywords:
Jesus Christ, glory, knowledge, saints, Hellenism, Judaism, Eph 1:15-23References
Allen, M., Ephesians (Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press 2020).
Arnold, C.E., Ephesians (Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament 10; Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan 2010).
Arzt-Grabner, P., “Paul’s Letter Thanksgiving,” Paul and the Ancient Letter Form (eds. S.E. Porter – S.A. Adams) (Pauline Studies 6; Leiden – Boston, MA: Brill 2010) 129–158. (Crossref)
Barnes, T.D., “The Date of Ignatius,” The Expository Times 120/3 (2008) 119–130. (Crossref)
Barr, J., The Semantics of Biblical Language (London: Oxford University Press 1961). Italian trans. P. Sacchi: Semantica del linguaggio biblico (Bologna: Edizioni Dehoniane Bologna 1980).
Barth, M., Ephesians 1–3 (Anchor Bible 34; London: Yale Univeristy Press 1974).
Baslez, M.-F., Prześladowania w starożytności. Ofiary, bohaterowie, męczennicy (trans. E. Łukaszyk) (Kraków: WAM 2009).
Baugh, S.M., Ephesians (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press 2016).
Baulès, R., L’insondable richesse du Christ. Étude des themes de l’Épître aux Éphésiens (Lectio Divina 66; Paris: Cerf 1971).
Bengel, J.A., Gnomon Novi Testamenti, 3 ed. (Londuni – Edimburgi: Williams & Norgate 1862; 1 ed., 1742).
Best, E., Ephesians (Edinburgh: Clark 1998).
Beyer, H.W., “εὐλογέω κτλ,” Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (ed. G. Kittel; trans. G.W. Bromiley) (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans 1964) II, 754–765.
Blass, F. – Debrunner, A., Grammatica del greco del Nuovo Testamento (Supplementi al Grande lessico del Nuovo Testamento 3; Brescia: Paideia 1982).
Bock, D.L., Ephesians (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity 2019).
Bravo, B. – Wipszycka, E., Historia starożytnych Greków. III. Okres hellenistyczny (Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN 1992).
Bruce, F.F., The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon and to the Ephesians (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans 1984).
Bultmann, R. – Weiser, A., “πιστεύω κτλ,” Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (ed. G. Kittel; trans. G.W. Bromiley) (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans 1969) VI, 174–228.
Chaniotis, A., “The Divinity of Hellenistic Rulers,” A Companion to the Hellenistic World, (ed. A. Erskine) (Malden, MA – Oxford: Blackwell Publishing 2003) 431–445. (Crossref)
Chaniotis, A., “The Ithyphallic Hymn for Demetrios Poliorcetes and Hellenistic Religious Mentality,” More than Men, Less than Gods. Studies in Royal Cult and Imperial Worship. Proceedings of the International Colloquium Organized by the Belgian School at Athens (November 1–2, 2007) (eds. P.P. Iossif – A.S. Chankowski – C.C. Lorber) (Leuven: Peeters 2011) 157–195.
Cohick, L.H., The Letter to the Ephesians (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans 2020).
Dunning, B.H., “Strangers and Aliens No Longer: Negotiating Identity and Difference in Ephesians 2,” Harvard Theological Review 99/1 (2006) 1–16. (Crossref)
Faust, E., Pax Christi et Pax Caesaris. Religionsgeschichtliche, traditionsgeschichtlische und sozialgeschichtliche Studien zum Epheserbrief (Novum Testamentum et Orbis Antiquus 24; Freiburg: Universität Freiburg Schweiz 1993). (Crossref)
Fowl, S.E., Ephesians. A Commentary (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox 2012).
Gryglewicz, F., Księgi Machabejskie. Wstęp, przekład z oryginału, komentarz (Pismo Święte Starego Testamentu 6/4; Poznań: Pallotinum 1961).
Hanson, S., The Unity of the Church in the New Testament (Acta Seminarii Neotestamentici Upsaliensis 14; Uppsala: Almquist & Wiksells 1946).
Hengel, M., Judentum und Hellenismus. Studien zu ihrer Begegnung unter besonderer Berücksichtigung Palästinas bis zur Mitte des 2. Jahrhunderts vor Christus, 3 ed. (Tübingen: Mohr [Siebeck] 1988; 1 ed. 1973). Italian trans. S. Monaco: Giudaismo ed ellenismo. Studi sul loro incontro, con particolare riguardo per la Palestina fino alla metà del II secolo a.C. (Brescia: Paideia 2001).
Hoehner, H.W., Ephesians. An Exegetical Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic 2002).
Ignace d’Antioche, Polycarpe de Smyrne, Letters. Martyre de Polycarpe (ed. P.-T. Camelot) (Sources chrétiennes 10; Paris: Cerf 1969).
Ignatius, Lettres (ed. P.-T. Camelot) (Paris: Cerf 1944).
Irenaeus, Adversus Haereses, trans. J. Brylowski: Ireneusz z Lyonu, Adversus Haereses (ed. J. Brylowski) (Pelplin: Bernardinum 2018).
Kamlah, E., Die Form der katalogischen Paränese im Neuen Testament (Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 7; Tübingen: Mohr [Siebeck] 1964).
Käsemann, E., “Epheserbrief,” Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck 1958) II, 517–520.
Laskowski, Ł., Druga Księga Machabejska (Nowy Komentarz Biblijny. Stary Testament 14/3; Częstochowa: Święty Paweł 2017).
Lincoln, A.T., Ephesians (Word Biblical Commentary 42; Nashville, TN: Nelson 1990).
Linke, W., “Ef 1,15: tekst krótki czy długi?,” Seminare 41/3 (2020) 11–23. (Crossref)
Linke, W., “Eschatologiczny wątek w procesie Jezusa przed Sanhedrynem (Mk 14,55–64).
Mk jako pierwsza interpretacja eschatologiczna męki i śmierci Jezusa,” Studia nad Ewangelią według św. Marka. Nowy Testament: geneza – interpretacja – aktualizacja (eds. J. Kręcidło – W. Linke) (Lingua Sacra Monografie 8; Warszawa: Bractwo Słowa Bożego – Ząbki: Apostolicum 2017) 165–186.
Linke, W., Literacka ojczyzna Tobiasza. Tło kulturowe Tb jako klucz teologicznej lektury księgi (Lingua Sacra. Monografie 2; Warszawa: Verbinum 2013).
Linke, W., “Od skandalu niewinnego cierpienia do teologii męczeństwa. Męczennicy w okresie Drugiej Świątyni,” Słowo Krzyża 4 (2010) 12–39.
Linke, W., “Uwierzyć w Chrystusie (Ef 1,13.15)? Jezus Chrystus a wiara Kościoła w Ef,” Warszawskie Studia Teologiczne 28/4 (2015) 139–155.
Maurer, C., “Der Hymnus von Epheser 1 als Schlüssel zum ganzen Brief,” Evangelische Theologie 11 (1951–1952) 151–172. (Crossref)
Mazur, R., La retorica della Lettera agli Efesini (Milano: Terra Santa – Jerusalem: Franciscan Printing Press 2010).
Merklein, H., Das kirchliche Amt nach dem Epheserbrief (München: Kösel 1973).
Mussner, F., Der Brief an die Epheser (Ökumenischer Taschenbuch-Kommentar zum Neuen Testament 10; Würzburg: Echter 1982).
Newman, C.C., “Narrative Apocalyptic in Ephesians,” Perspectives in Religious Studies 44 (2017) 322–337.
O’Brien, P., The Letter to the Ephesians (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans – Leicester: Apollos 1999).
Pervo, R.I., The Making of Paul. Construction of the Apostle in Early Christianity (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress 2010).
Philo, Philo with an English Translation (trans. F.H. Colson – G.H. Whitaker) (Loeb Classical Library 261; Cambridge: Harvard University Press – London: Heinemann 1985) IV.
Reynier, C., L’épître aux Éphésiens (Commentaire biblique. Nouveau Testament 10; Paris: Cerf 2004).
Reynier, C., Évangile et Mystère. Les enjeux théologique de L’Épître aux Éphésiens (Lectio Divina 149; Paris: Cerf 1992).
Schnackenburg, R., Der Brief an die Epheser (Evangelisch-katolischer Kommentar zum Neuen Testament 10; Zürich: Benziger 1982). English trans. H. Heron: The Epistle to the Ephesians. A Commentary (Edinburgh: Clark 1991).
Shipley, D.G.J. – Hansen, M.H., “The polis and Federalism,” The Cambridge Companion to the Hellenistic World (ed. G.R. Bugh) (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 2006) 52–72. (Crossref)
Shkul, M., Reading Ephesians. Exploring Social Entrpreneurship in the Text (London: Clark 2009).
Stauffer, E., “εἰς,” Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (ed. G. Kittel, trans. G.W. Bromiley) (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans 1965) II, 420–442.
Strecker, G. – Schnelle, U. (eds.), Neuer Wettstein. Texte zum Neuen Testament aus Griechentum und Hellenismus. II/1. Texte zur Briefliteratur und zur Johannesapokalypse (Berlin: De Gruyter 1996).
Talbert, C.H., Ephesians and Colossians (Paideia. Commentaries on the New Testament; Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic 2007).
Tarn, W., Cywilizacja hellenistyczna (trans. C. Kunderewicz) (Warszawa: Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe 1957).
Theobald, M., “La Lettera agli Efesini,” Introduzione al Nuovo Testamento (eds. M. Ebner – S. Schriber; trans. Gianni Poletti) (Brescia: Queriniana 2012) 507–527.
Thielman, F., Ephesians (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic 2010).
Walbank, F.W., Świat hellenistyczny (trans. Grzegorz Muszyński) (Warszawa: Pruszyński i S-ka 2003).
Windsor, L.J., “The Formation of Gentile Christ-Believing Identity vis-à-vis Israel in Epheesians and Barnabas,” Biblica et Patristica Thorunienisa 11/4 (2018) 377–390. (Crossref)
Uniwersytet Kardynała Stefana Wyszyńskiego
Fr. Waldemar Linke CP- habilitated doctor, professor of UKSW, since 1985 in Congregation of Passion of Jesus Christ, ordained priest in 1992. Graduate in Pontifical Biblical Institute (Rome) and lecturer in Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw. Author and editor of works in the field of biblical research.
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9800-5341License
The author(s) grant (s) to the Licensee a non-exclusive and royalty-free license in accordance with the provisions of the Appendix: LICENSE TO USE THE WORK
