Monographs by T.J. Lang
Peer-Reviewed Articles by T.J. Lang
Atonement: Sin, Sacrifice, and Salvation in Jewish and Christian Antiquity (Eerdmans)
In his landmark work on Marcion, Adolf von Harnack became the first modern scholar to propose tha... more In his landmark work on Marcion, Adolf von Harnack became the first modern scholar to propose that Tertullian only knew Marcion's Gospel and Apostolikon in Latin translation. This proposition obtained early support but has been questioned in more recent years, the more common conjecture now being that Tertullian himself translated Marcion's Greek into Latin as needed. In deciding this matter, scholars have compared the citations of Marcion reproduced in Tertullian's Adversus Marcionem with corresponding Gospel and Pauline citations elsewhere in Tertullian's writings and then other extant Latin traditions. This nexus of data is then evaluated in terms of vocabulary and stylistic variation. The results of such a method are largely a matter of how one is predisposed to read the evidence. A way forward in this debate is to attend more closely to potential argumentative implications of a Latin versus Greek Vorlage and, specifically, to instances where arguments presented in Tertullian's Latin might unravel, or at least become differently interesting, if retrojected into Marcion's Greek. Tertullian's discussion in Adversus Marcionem 5,18,1 of Ephesians 3:9, a so-called locus classicus of Marcion's theology, is one such text, and one that complicates quests for a single Latin or Greek source behind Tertullian's usage.
Testament studies, and yet it is almost entirely without precedent prior to the nineteenth centur... more Testament studies, and yet it is almost entirely without precedent prior to the nineteenth century. This article explores the enterprise of Pauline theology by considering an important and overlooked exception to its otherwise exclusively modern provenance: Priscillian of Avila's fourth-century Canons on the Letters of the Apostle Paul. The key to Priscillian's dogmatic synthesis of Paul's thought was his innovative 'versification' of Paul's letters, which facilitated efficient citation and cross-referencing of epistolary data. This article uses Priscillian's literary creation to examine the intriguing correlation of technologies for ordering textual knowledge with the systematic abstraction of Pauline theology.
Die Schwierigkeiten bei der Interpretation des irritierenden Satzes in Kol 1,24 -"ich fülle auf, ... more Die Schwierigkeiten bei der Interpretation des irritierenden Satzes in Kol 1,24 -"ich fülle auf, was an den Leiden Christi noch fehlt" (ἀνταναπληρῶ τὰ ὑστερήματα τῶν θλίψεων τοῦ Χριστοῦ) -sind bekannt. Die Beziehung dieses Satzes zum größeren Kontext von Kol 1,24-2,3 und insbesondere zur parallelen Wendung mit πληρόω in V.25 wird jedoch weit weniger bemerkt. In diesem Aufsatz wird die These vertreten, dass die für gewöhnlich mit "auffüllen, was an den Leiden Christi noch fehlt" übersetzte Wendung in V.24 ein terminus technicus aus dem Finanzwesen ist, der anzeigt, dass den Völkern der für sie durch Christus entstandene Reichtum (V.27) durch die Anstrengungen des Paulus in seinem apostolischen Dienst zugeteilt wird. Daher bleibt nicht der soteriologische Reichtum, der durch Christus entstanden ist, unzulänglich, sondern die persönliche "Überweisung" dieses "christologischen Kapitals" an die Völker, für die es be stimmt war. Dieses Bild aus der Finanzwirtschaft wird dann am Ende von V.25 umgestaltet, wo Paulus den Zweck der οἰκονομία definiert, die er von Gott erhalten hat: Die finanzielle Verantwortung, die Paulus trägt, ist, "das Konto Gottes auszubezahlen" (πληρῶσαι τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ). Das Ausbezahlen "christologischer Reichtümer" von Gottes Konto ist genau das, was man von einem "Manager" (διάκονος) mit treuhänderischer Pflicht (οἰκονομία) erwarten würde.
Modern interpreters have long noted the syntactical ambiguity of ἐν μυστηρίῳ in 1 Cor 2:7. What a... more Modern interpreters have long noted the syntactical ambiguity of ἐν μυστηρίῳ in 1 Cor 2:7. What are yet to be considered are the uses of the rare ἐν μυστηρίῳ expression in other ancient Greek authors and the implications of such usage for our understanding of the syntax and sense of 1 Cor 2:7. In this article, I demonstrate, first, that the dative phrase ἐν μυστηρίῳ appears almost exclusively in Christian sources and, second, that in the earliest data and majority of instances it modifies verbs related to communication, particularly verbs for speaking. We should, therefore, consider what these ancient Greek authors meant when they wrote about speaking or otherwise communicating ἐν μυστηρίῳ and then consider how we might adjust translations and interpretations of 1 Cor 2:7 accordingly.
“Spectres of the ‘Real’ Paul and the Prospect of Pauline Scholarship.” On Benjamin L. White’s, Remembering Paul: Ancient and Modern Contests over the Image of the Apostle. Marginalia Review of Books, 26 May 2015
This article proposes a new reading of the Lukan eagle logion. The interpretation depends on thre... more This article proposes a new reading of the Lukan eagle logion. The interpretation depends on three primary exegetical commitments. First, it respects Luke's redaction and, thus, resists the temptation to harmonize Luke's version of the logion with its Matthean counterpart (Matt. 24:28), which places this saying within his apocalyptic discourse in Matthew 24 and has the eagles gathering around a corpse (τὸ πτῶμα). Luke, by contrast, locates the saying within his so-called travel narrative, in the immediate context of a direct address by Jesus to his disciples, and places the eagles around a body (τὸ σῶμα). Second, since regarding Lukan redaction requires a reader to appreciate the narrative context of the saying, it is necessary to respect that the logion occurs in an address by Jesus to his disciples and as an answer to their question. Third, I reconsider the most likely resonances of ἀετοί gathered around a body within the context of Luke's Gospel and its cultural encyclopedia.
This article argues for a reading of Lk. 17.22 as antanaclasis, which is a form of rhetorical wor... more This article argues for a reading of Lk. 17.22 as antanaclasis, which is a form of rhetorical wordplay in which the same (or a similar) term is repeated, but in two different senses. According to this reading, Jesus introduces his discourse to the disciples (vv. 22-37) with the prediction that in the coming days they will desire to 'see' (as in witness) one of the days of the Son of Man but they will not 'see' (as in comprehend) these days when they occur among them so long as they fail to understand that suffering is primary to the Son of Man's identity. Such a reading coheres with the larger Lukan theme of the blindness of the disciples to the necessity of Jesus' passion. Such a reading also requires a rethinking of the assumption that the subject of Jesus' discourse in 17.22-37 is the parousia.
Teaching Documents by T.J. Lang
Published with the permission of the Biblioteca del Monumento Nazionale Badia
di Cava. The first ... more Published with the permission of the Biblioteca del Monumento Nazionale Badia
di Cava. The first two columns contain the two introductory prologues to the canons, and the list of canons begins at the bottom of the middle column and continues in the third column, numbered consecutively in the margin, with a red k for kanon before each canon number, also in red.
Published with the permission of the Biblioteca del Monumento Nazionale Badia
di Cava. The text o... more Published with the permission of the Biblioteca del Monumento Nazionale Badia
di Cava. The text of Romans begins at the top of column three, with the testimonia numbered consecutively in the left margin in black, and the corresponding canon number beneath in red, marked in each instance by a leading k followed by the Roman numeral. Note also the use of small red sloping lines in the space between the lines of biblical text to denote the specific portion of each testimonium that is relevant to the canon listed in the margin.
Papers by T.J. Lang
Religions
This article explores how ancient rhetorical theories about the improvement of human memory were ... more This article explores how ancient rhetorical theories about the improvement of human memory were applied to manuscripts in the form of paratextual ordering systems. It then considers the intellectual implications of these technological changes in the management of textual knowledge. A sequentially ordered system for dividing textual information into “chapters” or “verses” proved powerful for both mnemonic arts and textual arts. The article next explores a specific example of paratextual technologies in Priscillian of Avila’s fourth-century CE Canones Epistularum Pauli Apostoli, which is one of the most sophisticated cross-referencing systems ever produced prior to printed texts. The article concludes by reflecting on the implications of textual divisions and citation schemes for the work of theology. The test case for this is Priscillian’s “versification” of the Pauline corpus for purposes of textual abstraction (the extraction and reorganization of numerically divided textual parts...
New Testament Studies, 2016
Pauline theology is a well-established undertaking in modern New Testament studies, and yet it is... more Pauline theology is a well-established undertaking in modern New Testament studies, and yet it is almost entirely without precedent prior to the nineteenth century. This article explores the enterprise of Pauline theology by considering an important and overlooked exception to its otherwise exclusively modern provenance: Priscillian of Avila's fourth-centuryCanons on the Letters of the Apostle Paul. The key to Priscillian's dogmatic synthesis of Paul's thought was his innovative ‘versification’ of Paul's letters, which facilitated efficient citation and cross-referencing of epistolary data. This article uses Priscillian's literary creation to examine the intriguing correlation of technologies for ordering textual knowledge with the systematic abstraction of Pauline theology.
Cosmology and Eschatology
The Oxford Handbook of Pauline Studies
The study of cosmology and eschatology in Paul is tied up with other, equally considerable, theol... more The study of cosmology and eschatology in Paul is tied up with other, equally considerable, theological categories. But cosmology and eschatology are two particular threads of thought that tightly knit together. Eschatology is defined as the cosmology of the age to come and all traces of that age in the current age, the age in which ‘the End’ has begun to come to its end. Paul’s cosmology—his understanding of the current world, the world to come, and their relation—is determined by his eschatology. After discussing some of the interpretive issues involved with treating Paul’s cosmology and eschatology in a modern context, this chapter then explores various cartographies of the cosmos in ancient thought; that is, the ways in which the world was mapped by various Graeco-Roman, biblical, and other Jewish thinkers. Paul’s understanding of the world’s structure is then considered in light of his context. The chapter next investigates demographies of the cosmos in ancient thought; that is...
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Monographs by T.J. Lang
Peer-Reviewed Articles by T.J. Lang
Teaching Documents by T.J. Lang
di Cava. The first two columns contain the two introductory prologues to the canons, and the list of canons begins at the bottom of the middle column and continues in the third column, numbered consecutively in the margin, with a red k for kanon before each canon number, also in red.
di Cava. The text of Romans begins at the top of column three, with the testimonia numbered consecutively in the left margin in black, and the corresponding canon number beneath in red, marked in each instance by a leading k followed by the Roman numeral. Note also the use of small red sloping lines in the space between the lines of biblical text to denote the specific portion of each testimonium that is relevant to the canon listed in the margin.
Papers by T.J. Lang