The Moral World of James: Setting the Epistle in Its Greco-Roman and Judaic Environments (Studies in Biblical Literature 136)

t h

24

t h

t h

25.

According to Kotansky, we should read MICHAEL for MIGAEL in line 19 (in Kase, MIGAEL is in line 18). Betz, ed., Greek Magical Papyri, 3 0 0 , n. 5.

26.

C f . D a n 10:13, 2 1 .

27.

This reading is based on the partial reconstruction "IaAa[|jav mate line of the text.

28.

For a discussion of the typical parts of a Roman prayer, see Michael J. Brown, The Lord's Prayer Through North African Eyes: A Window into Early Christianity (New York and Lon-

1" in the penulti­

• T H E EVERYDAY PRACTICE OF GRECO-ROMAN RELIGION*

119

don: T & T Clark International, 2 0 0 4 ) , 6 2 - 6 5 . There are many examples in the PGM of actual hymns, or portions of them, that have been incorporated into magical rites, al­ though often the meter has become corrupted. See, for example, PGM I. 2 6 2 - 3 4 7 ; II. 6 4 - 1 8 3 ; III. 1 8 7 - 2 6 2 ; III. 4 9 4 - 6 1 1 ; IV. 1 5 4 - 2 8 5 . 29.

Kotansky reads KaxaKAmKov (something that causes a person to be bedridden) for K C X TCtKAnTiKOv (something that summons). Betz, Greek Magical Papyri, 3 2 1 , n. 1.

30.

In both Betz's and Maltomini's editions, the text following the magical characters is split

31.

The language here refers to the drawing of the manikin, above which the letters "cococo, m, ooo" are written.

into two columns that fall on either side of a (very poor) drawing of the manikin.

32.

Kotansky says that the text is corrupt at this point and cannot be explained fully. "Of the victim" follows Maltomini's deciphering of the letters following "bones": eioaTnOTaxpn; Betz, Greek Magical Papyri, 3 2 1 , n. 3; Franco Maltomini, "I Papiri greci," in Nuovi papyri magici in copto, Greco e aramaico,

S C O 29 (Pisa: University of Pisa, 1979), 107. If

this text, as reconstructed, means to include the word oaTns, it perhaps refers to a sacrificial victim (so Kotansky), or possibly to a the corpse of a woman who has died a violent death. Cf. PGM I. 2 4 7 - 4 9 ; II. 145, 171. 33.

This may be the tomb of someone who has died a violent death.

34.

PGM C X X I V = P. Cazzaniga,

no. 7 at the University of Pisa. English translation slightly

modified from Roy Kotansky, in Betz, ed., Greek Magical Papyri, 3 2 1 . Greek text: Mal­ tomini, "I Papiri greci," in Nuovi papyri magici in Copto, Greco e Aramaico,

S C O 2 9 (Pisa:

University of Pisa, 1979), 9 4 - 1 1 2 (Pap. 7). 35.

Betz, ed., Greek Magical Papyri, xxvii. Maltomini dates it to the late 5

t h

or early 6

t h

c. C.E.;

Maltomini, "I Papiri greci," 9 5 . 36.

The spell assumes that the purchaser lives in a house with beaten earth floors, which suggests that users of this type of magic occupy the lower classes.

37.

Cf. spells for acquiring a daimon as an assistant: PGM I. 4 2 - 5 4 , 8 8 - 9 0 , 9 5 - 1 3 2 ; III. 50ff, 95-160ff.

38.

Cf. Acts 13:11.

39.

Betz, ed., Greek Magical Papyri, xlvii.

40.

Betz goes on to characterize the entire enterprise of magician and client as one of decep­ tion and gullibility. One wonders if Betz wishes to paint all religious practices with the same brush.

41.

Well-known temples to Asklepios were located at Trikka, Athens, Epidauros, Kos, Smyr­ na, Pergamon, and Rome, but temples and shrines to the god were scattered across the Mediterranean (including North Africa) in the Hellenistic and Roman eras. E. J . Edelstein and L. Edelstein, Asclepius: A Collection and Interpretation of the Testimonies, vol. 2 (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1945). The town of Epidauros is lo­ cated on the Saronic Gulf, about 3 0 km southwest of Corinth. The temple to Asklepios at Epidauros lies about 9 km ( 1 6 km by road) southwest (inland) of the town. R. A. Tomlinson, Epidaros (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1983), 9 - 1 1 (incl. "1 Map of Ep­ idauros District").

42.

Howard Clark Kee, Miracle in the Early Christian World: A Study in Sociohistorical Method (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1983, 83; cf. Louise Wells, The Greek Language of Healing from Homer to the New Testament Times, BZNW 83 (Berlin and New

120

• JAMES RILEY STRANGE •

York: Walter de Gniyter, 1998), 18. Both Kee (Miracle, 83ff) and Wells (Language of Healing, 18ff.), provide a helpful synopsis of the information about the temple complex and its inscriptions collected in Edelstein and Edelstein, eds., Asclepius. 43.

Presumably this is Antoninus Pius (emperor from 1 3 8 - 1 6 1 C.E.). Kee, Miracle, 84.

44.

The second century geographer Pausanias gives an account of the myth, as well as a de­ tailed account of the cult of Asklepios and the facilities at Epidauros in Descr. 2 . 2 6 . 1 2.27.6. According to Pausanias, Descr. 2 . 2 7 . 1 - 6 , the compound housed a main temple to Asklepios, an adjacent structure for the incubation of patients (called the apccrov, but not by Pausanias), a nearby circular building (tholos) containing stelae with inscriptions, a theater, temples to various gods, a stadium, a "Portico of Cotys," and a maternity ward/hospice for the dying. Pausanias describes six stelae remaining in the tholos that re­ corded miraculous healings by the god "in the Doric dialect." Excavations have found the structures that Pausanias describes and many others as well.

45.

Some stelae bearing inscriptions of the second half of the fourth century B.C.E. were excavated and published by P. Kawaidas in Fouilles Epidaure (Athens, 1891); cf. P. Kavvaidas, To lepov TOU

'AafcA/jmou ev

'EmSaupcS KCXI rj depaneia

TCOU aodeucov (Athens,

1900); both quoted in Wells, Language of Healing, 2 1 . Inscriptions from two of these ste­ 2

lae have been published as IG 4 . 1 . 1 2 1 - 2 2 . Inscriptions nos. 1 - 2 0 are from stela 1; nos. 21-43 46.

are from stela 2.

Greek text: Edelstein and Edelstein, eds., Asclepius,

1:222; translation: ibid.,

1:230,

slightly modified in places. 47.

Literally, she is "one-eyed": aTsporrnAAos is the Doric form of ET6p6(|>0aAuos; L&S, s.v. "cmpoTmAAos." 2

48.

Cf. IG 4 . 1 . 1 2 1 - 2 2 , nos. 3, 9 (treated below), 10, 3 6 .

49.

See Wells' treatment of the frequent use of the word \)y\r\S and its occurrence in this formula in Wells, Language of Healing, 3 1 - 3 3 . 2

50.

Cf. IG 4 . 1 . 1 2 1 - 2 2 , nos. 5, 6, 7, 15, 2 5 .

51.

Wells, Language of Healing, 2 3 - 2 5 .

52.

Cf. IG 4 . 1 . 1 2 1 - 2 2 , nos. 12, 2 3 , 2 5 , 27, 3 0 .

53.

2

Greek text: Edelstein and Edelstein, eds., Asclepius,

1:223; translation: ibid., 1:232-32,

slightly modified. 54.

Like Ambrosia, the man is aTsporrnAAos.

55.

Greek Text: Edelstein and Edelstein, eds., Asclepius, 1:225; translation: ibid., 1:233.

56.

C f . / G 4 . l . 1 2 1 - 2 2 , no. 2 3 .

57.

2

Cf. Aelian, Nat. an. 9 . 3 3 , in which physicians cannot cure a woman of a tapeworm. The god must intervene when his attendants at Epidauros cut off the woman's head to re­ move the worm but cannot reattach it.

58.

I.e., Sparta, about 100 km southwest of Epidauros, on the Peloponese.

59.

Wells, Language of Healing, 15f.

60.

Two inscriptions (nos. 7 and 3 6 ) do recount incidents in which Asklepios punishes sup­ pliants, but neither incident is severe (the first causes marks on the face, the second, in­ jury), and the god later makes the second man well after he is suitably penitent and remorseful. These stories seem calculated to promote truthfulness and authentic devo­ tion rather than to convey any malevolence on the part of the god.

THE EVERYDAY PRACTICE OF GRECO-ROMAN RELIGION •

121

61.

Kee, Miracle, 9 4 .

62.

/G 4 . 1 . 1 2 1 - 1 2 2 , no. 3. The god renames this man"ATnoTos.

63.

Cf. Rom 16:5; 1 Cor 16:19; Col 4:15; Philem 2.

64.

Kee, citing Boulanger (Aelius Aristide et la sophistique dans la Province d'Asie au U siecle de

2

e

notre ere [Paris: Boccard, 1923], 1 3 5 - 3 6 ) , states that according to estimates, Aristides re­ mained in Pergamon for five years. Kee, Miracle, 9 5 . 65.

These six works have been collected as numbers 4 7 - 5 2 of Aristides' Orations or Dis­ courses.

For synopses of Aristides's life, see P. Aelius Aristides, Aristides in Four Volumes,

trans. Charles A. Behr, L C L (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1973), vii-xii (a single volume of this work has been published); Kee, Miracle, 9 0 - 9 1 . 66.

I work with the translation of Charles Behr: P. Aelius Aristides, The Complete Works, trans. Charles A. Behr, vol 2 (Leiden: E. J . Brill, 1981), 3 0 5 - 3 0 6 . Greek text: W . Dindorff, ed., Aristides, vol. 1 (Leipzig: Reimer, 1829); reprint, Hildesheim: Olms, 1964 [Greek text online] accessed 6 June 2006; available from http://www.tlg.uci.edu; Inter­ net.

67.

Cf. Disc. 4 8 . 8 0 .

68.

Disc. 4 8 . 3 5 .

69.

Disc. 4 8 . 3 0 - 3 5 b .

70.

See the above discussion.

71.

Disc. 4 8 . 3 4 .

72.

Disc. 4 8 . 3 2 . Translation: Behr, 2 : 2 9 7 - 9 8 , modified.

73.

Cf. Ezek 1 : 2 6 - 2 8 .

74.

Kee, Miracle, 9 5 .

75.

Cf. Apuleius, Golden Ass, Book 11.

76.

Cf. Disc. 5 1 . 3 6 .

77.

Kee, Miracle, 1 0 3 - 1 0 4 ; cf. H. W . Plecket, "Religious History as the History of Mentality: The 'Believer' as Servant of the Deity in the Greek World," in Versnel, ed., Faith Hope and Worship, 1 5 8 - 5 9 .

78.

Disc. 4 7 . 1 .

79.

Speaking of Plato, Meijer claims, "[T]he prayer for forgiveness virtually never appears: his object is never to repair evil which has been committed." P. A. Meijer, "Philosophers, Intellectuals, and Religion in Hellas," in Versnel, ed., Faith, Hope, and Worship, 2 4 2 .

80.

There are certainly many instances of admitting guilt or wrongdoing, but no author that I have found discusses doing so on the order of a social practice, within an instinitionalized relationship (such as patron-client) or quasi-institutionalized one (such as friend­ ship), or within the practices of a philosophical system (such as Cynic correction).

81.

Pettazzoni attempts to link the few references to confession of sins in Greco-Roman texts to the religious practices expressed in these inscriptions. Raffaele Pettazzoni, "Confes­ sion of Sins and the Classics," HTR 3 0 (1937): 1 - 1 4 . Touching on Ovid (Epist. 5 1 - 5 8 ; Metam. 1 1 . 1 2 9 - 1 4 3 ; Fast. 6 . 3 0 5 - 3 2 7 ) , Juvenal (Sat. 6 . 5 3 5 - 5 4 1 ) , Aelian (Nat. an. 11.17), and Plutarch (Superst. 168D), Pettazzoni concludes that confession of sins was not origi­ nally part of Greco-Roman religious practices (p. 14), but was endemic to worship of fe­ male deities (Isis, Dea Syria, and the Anatolian Great Mother, much of which was traceable to the Hittites) that later moved into the West.

122

82.

• JAMES RILEY STRANGE

Aslak Rostad, "Confession or Reconciliation? The Narrative Structure of the Lydian and Phrygian 'Confession Inscriptions,'" SO 77 (2002): 148. Before Steinleitner's published dissertation of 1913, the inscriptions were available to the public "only in scattered trave­ logues, museum annals, memoirs, and the like"; Hans-Josef Klauk, "Die kleinasiatischen Beichtinschriften und das Neue Testament," in Geschichte-Tradition-Reflexion:

Festschrift

fur Martin Hengel zum 70. Geburtstag, vol. 3, Friihes Christentum, ed. Hubert Cancik, Her­ mann Lichtenberger, and Peter Schaffer (Tubingen: J . C. B. Mohr [Paul Siebeck], 1996), 63. After Steinleitner's study the corpus of inscriptions has expanded, and both M. Ricl and G. Petzl have published more complete collections.

Marijana Ricl, La conscience du

peche dans les cultes anatoliens a lepoque romaine. La confession des fautes rituelles et ethiques dans les cultes meoniens et phrygiens (Serbian, with a French summary; Belgrade, 1995); Georg Petzl, ed., Die Beichtinschriften

Westkleinasiens,

Epigraphica Anatolica vol. 22

(Bonn: Dr. Rudolf Habelt GMBH, 1994). Ricl's publication contains 135 inscriptions; Petzl's, 124. Both authors have subsequently published other inscriptions. This book re­ lies on Petzl's text (hereafter B W K ) and numbering system. 83.

H. S. Versnel, "Beyond Cursing: The Appeal to Justice in Judicial Prayers," in Magika Hiera: Ancient Greek Magic and Religion, ed. Christopher A. Faraone and Dirk Obbink (New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991), 75. Photographs and transcrip­ tions of many of these inscriptions may be found within larger collections of inscriptions from Asia minor. For a list of these publications see Eckhard J . Schnabel, "Divine Tyr­ anny and Public Humiliation: A Suggestion for the Interpretation of the Lydian and Phrygian Confession Inscriptions," NovTXLV (2003): 160, note 1.

84.

Cf. Schnabel, "Divine Tyranny," 161; Rostad, "Confession or Reconciliation?," 1 4 6 - 4 7 .

85.

Rostad, "Confession or Reconciliation?" 146.

86.

All translations are by the author. Greek text: Petzl, Beichtinschriften, 3.

87.

Petzl, Beichtinschriften, 3.

88.

Petzl, Beichtinschriften, 3. According to Schnabel, "Divine Tyranny," 161, the crescent moon in this position frequently appears on the stelae as a symbol for Men; cf. BWK 4, 5, 6, 18, 57, 58, 5 9 , 6 1 , 6 2 , 6 3 . For further examples of the god holding the scepter, see BWK 5 1 , 5 2 , 5 8 , 6 1 , 6 7 , 6 8 .

89.

Schnabel, "Divine Tyranny," 1 6 1 - 6 2 , cites J . H. M. Strubbe, "Cursed be he that moves my bones," in Faraone and Obbink, Majika Hiera, 4 4 .

90.

Cf. BWK 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 20, 3 5 , 37, 3 8 , 62(?), 97.

91.

Schnabel, "Divine Tyranny," 162.

92.

Greek text: Petzl, Beichtinschriften, 8 6 . The stele is now lost. For bibliographical informa­ tion on extant copies and photos of the monument, see ibid.

93.

Read 5uva[j6s.

94.

Petzl, Beichtinschriften, 86.

95.

Greek text, Petzl, Beichtinschriften, 132. This stele was found in secondary or later use, incorporated into the wall of a house.

96.

Ibid.

97.

Read perfect infinitive TlpapTnKevai. See Petzl, Beichtinschriften, 132. Cf. BWK 109.

98.

Read STTEIOETUXE-

99.

See BWK 1, 4, 1 0 , 4 3 , 7 6 , 116.

THE

100.

EVERYDAY PRACTICE OF GRECO-ROMAN RELIGION •

123

Ibid, 5 2 - 5 3 .

101.

Read ptc KOAOCOSETOO: .

102.

As Rostad has pointed out, verbs of confessing occur in only nine of the inscriptions (Petzl reproduces 124 inscriptions), and only three of these specify the particular trans­ gression committed; Rostad, "Confession or Reconciliation?" 151 (many others, how­ ever, contain accounts of sins without using verbs of confession: cf. BWK 1, 4, 5, 10, 15, 19, 37, 4 3 , 6 0 , 6 5 , 76). Rostad concludes that the primary intent of the inscriptions is to attest to reconciliation between the deity and the individual, and suggests that such "rec­ onciliation was the object of the cult" in which the erection of steles played a role; ibid., 160-61.

103.

Bauckham, James,

102-104.

• C H A P T E R

F I V E *

Ways Not Taken by James: Judaic Visions of Corporate Life

A

s in C h a p t e r s 3 and 4 , the discussion o f Judaic texts is limited to a few

writings.

T h o s e writings talk a b o u t prayer, divine healing, confession

o f sins, and correction within structures whose categories o f t h o u g h t

provide counterparts to J a m e s ' s categories, and where disproportionate catego­ ries, o r categories found in o n e text b u t n o t another, neither impede the task

o f c o m p a r i s o n n o r render it ineffective.

1

Despite representing m a n y different

genres, all o f the Judaic texts treated in this chapter are overtly didactic in na­ ture. T h e y address the issue o f how the heirs o f biblical Israel, differently con­ ceived, are to live o u t a distinctive way o f life. All can generally b e classified as instruction directed to a particular Israel in h o w to live according to T o r a h , however differently each text may conceive o f Israel and T o r a h . A l o n e o f all the J u d a i c works compared to J a m e s , the Community Rule o f the D e a d S e a Scrolls presents the practices o f prayer, confession, and correction within a relatively c o m p a c t text.

F o r that reason all o f C h a p t e r 6 is devoted to that

writing.

Prayer M a n y different kinds o f a n c i e n t J u d a i c texts talk a b o u t the effectiveness o f prayer o r instruct people in how they should pray.

T h e sections that follow

assess passages from two tractates o f the M i s h n a h whose systemic categories may b e c o m p a r e d with J a m e s : Berakhot and

T h e People of Israel Before God: m.

2

Ta'anit.

Berakhot

In the matters discussed in the M i s h n a h ' s divisions and tractates, t h e way Sag­ es reason a b o u t T o r a h is important.

T h e logic that governs the process by

which sages arrive at rulings establishes precedent, and this precedent in turn allows Israelites to work out, through analogy, how T o r a h applies in their

126

• JAMES RILEY STRANGE

workaday world.

M o r e t h a n establishing patterns o f logic for further rulings,

however, the Sages' reasoning reveals the assumptions that lie b e h i n d their logic, and these assumptions provide a window into how the framers o f the M i s h n a h t h i n k a b o u t G o d , h u m a n s , a n d the relationship between the two.

3

W i t h the two tractates o f the M i s h n a h considered here—Berakhot and Ta'anit—James's

instructions o n prayer can b e c o m p a r e d with those o f a true

U t o p i a n vision: the M i s h n a h sets o u t a way o f life for a single, homogenized Israel that existed nowhere at the time that the work reached c o m p l e t i o n (ca. 2 0 0 C . E . ) ; nevertheless, the text works o u t instructions for the minutiae o f that imagined Israel's daily existence. B o t h texts set forth instructions based o n their distinctive worldviews: James, by speaking o f the challenges faced in daily living by the "twelve tribes o f the Diaspora"—Israel in exile a m o n g G e n ­ tiles; the M i s h n a h , by imagining Israelite life as it ought to be, free o f outside rule and constraint, within Israel's ancestral land, where the only challenges that generate discussion are governed by the p r o b l e m o f keeping T o r a h within the Israelite h o u s e h o l d and in t h e daily life o f Israelite society. Moreover, o f the texts reviewed in this chapter, only the M i s h n a h b e c a m e a normative text for the Judaism o f the two T a l m u d s , and h e n c e for the Juda­ isms o f the sixth century C . E . to the present.

4

T h u s , tractates Berakhot and

Ta'anit m a k e it possible to c o m p a r e a foundational text o f all present Christi­ anities ( C a t h o l i c , O r t h o d o x , and Protestant) to a foundational text o f all pre­ sent-day Judaisms. Tractate Berakhot c o n c e r n s itself with the recitation o f the Shema, Eighteen B e n e d i c t i o n s (also called the Amidah),

the

grace said at the beginning

and ending o f meals, blessings recited in special circumstances, and the rules governing these practices. T h e pertinent sections have to do with regulating times o f prayer, with the i n t e n t i o n o f the o n e praying, and what the framers o f the M i s h n a h consider a useless prayer. W e begin with the o p e n i n g passage o f the tractate, 1:1 A - N .

5

T h e passage

deals with the question o f h o w to reckon "evening" in the obligation to recite 6

the Shema at the e n d o f the day: in order to fulfill this obligation, w h e n may o n e begin to recite, and at what time may s o m e o n e be assured that h e

7

has

m e t the obligation ( i f he has recited by this time), o r that h e has failed to meet it (if he has n o t recited)? T h e matter is settled at E with Sages' ruling: in this particular instance, "evening" persists until midnight. W h y then does the dis­ cussion c o n t i n u e with R a b b a n Gamaliel's opinion?

W h a t is at stake in the

protracted discussion appears at N : Sages may indeed agree with the principle b e h i n d G a m a l i e l ' s generous interpretation o f matters ("evening" concludes at dawn), b u t their c o n c e r n is to prevent, n o t only the sin o f failing to m e e t the obligation, b u t even the proximity o f s i n .

8

I f o n e has recited by midnight, he

• J U D A I C VISIONS OF C O R P O R A T E

LIFE*

127

will n o t even c o m e close to transgressing the rule stipulating that evening ends at dawn. W h a t is at issue, therefore, is the protection o f Israelites from their h u m a n proclivities, whether through evil intent o r accident.

T h e issue be­

comes clear with the language at J - L , for the ruling o f G a m a l i e l applies to all mitzvoth that sages say may b e performed until midnight. H e n c e , the o p e n i n g passage o f the M i s h n a h ' s tractate o n prayer (and o f the M i s h n a h itself) establishes reasoning that may be applied b e y o n d the spe­ cific case presented, since religious obligations to be performed in the evening should b e c o m p l e t e d any time before midnight. Y e t the idea lying b e h i n d sag­ es* ruling is even m o r e far reaching, for it reveals the intention b e h i n d the judgment.

T h e passage turns o u t to have little to d o with the particulars o f

Shema recitation, b u t with how to interpret obligations that o n e must meet at particular hours o f the day, and the c h i e f consideration is to protect the Israel­ ite male from sin. A t 2:1 a new problem arises. W h e n the time for recitation o f the Shema arrives, how does o n e make the transition from reading the Shema, the text o f 9

which is found in scripture, to reciting it in fulfillment o f religious obligation? T h e d e t e r m i n i n g factor in fulfilling religious obligations is the h u m a n will, for only what the person intends to do can distinguish between two otherwise identical activities. Because until relatively recently people read aloud, reading for study looked n o different from prayer recitation. Again the matter is set­ tled early on, in this case at B and C : if, while reading the Shema from the T o rah, the time for recitation arrives, simply by making the decision to change his reading into recitation ( " i f h e directed his heart," ite male fulfills

the obligation.

n $ ]13 Cfc) the Israel­

If, o n the o t h e r h a n d , he c o n t i n u e s to

read with n o change in his intention, the obligation remains u n m e t until he does so. Again, the discussion c o n t i n u e s with the rulings o f n a m e d authorities. In this case, the o p i n i o n s o f R.s M e i r a n d J u d a h serve two apparent purposes.

In

the immediate context, their words clarify the issue o f "directing the heart." Does this act o f the will preclude interruptions in recitation? R.s M e i r and Ju­ dah b o t h allow interruptions in certain spots in the Shema,

10

under particular

c o n d i t i o n s , and making distinctions between the o n e reciting, a fellow Israel­ ite, a n d a non-Israelite. A person may disrupt his own recitation at a break be­ tween paragraphs in order to greet a fellow Israelite a n d to respond to an Israelite's greeting "out o f respect" ( l i M H "DSQ, D , E , K ) . Likewise, R.s M e i r and J u d a h agree that a person may suspend his own recitation in the middle o f a paragraph in order to initiate a greeting, only "out o f fear" (ntjn'H "390, F, I). T h e two offer differing o p i n i o n s o n particular p o i n t s ,

11

b u t the same issue

governs the logic o f both: the intention to recite the Shema carries forward de-

128

• JAMES RILEY STRANGE •

spite certain types o f interruptions, a n d allowances are made for the effect that mitigating c o n d i t i o n s have o n a person's intent.

T h e s e c o n d i t i o n s (respect

and fear) are sufficiently vague to allow the rulings to form analogies for a myr­ iad o f circumstances in the life o f an Israelite. A s e c o n d purpose b e h i n d these o p i n i o n s does n o t b e c o m e clear until 5 : 1 . Again, the ruling in this section emphasizes the role o f the h u m a n will in reli­ gious practices: in the matter taken up in this passage, the i n t e n t i o n to per­ form the act carries even greater weight than t h e i n t e n t i o n to recite the Shema. Here, the prayer u n d e r discussion is the standing prayer, or Amidah (also the "Eighteen B e n e d i c t i o n s " ) , w h i c h o n e must undertake "in a s o l e m n frame o f 12

m i n d " (Efrn 7 3 ' 3 "?jino).

W i t h the ruling at D a n d E , the earlier o p i n i o n s o f

R.s M e i r and J u d a h in 2:1 are clarified: at stake is distinguishing between the obligations o f the Shema a n d the Amidah.

O n c e Israelites have "directed their

1

hearts toward the O m n i p r e s e n t " (DipQ ? 33*? n $ 1313' #) for the purpose o f recit­ S

ing the Amidah, they must n o t interrupt it, either o u t o f respect (responding to the king's greeting), or o u t o f fear (untwining the serpent from o n e ' s h e e l ) .

13

In this instance, praying "in a solemn frame o f m i n d " is o n a different order than "directing the heart" towards recitation, presumably because the former requires giving o n e ' s attention to G o d himself. H u m a n i n t e n t i o n distinguishes a m u n d a n e activity from a sacred o n e , for directing o n e ' s heart toward recitation o f t h e Shema accomplishes the deed, and solemnity is required to meet the obligation to recite the Amidah.

At

4:4A, R . Eliezer rules, " ' O n e w h o makes his prayers a fixed task—his prayers are n o t [valid] supplications [of G o d ] . ' "

O n e must intend to pray; simply

speaking the words at the predetermined time does n o t fulfill the obligation. A t 4 : 5 Sages give a striking example o f the power o f h u m a n i n t e n t i o n , for through it o n e meets even the obligation to perform a physical act. Sages say that i f o n e riding a donkey is unable to d i s m o u n t so that he can stand while praying, he may fulfill the obligation by turning his head toward the east. I f for s o m e reason even this act is n o t possible (if, for example, he does n o t k n o w in w h i c h direction east lies), "he should direct his heart toward the C h a m b e r o f the Holy o f Holies." H u m a n i n t e n t i o n also distinguishes between sacred activities o f lesser a n d greater solemnity. N o o t h e r blessing addressed in m. Berakhot requires the sol­ e m n attention necessary for reciting the Amidah. cern about interrupting

T h e tractate displays n o con­

the many o t h e r blessings for various o c c a s i o n s .

14

N o n e o f these events, s o m e that o c c u r in the course o f every day and others that reflect unusual circumstances, requires the attention that o n e must devote to the Amidah.

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T h e passages treated here have provided s o m e details about how to pray; what then a b o u t praying in the wrong way? Merely going through the m o t i o n s has b e e n addressed at 4 : 4 , and a n o t h e r b r i e f statement appears at 9 : 3 .

Previ­

ous passages have dealt almost exclusively with scripted prayers: the prayer is read aloud or recited as memorized, according to a standard form, and with abbreviations o r different wordings allowed for various situations or special occasions.

15

Sages do make allowances for unscripted prayers as well, particu­

larly in unanticipated circumstances, as in 9 : 3 E and F .

1 6

T h e type o f un­

scripted prayer treated is a vain prayer (\NW n'psn), as are the scripted prayers for good and evil recited in the wrong c i r c u m s t a n c e s .

17

W h a t accounts for the

ruling is clarified at 9 : 3 E and F: vain prayers are those that attempt to u n d o what has already happened. A prayer can n e i t h e r change the sex o f an u n b o r n fetus n o r reverse a calamity, just as it is useless to cry o u t a b o u t the past.

18

T h i s claim appears to lie b e h i n d 9 : 3 B as well: saying the blessing for good over (one's own) evil circumstances and for evil over (an enemy's) good circum­ stances entails an attempt to reverse what has already occurred. Here we e n c o u n t e r the limits o f h u m a n will: it can transform

spoken

words into a prayer and can turn sitting into standing, b u t it c a n n o t o n its own ensure the effectiveness o f the prayer. T h a t is d e t e r m i n e d in part by the appropriateness o f the prayer (whether o r n o t the o n e praying expects G o d to reverse an accomplished fact), b u t o t h e r factors pertain as well. Sages address the matter at 5 : 5 , in w h i c h they discuss the effect that to "err" (nuti) while praying the Amidah has o n the o u t c o m e o f the petition for healing.

19

A t issue is whether or n o t the prayer is "fluent"

20

(rnuri).

A "fluent"

prayer is interrupted by neither error n o r confusion. A t stake again is h u m a n intention: the o n e praying o n b e h a l f o f the congregation has directed his m i n d toward G o d , b u t i f he makes an error, h e must cease praying altogether. W h i l e the obligation to recite the Amidah may be m e t by appointing a re­ placement, the example o f R . H a n i n a h b . D o s a

21

indicates that an interrupted

petition for healing has lost its efficacy. T h e implication is that o n c e a person has b r o k e n the "solemn frame o f m i n d " required for the Amidah, he c a n n o t return to this state. W h a t can b e made o f the preceding analysis? W h e n we read J a m e s and m. Berakhot, we e n c o u n t e r authors w h o are scarcely in conversation at all. Rarely do their discussions overlap, and categories that form the c e n t e r o f c o n c e r n for o n e barely register in the other.

T h e two could n o t be m o r e different in

formal matters: J a m e s n a m e s b o t h h i m s e l f as author a n d his audience as "the twelve tribes o f the Diaspora"; t h e M i s h n a h speaks in an a n o n y m o u s voice and addresses n o o n e in particular.

22

J a m e s takes o n t h e trappings o f a letter,

so that even though it lacks a formal epistolary closing, the phrase, "above all,

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•JAMES RILEY STRANGE

my brothers" o f 5 : 1 2 does signal that the instruction is nearing its end; the M i s h n a h simply takes up its discourse with n o introduction, and does n o t sig­ nal its end, so that, although 6 3 tractates separate its opening and closing lines, all s o u n d as i f they could be found anywhere in the text. W h e r e a s J a m e s exhibits an informal, organic strucnire, the M i s h n a h is arranged into six divi­ sions, with each division being comprised o f several tractates and e a c h tractate tackling a distinct topic. I f J a m e s addresses c o m m u n i t i e s o f believers scattered in the "Diaspora" o f the E m p i r e , the M i s h n a h presents G o d ' s people living as if n o n e had ever left the L a n d and all still worshipped in a T e m p l e that is long gone.

I f J a m e s is c o n c e r n e d with the integrity and survival o f a c o m m u n i t y

constituted and organized in a way contrary to the surrounding society, the M i s h n a h sets forth a U t o p i a , a way o f life and construal o f the social order for an ideal Israel that existed nowhere in the s e c o n d century C . E .

2 3

Finally, the

primary category o f prayer in the Mishnah—blessing G o d , as indicated by para­ graph after paragraph c o n c e r n i n g its regulation—scarcely registers in J a m e s (the e n c o u r a g e m e n t to sing praises in 5 : 1 3 is a single example), and the category o f intercessory prayer, w h i c h generates further exhortation and p r o o f by exemplum in J a m e s , forms a m i n o r category in the M i s h n a h . It is important, however, n o t to draw facile conclusions about whether the M i s h n a h allows for certain types o f prayer, or whether Jews o f s e c o n d century Palestine prayed for o n e another.

Clearly, whereas m o s t o f the prayers o f m.

Berakhot take the form o f blessings o f the Divine, they nevertheless are in­ tended as petitions and intercessions. In 1:4B, for example, the s e c o n d o f the two blessings said after the evening recitation o f the Shema contains a petition for peaceful sleep. Likewise, the b r i e f prayer that R . N e h u n i a b . H a q a n a h said upon entering the beit midrash apparently was intended to ensure correct read­ ing and accurate declaration o f T o r a h . T h e clearest indications that blessings often function as petitions c o m e at m. Berakhot 4 : 4 and 5:2: in 4 : 4 , a person walking in a dangerous place may ask G o d for safe passage;

24

in 5 : 2 , a prayer

for rain (which is a prayer for crops, and h e n c e for survival o n o n e hand and well-being o n the other) is included in the n i n t h blessing o f the Amidah.

R.

H a n i n a h b . D o s a ' s prayer for the sick (also presumably during the Amidah) in 5:5 is c o u c h e d within a blessing as well. In addressing the petitionary force o f prayer in m. Berakhot, Zvee Zahavy argues that through their regimented and rigorous prayer life the rabbis o f the age o f Y a v n e h sought wellness and protec­ tion.

25

I f this is the case, then even graces said at meals can be understood as

petitions for G o d to c o n t i n u e to grant good crops and healthy flocks. Given these data, we n o w have the problem o f how to distinguish petition and intercession in m. Berakhot from what we find in J a m e s . T h e solution lies in the construal o f the praying c o m m u n i t y in each text. In m. Berakhot there is

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evidence o f a localized c o m m u n i t y o f worshipers, b u t in contrast to James, the tractates o f the M i s h n a h work o u t the problem o f how, through the institu­ tion o f the Israelite household, every Israelite can live a life o f sanctity that be­ fore the destruction o f the T e m p l e was relegated to priests alone.

While

prayer in Berakhot may protect the welfare o f the c o m m u n i t y , it works primar­ ily to sanctify holy Israel in its relationship with its G o d . Matters that interces­ sory prayer

addresses

in James—who is a

member

o f the

group,

how

congregations constitute themselves over and against the structures and values o f the d o m i n a n t society—are simply n o t addressed in m. Berakhot, in which Is­ raelite society has n o rivals.

26

A p r o m i n e n t difference between J a m e s and the M i s h n a h is that m. Berak­ hot presents prayer as a religious obligation: the paragraphs address times o f day or circumstances under which it must b e done, in what position, in what frame o f m i n d , and so forth. Especially the opening paragraphs o f the tractate are filled with references to a religious obligation (m^o) and to fulfilling (N2r) such.

By contrast, in C h a p t e r 2 o f this study we saw that J a m e s uses moral

discourse to discuss religious matters, encouraging s o m e behaviors and atti­ tudes while warning against others, speaking o f virtues and vices, warning o f c o n s e q u e n c e s and

assuring

c o m m o n in o t h e r moralists.

rewards,

and

employing

rhetorical

flourishes

N o w h e r e can we find in J a m e s a c o n c e r n for

what is necessary to complete a mitzvah.

T h a t fact is all the m o r e apparent,

now that we have the M i s h n a h ' s example in front o f us. A n o t h e r conspicuous difference between the two texts b e c o m e s clear with the i m p o r t a n c e o f h u m a n intent in m. Berakhot.

By claiming that a person

prays by directing the heart toward G o d , and that in s o m e circumstances in­ tention alone fulfills the obligation to stand erect, the authorship o f Berakhot asserts that the h u m a n will transforms m u n d a n e activities into sacred ones. In the same way, the performative utterance o f a blessing renders any m u n d a n e space into sacred space, and by extension, calling for prayer in unforeseen cir­ cumstances m e a n s that any time may b e changed into sacred time by the same deliberate a c t . James.

27

T h e transformative power o f h u m a n intention is muted in

T h e a u t h o r o f the epistle is c o n c e r n e d , rather, with the moral conse­

q u e n c e s o f the exercise o f the will: it must b e submitted to G o d (Jas 4 : 7 , 1 0 ) , otherwise it has tremendous destructive capacity when it is directed toward the vices o f bitter jealousy, selfish a m b i t i o n , and the fulfillment o f o n e ' s own plea­ sures ( J a s 3 : 1 3 - 4 : 3 ) .

2 8

In m. Berakhot, unscripted prayers at times o f crisis form a m i n o r o r inert category, requiring n o c o m m e n t a r y o r regulation.

Y e t the M i s h n a h ' s framers

acknowledge that such prayers can have powerful results, as the following co­ gent example illustrates.

132

• JAMES RILEY STRANGE •

T h e Exceptional Individual Before God: m.

Ta'anit

Tractate Ta'anit o f the M i s h n a h discusses what c o n d i t i o n s o f drought follow­ ing the festival o f S u c c o t d e t e r m i n e the duration and severity o f fasts to be held until the early (i.e., fall) rains c o m e . In 3 : 8 , Sages tell the famous story o f H o n i "the circle-drawer." T h e people o f Jerusalem ask H o n i to pray for rain o n their behalf. H o n i ' s prayers are unsuccessful until he draws a circle, stands in its center, and de­ mands, " ' L o r d o f the world! Y o u r children have turned to me, for before you I am like a m e m b e r o f the family. I swear by your great name—I'm simply n o t moving from here until you take pity o n your children!'" It begins to rain, b u t insufficiently, in H o n i ' s estimation. H e d e m a n d s m o r e rain, and m o r e , "until Israelites had to flee from Jerusalem up to the T e m p l e M o u n t because o f the rain."

T h e citizens are forced to ask H o n i to pray that the rains stop, and

S i m e o n b . S h a t a h declares, " ' I f you were n o t H o n i , I should decree a b a n o f e x c o m m u n i c a t i o n against you.

B u t what am I going to do to you?

F o r you

importune before the O m n i p r e s e n t , so he does what you want, like a son who importunes his father, so he does what he wants.'" W h a t is striking a b o u t this example o f prayer that can bring rain sufficient to flood J e r u s a l e m

29

is the absence o f the primary categories o f prayer found in

m. Berakhot. H o n i ' s prayer is n o t scripted, it falls at n o particular time o f day or day o f the m o n t h , and it requires n o special focus o f the will: that is, it does n o t m e e t a religious obligation in any sense. A t first glance, H o n i ' s prayer falls into the category o f prayers said in special circumstances, which is introduced at m. Berakhot 9 : 1 , yet it also c o n t a i n s n o blessing o f the Deity, constituting ra­ ther an intercessory prayer o n b e h a l f o f the c o m m u n i t y ("fl3in; 1:5A). More­ over, even within tractate Ta'anit the prayer is an anomaly. In m. Ta'anit 1:2-5 we find references to prayers for rain in the m o n t h s o f Nisan, Marheshvan, and Kislev, which i f n o t answered trigger a series o f fasts o f increasing severity (1:3—7).

30

During the fasts, the recitation o f the Amidah is lengthened by the

addition o f six additional blessings, bringing the total to 2 4 ( 2 : 2 ) .

Each o f

these prayers for rain, however, is a particular scripted line spoken at a certain point within the recitation o f the Amidah (see 1:1; cf. B e r . 5 : 2 ) . T h e story o f H o n i does n o t fall within this discussion; in fact, it lacks all indications o f ur­ gency. T h e simple imperative, "Pray for rain" ( 3 : 8 C ) , suggests that the people approach H o n i in order to avoid fasting (after all, the m o s t severe fasts restrict c o m m e r c e , bathing, and sexual activity, a m o n g o t h e r things). T h e prayer o f H o n i fits within n o established paradigm in either Berakhot o r Ta'anit,

nor

does it indicate a desperate situation o n the part o f the c o m m u n i t y . It rather

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LIFE*

instigates a crisis, which H o n i must also abate through prayer.

31

Oddly, the

c o n t e n t o f this second prayer is n o t given. A second surprise in the narrative c o m e s from H o n i ' s status.

Evidently

his ability to importune the O m n i p r e s e n t and to have his prayers answered is well known, yet he bears n o honorific title in this episode.

H e is n o t pre­

sented as a sage w h o is skilled in knowledge o f T o r a h o r in reasoning through analogy.

He is exceptional, instead, for his special relationship with G o d ,

which is evident in his petulant drawing o f circles.

H e may stand before the

O m n i p r e s e n t and make demands as child to a parent, and he may expect to have those d e m a n d s met. T h i s u n i q u e status, furthermore, protects h i m from the c o n s e q u e n c e s o f demands gone awry. W e r e it H o n i himself w h o flooded Jerusalem, S i m e o n b . S h a t a h would e x c o m m u n i c a t e h i m , b u t it was G o d w h o sent the rain at H o n f s behest, and what can anyone do a b o u t that? T h e story o f H o n i invites c o m p a r i s o n with J a m e s in many details: at issue is bringing and stopping the rain through prayer, the question o f what makes prayer effective, the discussion o f prayer in c o n j u n c t i o n with o t h e r religious practices (in the case o f m. Ta'anit, fasting), and interceding with G o d o n be­ half o f a c o m m u n i t y . T h i s final point deserves c o m m e n t because it so closely resembles o n e o f James* primary categories. Evidence is simply t o o scant to draw firm conclu­ sions a b o u t what Sages envision here.

T h e practices regulated in Ta'anit—

times and duration o f fasts and the c o n d u c t o f the fasts themselves, and the particular calendar by which they are scheduled—surely set Israelites apart from all o t h e r peoples. T h e authors o f Ta'anit, however, do n o t talk about a com­ munity distinguishing itself from others through its way o f life; they imagine Israel shaping its own destiny, troubled only by the challenges o f following T o ­ rah as G o d wants it to be followed. A society that is at odds with Israel's way o f life, o r rival c o m m u n i t i e s making claims to the title Israel or its inheritance (as C h r i s t i a n c o m m u n i t i e s are certainly doing at the turn from the s e c o n d cen­ tury to the third), simply make n o impression in this discussion.

32

W e r e we to

take the tractate at face value, we should expect to find in s e c o n d century Pal­ estine a single, h o m o g e n e o u s Israel, under the authority o f n o foreign gov­ e r n m e n t , nowhere in exile, regulating its life through T o r a h observance and a legislative system free from all constraints. In contrast to James, who insists that Elijah has n o special status, H o n i is the exceptional m a n in m. Ta'anit.

Conversely, whereas J a m e s calls for his

readers to pray like Elijah, Ta'anit's authors show n o such expectation with H o n i . James, in the m o d e o f moral exhortation, seeks to bring a b o u t certain virtuous behaviors, in particular those that help to establish and maintain the Christian c o m m u n i t y in an alien e n v i r o n m e n t . James is c o n c e r n e d with how

•JAMES RILEY

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STRANGE*

m e m b e r s act toward o n e another, instructing t h e m to take up particular deeds and ways o f relating that level social strata (at least within the e n v i r o n m e n t o f the c o m m u n i t y ) a n d subvert the values o f outsiders. T h e M i s h n a h ' s authors, by contrast, c o n c e r n themselves with the issue o f how to maintain sanctity for Israel in the absence o f t h e Jerusalem T e m p l e .

3 3

T h e answer that they find

and work out is through T o r a h observance by all Israelites in all aspects o f their lives. Religious obligation, rather than virtue and vice, is what is at stake in the tractate. A s a result, its examples, b o t h positive and negative, and usu­ ally drawn from the lives o f n a m e d authorities, typically serve as analogies or precedents for the application o f T o r a h in c o n c r e t e circumstances. H o n i does n o t function in this way, for he is u n i q u e in his interaction with t h e O m n i ­ present. In the person o f H o n i , an exceptional relationship with the Divine suf­ fices to replace all regulations c o n c e r n i n g effective prayer.

H o n i is n o t obli­

gated to direct his heart toward the Holy o f Holies, n o r is he to worry about the fluidity o f his words, for what effect can interruptions have o n such a prayer as he prays?

A b s e n t , as well, is a care for the validity o f t h e prayer—

whether he prays in vain, o r substitutes the wrong prayer for the circumstance at hand.

T h e nature o f the relationship abrogates all o t h e r stipulations con­

cerning prayer; this prayer c a n n o t (and according to S i m e o n b . S h a t a h , it should n o t ) serve as an example for Israel. In m. Ta'anit, the exceptional indi­ vidual violates, and so reinforces, the rule governing all Israelites. In James, the exceptional figure is m a d e m u n d a n e , and so his example applies to all.

Healing W h e n authors o f a n c i e n t J u d a i c texts c o n t e m p l a t e illness and its effects, often their first recourse is to urge the faithful to seek healing from G o d , for they assume that sickness has a bearing o n the divine-human relationship: either h u m a n infirmity places a lien o n a G o d w h o is dedicated to the wellness o f G o d ' s children, o r illness is c o n n e c t e d to sin, so that healing is linked to ex­ piation as well. T e x t s a b o u t divine healing a b o u n d in a n c i e n t J u d a i c sources, b u t for the purposes o f this comparative project, we e x a m i n e only two: Sirach's statements about the appropriate course o f action w h e n an Israelite falls ill, and the tale o f T o b i t .

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Healing T h r o u g h Prayer and the Physician's Hands: Sirach In Jerusalem a r o u n d 1 8 0 B . C . E . , Jesus son o f Eleazar son o f S i r a c h c o m p o s e d a collection o f exhortations in Hebrew that instructed Jews how to live within a Hellenized culture ( 5 0 : 2 7 ) . A b o u t fifty years later (c. 1 3 2 B . C . E . ) , the grandson o f this Jesus c a m e to Egypt, where he translated the work i n t o G r e e k and added a p r o l o g u e .

34

T h e Epistle o f J a m e s and the " W i s d o m o f Jesus b e n Sira," o r "Ecclesiasticus" in the O l d Latin (hereafter "Sirach"), share many similarities o f form and topic, b o t h c o n t a i n i n g s o m e c o h e r e n t units o f instruction yet exhibiting ar­ rangements whose overall structure is difficult to d i s c e r n .

35

A n analysis o f

what S i r a c h has to say a b o u t the practice o f healing allows us t o c o m p a r e James's teachings with a n o t h e r text that addresses its discourse to Israel's heirs, living as natives o f the Hellenized world and immersed in the lives o f their var­ ious cities, yet characterized as exiles w h o show themselves to b e faithful by their devotion to the o n e true G o d through T o r a h .

W h e r e a s the M i s h n a h

addresses n o o n e in particular and acknowledged n e i t h e r "Hellenistic Juda­ ism" n o r R o m a n rule o f Palestine, b o t h S i r a c h and J a m e s explicitly address themselves to Israel and take up the problem o f Diaspora living. W h e r e a s the M i s h n a h (as well as 1 Q S ) speaks in n o particular voice, b o t h S i r a c h and J a m e s speak as n a m e d authorities in their respective c o m m u n i t i e s .

W h e r e a s the

M i s h n a h generates discourse from particular problems o f halakhah, b o t h Si­ rach and J a m e s collect and pass o n wisdom, S i r a c h explicitly so, J a m e s implic­ itly as evidenced by his use o f the Jesus t r a d i t i o n .

36

Sirach's discussion o f healing through prayer m o s t naturally evokes a comparison with James.

W h a t immediately stands o u t is the praise o f the

work o f physicians in Sirach 3 8 : 1 - 1 5 .

3 7

Analysis should begin with a word about the style o f the passage, which can properly b e called a short s e r m o n or meditation o n healing, c o m p o s e d o f two p o e m s .

38

T h e Hebrew draws from the stylistic examples o f the B o o k o f

Proverbs when setting o u t aphorisms, sermons, and instructions (all o f w h i c h show up in the G r e e k as well): parallelism ( w . 3 , 10, 1 1 , 1 2 ) , m e t a p h o r ( w . 3 , 10, 1 3 , 1 5 ) , and scriptural allusions ( w . 4 [ G e n 1 : 1 1 - 1 2 ] , 5 [Exod 1 5 : 2 3 - 2 5 ] , 11 [Lev 2:2]) appear t h r o u g h o u t the passage, as well as the use o f t h e vav con­ j u n c t i o n and consecutive (which b e c o m e s polysyndeton in G r e e k ) , and direct address.

T h e Hebrew shares o t h e r matters o f style with standard rhetorical

tools well known from Hellenistic g n o m i c literature, such as assonance and alliteration,

39

amplification (v. 1 1 ) ,

40

truncated syllogism (v. 1 4 ) ,

41

and rhetori­

cal question (v. 5 ) . T h e translation into G r e e k adds still o t h e r stylistic and rhetorical devices: imperatives appear 10 times in the passage and are c o n c e n -

136

• JAMES RILEY STRANGE •

trated in the four verses that instruct in praying, securing absolution, a n d see­ ing a physician ( 9 - 1 2 ) ; we also find a s s o n a n c e homoiotekuton**

42

a n d alliteration,

43

as well as

tricolon (v. 1 0 ) , repetition bordering o n epistrophe ( w . 1 - 8 ) ,

a n d possibly a shift in a u d i e n c e

46

c o m b i n e d with a prayer against evil (v. 1 5 ) .

45

47

T h e vocabulary o f the passage draws readers' attention as well, for the G r e e k text indicates that S i r a c h ' s grandson is s c h o o l e d in standard Hellenistic G r e e k , b u t that he also has access to the Septuagint, which supplies the vo­ cabulary for religious discourse to Jews o f the Hellenistic Diaspora, a n d in a few instances he appears to have put together his own technical vocabulary to render certain phrases o f his grandfather's Hebrew. O n o n e hand, the G r e e k text o f S i r a c h translates the Hebrew words for prayer, sickness, and healing by drawing from the typical repertoire o f G r e e k t e r m s .

48

O n the o t h e r h a n d , the

grandson c o u c h e s the ideas o f sin and a t o n e m e n t in language that does n o t reflect typical G r e e k usage. removing transgression sin),

49

from

'A(j>(oTr]|Ji occurs regularly in S i r a c h to c o n n o t e o n e s e l f (i.e., repentance o r abstinence

yet this usage is attested only here a n d there in the S e p t u a g i n t .

o t h e r example, the G r e e k renders the rare Hebrew

50

from In an­

("injustice") in v. 10

with TrAr||j|JEAsia, a word denoting a false n o t e , or, metaphorically, a fault or error.

51

T h e term a n d its cognates seldom appear in G r e e k literature,

ring far less frequently than derivatives o f a | j a p T — .

52

occur­

In the Septuagint, o n the

o t h e r h a n d , verbal a n d n o m i n a l forms o f TrArmpEAsicc o c c u r about 7 0 times, nearly h a l f o f the total instances in all o f G r e e k literature up to the fourteenth century C . E .

5 3

T h e text o f Sirach—in the Hebrew, a n d m o r e so in the Greek—participates in the same usage a n d shaping o f language that we find in the G r e e k moralists. T h i s amalgamation o f style a n d vocabulary gives clues about the identity o f the grandson's audience. T h e text reveals an assumption that readers will appreci­ ate its rhetorical flourishes for what they are; h e n c e , the text identifies its read­ ers as G r e e k s .

T h i s identification is also clear from certain topoi present

elsewhere in the b o o k , such as friendship and g o o d table manners, as well as aspects o f Hellenistic culture in which the text assumes its readers participate, such as d i n n e r parties and the consultation o f physicians. A t the same time, Sirach draws from imagery a n d modes o f expression that categorize a particu­ lar population within the Hellenistic world: a Diaspora people that identifies itself as heirs o f Israel's T o r a h , a n d a tradition o f learning a n d way o f life that is distinctive to t h e m . W e can n o w ask about the purpose o f S i r a c h ' s literary features. W e begin by placing 3 8 : 1 - 1 5 in conversation with 3 0 : 1 4 - 2 0 .

In the earlier passage, Si-

rach weighs the benefits o f "health and fitness" (uyieia KCXI eu£(a) against any o t h e r goods, particularly material wealth.

Likewise, in v. 17 any o t h e r evil,

• J U D A I C VISIONS OF CORPORATE

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LIFE

even death, is preferable to "a life o f misery" (£cor)V THKpav) and " c h r o n i c sick­ ness" (appcooTnjjcc E'MIJOVOV).

O n e w h o is constantly ill can n o m o r e enjoy

riches than a closed m o u t h , the dead, o r a statue can eat, a n d wealth will bring as m u c h misery to the sick as sexual arousal causes a e u n u c h .

54

T h e claim in v.

19b indicates why this is the case: illness is G o d ' s p u n i s h m e n t .

55

S u c h an in­

terpretation is in line with what S i r a c h says a b o u t the law o f retribution else­ where in the b o o k .

S i r a c h is clear that sin has c o n s e q u e n c e s in this life, for

the Lord brings swift retribution u p o n those w h o transgress the law and d o not repent.

56

In o t h e r passages, G o d is also the source o f "good a n d bad, life

and death, poverty and w e a l t h . "

57

In light o f these claims, we may infer that

for S i r a c h , at times sin leads to sickness as a natural c o n s e q u e n c e , a n d at oth­ ers G o d causes illness as a response to sin. W e should expect to find that for Sirach, healing entails remission o f sins and justification before G o d , and therefore seeking healing will carry with it strong religious c o n n o t a t i o n s as well. S u c h is the case. In 3 8 : 1 - 1 5 S i r a c h a d m o n i s h e s the wise person (ccvrjp <J>p6vipos) w h o is sick b o t h to "pray to the L o r d " ( s u £ a i Kupi'co) a n d to seek professional care from a physician. T h e e x h o r t a t i o n at verse 9 provides an ob­ vious p o i n t o f focus for o u r discussion, for in it S i r a c h clearly prescribes heal­ ing as a religious act.

O n e w h o is sick o u g h t to seek healing

through

petitionary prayer without delay, as t h e a d m o n i t i o n n o t to " l o o k aside" (pr| TTapapXETre) suggests.

58

S i r a c h rests his assurance that the Lord will heal

(iaoETCd) o n this simple a d m o n i t i o n .

A t verses 1 and 1 2 , however, the crisis

o f illness requires a n o t h e r response that has religious significance as well. T h e physician's "place" (TOTTOV) in divine healing also ought to be acknowledged, because physicians' skills and the m e d i c i n e s they use also have their source in God.

5 9

The

passage's grammatical structure supports this n o t i o n .

In verses 1 0

and 1 1 , S i r a c h explicitly links sickness to sin, a n d he expects three religious practices to a c c o m p a n y petitionary prayer for healing: r e p e n t a n c e (aTTOOTnoov TrAr]|j|j6AEiav Kai EiiSuvov x s » p a s ) ,

6 0

an act o r attitude o f cleansing (OTTO i r a o n ^

a p a p T t a s K a B a p i a o v KapSt'av), and a public act o f expiation. T h e c o m m a n d to allow a physician to help in v. 12 follows immediately u p o n these practices, and is linked to t h e m by a c o o r d i n a t i n g Kai. F u r t h e r m o r e , in v. 9 , following the introductory subordinate clause, "when you are ill" (EV appcooTfipaTi o o u ) , the initial negative imperative is followed by a string o f eight clauses, all gov­ erned by aorist imperatives, the first seven having to d o with t h e abovem e n t i o n e d acts o f expiation, and the final in v. 12 being to "give" (60s)

the

physician his place in healing, a c o m m a n d that e c h o e s the clause, "offer [5os] a pleasing odor," at v. 1 1 . T h e parallel exhortations to h o n o r the physician

138

•JAMES RILEY S T R A N G E *

"for the value o f his services" (irpos TCCS X P

E I A

S G\JTOU TIMOUS auToO) in verse

1 and to give the physician his place in verse 1 2 , as well as to pray without de­ lay in verse 9 , stand side by side in the passage as religious responses t o illness. A c c o r d i n g to Sirach, w h e n people b e c o m e sick, they should avail themselves o f all divine aid at their disposal: prayer a n d the care o f physicians. Given this reading o f the passage, the supposed apostrophe that closes the passage in the G r e e k text (v. 15) takes o n meaning, n o t as hostility toward the 61

sinner n o r skepticism a b o u t the physician's abilities —a s e n t i m e n t that con­ flicts with what has c o m e before—but as a deprecatio for the healing a n d spiri­ tual restoration for the s i n n e r .

62

T h e passage as a whole expresses the

assumption that o n e w h o is sick also has sinned, a n d that b o t h problems must be addressed in order for the Lord to heal that person. In the remedy that Si­ rach prescribes, r e p e n t a n c e a n d a t o n e m e n t take their place alongside prayer for healing and the work o f physicians. T h e s e ideas are picked up and carried i n t o verse 1 5 , in w h i c h we may assume that the participle b aMCcpTcivcov also contains the idea o f sickness (the o n e w h o sins has fallen ill); likewise, the ex­ pectation o f "falling into the h a n d o f a physician" carries with it the idea o f receiving care from the G o d w h o works through t h e physician. S u c h a wish is in line with o t h e r sections o f S i r a c h that call for repentance and speak o f God's mercy.

63

T h e issues o f sin, repentance, and divine j u d g m e n t bring up the question o f eschatology in S i r a c h . S i r a c h claims that G o d metes o u t b o t h reward and p u n i s h m e n t in the present life, b u t what does he say a b o u t the role o f judg­ m e n t in the world to come? T h e answer is, his eschatology follows the law o f retribution expressed in chapter 2 8 o f D e u t e r o n o m y ; j u d g m e n t occurs before death (even i f just before i t ) ,

64

after w h i c h all descend to H a d e s / S h e o l .

65

T h e r e are only vague references in S i r a c h to a j u d g m e n t after death o r to life in a world to c o m e , and very few o f t h o s e .

66

T h e way to survive death is

through the h o n o r that o n e has accrued in life by o n e ' s reputation and the legacy o f children w h o follow o n e ' s e x a m p l e .

67

W e begin the c o m p a r i s o n and contrast o f J a m e s and S i r a c h with Sirach's use o f a<|>(r|Mi to indicate "putting away" one's faults (aTTOOTrjoov TTAr)|j|jeAeiav A

KCU Eii0uvov X £ i P S

K a i

oiro Ttaoris a p a p T i a s K a 0 a p t a o v KCcpSiav). T h i s dis­

tinctive usage by S i r a c h also appears in J a m e s (CCTTOOEJJEVOI Traoccv pvTnav Ken TTEpiaoEiav KaKias in Jas 1:21; cf. 4 : 8 ) , the only example o f such a usage in the New Testament.

68

T h i s "parallel" between the two authors constitutes b u t o n e

o f many verbal a n d t h e m a t i c similarities between J a m e s and S i r a c h .

69

Even so,

n o matter how the n u m b e r a n d level o f these similarities may strike us, with­ o u t systemic c o m p a r i s o n we are left only with resemblances in details, and with speculations a b o u t James's literary d e p e n d e n c e o n Sirach, a c o n n e c t i o n

JUDAIC VISIONS OF C O R P O R A T E LIFE •

139

that is as complicated and difficult to work o u t as James's reliance o n the Jesus tradition. T h e n e e d for systemic c o m p a r i s o n b e c o m e s clear w h e n we n o t e the cate­ gories o f thought that lie b e h i n d the discussion o f healing in b o t h texts. First, for b o t h authors, G o d ' s people must deal with the d o m i n a n t cultural forces o f Hellenistic society. T h e G r e e k text o f S i r a c h speaks to the broader Jewish Di­ aspora o f the Hellenistic world, m u c h as J a m e s addresses "the twelve tribes o f the Diaspora." Y e t S i r a c h addresses people w h o are fully engaged in s o m e as­ pects o f the upper strata o f G r e e k society, for h e takes up the topos o f friend­ ship at length ( 6 : 5 - 1 7 ;

37:l-6)

7 0

manners at b a n q u e t s ( 3 1 : 1 2 - 3 2 : 1 3 ) .

a n d addresses the issue o f good table 7 1

S e c o n d , b o t h authors address the issue

o f how G o d ' s people ought to live as a moral problem, a n d b o t h sometimes pattern their discourses after the example o f Proverbs. T h e i r writings resemble each o t h e r in form, and they draw from a similar well o f tradition and scrip­ ture when setting forth the way o f life that they wish their readers to follow. S o we find in each an insistence o n keeping G o d ' s law (yet with few and muted examples o f formal scriptural midrash), a declaration that wisdom is from G o d , a d e m a n d for religious faithfulness, and a knowledge o f scripture in all three o f its divisions that is manifest in citations, allusions, mimicry o f style, a n d holding up the great figures o f old as exempla for the day-to-day lives o f G o d ' s people. In light o f these matching categories, the disproportionate categories, a n d categories in o n e text that have n o counterpart in the other, b e c o m e m o r e evident. J a m e s ' s valuation o f wisdom, for example, does n o t m a t c h in scope or form S i r a c h ' s theology o f W i s d o m personified (Sir 1 : 1 - 1 0 ;

24:1-12).

7 2

M o r e importantly, although b o t h authors state that wisdom has its source in G o d , S i r a c h characterizes the trait o f wisdom as a c o m m o d i t y e a r n e d through prolonged study. H e compares learning wisdom to the trades: getting wisdom is a life-long o c c u p a t i o n (Sir 3 8 : 2 4 - 3 9 : 1 1 ) ; the early cultivation o f wisdom yields a harvest in o n e ' s later years (Sir 6 : 1 8 - 1 9 ) ; wisdom accumulates like wealth, elevating o n e ' s status a m o n g peers (Sir 3 9 : 9 - 1 1 ; cf. Prologue; 4 4 : 1 - 1 5 ) and forming a social stratum m u c h like that enjoyed by the wealthy upper classes. S u c h a characterization contrasts starkly with J a m e s ' s presentation o f wisdom as a good that is freely available to all w h o ask for it (Jas 1:4), and that levels the positions o f all in the c o m m u n i t y rather than raising the standing o f any individual o r class. T h e contrast is evident in the authors' two different modes o f addressing their readers: S i r a c h ' s "my child" ("DD/TEKVOV pou) a n d James's "my b r o t h e r s " and "beloved brothers" ( O S E X ^ O I pou aycxTrr|To() b o t h deploy the language o f fictive kinship, S i r a c h ' s suggesting an authorittive status a m o n g Jerusalemites (and later, a p o s t h u m o u s authority a m o n g Diaspora

140

•JAMES

RILEY STRANGE •

Jews), J a m e s ' s , a valuation o f relatively unstratified social relations a m o n g m e m b e r s o f the assembly. N e i t h e r a u t h o r gives a full a c c o u n t o f everyday existence. Nevertheless, Si­ rach talks a b o u t households a n d work, friendship and social class, worship in the T e m p l e and T o r a h study, d i n n e r parties and governing.

M o s t o f this dis­

cussion is lacking in the Epistle o f James: n o w h e r e does h e talk a b o u t the h o n o r due to parents, the raising o f sons and daughters, o r the benefits o f a g o o d wife a n d the costs o f a bad o n e (cf. S i r 3 : 1 - 1 6 ; 2 5 : 1 3 - 2 6 : 1 8 ;

30:1-13;

3 3 : 2 0 - 3 3 ; 4 2 : 9 - 1 4 ) , n o r does he take up the t r e a t m e n t o f slaves (cf. S i r 3 3 : 2 5 33).

7 3

J a m e s ' s sole references to family ties consist o f n a m i n g G o d "Father,"

a n d the use o f "brothers" (for his readers) a n d "a b r o t h e r o r a sister" (for fel­ low believers: Jas 2 : 1 5 ) . J a m e s says n o t h i n g a b o u t g o o d governance o r h u m a n friendships,

74

and has n o instruction in d i n n e r e t i q u e t t e .

75

James's lack o f c o n c e r n a b o u t h o n o r and s h a m e partially explains these omissions.

76

J a m e s ' s few statements o n the subject (see Jas 2 : 1 - 7 ) simply do

n o t display the same level o f nervousness a b o u t status and legacy that S i r a c h shows,

77

a n d w h e n J a m e s brings up the subject it is to warn against h o n o r i n g

the wealthy in the assembly at the expense o f the p o o r ( " B u t you have dishon­ o r e d [lyniJaoaTE] the poor," Jas 2 : 6 ) . M a n y o f S i r a c h ' s notoriously misogynistic p r o n o u n c e m e n t s a b o u t wives and daughters, as well as his advice o n good table m a n n e r s , can b e linked to an emphasis o n avoiding s h a m e and accruing honor.

78

T h e lack o f talk a b o u t the h o u s e h o l d in J a m e s also highlights James's

emphasis o n intra-community ties between C h r i s t i a n believers. It is the reli­ gious c o m m u n i t y that forms the primary sphere o f b o t h virtuous (care-giving, G o d l i k e ) a n d evil (self-promoting, d e m o n i c ) behavior.

O t h e r relationships,

particularly those between people w h o have power a n d those w h o d o n o t (plaintiff a n d defendant, employee a n d laborer, teacher a n d student) inspire warnings a b o u t abuse, the o u t c o m e o f w h i c h is n o t shame, b u t divine judg­ ment. James has n o m a t c h for S i r a c h ' s discussion o f the value o f the trades (Sir 3 8 : 2 4 - 3 4 ) , the exalted work o f the scribe (Sir 3 8 : 3 4 b - 3 9 : l 1), o r for S i r a c h ' s extended praise o f ancestors (Sir 4 4 - 4 9 ) , panegyric o f a c o n t e m p o r a r y ( S i m o n t h e High Priest in S i r 5 0 : 1 - 2 1 ) , and prayers (Sir 2 2 : 2 7 - 2 3 : 6 ; 5 1 : 1 - 3 0 ) .

Like­

wise, S i r a c h has n o t h i n g corresponding to J a m e s ' s discussion o f faith and works, the c o m i n g eschaton, a n d the life o f individual congregations. T h i s last discrepancy is m o s t visible in the discussion o f sickness a n d heal­ ing in S i r a c h 3 8 : 1 - 1 5 .

S i r a c h m o r e clearly speaks o f physical healing than

J a m e s does, and his description o f physical illness and recovery makes n o ref­ erence to salvation. W e can explain this contrast by the absence o f t h e tightly defined, minority congregation in S i r a c h ' s discourse, and the want o f a clear

• J U D A I C VISIONS OF C O R P O R A T E

LIFE*

141

eschatology in his b o o k : S i r a c h does tie illness to sin, b u t healing does n o t pertain to the sinner's restoration to the assembly, salvation o f a fellow's soul, or the c o m i n g j u d g m e n t and resurrection o f the dead.

R a t h e r , for S i r a c h , seek­

ing healing reveals the extent o f a person's reliance o n G o d in the here and now, for through b o t h prayer and the medical profession, the sick individual has access to G o d ' s gracious care. Nevertheless, S i r a c h shares with J a m e s the n o t i o n that illness is a religious problem, and that healing requires a c o m b i n a t i o n o f religious acts: prayer and making expiation. E a c h person, however, prays and expiates sin o n his o r her own behalf. T h e r e is n o indication in S i r a c h that these are intra-communal acts that distinguish a group from its surrounding culture, or that build up the community.

Restoring the Household T h r o u g h Healing and Exorcism: T h e Story of T o b i t W h e n o n e thinks o f healing in a n c i e n t J u d a i c texts, the b o o k o f T o b i t nauirally c o m e s to m i n d . It tells two stories o f divine cure: righteous T o b i t has his sight restored, and i n n o c e n t S a r a h finds relief from the t o r m e n t o f the d e m o n Asmodeus.

79

T h e events are set within biblical times, during the Israelite de­

portation to Assyria: h e n c e , exile and the expectation o f return forms a major topos in the w o r k .

80

Like D a n i e l and Esther, the b o o k was written m u c h later

than the events it purports to tell.

81

T o b i t is a didactic t a l e

82

that imparts the

lessons o f Israel's sin, punishment, faithfulness in exile, a n d restoration to the generations w h o have seen the prophets' words only partially fulfilled: at the time o f the b o o k ' s c o m p o s i t i o n , Israel worships in the rebuilt T e m p l e , b u t un­ der the hegemony o f foreign rulers. A reading o f T o b i t allows a c o m p a r i s o n between J a m e s and a text that, un­ like J a m e s , c o u c h e s moral instruction in an overall narrative form, and so brings the reader into the sweep o f Israel's story, from the shame o f defeat and exile to the glory o f return and restoration.

Speaking to a distinct group o f

people, the a u t h o r o f T o b i t draws from a period o f Israelite history to extract an analogy with his contemporary situation (the current Diaspora is like that o n e was), and from biblical prophecy a b o u t return to encourage h o p e in his contemporaries (as G o d has been faithful in fulfilling those prophecies, so G o d will faithfully accomplish the rest). J a m e s t o o draws an analogy with Isra­ elite exile to encourage a particular people, b u t the grand flow o f Israel's story is missing from his instruction, except for references here and there to great figures o f the past, and James's eschatology focuses elsewhere than Israel's glo­ rious return.

A n examination o f healing in T o b i t will reveal where and at

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STRANGE

what levels the texts o f T o b i t a n d J a m e s converge, and where their vision o f Israel, its place in the world, a n d the e n d to which it is heading differ. B o t h J a m e s a n d S i r a c h deal with divine healing in isolated passages, b u t in the B o o k o f T o b i t , T o b i t ' s blindness and Sarah's haunting take up substantial portions o f the narrative, even when they serve as b a c k d r o p to the action downstage.

83

H e n c e , the p r o b l e m o f theodicy is evident from the o p e n i n g pas-

sages o f the story: how can o n e justify the affliction o f a righteous Israelite man

and

the

torment

o f an

innocent

Israelite maiden?

T o b i t ' s self-

characterization as a righteous person w i t h o u t peer immediately casts h i m in the vein o f N o a h , J o s e p h , J o b , and D a n i e l , thus signaling that the t h e m e o f G o d ' s justice will occupy m u c h o f the narrative.

84

Indeed, the autobiographi­

cal a c c o u n t o f T o b i t ' s good deeds monopolizes the story line for the b u l k o f the first three chapters, leading inexorably to the a c c o u n t o f how h e b e c a m e b l i n d , b u t also intensifying the injustice o f his suffering, w h i c h is n o t physical alone.

In contrast to the high social standing that h e has enjoyed a m o n g his

fellow exiles and at court, his life slumps i n t o a shameful existence after turn­ ing blind, and that existence, in his judgment, is worse t h a n death.

In con­

trast to T o b i t ' s righteousness, the narrative highlights Sarah's youth a n d sexual innocence.

Also unlike T o b i t , h e r suffering at the hands o f the d e m o n As-

modeus has n o physical d i m e n s i o n , b u t her t o r m e n t is described in psycho­ logical a n d social terms, focusing in particular o n her lack o f children.

She

t o o is reduced to s h a m e and prays for death. In a sense, the story's beginning has already revealed its end, leaving o u t only the details.

85

T h e story o f a righteous Israelite w h o rises to p r o m i n e n c e in

captivity portends G o d ' s gracious intervention in the lives o f the c h a r a c t e r s .

86

T h a t Sarah's situation is linked to that o f T o b i t assures her happy ending as well, as does her n a m e .

87

T h e narrative confirms these portents early, through

t h e dispatching o f R a p h a e l "to heal b o t h o f t h e m " ( 3 : 1 7 a ) .

By that same

means, the story justifies G o d ' s actions early o n as well, for at the outset we k n o w that the characters' sufferings, although intense, are only temporary, and that the D e u t e r o n o m i s t i c d o c t r i n e o f retribution will prevail in the e n d : G o d will reward their steadfastness a n d destroy the w i c k e d .

88

T h e reason for T o b i t ' s suffering is never clearly stated.

In his prayer for

death, T o b i t poses the possibility that G o d has disciplined h i m for a sin, yet he c o n t i n u e s to claim his own righteousness, i f n o t his sinlessness.

89

Conversely,

T o b i t also asserts that all o f G o d ' s deeds are just ( 3 : 2 ) , and h e n c e suggests that h e may indeed deserve his afflictions. In contrast to this admission, the story c o n t i n u e s to elaborate the t h e m e o f T o b i t ' s goodness. As for Sarah, t h e read­ ers k n o w that she suffers because o f the deeds o f an evil spirit, over w h o m she has n o c o n t r o l , although she herself is apparently ignorant o f this f a c t .

90

The

• J U D A I C VISIONS OF CORPORATE

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143

clearest indication that b o t h T o b i t a n d S a r a h suffer unjustly is that n e i t h e r healing requires an act o f expiation o f sin o r propitiation o f G o d , just as nei­ ther character confesses sins before o r after being h e a l e d .

91

S a r a h suffers at the

will o f A s m o d e u s alone, a n d her cure requires only his b a n i s h m e n t . T o b i t ap­ parently has gone blind merely as the result o f happenstance, and his healing requires that he follow what looks like a medical prescription. T h e healings are n o t merely the result o f administering the right m e d i c i n e , however. R a p h a e l reveals that h e was sent to test T o b i t a n d S a r a h . By impli­ cation, this test entails their willingness to c o n t i n u e o n in faithful devotion to G o d in the face o f anguish a n d despair: T o b i t , by securing the deposited m o n ­ ey for his son's inheritance; Sarah, by marrying again despite her long record o f calamity and heartbreak. Ultimately, healing can b e traced to G o d through his messenger, w h o instructs T o b i a s in the preparations o f medicines. Like the story o f J o b , T o b i t ' s own tale sets forth an a c c o u n t o f G o d ' s ineffability, a n d so leaves the doctrine o f retribution intact.

Y e t in addition to

dealing with the problem that evil poses for divine righteousness, t h e b o o k o f T o b i t acknowledges the social repercussions o f falling ill a n d being t o r m e n t e d by an evil spirit: these calamities cut a person o f f socially, cause e c o n o m i c hardship, a n d bring shame u p o n b o t h the principal characters a n d their fami­ lies. T h e ultimate sign o f social a n d familial alienation is evident in the two prayers for death and Sarah's suicide plan. O t h e r forms o f social isolation in­ clude T o b i t ' s descent into poverty, a n d S a r a h ' s inability to provide an heir. Signs o f the loss o f h o n o r also pervade the a c c o u n t s o f illness a n d d e m o n i c harassment.

92

Restoring sight and banishing the d e m o n bring a b o u t restoration in all three o f these areas: social a n d familial relations, e c o n o m i c status, a n d h o n o r . T h e episode in w h i c h T o b i t regains his sight c o n t a i n s m a n y references to the restoration o f family solidarity as well ( 1 1 : 1 3 - 1 5 ) . T h a t healing for S a r a h en­ tails r e i n s t a t e m e n t o f her place in family a n d society is m a d e explicit in 6 : 1 8 . Earlier, S a r a h ' s ability to participate in b o t h o f h e r families (her family o f ori­ gin, and her new family) as social a n d religious c u s t o m dictate is characterized as "healing" ( 3 : 1 7 ) . Social restoration also brings e c o n o m i c recovery: through T o b i a s , S a r a h provides a son to inherit b o t h h e r father's and husband's es­ tates; T o b i t regains his wealth, which he is able to pass o n to his s o n . T h e nar­ rative places greatest weight o n the r e i n s t a t e m e n t o f respectability to T o b i t , Sarah, and their families ( 1 4 : 3 ; cf. v. 1 2 ) . Finally, T o b i t ' s sickness a n d healing are paradigmatic o f Israel's own exile and promised r e t u r n .

93

T o b i t identifies the story o f Israel with his own story

when he recalls the words o f A m o s as i f they foretold his own grief during the festival o f Pentecost ( T o b i t 2 : 6 = A m o s 8 : 1 0 ) ,

94

a n d again when he justifies his

• JAMES RILEY STRANGE •

144

own suffering by reference to Israel's sins ( 3 : 2 - 5 ) .

9 5

T o b i t takes up the mantle

o f a prophet to Israel, for his blindness and cure b e c o m e an o b j e c t lesson that all o f Israel should repent: as T o b i t has d o n e , Israel must c o n t i n u e to worship G o d faithfully in its exile ( 1 3 : 6 ) ; in exchange, G o d will gather Israel from all the nations a m o n g w h i c h its people are scattered ( 1 3 : 5 ) , and will rebuild Jeru­ salem ( 1 3 : 1 6 - 1 7 ) a n d the T e m p l e within it ( 1 3 : 1 0 - 1 7 ; 1 4 : 5 ) .

96

T h e b o o k signals this m e t o n y m i c treatment o f Israel's plight t h r o u g h its language for s i c k n e s s / d e m o n i c t o r m e n t and recovery. common Greek terms, same a i l m e n t s .

98

97

Like Sirach, it deploys

b u t also uses theological language to diagnose the

By implication, the troubles, treatment, a n d recovery o f T o ­

b i t and S a r a h reflect what is at stake in Israelite life in exile, and for t h e Jews o f the Hellenistic Diaspora by extension: maintaining the identity o f G o d ' s people t h r o u g h fidelity to T o r a h , preserving the integrity o f family b o n d s , and justifying the trials o f G o d ' s people within a foreign culture. T h e B o o k o f T o b i t and the Epistle o f J a m e s share s o m e formal a n d the­ matic similarities. T o b i t ' s two testaments, and Raphael's/Azariah's instruction in C h a p t e r 1 2 , are essentially b r i e f g n o m i c discourses, using direct address and compiling terse c o m m a n d s o n various subjects in order to exhort T o b i a s (and readers) to lead moral lives. In part, the purpose o f the narrative is to set forth these exhortations.

Perhaps because o f this formal resemblance, and due to

the constellation o f social c o n c e r n s derived from T o r a h , T o b i t and J a m e s share o t h e r similarities, such as an insistence o n caring for t h e poor and pay­ ing one's laborers. M o s t significantly, like Sirach, J a m e s and T o b i t see the religious faithful as a c o m m u n i t y living in exile. T o b i t is probably addressed to Jews o f the Helle­ nistic Diaspora in the late third and early s e c o n d century B . C . E . F o r his part, James's address adopts the m e t a p h o r o f Israelite a n d Judahite exile for the in­ digenous congregations o f Jewish Christians that grew up across the R o m a n E m p i r e in the first century C . E . T h e myth o f exile works differently in each text: T o b i t promises Jews everywhere a return to their native land, whereas J a m e s informs the faithful living in the lands o f their birth that they reside there as aliens.

B o t h deploy the myth as a m e t a p h o r for the separateness o f

G o d ' s people, living according to a distinctive way o f life and adopting a worldview that sets t h e m apart from their surroundings. B o t h authors take up t h e challenges o f remaining faithful to God—and h e n c e o f maintaining the boundaries o f the community—in hostile surround­ ings.

B o t h authors wish for G o d ' s people to remain religiously and morally

distinct from the d o m i n a n t culture while living within it; T o b i t expresses this desire by emphasizing the practice o f endogamy, b u t also by highlighting Isra­ elite burial practices; J a m e s , through the intra-community religious practices o f

JUDAIC VISIONS OF CORPORATE

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145

prayer, healing, confession o f sins, a n d c o r r e c t i o n . T h e use o f filial fictive kinship terms in T o b i t " and J a m e s reinforces the structure o f the c o m m u n i t y as a distinct group with fixed boundaries; in turn, fictive kinship ties are reinforced by the care that c o m m u n i t y m e m b e r s show o n e a n o t h e r through their m o r a l deeds.

E a c h text insists that m e m b e r s take responsibility for caring for the

physical needs o f the c o m m u n i t y ' s p o o r and treating workers fairly. B o t h seek to preserve c o m m u n i t y solidarity t h r o u g h perseverance in trials, and b o t h maintain that c u r r e n t tribulations are only temporary, for G o d ultimately will reward righteousness and punish wickedness. T h e c o n g r u e n c e o f these categories b e c o m e s more striking because b o t h authors present alienation from the c o m m u n i t y as a severe c o n s e q u e n c e o f ill­ ness. T o b i t ' s blindness and Sarah's t o r m e n t cause breaks in family a n d socie­ tal ties, and ultimately lead t h e m to seek death, the ultimate alienation. T h e i r cures set in m o t i o n restoration in every aspect o f life, including longevity itself. James speaks o f desire that leads to sin a n d t h e n c e to death, and o f destruction o f the c o m m u n i t y through pursuit o f selfish a m b i t i o n .

Conversely, although

J a m e s does n o t expressly b l a m e the illnesses o f c o m m u n i t y m e m b e r s o n their selfishness, healing reverses the effects that J a m e s has attributed to sin. In ad­ dition to forgiving sins, G o d "saves" a n d "raises up" (both images that evokelife), while c o m m u n i t y m e m b e r s confess sins to o n e a n o t h e r a n d turn erring m e m b e r s b a c k to the fold ( a n o t h e r image evocative o f life), thus sustaining ra­ ther than damaging the c o m m u n i t y . T h e worldviews e n c o d e d within the two works are also distinctive.

The

eschatologies o f the two works deploy pastoral images a n d promises o f judg­ ment, yet the understanding o f the transition from o n e era to the n e x t differs significantly in e a c h . N e a r the close o f their works, b o t h authors b o r r o w the prophetic image o f gathering sheep. In T o b i t , this idea refers to the e n d o f Is­ rael's exile a n d its return to the L a n d ( T o b i t 1 3 : 5 ; 14:5), whereas in J a m e s the imagery refers to the return o f the s i n n e r to the congregation. T o b i t expresses the idea o f e n l a d i s e m e n t

100

: Israel's h o m e is the Land promised to A b r a h a m

and given to Moses a n d the C h i l d r e n o f Israel, in which Israel fulfills its covenantal obligation to keep G o d ' s T o r a h . In J a m e s , the idea o f "turning b a c k " pertains to the c o m m u n i t y m e m b e r w h o is sinning—perhaps w h o has aposta­ tized—and so the myth o f the exile a n d return o f G o d ' s people does n o t per­ tain. Far from evoking the story o f Israel's lost a n d regained n a t i o n h o o d , J a m e s conceives o f the c o m m u n i t y in local terms. T h e congregation, rather than all o f G o d ' s people everywhere, constitutes the flock, and there is n o indication whether the Lord's c o m i n g eliminates the situation o f the Diaspora.

Fur­

t h e r m o r e , T o b i t ' s eschatology is entirely this-worldly, whereas J a m e s ' s imagery

146

•JAMES RILEY STRANGE

suggests that the present sphere o f existence will o n e day c o m e to an end. T o b i t , the promise o f j u d g m e n t and reward applies to the present life.

In Re­

turn, although guaranteed, happens in s o m e future generation. In James, res­ toration to the c o m m u n i t y is now: j u d g m e n t a n d mercy c o m e with the arrival o f the Judge. In T o b i t , G o d intervenes during a person's life; in J a m e s , G o d judges at life's e n d . E a c h text also reveals u n i q u e categories n o t shared by the o t h e r .

Con­

cerns a b o u t personal and familial h o n o r and s h a m e that are prevalent in T o b i t do n o t register in J a m e s . T h e preservation o f the Israelite family for posterity— a n o t h e r key category in Tobit—also finds n o expression in J a m e s , w h o does n o t speak about families at all. Instead, J a m e s offers the counterpart category o f the congregation as a Active kinship c o m m u n i t y that is in danger o f disintegra­ tion, and that survives through intra-community m o r a l acts. In T o b i t , divine healing c o m e s as an answer to prayer (as it does in S i r a c h and James), b u t the prayer is individual and petitionary.

M o r e importantly,

b o t h T o b i t and S a r a h pray n o t for healing b u t for death; t h e divine response is an utter contradiction o f their prayers. Moreover, the b o o k o f T o b i t does n o t present either prayer or healing as acts that distinguish the Israelite c o m m u ­ nity in exile. T h a t place is reserved for the practices o f endogamy, burial rites, and e c o n o m i c justice in t h e form o f almsgiving a n d right t r e a t m e n t o f em­ ployees. Confession o f sins forms a primary category in Israelite and J u d a i c reli­ gious systems, a n d examples o f confessional texts and instruction o n confes­ sion a b o u n d .

101

Nevertheless, in few J u d a i c texts o f the G r e c o - R o m a n period

does confession play a major role in defining o r sustaining the social e n t i t y .

102

A n exception o f n o t e is 1 Q S , which is treated in the next chapter.

Correction T h e Good Man: The Testament of

Benjamin

T h e Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs (hereafter T. 12 Patr.) expands the form o f deathbed discourses such as those o f J a c o b ( G e n 4 9 ) and M o s e s ( D e u t 33).

1 0 3

In each testament a patriarch gathers his children to his side for a so­

liloquy o f final instruction and warnings. All m o r e or less c o n f o r m to a stan­ dardized pattern, setting o u t a biography o f t h e patriarch, an exhortation to good works, a "prediction" o f the fall o f Jerusalem to the Babylonians and its reconstruction u n d e r the P e r s i a n s ,

104

a n d an a c c o u n t o f the patriarch's death.

Probably c o m p o s e d n o earlier than the third century B . C . E . , T 12 Patr. pur-

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LIFE

ports to speak from the time o f the Israelite sojourn in Egypt to the people o f the Jewish Diaspora in the Hellenized Middle East, and perhaps to the Chris­ tian Diaspora in the R o m a n E m p i r e , setting forth the intervening history as prophecy, and looking still further ahead to G o d ' s final j u d g m e n t a n d re­ demption o f Israel.

105

T. 12 Pat. conceives o f Israel as A b r a h a m ' s heirs, w h o like J a c o b ' s sons constitute a generation o n the cusp o f returning to the land promised to their forebear and his descendants, b u t w h o for a little while longer must e n d u r e life as exiles, living as foreigners in the various provinces o f the Hellenized Mediterranean, yet who are united through their c o m m i t m e n t to a c o m m o n history and a distinctive way o f life.

T h e work is truly pseudepigraphic, pur­

porting to convey the very deathbed words o f Israel's heroic tribal founders, and appropriating their authority to set forth trustworthy instruction.

The

work also draws authenticity from the fulfillment o f episodes that the patri­ archs "prophesy," namely the events leading up to the Assyrian and Babylo­ nian conquests o f Israel, the fall o f Jerusalem, and the Babylonian exile.

The

implicit logic is clear: i f these events have indeed occurred, just as J a c o b ' s sons predicted t h e m , then their descendents (i.e., the intended readers) can rest as­ sured that what remains unfulfilled will also c o m e to pass. T h e a u t h o r o f the Epistle o f J a m e s also purports to convey the instruction o f a h e r o o f the faith to those w h o claim A b r a h a m as "father." A comparison o f the two texts, using their construals o f correction as a test case, will reveal how their respective worldviews generate distinctive visions for the life o f the faithful w h o live in foreign lands. W e begin analysis with a passage in the Testament of Benjamin (hereafter T. Benj.) 4 . 1 - 5 because it lays o u t the character o f the "good m a n " (6 aycc0os), w h o admonishes o t h e r s .

106

T h e passage addresses the issue o f how to deal

with a problem that has religious c o n n o t a t i o n s , namely "sinners" (apapTcoXoi) w h o reject G o d . T h e discourse draws from the life o f piety yet is thoroughly moral in character, as is clear from the chain o f virtues with w h i c h B e n j a m i n characterizes the upright person: he is "a doer o f good" ( a y a 0 o i T O t c o v ) , "shows mercy" (EXES, E X E E I )

107

b o t h to the p o o r and to those w h o aim to harm him,

"loves the upright" (TOUS...5IKCXIOUS a y a T r a ) , "shows compassion for the sick" (TCO ao0EVE? au|JTTCX0E't), and G o d h e "praises in song" (avupvEf). Conversely, he n e i t h e r acts enviously (<|)0OVECO) n o r is he jealous (£r)X6co). R a t h e r , he rec­ ognizes virtue avSpsfos,

in others, for "he eulogizes" anyone w h o is "brave" ( T I S

ETTCCIVET),

"trusts

oco<J>povcx ITIOTEUCOV upvEf),

and 108

a y a m o v T i TOV 6E6V OUVEPYET).

praises

the

self-controlled

person" (TOV

and "gives aid to the o n e who loves G o d " (TCO

148

•JAMES RILEY

STRANGE*

T h e general vocabulary for these virtues c o u l d c o m e from the pen o f any contemporary Greco-Roman moralist,

109

b u t the emphasis o n showing mercy

to the p o o r a n d h o n o r i n g the o n e G o d is distinctively J u d a i c (note the com­ m a n d that B e n j a m i n ' s sons "imitate" [MipfpaaSe] such a person, thus b e c o m ­ ing good themselves). M o s t i m p o r t a n t for o u r purposes is the idea that the good person "admonishes and turns b a c k " (VOU0ETGOV ETTIGTPE<|>EO those w h o reject G o d . T h e p l a c e m e n t o f correction near the e n d o f this pericope lends it s o m e emphasis, b u t its presence in a c o n c a t e n a t i o n o f virtues indicates that it is b u t o n e o f m a n y deeds that exemplify the good person. In the section that immediately follows ( 5 : 1 - 5 ) , we n o t e that although the main purpose o f this section is n o t to characterize the wicked person, never­ theless, the patriarch B e n j a m i n catalogs the vices o f wrongdoers: he paints them

as

"evil"

(irovnpoi),

"covetous"

(TTAEOVEKTCXO,

( a o c o T O i ) , pursuers o f "passion" (TOU TTC(0OUS).

110

and

"debauched"

T h e ignorant (implied by

"darkness" T O OKOTOS) individual "does violence t o " (uPptor)) a n d "betrays" (TTpoSoirj) those w h o are g o o d . of

the

good

person, whose

111

T h e s e traits stand in stark c o n t r a s t to those

adherence

to the

doctrine

o f human

retribution (introduced in the previous passage) here c o m e s to the fore. good person is b o t h "pious" ( o o i o s )

112

and "righteous" (b S I K C C I O S ) ,

113

nonThe

and re­

sponds to attacks b o t h by m a i n t a i n i n g silence (oicoira) a n d by praying ( i r p o OEUXO|JEVOS). T h i s assertion is m o s t naturally read in light o f the a d m o n i t i o n against the "hatred o f b r o t h e r s " (r| Mioa5EX(()(a) o f 7.5 and 8 . 1 . The

promise at the e n d o f the passage receives emphasis by virtue o f its

position:

for the good person, after a b r i e f period o f h u m b l e d existence (TCX-

TTEivcoBrj), a "far m o r e illustrious" (TTOAU <|>ai5p6TEpos) life is assured. In a sin­ gle statement, the text b o t h sets forth a variation o f the D e u t e r o n o m i s t i c doctrine o f divine retribution and reveals a c o n c e r n for m a i n t a i n i n g h o n o r in spite o f shameful circumstances. As in T o b i t , attacks by wicked people tempo­ rarily bring a righteous person to a lowly state, yet G o d ultimately will reward this person with t h e h o n o r due o n e w h o steadfastly clings to G o d ' s m o r a l code.

I say "a variation o f the d o c t r i n e o f retribution because instead o f

promising p u n i s h m e n t for the wicked, the text is optimistic that they will turn to G o d o f their own will. T h e t h e m e o f retribution brings to light the m o s t significant aspect o f cor­ rection in the T e s t a m e n t o f B e n j a m i n : in contrast to 4 . 1 - 5 , here a good per­ son brings a b o u t c o r r e c t i o n through example rather than through instruction or c o n f r o n t a t i o n .

Merely by carrying o n with a pious life in the face o f adver­

sity, the good person can induce those w h o are wicked to "turn b a c k " (ETTiOTpE(j)co, here intransitive), taking up the virtuous life o f their own accord: they will live peaceably (EiprjVEUco) with and respect (alSEopai) the good per-

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LIFE

son; the covetous will subdue their own passions and give away the items they crave to the oppressed; and anyone w h o attacks a righteous person will repent (jjSTavosco) when treated with mercy. Admittedly, the idea that righteous liv­ ing can cause others to live piously is n o t u n i q u e to T. Benj. a n d the m o s t no­ table examples can be found in the aphorisms regarding anger in Proverbs 15:1 and 1 8 , a n d 2 1 : 1 4 .

In the c o n t e x t o f T. 12 Patr. o p t i m i s m about the t

power o f g o o d example offers a sharp contrast to the proposition, throughout the work, that G o d punishes the w i c k e d .

found

114

A l t h o u g h these passages about the this-worldly effects o f right living ex­ press n o eschatology, T. Benj. does discuss the "future" destruction and re­ building o f the Jerusalem T e m p l e .

B e n j a m i n predicts that despite

the

patriarch's instructions to refrain from many vices (most prominently those o f brotherly hatred and sexual p r o m i s c u i t y ) ,

115

his descendants will sin and en­

dure p u n i s h m e n t , and that a r e m n a n t will survive to see the T e m p l e rebuilt ( 9 . 2 ) . T. Benj. alone tells o f a c o m i n g prophetic figure w h o is associated with the new, m o r e glorious T e m p l e , a n d w h o will be the c o n d u i t for G o d ' s salva­ tion to the twelve tribes and to the G e n t i l e s w h o have gathered at the holy site.

116

G o d ' s p u n i s h m e n t in the present cuts a person o f f from this promised

redemption o f all humanity, whereas to repent because o n e has witnessed the actions o f a righteous person brings the penitent person u n d e r G o d ' s protec­ tion a n d preservation until that t i m e . Finally, it is important to n o t e that the moral exhortation in T. Benj. stems from B e n j a m i n ' s elevation o f J o s e p h as an example: he lived righteously in ex­ ile, keeping G o d ' s c o m m a n d m e n t s despite the tribulation he suffered (T. Benj. 3.1-8).

T h e characterization o f the "good m a n " in chapters 4 a n d 5 is best

read as a moral pattern designed after the scriptural and various traditional stories o f J o s e p h , and in that c o n t e x t the reasons for the text's focus o n the virtue o f brotherly love and the vice o f sexual immorality b e c o m e self-evident. O n l y a few o f the similarities o f detail that J a m e s and T. Benj. share bear mentioning.

117

Notably, b o t h the Epistle o f J a m e s a n d T. 12 Patr. (like S i r a c h

and T o b i t ) take the form o f religious a n d moral instruction to the twelve tribes o f Israel dispersed t h r o u g h o u t the k n o w n world. J a m e s draws the image o f the exiled Israelite tribes into his own time and setting, styling fellow followers o f "the Lord Jesus C h r i s t " as Israel's heirs, a n d implying that the R o m a n Em­ pire—probably "the world"—is analogous to Babylon.

T h e setting o f T. 12

Patr., by contrast, conveys the reader b a c k in time before the first exile in Egypt, and like the b o o k o f T o b i t looks "ahead," peering through the Babylo­ nian exile to the Hellenistic Diaspora, a n d perhaps into the s e c o n d century C . E . Diaspora throughout the R o m a n empire.

B o t h works bear elements o f

various Judaisms and Christianities o f the Hellenistic and R o m a n worlds.

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JAMES RILEY STRANGE •

B o t h have b e e n interpreted as Jewish c o m p o s i t i o n s with later C h r i s t i a n inter­ polations, and as c o m p o s i t i o n s written by C h r i s t i a n s . T h e case that J a m e s ex­ presses an early Christianity has largely b e e n settled; recent scholarship either reads T. 12 Patr. in a similar way, or admits that i f a Jewish Testaments existed prior to the s e c o n d century C . E . Christian edition, it c a n n o t b e satisfactorily recovered through literary o r textual c r i t i c i s m .

118

Moving now to consider t h e two texts at the level o f category, b o t h T. Benj. and James envision faithful individuals engaged in moral correction o f their fellows. In James, however, correction is a religious act, self-consciously under­ taken (as the transitive use o f ETTiaTpEco shows), and a i m e d at the preserva­ tion o f particular, closely k n i t c o m m u n i t i e s scattered across the

Empire,

whereas in T. Benj. the righteous Israelite male looks after his own m o r a l life­ style, treating all justly and with respect, a n d evildoers repent o f their own ac­ cord (indicated by the intransitive use o f ETnoTpE(|)co) when they witness his example. T h e idea o f the religious c o m m u n i t y as a clearly defined congrega­ tion is absent in T. Benj.; J a m e s contains n o n o t i o n o f Israel reconstituted as a nation. As the previous examples illustrate, b o t h texts use G r e c o - R o m a n ways o f setting forth moral discourse. T h e c o n c e n t r a t e d discussion o f virtues and vic­ es is particularly visible in the description o f the g o o d m a n in T. Benj. 4 and 5, and classical virtues are present as well. F o r his part, J a m e s ' s language presents religious practices themselves as virtues, and he shows a flair for rhetorical dis­ plays c o m m o n in G r e c o - R o m a n moral texts. B o t h J a m e s a n d T. Benj. cast their m o r a l e x h o r t a t i o n within a dualistic framework. T o begin with, b o t h tie sin to unequivocal denial o f G o d . James's accusation, "Adulteresses!" reflects prophetic c o n d e m n a t i o n s o f biblical Is­ rael's c o n t i n u a l attraction to polytheism and foreign alliances, while T. Benj. talks o f "rejecting the M o s t High."

In b o t h cases these characterizations tap

into a larger moral dualism that is prevalent in b o t h works: J a m e s juxtaposes "friendship with the world" with "friendship with G o d , " d e m a n d i n g

faithful

devotion in place o f doubtful wavering; in T. Benj., the deployment o f virtue and vice language as well as the references to t h e spirit o f Beliar (T. Benj. 3 . 3 , 4; 6 . 1 ) draw from the "two spirits" discourse in T. Jud. 2 0 and the b u l k o f T. Ash.

In addition, the texts assume the existence o f a created order that wrong­

doing violates. J a m e s says t h a t double-mindedness (5IV|AJXOS) goes against b o t h creation and G o d ' s own singularity (aiTAeos; Jas 1:5), and is manifest in duplicitous behavior in h u m a n s , particularly o n e person's ability b o t h to bless G o d and to curse h u m a n s w h o bear G o d ' s image ([as 3 : 9 ) . In T. 12 Patr. we learn that giving in to the spirit o f d e c e i t / B e l i a r causes people and divine be­ ings alike to defy the natural order, as the biblical story o f the W a t c h e r s proves

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LIFE*

(T. Naph. 3 . 5 ) . T. Benj. takes up the t h e m e o f sexual impropriety in chapter 9 (invoking the story o f S o d o m ) , b u t also talks about the "single disposition" (|j(av...EiXiKpivfj) that is violated w h e n a person speaks with "two tongues" (5uo yAcoooas).

T h e result is that a person b o t h

"blesses and

curses"

(EuAoytas Kai K a T a p a s ) and engages in o t h e r unnatural and duplicitous be­ havior (T. Benj. 6 . 5 - 7 ) . T h e dualistic picture o f the created order c o m p l e m e n t s the eschatological worldviews found in b o t h texts. F o r b o t h J a m e s and T. Benj., the present life is lived in the m e a n t i m e , in anticipation o f the Lord's salvation in the person o f G o d ' s c h o s e n conduit(s).

J a m e s speaks o f the c o m i n g o f the Lord Jesus

C h r i s t in the immediate future to render j u d g m e n t and right injustices suf­ fered by the enduring faithful.

W i t h its language a b o u t the "only begotten

prophet," T. Benj. adds to the convoluted eschatology o f the final form o f T. 12 Patr., with its o n e or two messiahs a n d o t h e r prophetic figures, including a clear C h r i s t figure.

T. 12 Patr. clouds the urgency o f its eschatology with its

fictitious setting in the time o f the twelve tribes' founding, b u t it addresses a m u c h later audience that surely was to interpret the message in its own con­ text, and so to expect G o d ' s salvation soon. T h e eschatological views in b o t h texts diverge, however, for e a c h text takes o n e o f two different tacks from the biblical prophetic m o d e l .

T. Benj. speaks

o f Israel's gathering together again, its return, and its final restoration in the holy city o f Jerusalem.

By contrast, J a m e s makes n o reference to enlandise-

ment, b u t looks for relief from his m a n y c o m m u n i t i e s ' present trials and the implementation o f G o d ' s justice in an unjust world. In addition to the lack o f a localized c o m m u n i t y in T. 12 Patr. and the ab­ sence o f the n a t i o n Israel in J a m e s , what stands out in b o t h texts is the con­ figuration o f the corporate entity as clan or family. T. 12 Patr. has traditional wisdom instruction from father to "children" (TEKVO) in contrast to James's d e m o c r a t i c tutoring o f "brothers." E a c h uses the exemplary figures o f Israel's past for moral instruction.

A single figure stands out in T. Benj., namely the

person o f J o s e p h . T h e scriptural J o s e p h cycle dwells o n his exceptional traits. W h e n T. 12 Patr. takes up and augments this story, however, J o s e p h b e c o m e s the standard o f ethical behavior that all Israelites are to follow, a n d so loses his exceptionality, while still setting a high standard.

J a m e s treats all o f his exem­

pli in a similar way, presenting A b r a h a m , R a h a b , J o b , the prophets, and par­ ticularly Elijah the rainmaker as standards for everyday behavior in

the

community. S o J a m e s takes his place a m o n g J u d a i c c o m p o s i t i o n s o f the G r e c o - R o m a n world that set forth their different visions for Israel's way o f life, and w h o draw clear boundaries around the corporate entity, Israel.

In particular, he j o i n s

152

•JAMES RILEY

STRANGE*

with those w h o l o o k forward to G o d ' s promised salvation while seeking to or­ der Israel's daily activities according to G o d ' s plan in the here and n o w . E a c h text has its own c o n s t r u c t i o n o f that plan, and the distinctiveness o f J a m e s ' s understanding is clear as well. T h e next chapter c o m p a r e s James's m o r a l vision with the instruction for the holy C o m m u n i t y in t h e D e a d S e a Scrolls' Community Rule. T h e C o n c l u ­ sion to that chapter will summarize the results o f b o t h C h a p t e r s 5 a n d 6 .

• J U D A I C VISIONS OF CORPORATE

153

LIFE

Notes 1.

See the discussion of Menander Rhetor in Chapter 3.

2.

Examples of texts that mention prayer and prayer texts themselves include Jos. Asen. 1 2 13; m. Taan

2:2-3; Pseudo Philo, Bib. Ant. 5 1 : 3 - 6 ; Josephus A.J. 4.212; Jub. 10:3-6; Jdt a

9 : 1 - 1 4 ; 3 Mace 2:1-20; 6 : 1 - 1 5 ; Pr. Azar; Pr. Man; lQSb; 4QapocrJosh ; 4QpapPrQuot; a

a

a

4QpapRitPur B; 4QprFetes ; 4 Q 2 4 2 (4QprNab ar); 4QritPur A; 4Qshir ; 4QShirShabb ; a

HQapPs ;Tob 3:1-6, 11-15; 8:5-8, 15-17; 11:14-15; 13:1-17. 3.

See Jacob Neusner, The Mishnah: A New Translation (New Haven and London: Yale Uni­

4.

Jacob Neusner, Judaism: The Evidence of the Mishnah, 2

versity Press, 1988), xxvii. n d

augmented ed. (Atlanta: Scholars

Press, 1988), 6. 5.

Unless noted, I use Jacob Neusner's translation, in which the work on m. Berakhot was done by Tzvee Zahavy and Alan J . Avery-Peck. Hebrew citations of the Mishnah are from Chanoch Albeck, ed., n:ce m o ncra, vol. 1, D'lriT m c (Jerusalem: The Bialik Insti­ tute; Tel Aviv: Dvir Publishing House, 1988). See also the on-line source, Mosheh Kline, "The Structured Mishnah," Whole Torah: An Integrative Approach to the Sources [database online]; available from http://www.chaver.com/Mishnali/TlieMishnalv.htm; Internet; accessed 21 March 2 0 0 5 .

Kline indicates that his unpointed edition of the Mishnah

"uses the Kaufman text as found in Albeck's edition." 6.

Cf. Deut 6:7.

7.

Using the idiom of the Mishnah. Unless it specifies otherwise, the Mishnah addresses

8.

Surely this ruling is an example of the prophets' instructions to the men of the great as­ sembly to "'Make a fence for the Torah'"; m. Abot 1:1. cf. Matt 5 : 2 1 - 4 8 .

9.

At m. Ber. 2:2 we see that the full text of the Shema matches what is recited today: Deut

10.

Verse 2:2 specifies the breaks in paragraphs: between the two blessings that precede the text of the Shema itself, after the second of these blessings, between the first scriptural section (ending at Deut 6:9) and the second (beginning at D e u t l l : 1 3 ) , between the sec­ ond scriptural section (ending at Deut 11:21) and the third (beginning at Num 15:37), and between the third scripmral section and the blessing that follows (which begins with the language, "True and certain").

11.

Whereas R. Meir says that one may offer greeting to, and respond to them, only from fellow Israelites ( D - E ) , R. Judah allows a response to non-Israelites as well (L). R. Meir also allows a response to a greeting in the middle of a paragraph only in the case of fear ( F - G ) , but R. Judah allows a response out of respect (J).

the actions of adult Israelite males.

6 : 4 - 9 , Deut 1 1 : 1 3 - 2 1 , and Num 1 5 : 3 7 - 4 1 .

12.

The recitation of this prayer is taken up at 4:1.

13.

The author of this book recalls witnessing a striking example of this ruling. In the sum­ mer of 1983, near the summit of the hill of Tsippori (Sepphoris), Israel, a young Israeli soldier prayed at sunrise, facing south (toward Jerusalem). One of the dig directors was backing a Chevy Suburban rapidly up the hill, directly toward the young man, it seemed.

JAMES RILEY STRANGE •

154

The driver did not see him, but the man could not have failed to see the truck, which was approaching him from the front. The truck missed the soldier by scant inches.

He

never moved. 14.

Before and after meals—with specific texts recited over certain types of foods (6:1-8:8)— and blessings for many circumstances of the day (9:4), as well as for encountering forces of nature that display God's power (9:2A) and geographical phenomena that reveal God's creation (9:2B), blessings for the institution of something new (9:3A), and for re­ ceiving both good and bad news ( 9 : 2 E - F ) .

15.

For a discussion of abbreviations or abstracts to the Amidah, see m. Ber. 4:3. For different wordings dictated by circumstance, see especially the blessings over meals in 6 : 1 - 8 . M. Ta'anit 2 : 2 - 4 discusses six blessings added to the Amidah during a fast.

16.

Talmon categorizes what I am calling "unscripted" and "scripted" prayers as "individualvoluntary" and "communal-institutionalized" prayers. Shemaryahu Talmon, "The Emer­ gence of Institutionalized Prayer in Israel in Light of Qumran Literature," in The World of Qumran from Within: Collected Studies (Jerusalem: The Magness Press; Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1989), 2 0 0 - 2 0 2 .

17.

The ruling that "a man is obligated to recite a blessing over evil just as he recites a bless­ ing over good" comes at m. Bex. 9:5A. Cf. Job 1:21; 2:10.

18.

Cf. m. Ber. 9:4C, concerning one who enters a town: "And he gives thanks for the past, and cries out for the future."

19.

In present day prayer books one adds a prayer for the sick in the eighth blessing.

20.

Cf. m. Ber. 4:3.

21.

Based on the "fluidity" of his prayers, R. Haninah b. Dosa could predict whether his in­ tercessions for healing would be accepted or rejected, and thus whether the sick person would live or die.

22.

Neusner, The Mishnah, xiii.

23.

Jacob Neusner, The Mishnah: Introduction and Reader (Philadelphia: Trinity Press Interna­ tional, 1992), 1-4; idem, Evidence of the Mihshan, xi. Although the Mishnah clearly is di­ rected toward those people whom its authorship considers to make up holy Israel, an address to Israel is everywhere assumed but nowhere explicit.

24.

One recites, "God save your nation, Israel. In all critical times let their needs be before you. Blessed are you, O god, who hearkens to prayer.'" Cf. m. Ber. 9:4.

25.

Zvee Zahavy, Studies in Jewish Prayer (Lanham, Md., New York, and London: University

26.

M. Sanh. 10 takes up the matter of who is an Israelite.

27.

Cf. Howard Eilberg-Schwartz, The Human Will in Judaism: The Mishnah's Philosophy of Intention (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1986); Zahavy, Mishnaic Law, 2 - 3 ; Jacob Neusner, Juda­ ism Without Christianity (Hoboken, N.J.: KTAV Publishing House, 1991), 112.

28.

The discussion of the tongue (Jas 3 : 1 - 1 2 ) may be understood as pertaining to the control

29.

That is, Honi has the ability to cause God nearly to recapitulate the flood of Noah. The temple mount stands at 7 4 3 m ( 2 4 0 0 ft) above sea level, and 128 m ( 4 2 0 ft) above the Kidron Valley that separates if from the Mount of Olives to the east.

30.

These are the fall "early rains," following the festival of Succot.

Press of America, 1990), 1 8 - 1 9 .

of the will as well.

155

• J U D A I C VISIONS OF C O R P O R A T E L I F E *

31.

In fact, the story of Honi apparently illustrates the ruling at m. Ta'an. 3:8 A - B , which mentions too much rain rather than too little: "On account of every sort of public trou­ ble (may it not happen) do they sound the shofar, except for an excess of rain."

32.

Cf. Neusner, Judaism Without Christianity, xii.

33.

Ibid., xi, xvii ff.

34.

These dates are calculated from information in the text. According to the grandson's Prologue to the book of Sirach, the grandson came to Egypt in the 3 8

t h

year of the reign

of Ptolemy (VIII) Euergetes (II), who ascended to power along with brother Ptolemy VI in 170 B.C.E.; hence, 132 is the best date for the grandson's migration and provides a terminus a quo for the beginning of the translation, which, together with the prologue, was probably completed some time after 117 (the year of Euergetes II's death). As for the original composition, in chapter 5 0 Sirach praises the high priest Simon son of Onias, who served from 2 1 9 to 196 B.C.E. Sirach writes as if Simon were a recently deceased contemporary, yet he makes no reference either to the reign of Antiochus IV Epiphanes ( 1 7 5 - 1 6 4 B.C.E) or to the Maccabean Revolt, which began in 167. Placing the comple­ tion of the original writing around 180 seems reasonable, and it allows a sufficient amount of time for the grandson to have reached adulthood by 132. Patrick W . Skehan and Alexander A. DiLella, The Wisdom of Ben Sira: A New Translation with Notes (New York: Doubleday, 1987), 8 - 1 0 ; cf. Di Leila, "WISDOM O F BEN-SIRA," ABD VI: 9 3 2 . 35.

See the comparison of James and Sirach in Bauckham, Wisdom of James, 7 4 - 1 1 1 ; idem,

36.

The Mishnah passes on rulings from named authorities, but these have minority status

"James and Jesus," 1 0 0 - 3 5 . in the discourse; what nameless "Sages say" forms the authoritative opinion.

Likewise, it

is reasonable to conclude that both Sirach and the author of James composed sections of their texts de novo. Demonstrating which are original compositions is a separate matter. 37.

The translation is the author's and is based on the Greek with reference to the Hebrew, because what concerns us here is the use of the book as instruction to Jews of the Helle­ nistic Diaspora. The Greek text followed is that edited by Joseph Ziegler in Sapientia lesu Filii Sirach, Septuaginta: Vetus Testamentum Graecum, no. 12,2 (Gottingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1980); the Hebrew text is from Pancratius C. Beentjes, ed., The Book of Ben Sira in Hebrew: A Text Edition of All Extant Hebrew Manuscripts and a Synopsis of All Parallel Hebrew Ben Sira Texts, VTSup LXVIII (Leiden, New York, and Koln: E. J . Brill, 1997), 6 5 - 6 6 . The Hebrew at v. 11 is helpful because cos MH UTtapxcov is unintelligible and the Hebrew can be rendered into coherent English (see note 4 3 below). The He­ brew for Sirach 3 8 is found solely in MS B of the 1 0 - 1 2 c. (Di Leila dates B to the 1 2 c.) Cairo Geniza manuscripts (38:1 also survives in MS D). The Hebrew texts of Sirach (not including rabbinic citations) consist of the incomplete manuscripts A, B, C, D, and E, from the Cairo Geniza ( 1 0 - 1 2 c. C.E.), the 2 6 fragments comprising Sirach 3 9 : 2 7 44:17 found at Masada ( 1 c. B.C.E.; published by Yigael Yadin, The Ben Sira Scroll from Masada [Jerusalem: The Israel Exploration Society and the Shrine of the Book, 1965]), and what was found among the DSS: the small scraps from Cave 2 ( 2 Q 1 8 ) and the nine verses of Sirach 51 contained in the Psalms Scroll from Cave 11 ( l l Q P s ) . All in all we have about 6 8 % of the Hebrew text of Sirach (Skehan and Di Leila, Ben Sira, 53; Collins, Jewish Wisdom, 4 3 ) . Di Leila argues that despite a few emendations, the Geniza frag­ ments faithfully preserve the original Hebrew (Di Leila, Text of Sirach, 4 7 - 1 5 1 ; cf. Col­ lins, Jewish Wisdom, 43). t h

t h

th

t h

st

3

156

•JAMES RILEY STRANGE •

The hermeneutical issues posed by Sirach are as complicated as the textual problems, which are unlike those typically encountered in New Testament text criticism. With Si­ rach, apparently we deal with two Hebrew recensions (HT I and an expanded H T II) and two Greek versions, one probably by the grandson and based on H T I (G I), and a sec­ ond based on H T II (G II). An Old Latin version (OL) is based largely on G II, but has its own peculiarities and complicated history of transmission. The fourth century Syriac translation was based on a Hebrew text that combined H T I and II, but shows influence from a Greek version similar to but not identical with G II, and also displays unique di­ vergences. See Skehan and Di Leila, Ben Sira, 5 1 - 6 0 ; cf. Ziegler, Sirach, 8 1 - 8 4 . The con­ sequence of these facts is that one must establish (and then exegete) either the text of Sirach's original composition or that of the grandson's translation, where this is possible. Now that we have a substantial portion of the Hebrew, most translations and critical readings in books and articles base their work on the Hebrew with reference to the Greek; a few critical treatments (including the present one) attempt to deal with both. In the pages that follow I try to make it clear when I am talking about either Sirach or his grandson. 38. 39.

Skehan and Di Leila, Ben Sira, 4 4 1 . 38:9 (labials and liquids: 2, s, b, ")), 10 (alliteration and assonance in the imperatives of Skehan's restored text, which differs significantly from MS B in Beentjes' volume [Beentjes, Ben Sira in Hebrew, 66]), 15 (6 and e/e); Skehan and Di Leila, Ben Sira, 4 4 0 , 4 4 2 - 4 4 3 .

40.

Epitasis: "as much as you can afford." This phrase is supplied by the Hebrew: -B:D3 "f-]in, lit. "to the edge of your wealth." The Greek (cos MH UTTapxcov) is difficult. Torrey's trans­ lation of the Greek of 1 lb is as difficult as the Greek: "Make your offering generous, as though you did not exist"; C. C. Torrey, "The Hebrew of the Geniza Sirach," in Saul Lieberman, ed., Alexander Marx: Jubilee Volume on the Occasion of His Seventieth Birthday, vol. 1 (New York: Jewish Theological Seminary of America, 1950), 593f; quoted in Alexander A. Di Leila, The Hebrew Text of Sirach: A Text-Critical and Historical Study (London, the Hague, and Paris: Mouton & Co., 1966), 3 8 (emphasis added). The Vulgate omits this phrase altogether. Despite his high opinion of the authenticity of the manuscripts of the Cairo Geniza (Ziegler, Sirach, 8 4 ) , Ziegler makes no note of the Hebrew of verse 11. Nei­ ther Skehan's translation notes nor Di Leila's commentary mentions the Greek; Skehan and Di Leila, Ben Sira, 4 4 0 , 4 4 2 .

41.

Enthymeme: the omitted premise (implied from the earlier statement in v. 9) is that the Lord will also answer the physician's prayer.

42.

Vv. 6a (a- and 6-), 7a (a-, e-, and n-).

43.

Vv. 2b (v|/ and o), 9b (£ and a), 10b (K-), 14 (o).

44.

Vv. 1 0 - 1 1 (-ov and -cxv).

45.

Note the frequency of ending clauses with

46.

Apostrophe. The quite different sentence in the Hebrew of v. 15 does not necessitate a shift in audience.

47.

Deprecatio: v. 15. See the discussion below. I interpret the wish expressed here as having the opposite effect of ara, or a curse.

48.

CXUTOU

(+ one instance of

CXUTOTS).

In v. 9 the text instructs people to pray (euxoucti) in their illness (appcoornua), to seek healing G'acns) from a physician (iaxpos), not to despise medicines (4>ap|jaKa) that the

• J U D A I C VISIONS OF C O R P O R A T E LIFE

157

pharmacist (uupsv|;6s) mixes, and the author shows great confidence that that the Lord will heal (iaouai) those who do so. 49.

Sir 7:2; 23:12; 27:22; 35:3; cf. 17:25.

50.

See LXX Exod 23:7; Ps 119:29; Isa 52:11; Lam 4:15; Tob(BA) 4:21; 1 Mac 2:19.

51.

W occurs only around 24 times in the MT, and a feminine form common (BDB 7 3 2 ) .

is slightly more

52.

See Plutarch, Adul amic. 6 7 B , in Chapter 3, p. 103.

53.

A search for "rrAriuueX*" in the on-line T L G nirned up 149 instances in the TLG's full corpus of 12,000 works; a similar search for "auapx*" produced a list of 1,474 instances in the full corpus; Thesaurus Linguae Graecae

[digital library on-line]; available from

http://www.tlg.uci.edu/; Internet; accessed 2 0 September 2 0 0 6 . Among the Apocryphal books the occurrences of TTAriuueAeia are found exclusively in Sirach and 2 Esdras (the Greek text of Sirach has TrXrjMueAsia for "guilt offering" [as in Lev; Sir 7:31], "error" [9:13], and "injustice" [10:7]; cf. Sir 18:27; 19:4; 23:11; 26:11, 29; 41:18; 49:4; 2 Esd 9:6, 7, 13, 15; 10:10, 19), but the word appears repeatedly in L X X translations of books of the Hebrew Bible, especially in Leviticus, where TTAnjJUEAEia renders the MT's n«on for guilt offering, and TrArjUUEAsco expresses the MT's ceto/cp* for incurring guilt (see esp. Lev, chapters 4 - 7 , 14, and 19; cf. N u m 5:8; 6:12; 18:9; Josh 7:1; 22:16, 20, 31; Ezra, chapters 9 - 1 0 ; it is interesting that the words are absent from the NT).

The use of

rrArmuEAEia in connection with the grain offering in Sirach 3 8 : 1 0 shows particular affin­ ity with the close association of guilt, atonement, and forgiveness of sins in Lev 5 : 1 5 - 1 9 (in v. 11 Ben Sira alludes to the instructions for the grain offering in Lev 2). Finally, in verses 8 and 14 the Greek text twice expresses the notion of "health" with synonyms for "peace" (eipnvn and avarrauots; cf. Judges 18:5; 2 Sam 11:7; Ps 75:3 [eipnvn "in peace" for MT c t e "in Salem"]; Micah 2:8 [TT)S eipr)vr|s auxou "his peace" for MT ne ?© "a 1

robe"], Ezek 34:29 [eipr)vns "of peace" for MT unb "for renown"]). Such usage is not well attested outside of the LXX and surely indicates an influence from Hebrew, in which the 1

root meaning of el ?© ("soundness") carries the ideas of both physical health and a state of peace. Interestingly,

does not appear in the extant Hebrew of Sirach 38; Eiprjvn

translates rrenn ("wisdom") in v. 8, while avarrauois translates m r a (lit. "division") in v. 14b. The Hebrew of v. 14b reads, n^ir -learncs

"that he prosper treatment for him" (a

marginal note corrects n^ir to nse* "endow with skill"). In Rabbinic texts rncs connotes compromise or reaching a settlement in legal disputes (Jastrow cites t. Sank. 1:2; y. Sank. 1:18b, Ber. 10; b. Ketub.

10:6; Sifre Num. 9 5 ; Jastrow, s.v. "mra"), hence "arbitration,"

"[making] judgment": "diagnosis/treatment." 54.

It is unclear that the discussion of illness continues into w . 1 8 - 2 0 because the heading before v. 18 in some Greek mss reads, "Concerning Foods," and after v. 17 sickness is no longer mentioned explicitly. Other ms, however, place this heading before w . 16 and 17, which contain overt references to health and sickness. Moreover, despite the head­ ing, the topic at w . 1 8 - 2 0 is the vanity of offering pleasures to what cannot enjoy them. The images of mouth, grave, idol, and eunuch can function as analogies to the chroni­ cally ill person.

55.

Cf. Sir 18:21.

56.

C f Sir 5:3-6:4; 9 : 1 1 - 1 2 ; 1 0 : 1 0 - 1 8 ; 1 1 : 2 1 - 2 2 , 26; 12:6; 1 4 : 1 2 - 1 9 ; 1 6 : 1 1 - 1 2 ; 17:1-2, 2 5 - 3 2 ; 1 8 : 2 3 - 2 4 ; 19:3; 2 1 : 1 - 5 ; 26:38; 27:29; 2 8 : 1 - 7 ; 3 5 : 1 4 - 2 6 ; 3 6 : 1 - 2 2 ; 4 0 : 1 2 - 3 0 ; 41:1-13.

158

57.

• JAMES RILEY STRANGE

Sir 11:14; cf. 5:6.

58.

Cf. Sir 5:7.

59.

Sirach asserts that "the Lord created" the physician ( a u T o v

E K T I O E V KUPIOS,

38:1 and 12),

and clarifies this statement beginning at verse 2: healing comes from God, who grants to humans both knowledge (emcrrfiiin, 38:3, 6) of the healing arts and medicinal plants. Furthermore, physicians do not rely on diagnostic skills and medicines alone, but also pray that God "grant them success in health" Ova euo5c6on auxoTs a v a r r a u o i v ) . 60.

Cf. Sir 18:21.

61.

So Karris, "James 5 : 1 3 - 2 0 , " 209; cf. Skehan and Di Leila, Ben Sira, 4 4 3 .

62.

The textual problem at v. 15 is different from the one posed by v. 11, since both the Greek and Hebrew make grammatical and syntactical sense.

The Hebrew of MS B is

,

quite different from the Greek: n s n 3B'? -nan" ("...will be defiant toward the physician," NRSV). The hithpael of "oa is rare in the Hebrew Bible (BDB, s.v. - c a ) , yet hithpael and nithpael forms are fairly well attested in the Rabbinic corpus (Jastrow, s.v. -Qa), although I can find no example of "oa with the preposition

(bv and

are attested). Di Leila,

Text of Sirach, does not treat this disagreement between the Greek and Geniza Hebrew, and again, Ziegler (Sirach, 3 0 1 ) makes no mention of the Hebrew. 63.

See Sir 17:25-32; 18:13.

64.

Sir 1 1 : 2 6 - 2 7 .

65.

Sir 9:12; 1 1 : 2 7 - 2 8 ; 14:12, 16; 1 7 : 2 7 - 2 8 ; 21:10; 4 1 : 1 - 4 .

66.

See Sir 7:17b; 48:11b.

Di Leila attributes these statements, which differ from the He­

brew, as interpolations from the hand of Sirach's grandson, who did his work after the publication and under the influence of Daniel; see Dan 12:1-2. Other statements at Sir 2:9c, 16:22c, and 19:19 DiLella explains as evidence of G II, later than the grandson's translation (G I). Di Leila, "WISDOM O F BEN-SIRA," ABD V L 9 4 3 . See the textual notes in Ziegler, Sapientia. 67.

Sir 30:4; 3 9 : 9 - 1 1 ; 4 1 : 1 2 - 1 3 .

68.

The use of ainui with synonyms for wrongdoings or debt in the N T denotes forgiveness of wrongs rather than avoidance of or purification from them, especially in the synoptic gospels. See Matt 6:12, 1 4 - 1 5 (Luke 11:4); 9:2, 6 - 1 6 (Mark 2, 5, 7, 9; Luke 5 : 2 0 - 2 1 , 2 3 - 2 4 ) ; 1 2 : 3 1 - 3 2 (Mark 3:28); 18:32, 35; Mark 11:25 (and 26); Luke 7 : 4 7 - 4 9 ; John 20:23; Jas 5:15 (!); 1 John 1:9; 2:12.

69.

Both authors talk about divine wisdom, keeping the law, the importance of prudent speech, on one hand and silence, on the other (note especially the characterization of the tongue as a fire), faithfulness to God, patience in testing, care for the poor and op­ pressed, confession of sins and repentance, warnings about the abuse of wealth, the dan­ ger of self-reliance, reward and punishment based on one's deeds, the brevity of life, the danger posed by one's appetites, use of the ancestors as exempla. For specific examples of "parallels," see Jas 1:2/Sir 2:1, Jas l:13/Sir 1 5 : 1 1 - 2 0 , Jas l:19/Sir 5:11, Jas 1:27/Sir 4:10 and 3 5 : 1 4 - 1 5 , Jas 2 : l - 4 / S i r 3 5 : 1 2 - 1 3 , Jas 3:2/Sir 14:1, Jas 3:6/Sir 2 8 : 2 2 - 2 3 , Jas 3:9/Sir 5:13, Jas 3:13/Sir 3:17, Jas 4:4/Sir 3 5 : 1 4 - 1 7 , Jas 5:3/Sir 29:10, Jas 5:17/Sir 48:3.

70.

In a few places James deploys discourse of the topos to talk about the issue of undivided loyalty to God, but he does not discuss at length what friendship between human beings entails.

159

JUDAIC VISIONS OF C O R P O R A T E LIFE*

71.

This topos is missing entirely in James. Interestingly, Sirach never raises the issue of die­ tary restrictions, unless the admonition, "Eat what is placed in front of you" (31:16) is an oblique reference to dietary laws. For a discussion of Sirach's response to Hellenism, see Collins, Jewish Wisdom, 2 3 - 4 1 .

72.

Cf. Job 28; Prov 1-9; Wis 6 : 1 2 - 1 0 : 2 1 ; Bar 3 : 9 - 3 7 .

73.

Bauckham, Wisdom of James, 9 8 .

74.

As noted earlier, James contrasts friendship with God with friendship with the "world"; cf. Sir 6 : 5 - 1 7 ; 3 7 : 1 - 6 .

75.

Sir 3 1 : 1 2 - 3 2 : 1 3 ; 3 7 : 2 7 - 3 1 .

76.

Bauckham, Wisdom of James,

77.

See especially Sir 4 1 : 1 4 - 4 2 : 8 .

102-103.

78.

Collins, Jewish Wisdom, 3 4 - 3 5 , 6 9 - 7 2 .

79.

Scholars generally agree that Tobit is an ancient romance that interweaves other literary forms, such as prayers, hymns, proverbial wisdom in the form of testaments, and a prophetic/eschatological vision; see Carey A. Moore, Tobit: A New Translation with Introduc­ tion and Commentary, A B 4 0 A (New York: Doubleday, 1996), 1 8 - 2 1 .

Zimmerman tries

to show that the story adopts and condenses elements from five universal folk tale mo­ tifs; Frank Zimmerman, The Book of Tobit, JAL (New York: Harper Brothers, 1958), 5 - 1 2 . Scholars have generally been willing to accept that the author of Tobit drew from two of these: "The Grateful Dead" and "The Monster in the Bridal Chamber." T h e author ap­ parently also was familiar with the "Ahiquar Tale"; Moore, Tobit, 1 1 - 1 2 ; Zimmerman, Tobit, 1 3 - 1 5 . 80.

The siege of Samaria began under Shalmaneser V ( r . 7 2 7 - 7 2 2 B.C.E.), "the king of As­ syria" in 2 Kings 17:5, and after more than two years the city fell in 7 2 2 / 1 under Sargon II, "the king of Assyria" in 2 Kings 17:6. Tobit's superscription places the deportation of Naphtali under Shalmaneser V, but it occurred earlier, under Tiglath-Pileser III (r. 7 4 5 727; cf. 2 Kings 15:29). Tobit's author also says that Sennacherib, rather than Sargon II, succeeded Shalmaneser V (1:15). Moore, Tobit, 10; Zimmerman, Tobit, 1 5 - 1 6 .

81.

Probably in the late third or early second century B.C.E.; Moore, Tobit, 4 0 - 4 2 . Scholars have not reached consensus on the place of composition; many simply suggest the East­ ern Diaspora; Richard A. Spencer, "The Book of Tobit in Recent Research," CurBS 7 (1999): 152.

82.

Amy-Jill Levine, "Tobit: Teaching Jews How to Live in the Diaspora," BR 8 (1992): 4 2 -

83.

The author follows the Greek text of Robert Harnhart, ed., Tobit, Septuaginta: Vetus Testamentum Graecum 8,5 (Gottingen: Vendenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1983). Unless oth­ erwise noted, translations are the author's.

84.

Tobit gives generously to the poor and keeps dietary restrictions, and as a result God re­ wards him with high standing with the king, Shalmaneser. Tobit performs his signature good deed in defiance of Assyrian law: he buries fellow Israelites who have been executed and their bodies dumped.

85.

W e have noted that Tobit's surfeit of piety recalls the biblical giants of Noah, Joseph, Job, and Daniel, and we should also add to the list Ruth, Judith, and Apocryphal Esther.

86.

The eight family names introduced in the superscript of the story are theophoric: Tobit's own name is probably a Greek form of the Hebrew "Tobi" ("my good), itself an abbrevia-

51,64.

160

JAMES RILEY S T R A N G E *

tion of "Tobiah" ("Yah is my good"), the name of Tobit's son; "Tobiel," by extension, is "El/God is my good"; "Hananiel," "God has been gracious"; "Raphael," "God has healed" (also the name of the angel who is sent to aid Tobit and Sarah); and "Raguel," perhaps "friend of God." The derivations of "Aduel," "Gabael," and "Asiel" are obscure; Moore, Tobit, 1 0 0 - 1 0 1 . The ironic use of theophoric names continues with Raphael's alias and supposed family: "Azariah" = "Yahu has helped"; "Hanathiah" = "Yahu has be­ come gracious"; "Nethaniah" probably = "Yahu has given"; "Shemaiah" = "Yahu has heard"; ibid., 1 8 6 - 8 7 .

Moore points out that the preponderance of the "-el" suffix in

Tobit's family tree, rather than "-yah," is typical of Northern Israel in the eighth and sev­ enth centuries B.C.E.; ibid., 100. 87.

Sarah's name recalls the childless plight of the matriarch, which God intervenes to cor­ rect and announces his intention to do so via angels.

88.

See Deut 2 8 : 1 - 6 8 .

89.

He admits that if he has sinned, he has done so "unaware" (ayvonuct; Tobit 3:3).

90.

Levine, "Tobit," 5 0 - 5 1 ; idem, "Diaspora as Metaphor: Bodies and Boundaries in the Book of Tobit," in J. Overman and R. MacLennan, eds., Diaspora Jews and Judaism: Essays in Honor of, and in Dialogue with, A Thomas Kraabel, South Florida Studies in the History of Judaism 4 1 (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1992), 1 0 6 - 1 1 2 .

91.

But cf. Alexander A. Di Leila, "Two Major Prayers in the Book of Tobit," in Renate Egger-Wenzel and Jeremy Corley, eds., Yearbook 2004: Prayer from Tobit to Qumran:

Inaugural

Conference of the ISDCL at Salzburg, Austria, 5-9 July 2003 (Berlin and New York: Walter de Gruyter, 2 0 0 4 ) , 1 0 2 - 1 0 3 . 92.

Tobit must depend on the help of his wealthy cousin Ahikar, and then endures a role reversal, relying on his wife's work to feed his family.

Both Tobit and Sarah decry the

ignominy of having to suffer "insults" or "reproaches" (6vei5iouous, 3:6, 13, 15). 93.

Cf. J . R. C. Cousland, "Tobit: A Comedy in Error?" CBQ 65 (2003): 5 4 5 ; Levine, "Metaphor," 113. The match is not exact, because the text is clear that Israel—Naphtali in particular—suffers because of its sins, whereas Tobit is more righteous than any of his contemporaries, and Sarah is innocent of any wrongdoing.

94.

Anathea Portier-Young, "Alleviation of Suffering in the Book of Tobit: Comedy, Com­ munity, and Happy Endings," CBQ 63 (2001): 39.

95.

Tobit makes the same connection again at 11:15 and 13:2: just as God "scourged" (iuaaTiycooas) him and "had mercy" (nAenpas) upon him (BA), so "he scourges and shows mercy"

(CXUTOS

uacrnyo? Kai sAsot; cf. 13:5, 9 [BA 10b]) to Israel. Cf. Job 5:18.

96.

The so-called doctrine of retribution spelled out in Deut 28 is also tied to the myth of exile and return, specifically the myth of Israel's slavery in Egypt and safe renirn to the land promised to their father Abaraham.

97.

In addition to general vocabulary for treatment/healing (Separreuco 2:10; iaoucxi 3:17; uyiafvco 6:9), medicine (((xxpuaKov 2:10; 6:7), and the physician ( i a T p o s 2:10), the author can also be quite specific about Tobit's diagnosis and treatment: Tobit is completely blinded (arroTu<|>A6co 2:10; arrcoXsoEv T O U S cx|>0aAuous 7:6 BA) because white films ( A E U K C O U C X T C X 2:10; 3:17; 6:9) cover his eyes, and their cure requires blowing (6:9; 11:11), the application (eyxpico 2:10; 6:9) of fish gall (xoAr] 6:5, 8, etc.) to the eyes, and the films to be pealed off (arroAerrco 11:12). Smoking (KCXTTVI^CO) fish heart (Kap5(a) and liver

161

J U D A I C VISIONS OF C O R P O R A T E LIFE

(rJTTap) will produce an odor (oouf| 6:17) that will cause any demon to flee away. Cf. Tes­ tament of Solomon 5 : 9 - 1 0 ; see also Josephus, J.A. 8 . 4 6 - 4 8 . 98.

Tobit describes his blindness as abandonment by God (3:6), and divine punishment (the Lord has "scourged" [uacmyoco] him; 11:15). Sarah seeks release "from troubles," the same word with which Raguel characterizes Tobit's problems (7:6; so Sinaiticus; the BA text does not include this language, but in less figurative terms relates how Raguel had heard that Tobit "had completely lost his eyesight" [aTrcoXeoEV

TOUS

60aAuous)]. Just as

divine abandonment and retribution characterize illness, so healing is "mercy" (eAeos 6:18; 8 : 1 6 - 1 7 ; 11:15), and "salvation" (ocoTnp(a/oco£co 6:18), the very things that Israel seeks as it awaits full restoration, and hence the justification of its exile and repentance ( 1 3 : 2 , 5 , 6 , 9 ; 14:5,7). 99.

In Tobit, because of endogamous marriage, wife and husband are kin, and so are "sister" and "brother," but the act of marriage itself appears to bring new meaning to the terms (7:11 cf. 7:15; 8:4), just as Azariah describes Tobias's sons as his "brothers" (6:18).

100.

For a definition, see Chapter 1.

101.

For a few examples, see Lev 5:5; 16:21; 26:10; Num 5:5-7; Ps 32:5; 4 Q 3 9 3 ; m.

Shank

6:4; m. Yoma. 102.

In the original draft of this project the story of Joseph and Aseneth was treated at some length without a significant advancement of the thesis. James Riley Strange, "The Moral World of James," Ph.D. dissertation (Emory University, 2 0 0 7 ) , 2 8 0 - 9 0 .

103.

Cf. also David's farewell discourse of 1 Chron 2 8 - 2 9 .

104.

Several include promises of a messianic figure, characterized as either a priest from the tribe of Levi or a king from Judah, or both; see T. Reu. 6.8, 11; T. Sim. 7.1; T. Levi 1 8 . 1 12; T. Jud. 1.6; 2 4 . 1 - 6 ; T. Iss. 5 . 7 - 8 ; T. Dan 5.10; T. Naph. 5 . 1 - 5 ; 6.7; 8.2; T. Gad 8.1; T. Jos. 19.11; T. Benj. 4.2.

105.

106.

Kee places the composition of an original, Jewish writing between 2 5 0 B.C.E. and the end of the second century B.C.E.; Howard Clark Kee, "Testament of the Twelve Patri­ archs: A New Translation and Introduction," in OTP, vol. 1 (New York: Doubleday, 1983), 7 7 7 - 7 8 . Hollander and de Jonge see no reason to posit an earlier, Jewish form of the text, and date the work to some time after the beginning of the early third century C.E., based on Origen's knowledge of T. 12 Patr. and on affinities between the work and Justin's and Irenaeus' views on God's dealing with Jews; H. W . Hollander and M. de Jonge, The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs: A Commentary (Leiden: E. J . Brill, 1985), 82-83. I work with a translation of T. Benj. slightly modified from Holander and de Jonge, Tes­ taments, 4 2 0 - 2 1 .

For the Greek text I follow M. de Jonge, ed., The Testaments of the

Twelve Patriarchs: A Critical Edition of the Greek Text (Leiden: E . J. Brill, 1978), 1 7 0 - 7 2 . 107.

Cf. T. Iss. 7.5; T. Jud. 18.3; T. Zeb. 2.4; 5:1-3; 7 . 1 - 4 ; 8.6.

108.

Cf. T. Jos. 4 . 1 - 5 ; 6.7; 9 . 2 - 3 ; 1 0 . 2 - 3 .

109.

According to Johnson, "In effect, [in T. 12 Patr.] the patriarchs are used to provide bibli­ cal examples for the topoi of Hellenistic moral exhortation"; Letter of James, 4 4 .

110.

CLT.Jud.

111.

Cf. Wis 2 : 1 0 - 2 0 .

112.

Cf. T. Reu 6.4; T. Iss. 7.5; T. Levi 16.2.

17.1; 19.103.

162

• JAMES RILEY STRANGE •

113.

Cf. T. lss. 13.1; 4.6; T. Gad 7.7; T. Sim. 5.2.

114.

Cf. T. Levi 4:1; 18: If.; T. Jud. 22:1; 23:3; T. Reu. 1:7; 4:4; 6:6; Kee, "Testaments," 778.

115.

Brotherly love (tAa56A(a) is "one of the highest virtues" in T. 12 Patr. (Kee, "Testa­ ments," 779); cf. T. Sim. 2 . 6 - 7 ; 4 . 4 - 6 ; T. lss. 5.2; T. Dan 5.4; T. God 3 . 1 - 5 . 1 1 ; T. Jos. 1 7 . 2 - 8 . Conversely, sexual promiscuity is "the grossest sin" in T. 12 Patr. (ibid., 779); cf. T. Benj. 8.2; 9.1; see also T. Reu. 1.6, 9; 3 . 1 0 - 4 . 2 ; 4 . 7 - 8 ; 5 . 1 - 3 ; 6.1; T. Levi 9.9; 14.6; 17.11; T. Sim. 5.3; T. lss. 4.4; 7.2; T. Jud. 1 1 . 1 - 5 ; 1 2 . 1 - 9 ; 1 3 . 5 - 8 ; 1 7 . 1 - 3 ; 1 8 . 2 - 6 .

116.

The text talks about events surrounding this "only begotten prophet" (Movoyevrjs TTpor|Tr|s) in language that clearly draws from the gospels or gospel traditions about Je­ sus' death and resurrection. Kee interprets this passage as a later Christian interpolation and places the passage in brackets ("Testaments," 8 2 7 ) ; Hollander and de Jonge are skep­ tical about the possibility of recovering (or about the very existence of) an original, Jewish text, and give no special treatment to this passage (Hollander and de Jonge, Commentary, 85, 4 3 4 ; cf. de Jonge, Testaments, 1 7 5 - 7 6 ) .

117.

For a substantial display of the overall similarities between James and T. 12 Patr., see Johnson, Letter of James, 4 3 - 4 8 .

118.

Kugler, Testaments, 2 1 - 3 8 ; Hollander and de Jonge, Commentary, 8 2 - 8 6 .

• C H A P T E R

S I X *

The Way Taken by James? The Deeds of the Community in 1QS

B

1

ecause the Community Rule o f the D e a d S e a Scrolls ( 1 Q S ) presents the practices o f prayer, confession, and correction in relative proximity to

o n e another, the analysis o f this d o c u m e n t warrants a separate investi­

gation. T h e Community Rule addresses a tightly-knit and clearly-defined group that lays claim to the title Israel. H e n c e , 1 Q S provides us the opportunity to view J a m e s alongside a text that strictly segregates "the C o m m u n i t y " from all o t h e r claimants to Israel. Aside from the particular type o f separation set forth in 1 Q S , the authors also understand that the group is made distinctive from o t h e r claimants by its way o f life, within w h i c h religious practices take a prom­ inent place. J a m e s t o o makes claims a b o u t w h o constitutes G o d ' s holy people, the constitution o f the people into a c o m m u n i t y or c o m m u n i t i e s , and how they live their lives in distinction to outsiders. T h e r e f o r e , we ask, how d o the various religious practices that we find in 1 Q S and J a m e s generate categories that reveal distinctive religious systems?

The Community at Prayer 2

T h e Community Rule closes with a section that lays o u t the character and be­ havior o f an individual called the "Instructor" CrDED). o n e w h o prays.

3

F o r e m o s t , he must b e

T h i s r e q u i r e m e n t is stated in a section covering roughly the

final two and one-half c o l u m n s o f the d o c u m e n t , beginning with a partially preserved o p e n i n g statement, "I... and in distrjess he shall bless his C r e a t o r 4

and in all that happens he shall r e l c o u n t ...," a n d is reinforced in the first line o f the closing passage: "Blessed be you, my G o d , w h o o p e n s the heart o f your servant to knowledge!"

5

T h e passage is organized according to the following

rough outline: appointed times for prayer ( I X . 2 6 a - X . 5 ) ; a prayer ( X . 6 - X I . 2 2 ) consisting o f a vow ( X . 6 - X I . 2 a ) , a hymn o f praise ( X I . 2 b - 1 5 ) , a n d a closing benediction (XI. 1 6 - 2 2 ) .

6

164

JAMES RILEY

STRANGE*

T h e general topic o f this passage is presented in the first section: the In­ structor is obliged t o bless G o d "in all that happens," a n d nothing, including "distress" (nplH, I X . 2 6 ) shall abrogate that obligation. 7

sal p r o n o u n c e m e n t t o b e understood?

8

H o w is such a univer­

First, there are appointed times for 9

prayer ("the periods w h i c h G o d decreed" X . l ) , organized by times o f day, sea­ sons, m o n t h s ,

10

a n d holy days (X. 1 - 5 ) .

11

S e c o n d , with the shift to first person

address at X . 6 (indicating t h e inclusion o f a prayer text o r vow), the Instructor adds a m o r e rigorous interpretation o f his own duties: n o t only will h e pray at the times o f day marked by the passage o f heavenly bodies, he will also bless G o d at m o m e n t s marked o u t by daily routine. In 1 Q S X . 1 3 b - 1 6 a , t h e Instructor organizes his time for prayer by two cri­ teria: there are times that follow t h e cycles o f sun, m o o n , a n d stars, a n d there is a m o r e exacting obligation, freely undertaken, t o bracket every daily activity with a blessing directed toward G o d . T h e language o f t h e passage evokes liminal states, those interstitial m o m e n t s that lie between t h e close o f o n e ac­ tion o r circumstance a n d the c o m m e n c e m e n t o f another: "when I start" (rrera), "before" (D-ira), a n d "at the o n s e t o f (also r r i r a ) ; "to stretch o u t my hands a n d my feet" suggests t h e m o m e n t o f waking, as "lying down in my b e d " implies the wakeful period before s l e e p .

12

T h e Instructor declares that he will

bless G o d before every meal, a n d in c o n t e x t t h e statement, "I shall bless him...in t h e row o f m e n , " suggests obligatory c o m m u n a l prayer while seated o r standing in ranks, perhaps at the start o f the day. In addition t o t h e emphasis o n the practice o f prayer, a strong moral thread runs through t h e text o f the vow, augmented by eschatological strands. Beginning at X . l 7 b , the Instructor acknowledges an obligation to d o good t o his fellows,

13

b u t h e states that he will n o t transgress what falls to G o d ' s re­

sponsibility alone. W h e r e a s the Instructor promises t o s h u n sinners a n d apos­ tates with righteous anger ( X . l 9 b - 2 l a ) , nevertheless he will " n o t repay anyone with an evil reward" ( X . 1 7 ) , "for t o G o d (belongs) the j u d g m e n t o f every living being" ( X . l 8 ) .

O t h e r acts a n d attitudes to b e avoided are jealousy, t o "crave

wealth by violence," a n d t o engage in disputes with outsiders ("the m e n o f t h e pit"; X . 1 9 ) .

W i t h i n "the C o m m u n i t y " (irrn), t h e Instructor vows t o c o n t r o l

his speech with care ( X . 2 1 b - 2 5 a ) ,

1 4

a n d t o carry o u t his duties with justice a n d

compassion ( X . 2 5 b - X I . 2 a ) . T h i s focus o n right action between fellow m e m b e r s raises two important points: the speaker clearly voices this h y m n as a participant in the select society that 1 Q S e n v i s i o n s ,

15

a n d h e contrasts his own wantonness with G o d ' s good­

ness, affirming that redemption c o m e s from t h e merciful G o d alone ( X I . 9 b 15a). T h e resulting picture is o f a yhd kept separate a n d distinct from the sin­ ful mass o f humanity that surrounds it, a n d completely reliant o n G o d , b o t h

• T H E D E E D S O F T H E C O M M U N I T Y IN

165

iQS*

for its acts o f goodness in this world and for its redemption in the world to c o m e . T h i s portrayal o f the yhd c o n t i n u e s the idea that only G o d is just and capable o f remitting sins ( X I . 9 ; cf. X I . 3 , 12, 1 4 ) ; G o d alone discloses knowl­ edge, guides the speaker's path, a n d grants wisdom that is h i d d e n from the rest o f h u m a n i t y ( X I . 2 b - 6 a ) . W e see the same ideas repeated in the final b e n e d i c t i o n (the only clear prayer text in this section, for it is the only passage that addresses G o d di­ rectly): as the closing statement o f a d o c u m e n t laying o u t strict protocols for righteous behavior, what stands o u t is the deep gulf dividing the h u m a n and divine natures. W h e r e a s h u m a n s are frail, G o d is mighty; whereas G o d is per­ fect, apart from G o d h u m a n s can m a k e n o claim to goodness.

T h e prayer

emphasizes G o d as the foundation o f true knowledge, as is evident in the ab­ u n d a n c e o f n o u n s and verbs that refer to h u m a n cognition (nxn "knowledge," X I . 1 5 , X I . 1 8 ; b*3E7lb "to understand," X I . 1 8 ; mOTD "thoughts of," X I . 1 9 ; H T H 1

"your mysteries," X I . 1 9 ; pinm ? "to fathom," X I . 1 9 ; HOT "be considered," X I . 2 1 ; j * T "understand," X I . 2 2 ) . O n their own, h u m a n s perceive n o t h i n g o f God,

h e n c e knowledge a b o u t the divine c o m e s from G o d alone, and the

community—here identified as "the selected o n e s o f h u m a n k i n d " (CIK " T m , X I . 16)—is the sole recipient o f that knowledge. Finally, eternal life is to b e had only through G o d , for in contrast to the C o m m u n i t y itself, w h i c h the speaker earlier characterized as "an everlasting plantation throughout all future ages" ( X I . 8 - 9 ) , h u m a n beings themselves (C7KH p "the son o f man," a n d T\m T i ' r "one b o r n o f a w o m a n " o f X I . 2 0 ) are frail and destined for death ( X I . 2 1 - 2 2 ) . It should b e noted that calendrical cycles o f prayer laid o u t at the begin­ ning o f the passage recall regulations for feasts and sacrifices found in scrip­ ture, for these o c c u r in stipulated seasons a n d m o n t h s , and o n holy days.

16

T h e suggested c o n n e c t i o n between prayer in the C o m m u n i t y R u l e and sacri­ fice in scripture presents o n e possible function o f these prayers: in the text they may substitute for s o m e types o f ritual sacrifice for the C o m m u n i t y . IX.26b-X.la

the text reads, " [ . . . a n d with the offering of] his l i p s

18

17

At

he shall

bless h i m during the periods w h i c h G o d decreed...." (cf. X . 6 , 8, 1 4 ) . T h e lan­ guage is repeated, this time in the first person singular, at X . 6 , with the affir­ mation that the speaker will indeed bless G o d at the appointed times, a n d giving special attention to seasons and "seven-year periods" ( X . 7 - 8 ) .

We

should also n o t forget that at the site o f Q u m r a n itself, in m o s t o f the o p e n spaces between buildings, Harding a n d de V a u x uncovered several deposits o f disarticulated a n i m a l b o n e s overlaid with pottery sherds, many o f t h e m hardly covered with earth (the n u m b e r o f deposits found is n o t specified, and de V a u x hypothesizes that m o r e remain to b e uncovered; 3 9 were e x a m i n e d close­ ly). T h e fact that the b o n e s were bare o f m e a t when collected, with charring

166

•JAMES RILEY STRANGE •

o n s o m e o f them, indicates that the animals were c o o k e d and eaten, a n d the peculiarity o f the deposits suggests that people were interring the remains o f ritual meals, perhaps sacrifices.

19

I f the scrolls are to be associated with the

ruin o f Kirbet Q u m r a n (as I believe they a r e ) ,

20

it is important to avoid making

a b l a n k e t claim that in the Q u m r a n c o m m u n i t y animal sacrifice is replaced by prayer and o t h e r practices.

W e can, however, reason that the C o m m u n i t y

R u l e interprets certain prayers as sacrifices, particularly sacrifices o f atone­ ment.

21

T h e evidence points to prayer as b o t h an individual and a corporate act. T h e G o d to w h o m the Instructor and o t h e r m e m b e r s pray has called o u t a yhd to isolate itself from all impure influences,

22

b u t because this section o f the

Community Rule presents prayer as a practice o f the Instructor himself, clearly 2

there is evidence o f individual prayer in 1 Q S . '

O n the o t h e r hand, we may

hypothesize that the first person singular address (comprising a v o w

24

and a

prayer) constitutes the text o f a congregational prayer that has been imported i n t o the Community Rule at this point, for it has a form that resembles o t h e r prayer texts a m o n g the D e a d S e a S c r o l l s .

25

T h e r e is n o n e e d to rely o n hy­

pothesis alone, however, for there is o t h e r evidence o f corporate prayer in 1QS.

Earlier in the d o c u m e n t we find corporate blessings invoked over the

yhd, and curses o n those w h o m it shuns and o n those m e m b e r s w h o j o i n and t h e n fall away. T h e prayers are antiphonal: the "priests and levites" speak the benedictions

and

maledictions, and

" ' A m e n , A m e n ' " (11.10 and 1 8 ) .

2 6

those gathered

respond

in

unison,

T h e m e n t i o n o f prayer "in the row o f m e n "

at X . 1 4 indicates a similar circumstance. T h e Instructor makes plain the reciprocal relationship that exists between G o d and C o m m u n i t y m e m b e r s : G o d gives to the C o m m u n i t y , and m e m b e r s o f the C o m m u n i t y keep G o d ' s c o m m a n d m e n t s in order to constitute a pure assembly, sealed o f f from outside pollutants. Noteworthy is the absence o f any expectation placed o n G o d : there is n o divine favor here that the Instructor will repay.

In the vow o f 1 Q S , G o d is praised because o f acts already accom­

plished—forgiveness o f sins, disclosure o f knowledge, help t o live righteously, 27

granting o f wisdom, justice, an everlasting inheritance —and when the sole petition is made (a single sentence at X I . 1 6 b - 1 7 a ) , it is for these very t h i n g s .

28

T h e r e is n o m e n t i o n o f rescue from e n e m i e s or from affliction, b u t merely the assurance that G o d will act justly: G o d will remain faithful to the c o m m u n i t y a n d will ultimately punish the w i c k e d .

29

T h e general absence o f petition o r intercession in 1 Q S contrasts with the preponderance o f the language o f blessing.

30

T h e section o f 1 Q S u n d e r review

stipulates only that the Instructor will bless G o d , and provides an example o f

T H E D E E D S O F T H E C O M M U N I T Y IN

iQS*

167

that form o f prayer alone. It is possibe that these blessings may also c o u n t as ritual sacrifices, particularly sacrifices o f a t o n e m e n t .

31

In 1 Q S , prayer is a religious act, and the text sets it forth using religious discourse. Prayer is a discipline that follows a schedule prescribed by the cal­ endar o f festivals and the cycle o f the day.

Nevertheless, whereas 1 Q S regu­

lates the times for prayer, there are n o stipulations for where prayer must happen. T h e r e are indications that m e m b e r s o f the yhd pray while in assem­ bly, b u t otherwise the places for prayer are the bed, the doorway, the table, and any place where the individual might be w h e n the time for prayer arrives. M o r a l discourse colors the discussion o f prayer as well, particularly in the catalogue o f vices in the vow that the Instructor promises to avoid.

Prayer,

therefore, n o t only meets a religious obligation, b u t c o n f o r m s to the moral standards that the C o m m u n i t y embraces, and the rigorous n o r m s that the In­ structor additionally takes o n . C o n c e r n e d as it is with the preservation o f the C o m m u n i t y , the discourse o n prayer alludes to the eschatological assumptions that lie b e h i n d the forma­ tion o f the yhd. A n d as a c o m p o n e n t o f the way o f life that distinguishes the Community—through prayer according to its own calendar and prayers mark­ ing o u t the daily tasks that make C o m m u n i t y life unique—prayer plays a role in assuring the salvation o f C o m m u n i t y m e m b e r s at "the day o f vengeance," while distinguishing them from "the m e n o f the pit," w h o will suffer eternal punishment. Based on these diagnostic categories, the similarities between 1 Q S and James are clear. 1 Q S shares with J a m e s the category o f a c o m m u n i t y that is at odds with and that shapes its ethos over against that o f a d o m i n a n t society;

32

moreover, 1 Q S may shun the priesthood in Jerusalem a n d the congregation calling itself Israel w h o m it serves.

33

Also, in 1 Q S the surrender o f all posses­

sions into the c o m m o n purse o f the C o m m u n i t y is at odds with o t h e r known forms o f Judaism that presume ownership o f property, a n d h e n c e that encour­ age social stratification along e c o n o m i c l i n e s .

34

Similarly, J a m e s ' s vision o f

egalitarian social structures stands in direct contrast to the hierarchical, statusoriented organization o f R o m a n society, t h r o u g h o u t w h i c h "the twelve tribes o f the D i a s o p o r a " are scattered. It is important to n o t e that beyond regulating power and wealth, b o t h James and 1 Q S place controls o n proper speech in the assembly, a n d readers familiar with o n e text will hear echoes in the other. T h e Instructor's declara­ tion that he will n o t speak "foolishness" ( 1 Q S X . 2 2 ) recalls James's reproach, " O empty m a n " (Jas 2 : 2 0 ) , and the Instructor's promise to s h u n "wicked de­ ceptions," "sophistries,"

35

and "lies" in that same passage is similar to James's

repeated pleas that his readers n o t deceive themselves (Jas 1:16, 2 2 , 2 6 ; cf.

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• JAMES RILEY STRANGE •

2:1).

3 6

T h e implication is that individuals d o n o t merely h o l d these deceptive

ideas, b u t also spread t h e m t h r o u g h the m e d i u m o f speech. Similarly, the In­ structor's avoidance o f "profanity"

37

( 1 Q S X . 2 2 ) a n d "worthless words, un­

clean things and plotting" ( 1 Q S X . 2 4 ) evokes the warnings in James to replace every "sordidness a n d r a n k growth o f wickedness" with "the implanted word that has the power to save" (Jas 1:21), that b o t h blessing and curses should n o t c o m e from the same m o u t h (Jas 3 : 8 - 1 2 ) , a n d that verbal expressions o f getrich schemes fail to acknowledge G o d ' s sovereignty (Jas 4 : 1 3 - 1 6 ) . In b o t h texts, prayer stands in sharp contrast to these types o f profane speech. B o t h the Instructor a n d J a m e s eschew ways o f speaking that divide the c o m m u n i t y ; b o t h characterize prayer as b i n d i n g together a c o m m u n i t y that is self-conscious a b o u t its distinctiveness.

38

T h e Instructor a n d J a m e s alike af­

firm the goodness o f singing hymns, the Instructor because he uses hymns to "continually r e c o u n t the just acts o f G o d and the unfaithfulness o f m e n " ( 1 Q S X.23).

T h i s claim gets at the very heart o f the religious system that 1 Q S pre­

supposes: G o d a l o n e is good, h u m a n beings are corrupt, b u t G o d has kept pure those w h o separate themselves from the " m e n o f the pit" a n d w h o sub­ m i t themselves to the " S o n s o f Zadok."

F o r his part, J a m e s prescribes hymn

singing as a particularly C h r i s t i a n reaction to happiness (Jas 5 : 1 3 ) .

In an ex­

h o r t a t i o n that recalls b o t h the instruction to c o u n t trials as a joy (Jas 1:2) a n d the r e m i n d e r that all good gifts c o m e from G o d a l o n e (Jas 1:17), J a m e s calls o n "any o n e a m o n g you"—a fellow m e m b e r o f t h e "twelve tribes o f t h e Dias­ pora"—to pray to G o d when suffering a n d to sing G o d ' s praises when cheerful. T h i s a d m o n i t i o n goes to the heart o f J a m e s , w h o calls for the assembly to m a i n t a i n an unflagging devotion to G o d while living in exile. T h e r e are m a n y o t h e r similarities, n o t all o f w h i c h have to d o with prayer specifically, b u t w h i c h do characterize two c o m m u n i t i e s w h o

distinguish

themselves through acts o f prayer. Just as the Instructor values teaching with prudence, justice, compassion, and love for the oppressed (i.e. the m e m b e r s o f t h e C o m m u n i t y ; 1 Q S X . 2 4 - 2 6 ) , so J a m e s , w h o also shows keen c o n c e r n for t h e oppressed (also m e m b e r s o f the c o m m u n i t y ; Jas 2 : 6 ; cf. 1:27; 2 : 2 - 5 ; 5 : 4 - 6 ; 5 : 7 - 8 ) , admonishes those w h o possess wisdom to demonstrate it within the assembly through works d o n e in gentleness (Jas 3 : 1 3 ) .

Likewise, b o t h the In­

structor a n d J a m e s value instructing a n d correcting with meekness ( 1 Q S X I . 12a; Jas 1 : 1 9 - 2 1 ; 3 : 1 3 - 1 8 ; 5 : 1 9 - 2 0 ) .

N e i t h e r justifies personal retaliation; ra­

ther, b o t h expect ultimate justice at the eschaton a n d affirm that it should c o m e from the h a n d o f G o d alone ( 1 Q S X I . 1 8 ; Jas 2 : 1 3 ; 4 : 1 2 ; 5 : 1 - 6 ) .

Both,

as well, call for stalwart faithfulness toward G o d in the face o f trials; in terms o f prayer, the Instructor is to c o n t i n u e to bless G o d ( 1 Q S I X . 2 6 ; X . 1 5 b - 1 6 a ) , whereas J a m e s instructs m e m b e r s o f the assembly to pray for wisdom (Jas 1:2-

• T H E D E E D S O F T H E C O M M U N I T Y IN

4 ; cf. 1:12; 5 : 7 - 1 1 ) .

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lQS

Finally, just as the Instructor takes o n m o r e stringent

prayer responsibilities than those laid o u t for h i m ( 1 Q S X . 1 3 b - 1 6 a ) , so J a m e s warns teachers that they will b e held to a higher standard (Jas 3 : 1 ) . W e should n o t e that J a m e s is talking a b o u t the ability o f teachers to c o n t r o l their speech in the assembly, a n d the final passage o f J a m e s makes it clear that prayer is a vital form o f speech a m o n g m e m b e r s . T h e s e similarities, striking as they are, underscore sharp differences be­ tween the two texts at the level o f category. A l t h o u g h b o t h texts establish a way o f life whose logic clashes with surrounding mores (as the texts construe t h e m ) , from its o p e n i n g lines 1 Q S is focused squarely o n the internal mainte­ n a n c e and discipline o f an isolationist c o m m u n i t y .

39

T h e language o f volun­

0

tary apartheid used to characterize the yhd* fits well with the report a b o u t t h e Essenes found in Pliny the E l d e r ,

41

as well as with the archaeology o f the site

o f Q u m r a n , located as it is o n a m a r l terrace overlooking the D e a d S e a and physically removed from o t h e r habitations. In contrast to 1 Q S , J a m e s stresses non-conformity with "the world" rather than withdrawal from it.

His a d m o n i t i o n "to keep o n e s e l f unstained by the

world" (Jas 1:27) suggests that c o m m u n i t y m e m b e r s m a i n t a i n regular patterns o f intercourse with outsiders, the very source o f the problem.

O t h e r state­

m e n t s in the text support this supposition: J a m e s ' s addressees are dragged into c o u r t (Jas 2 : 6 ) ; it is possible for b o t h p o o r and rich visitors to e n t e r their syna­ gogues (Jas 2 : 2 ) ; they are instructed to care for the destitute o f society (Jas 1:27).

In addition, the a d m o n i t i o n to avoid oaths o f any type (Jas 5 : 1 - 6 ) sug­

gests that J a m e s presupposes that m e m b e r s engage in legal and business deal­ ings with n o n - m e m b e r s , a n d the warning to abusive landowners (Jas 5 : 1 2 ) implies that s o m e m e m b e r s are employed by wealthy outsiders. M o r e o v e r , the two texts set forth two very different c o m m u n i t y constitu­ tions.

A l t h o u g h 1 Q S p r o m o t e s e c o n o m i c egalitarianism, requiring m e m b e r s

to share wealth a n d possessions, the C o m m u n i t y works o u t its c o m p l e t e devo­ tion to G o d ' s precepts in a rigid status hierarchy, as evidenced by its attention to order and discipline.

1 Q S dictates that c o m m u n i t y m e m b e r s e n t e r the as­

sembly and sit according to their rank: first "priests" (E'DJTDn) t h e n "levites" ( r ^ n ) and finally "all the people" (DOT "TID),

42

" A n d no-one shall move down

from his r a n k n o r move up from the place o f his lot" ( 1 Q S I I . 1 9 b - 2 3 ) .

4 3

A

person w h o falls i n t o a fourth category, the outsider, must undergo a rigorous period o f initiation before being admitted to the lowest r a n k .

44

In J a m e s ' s presentation o f the c o m m u n i t y , there is n o clear system o f r a n k and file to sort o u t its structure. kinship ties.

Instead, J a m e s appeals to egalitarian fictive

A s n o t e d earlier, J a m e s addresses his readers m o s t often as

"brothers" and o n c e refers to "a b r o t h e r or a sister," b o t h o f w h i c h c o n n o t e an

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• JAMES RILEY STRANGE

ideal o f general equality a m o n g m e m b e r s , and even between J a m e s and the people he addresses.

W h e r e we find evidence o f rank (twice) and discipline

(once), n o t i o n s o f hierarchy are upset and the distinction between insider and outsider is m o r e fluid than what we find in 1 Q S . R a t h e r than stressing the authority o f teachers, J a m e s warns t h e m that they will b e held to a higher moral standard, particularly regarding their speech (Jas 3 : 1 ) . T h e elders, for their part, d o n o t call sick people to them; rather, when s u m m o n e d they gath­ er at the bedside o f the ill (Jas 5 : 1 4 ) .

References to initiation i n t o the com­

munity (possibly baptism) lack any indication, either that those w h o h o p e to j o i n the assembly must undergo a rigorous period o f testing and instruction as c a t e c h u m e n s , o r that they are sorted into ranks o n c e they j o i n . T h e practice o f prayer also reveals deep divisions between the categories o f thought that lie b e h i n d the discussions in these texts.

W h e r e a s in James,

brothers and sisters make requests to G o d o n o n e another's behalf, 1 Q S is nearly silent o n the n o t i o n o f petition for o n e s e l f o r intercession for others. Prayer at the e n d o f the C o m m u n i t y R u l e is o f a single type—praise a n d bene­ diction o f God—and the text makes n o m e n t i o n o f any o t h e r kind. (Similarly, J a m e s does n o t m e n t i o n liturgical prayer in which the assembly recites a text in unison,

45

whereas sections o f 1 Q S suggest that w h e n the c o m m u n i t y blesses

G o d it employs just this kind o f prayer.)

46

T h e s e contrasting pictures o f prayer reveal two different ways o f interpret­ ing the relationship between h u m a n s and G o d .

J a m e s places emphasis o n

G o d ' s ongoing provision for G o d ' s children through petition and response: they may ask for what they lack, and they may call o n G o d ' s power when a b r o t h e r or sister is sick. N e x t to this picture it b e c o m e s clear that 1 Q S stresses the idea that G o d has bestowed all necessary things from the beginning: G o d ' s children bless G o d for acts that G o d has already accomplished.

Confessing the Sins of the Children of Israel T h e Community Rule c o n t a i n s a b r i e f passage o n the confession o f sins, and its treatment in this section c a n b e concise as well. Despite the segment's brevity, however, it gets at the heart o f what is at stake for the C o m m u n i t y o f G o d : re­ n u n c i a t i o n o f o t h e r claims to G o d ' s T o r a h , submission to those in authority, and taking up the way o f life o f the yhd.

T h i s fact b e c o m e s clear in the first

c o l u m n o f the scroll, w h i c h lays out what should happen "when [initiates] en­ ter the covenant." 1 Q S 1.21—II. 1 speaks o f the process o f initiation i n t o G o d ' s covenant ( m i l ) .

T h e text implies that initiates are shifting their allegiances

from o t h e r groups to the " R u l e o f the C o m m u n i t y " ("Tim - p o 1.16).

The

• T H E D E E D S O F T H E C O M M U N I T Y IN

lQS

171

process requires a d e n u n c i a t i o n o f others w h o claim the title "Israel" (it is n o t clear in 1 Q S w h o these are) and a r e n u n c i a t i o n o f their ways. T h e text does n o t m e n t i o n acknowledging a person's own wrongdoings; rather, it is the Levites w h o recite the initiates' former sins, and the initiates acquiesce ("confess" CTID) to this e n u m e r a t i o n o f their iniquities. what " 1 " have d o n e that is at stake in the c o n f e s s i o n ,

47

It is n o t

but w h a t "we" have

d o n e as former rivals o f the yhd that pertains, and that is spelled o u t by the au­ thorities o f the new c o m m u n i t y .

48

W h a t is at stake in this confession is the

c o m m u n i t y ' s way o f life in deliberate contrast to the ways o f its rivals. " C o n f e s s i o n " entails accepting the Levites' characterization o f their former religious life (and the lives o f their ancestors) as sinful, and it grants initiates access to G o d ' s mercy. In contrast to those w h o submit, the priests consign to destruction those w h o refuse to j o i n : these are c o m m i t t e d to "the gloom o f ev­ erlasting fire" and to the denial o f G o d ' s mercy and forgiveness ( I . 5 b - 1 0 ) . A d m i t t a n c e to the c o m m u n i t y , therefore, assures salvation, while rejection o f its claims and way o f life (or exclusion from it) guarantees destruction b o t h in the here and now, and in the world t o c o m e . C o n f e s s i o n o f sins in 1 Q S is thus a public (it takes place in an assembly o f the many), corporate, impersonal act. T h e text betrays n o c o n c e r n for the par­ ticular misdeeds o f any individual, b u t characterizes initiates' sins collectively as the sin o f the children o f Israel. T h e image o f Levites intoning the peoples' sins in the assembly evokes provisions for the Day o f A t o n e m e n t in Leviticus 16, while the response, " W e have acted sinfully..." recalls repeated instances o f Israel's corporate confession and repentance in Judges and 1 S a m , when the nation as a whole or the gathered tribes confess that they have turned from G o d to o t h e r g o d s .

49

C o n f e s s i o n is a religious practice, prescribed for those wishing to gain en­ trance into the "covenant," and securing their salvation with the salvation o f the entire C o m m u n i t y . 1 Q S sets forth confession using religious discourse.

Acquiescing to the

Levites' e n u m e r a t i o n o f their sins fulfills the obligation o f a t o n e m e n t for the body o f initiates, and it prepares t h e m for the further steps o f adhering to the C o m m u n i t y ' s interpretation o f appointed times, bringing their wealth to the C o m m u n i t y purse, and full participation in the C o m m u n i t y ' s daily life. T h e r e is n o talk o f virtue and vice, n o r does the text engage in moral exhortation. T h e ritual o f confession in 1 Q S reinforces the picture o f the relationship between G o d and h u m a n s implied earlier in the section o n prayer.

Through

confession, m e m b e r s o f the C o m m u n i t y constitute a pure assembly, sealed o f f from outside pollutants (other so-called Israelites), and G o d in turn grants t h e m a blessed existence.

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JAMES RILEY STRANGE •

1 Q S lays out the rite o f confession, blessing, and curse as an act with eschatological c o n s e q u e n c e s .

T h o s e w h o confess their sins and j o i n the yhd

y

having received forgiveness from G o d , will b e granted eternal (CD^li?) knowl­ edge and peace ( 1 . 3 - 4 ) , while all w h o defy the leadership o f the C o m m u n i t y are denied forgiveness (11.8; cf. I I I . 4 - 5 ) , and so e n d u r e everlasting fire and de­ struction (1.8; 11.15), and are consigned to the lot o f "the cursed ones for ever" (II. 1 7 ) .

5 0

T h e characterization o f the current age as "the age o f Belial's domin­

i o n " evokes the dualistic world-view expressed in t h e "two spirits" discourse o f III.13b-IV.26.

T h e e n d o f the current age is n o t near, b u t may be expected in

s o m e u n k n o w n "last t i m e " (]1iriR fp I V . 1 6 - 1 7 ) , "the time o f the visitation" (mips i m o I V . 1 8 - 1 9 , cf. 2 6 ) .

5 1

Because o f the earlier work o n these two texts, we can forego a compari­ son o f the Community Rule a n d J a m e s at the level o f details and move quickly to a discussion o f shared categories. W h e r e a s 1 Q S primarily discusses prayer as the practice o f the Instructor, and implies in subtle references that the c o m m u n i t y gathers for prayer as well, confession is clearly a corporate act, in­ t o n e d over the body o f initiates and o n their b e h a l f by the Levites o f the C o m m u n i t y , and accepted by the initiates in a n t i p h o n a l response.

Individual

trespasses play n o part in this confession; rather, the Levites cast the initiates as penitent Israel, turning b a c k to G o d and to G o d ' s T o r a h through their submission t o the yhd's way o f life and its hierarchical authority. T h e sins that are confessed do n o t have to do with interaction between m e m b e r s , b u t with their former lives as outsiders, as m e m b e r s o f o t h e r groups laying (false) claims to their continuity with biblical Israel. 1 Q S deploys n o m o r a l discourse here, b u t characterizes the practice as Israel's fulfillment o f its c o v e n a n t obligation as G o d ' s people. Confession in 1 Q S constitutes the reverse o f t h e pattern we saw in James. In this passage, initiates hear their past sins enumerated.

Levites play the

priestly role o f intermediaries with the divine while also taking o n aspects o f the prophets, proclaiming aloud the wrongs that the people have c o m m i t t e d a n d hearing their concession, thus underlining t h e status authority o f the Le­ vites in c o m p a r i s o n to the relative powerlessness o f the initiates. T h e discus­ sion in C h a p t e r

2 showed that it is difficult to tell i f J a m e s prescribes

confession o f sins within the assembled congregation, or i f h e means for indi­ viduals to confess to o n e a n o t h e r in private, b u t it is clear that m e m b e r s direct this practice toward o n e another, and presumably toward m e m b e r s w h o m they have wronged.

In this way, through confession m e m b e r s serve as divine in­

termediaries for o n e another, and they reinforce the relatively unstratified c o m m u n i t y organization in J a m e s .

• T H E D E E D S O F T H E C O M M U N I T Y IN

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lQS»

1 Q S also characterizes confession as a rite that creates the C o m m u n i t y . In the c o n t e x t o f the opening section o f the scroll, the rite invokes the myth o f the exodus, and so likens the creation o f the yhd to the formation o f Israel at the foot o f S i n a i . James, o n the o t h e r hand, associates mutual confession with c o m m u n i t y m a i n t e n a n c e and the strengthening o f its boundaries, rather than with its birth.

C o n f e s s i o n in 1 Q S prepares the initiate to take up the C o m ­

munity's distinctive ways.

F o r James, as an ongoing practice o f the c o m m u ­

nity, mutual confession itself is part o f the c o m m u n i t y ' s distinctive

and

ongoing way o f life. Finally, in 1 Q S confession o f sins occurs in isolation from o t h e r practices. C o r r e c t i o n appears a few c o l u m n s later, and in a separate context, and prayer falls at the e n d o f the text and within its own framework o f the responsibilities o f the Instructor. F o r his part, J a m e s places his discussion o f four distinct yet interrelated religious practices within a single passage, presenting all as intrac o m m u n i t y deeds o f mercy, focusing all o n the c o n t i n u i n g care a n d upkeep o f the assembly o f believers.

Correction: Reproof, Isolation, and Exile W i t h its ethos o f strict segregation from outsiders, 1 Q S sets forth rules govern­ ing the admission to, retention within, and expulsion from the religious c o m m u n i t y . Focused as it is o n the issue o f purity before G o d , t h e Community Rule presents a strict protocol o f licit behaviors and attitudes within the daily life o f the yhd (although it nowhere lays o u t this code o f behavior in detail), and an e x a m i n a t i o n process is designed to correct the behavior of, or weed out, those w h o d o n o t keep up their life-long c o m m i t m e n t to this way o f life. N o t surprisingly, e x a m i n a t i o n and correction play a central role in c o m m u n i t y and m a i n t e n a n c e . T h e a d m o n i t i o n , " O n e should reproach o n e a n o t h e r in truth, in meek­ ness and in lovingkindness for o n e ' s fellow-man" ( V . 2 4 b ) follows immediately after general instructions a b o u t the testing o f new m e m b e r s to t h e C o m m u ­ nity (in the text to j o i n is called "to return [nwb] within the C o m m u n i t y to [Aaron's] c o v e n a n t " V . 2 2 ) , and the c o n t i n u e d testing, "year after year," o f all m e m b e r s in order to advance t h e m in rank. T h e s e b r i e f instructions o n cor­ rection appear to assume a c o n v e n i n g o f an assembly ( o f the " M a n y " m n n ) , in which c o n t e x t o n e may "reprove" ( r r a i n ^ ) a "fellow" ( n m ) .

52

NO

formal procedure governs how m e m b e r s engage in this form o f mutual correc­ tion, b u t the task does require morally upright speech. W h e n correcting a fel­ low, o n e must tell the truth (nQK) with an attitude o f humility (m3U) and

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•JAMES RILEY S T R A N G E *

"lovingkindness" (ion runa). T h e o n e w h o feels "anger" m e m b e r , o r who " m u t t e r s "

53

toward a fellow

(mi^n) against him, incurs sin (pitf). N o r is cor-

rection within the assembly o f the M a n y a matter to b e taken lightly, o r an oc­ casion for unsubstantiated accusations.

I f o n e "raises a matter"

against a fellow in this formal setting, o n e must present witnesses. A few verses later, in 1 Q S V I . 2 4 - V I I . 1 8 b , we learn what behaviors in the daily life o f the C o m m u n i t y earn formal sentencing and p u n i s h m e n t "in an ex ami n at i o n o f the C o m m u n i t y . "

T h e n u m b e r o f rules governing correct

speech in the assembly is remarkable.

T h e passage lays o u t sanctions for n o

fewer than 16 illicit forms o f speech toward a fellow, with punishments includ­ ing some form o f exclusion from c o m m u n i t y practices (partaking o f the "pure food" o f the assembly is specified). S e n t e n c e s range from ten days (interrupt­ ing a fellow, the final infraction m e n t i o n e d ) to a full year (lying hpCT] about o n e ' s possessions, retorting

speaking brusquely [ C S N "lltfpH], speaking

angrily [norn] against a priest, insulting [nnir] with

intermediate

punishments

o f three

54

o r defaming [*73l] a fellow),

months

(speaking

"haughtily"

55

[01")0n], deceiving [moi TOIT] a fellow, uttering futile words [131 i r r m " Q T 56

ta]] )

to six m o n t h s (lying [Dm*],

57

unintentionally [naaen] speaking angrily

against a priest, c o m p l a i n i n g [ll'r] against a fellow). T h r e e forms o f forbidden speech—enunciating ("131 TDT") G o d ' s n a m e a l o u d ,

58

defaming the Many, and

complaining "against the foundation o f the Community"—incur e x c o m m u n i c a t i o n from the C o m m u n i t y .

permanent

Five o f these speech infractions con­

stitute s o m e form o f lying (six, i f we follow Martinez and T i g c h e l a a r ) ;

59

all save

o n e involve speech directed toward a fellow m e m b e r . In the passage immediately following ( 1 Q S V I I . 1 8 b - 2 5 ) , the C o m m u n i t y may welcome b a c k the o n e w h o has deliberately a b a n d o n e d its ways b u t then repents. S u c h a person gains re-admittance after undergoing a two year proba­ tionary period m u c h like the process o f admitting new proselytes:

60

he is al­

lowed to live in the C o m m u n i t y and participate in its daily activities, except that "he shall n o t approach the pure food o f the M a n y " during the first year, and during the s e c o n d is excluded from "the drink o f the M a n y "

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a n d must

sit in the rear o f the assembly. A t the c o m p l e t i o n o f the two years, m e m b e r s o f the M a n y examine him, and upon readmitting him, enroll h i m at the rank he previously held. T h e C o m m u n i t y , however, does n o t tolerate o n e w h o ab­ andons the yhd after ten years o f full m e m b e r s h i p ; he w h o does so suffers p e r m a n e n t expulsion, as does anyone w h o c o n t i n u e s to fraternize with h i m . Mutual correction a m o n g m e m b e r s o f the yhd, therefore, is limited to a formal convocation, a n d strict rules o f speech govern discourse in the assem­ bly. In every case, sanction involves a level o f exclusion from the yhd. In most instances, reinstatement to o n e ' s former status is possible; in a few, expulsion

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is c o m p l e t e and final. In this way, the Community Rule b o t h regulates behavior and a c c o m m o d a t e s most lapses in c o m p l i a n c e , while also acknowledging that some actions irrevocably contravene the rigorous process o f testing and admis­ sion that has required the participation and c o n s e n t o f the entire assembly. S u c h actions the C o m m u n i t y regards as an unforgivable offense, since they 1

"betray the C o m m u n i t y " ("Tim nan ? V I I . 2 3 ) . C o r r e c t i o n , as envisioned in the Community Rule, expresses the ethos that makes the yhd separate from all others w h o lay claim to the T o r a h revealed to Moses at S i n a i . T h e call for reproving a fellow "in truth, in meekness and in compassionate love" repeats nearly verbatim an earlier characterization o f the C o m m u n i t y in 11.24 (see I V . 3 ) .

Also, since the text depicts the C o m m u n i t y

m e m b e r s as "all those w h o submit freely to his truth" ( L I 1 - 1 2 ) , and as "sons o f truth" ( I V . 5 ) ,

62

it follows that leaving the c o m m u n i t y is characterized as "to

betray the truth" (no»3 1133% a n d that truth-telling is p a r a m o u n t in the speech o f the assembly.

Lying in all its forms excludes a person from s o m e

c o m m u n a l practices, temporarily moving him toward the permeable boundary o f m e m b e r s h i p , whereas telling the truth through r e p r o o f a n d

punishment

moves h i m securely back within the fold. C o r r e c t i o n in 1 Q S is primarily a public, c o m m u n i t a r i a n act.

T h e text

speaks o f "testing" and " r e p r o o f only within a c o n v o c a t i o n o f the Many, and in that c o n t e x t , temporary p u n i s h m e n t and complete b a n i s h m e n t from the yhd are aimed at preserving its way o f life, determining a person's rank in its rigid hierarchy, and establishing firm boundaries that separate its m e m b e r s from outsiders. C o r r e c t i o n is clearly a religious act. N o t only does correction d o n e in an­ ger incur a sin, b u t reproof, p u n i s h m e n t , and e x c o m m u n i c a t i o n are all means o f maintaining the segregation o f the yhd, w h i c h 1 Q S presents as a fulfillment o f scriptural c o m m a n d s for Israel to remain pure ( V . 1 5 - 1 7 explicitly invokes Exod 2 3 : 7 and Isa 2 : 2 2 ) .

Indeed, every p u n i s h m e n t that is n o t outright ex­

c o m m u n i c a t i o n limits a person's frill participation in the religious life o f the Community. T h e discourse o f correction in 1 Q S is also thoroughly moral in character. T h e language o f virtue ("truth," "humility," "compassion") and especially o f vice ("anger," "muttering,"

"lying," "retorting," "insulting,"

"speaking haughtily," " d e f a m i n g " )

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"complaining,"

d o m i n a t e s the conversation.

T h e discussion o f correction is isolated from o t h e r religious practices, which are m e n t i o n e d only in passing in this section. N o t e that in a text that requires confession o f sins a n d repentance for admission into an exclusive yhd, the sections considered above talk a b o u t neither practice as part o f the process o f correction. T h a t the p u n i s h m e n t s entail varying degrees o f isolation from

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the C o m m u n i t y a n d re-admittance to it makes the absence o f some form o f expiation all the m o r e striking. T h e Community Rule's eschatology finds muted expression in the threat o f eternal expulsion. B y implication, those expelled j o i n the ranks o f those w h o declined to unite with the yhd at all, and so they suffer the same p u n i s h m e n t at the hands o f the Divine: misery in the present existence and eternal tor­ m e n t in the next. T h i s section does n o t require a lengthy labor o f comparison and contrast with James, since m u c h o f the work o f the first a n d third sections o f this chap­ ter applies here as well: b o t h texts explicitly address a c o m m u n i t y that segre­ gates itself to s o m e degree and takes up a distinctive way o f life, a n d b o t h envision mutual correction o f c o m m u n i t y m e m b e r s as a way to maintain that segregation and distinction.

B o t h even use the m e t a p h o r "to stray from the

path" to describe a b a n d o n i n g their ways o f life. U n l i k e 1 Q S , however, James makes only indirect references to the initiatory process for j o i n i n g "the Twelve T r i b e s , " and he makes n o provision for e x c o m m u n i c a t i n g erring m e m b e r s , in­ stead urging that all (by implication, including those who stray inadvertently and those w h o d o so deliberately) be returned to the fold.

In contrast to

J a m e s , 1 Q S sets forth a hierarchical matrix within which new initiates b o t h find their r a n k and are p r o m o t e d o r d e m o t e d year by year as the assembly eva­ luates their progress in holiness. B o t h texts directly link m e m b e r s h i p within the c o m m u n i t y to salvation, while painting straying from the c o m m u n i t y ' s ways as sin.

B o t h likewise set

forth the religious practice o f correction using m o r a l discourse.

C o n t r a r y to

1 Q S , however, J a m e s ties correction to the practices o f confession o f sins and intercessory prayer, envisioning an ideal in w h i c h correction assures restora­ tion and salvation, just as prayers for healing a n d for the rain do.

Unlike

J a m e s , 1 Q S establishes a forensic protocol for correction, setting it within a formally-convened assembly, requiring witnesses w h e n allegations o f wrongdo­ ing are made, d e m a n d i n g decorum, and specifying gradations o f sanctions for those found guilty o f various offenses.

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M o s t notably, b o t h 1 Q S and J a m e s link correction to appropriate speech within the assembly, encouraging dialogue that builds up a fellow rather than creating animosity, and b o t h decry those w h o follow their own desires and a m b i t i o n s . Nevertheless, J a m e s ' s instruction against lying ( 3 : 1 4 ) and prohibi­ tion o f oaths ( 5 : 1 2 ) do n o t m a t c h in scale the emphasis o n truth-telling and the c o n d e m n a t i o n o f various forms o f lying in 1 Q S ; he focuses instead o n m a t c h i n g how o n e lives to what o n e claims to believe. O n c e again, the similarities between the practices o f 1 Q S and J a m e s are strong, as are some aspects o f their visions o f c o m m u n i t y .

Likewise, t h e simi-

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larities bring o u t stark differences between the two, highlighting in particular the isolationist and hierarchical nature o f l Q S ' s yhd in contrast to J a m e s ' s rela­ tively unstratified yet sharply defined c o m m u n i t i e s .

T h o s e w h o enter the

ranks o f the C o m m u n i t y that 1 Q S envisions self-consciously identify them­ selves over against a well-defined "other": morally, they are the r a n k opposite o f others w h o lay rival claims to the T o r a h revealed at S i n a i .

Indeed, the

Community Rule makes n o provision at all for any w h o wish to convert from pagan religions; rather, the "other" is viewed as a false Israel. B y contrast, we can make only general inferences a b o u t the identity o f those outside James's communities.

It is clear that J a m e s portrays t h e m as morally inferior to his

readers, b u t in the social and e c o n o m i c picture that J a m e s paints, congrega­ tions remain immersed in urban life while taking up a m o r a l stance against it. U n l i k e Paul, J a m e s does n o t draw distinctions between those w h o are "in C h r ­ ist" and those w h o are "under the law," focusing instead o n the distinctions between "wealthy" outsiders and " p o o r " insiders.

W e must infer that those

w h o attack J a m e s ' s c o m m u n i t i e s from the outside are pagans, whereas J a m e s conceives o f his assemblies as comprising Israel.

65

Conclusion: Morality and Religion in James and Select Judaic Texts T h e selection o f J u d a i c texts in C h a p t e r s 5 and 6 has provided m a n y different types o f writings with which to c o m p a r e with J a m e s : three that c o n t a i n sub­ stantial sections o f paraenesis (Sirach, a work typically classified as a Jewish W i s d o m text; the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, w h i c h falls loosely within that same genre b u t also draws heavily from G r e c o - R o m a n paraenetic litera­ ture; and T o b i t , w h i c h falls into the overall genre o f the r o m a n c e ) , a c o m m u ­ nity instruction m a n u a l (the Community

Rule),

about the everyday life o f Israel (the M i s h n a h ) .

and a systematic statement B e y o n d supplying a b r o a d

sampling o f the types o f literature that J u d a i c groups produced in G r e c o Roman period,

66

each sets forth an understanding o f a religious practice or

practices within a distinctive vision for Israel's social order and its way o f life. Each, therefore, provides a particular o b l i q u e light to shine upon J a m e s , u n d e r which his own distinctive vision stands out. As in C h a p t e r 4 , because each section e n d e d with a detailed c o m p a r i s o n , here a summary suffices. [1] In J a m e s 5 : 1 3 - 2 0 , religious practices respond to moral crises in the community.

In particular, the problem o f sin in J a m e s threatens the very

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structure o f the c o m m u n i t y because J a m e s presents sin as a wrong d o n e to a fellow assembly m e m b e r . T h e presentation o f religious practices as m o r a l deeds was particularly keen in 1 Q S , Sirach, T o b i t , a n d Testament of Benjamin, all o f which conceived o f b o t h sin and its expiation in moral terms, although 1 Q S notably did n o t deploy m o r a l discourse to talk about confession o f sins. S i r a c h talked about healing through a t o n e m e n t using discourse tinged with moral c o n c e r n s , a n d T o b i t linked restoration o f sight and d e m o n i c expulsion to moral living in ex­ ile. T. Benj. saturated the discussion o f "the good m a n " and the effect o f his good behavior o n "the wicked m a n " with the language o f virtue and vice, even conceiving o f piety in moral terms. A l o n e o f the texts read in this chapter, 1 Q S conceived o f sin as a threat to the C o m m u n i t y a n d presented correction through sanction or p e r m a n e n t ex­ pulsion as a means o f strengthening C o m m u n i t y structures. [2] In J a m e s 5 : 1 3 - 2 0 religious practices are c o m m u n i t a r i a n acts, which means that group m e m b e r s direct these acts toward o n e a n o t h e r a n d for the purpose o f preserving and building up the c o m m u n i t y . As the G r e c o - R o m a n moralists conceived o f morality for the good o f t h e state, every Judaic text read in this study revealed a corporate c o n c e r n for Israel as a distinctive entity, and all b u t o n e o f t h e m presented that entity as a minority population in exile, within w h i c h religious practices preserved its distinctiveness and assured its right c o n n e c t i o n to G o d , and therefore its survival. Most, like James, assumed a certain level o f interaction between Israelites a n d non-Israelites, and in Si­ rach and T o b i t Israelites clearly m a i n t a i n e d a balance between integrating into G e n t i l e society and remaining distinct within it. 1 Q S alone addressed itself to a distinctive c o m m u n i t y that isolated itself either by withdrawing from all out­ siders, o r by congregating within dedicated "ghettos" or "quarters" in various cities.

67

S u c h tight definition o f the C o m m u n i t y resembles James's insistence

that congregations remain unpolluted by "the world," b u t contrasts with the level o f integration o f James's congregations in the cities o f the R o m a n Em­ pire. [3] J a m e s presents these practices as having eschatological o u t c o m e s in ad­ dition to their effects in the here and now. Religious practices in J a m e s right the wrongs that c o m m u n i t y m e m b e r s c o m m i t against o n e another, and they mirror the care that G o d shows towards those w h o call Jesus C h r i s t "Lord." T h i s divine care brings n o p e r m a n e n t change to the community's social and e c o n o m i c status until the eschaton. In sharp contrast to the G r e c o - R o m a n sources o f the previous chapter, some sort o f eschatology shapes the worldviews o f 1 Q S , T o b i t , and T. B e n j .

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O f these, T o b i t and T. Benj. differ from J a m e s by predicting the restoration o f

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the people Israel to o n e nation, gathered again in the land o f Israel, and wor­ shiping at the glorious, rebuilt T e m p l e together with the N a t i o n s , thus fully realizing the prophetic visions o f N a h u m and Isaiah ( T o b i t 1 4 . 4 - 5 ) .

6 9

A l o n e a m o n g the sources, the Q u m r a n literature and T. Benj. share with J a m e s the expectation o f G o d ' s emissary/ies accompanying G o d ' s ultimate sal­ vation.

In J a m e s it is the Lord h i m s e l f w h o will return.

References to the

priestly and kingly Messiahs are m u t e d in 1 Q S (see 1 Q S I X . 11), b u t can be read in conversation (if n o t synchronically) with the m o r e detailed discussions o f these figures in o t h e r Q u m r a n t e x t s .

70

In 1 Q S , as in J a m e s , salvation is re­

served for insiders, while outsiders receive c o n d e m n a t i o n .

Distinctive to 1 Q S

is the idea that those w h o have left the yhd suffer the same fate as those w h o never j o i n e d , whereas J a m e s envisions the return o f the straying.

T h e two

texts differ as well in their understanding o f the outsider: 1 Q S establishes the yhd over against o t h e r claimants to the n a m e Israel and to G o d ' s instruction handed down at S i n a i , whereas J a m e s apparently imagines c o m m u n i t i e s o f the faithful s h u n n i n g pollution by, and withstanding the abuse of, G e n t i l e s . [4] In J a m e s , faith—presented as prolonged and single-minded devotion to God—is present explicitly in the practices o f prayer and healing, a n d implicitly in the restorative aspects o f confession and correction. T h i s category provides the m o s t significant point o f c o m p a r i s o n between J a m e s and the J u d a i c texts studied in this chapter, for whereas n o n e besides J a m e s regularly uses the term "faith" in n o m i n a l or verbal forms, all present unflagging devotion to G o d as a primary c o m p o n e n t o f Israelite identity. T h e tractates o f the M i s h n a h take up the issue o f every Israelite h o u s e h o l d maintaining priestly purity before G o d in all aspects o f their workaday lives. T h e Community Rule d e m a n d s rigorous ad­ h e r e n c e to the way o f life o f G o d ' s true people, the yhd.

Sirach, T o b i t , and T.

Benj. address the problems o f maintaining devotion to G o d in the alien envi­ r o n m e n t o f the Diaspora. [5] In J a m e s , through religious practices, c o m m u n i t y m e m b e r s take up G o d ' s example o f prolonged and single-minded care for the c o m m u n i t y , and G o d ' s j u d g m e n t o f it. T h i s category provides a significant p o i n t o f contrast between J a m e s and the texts read in this chapter. A l t h o u g h several o f the texts e x a m i n e d above also use the discourse o f virtue and vice, and s o m e (particu­ larly Sirach) make use o f rhetorical devices that would b e familiar to any edu­ cated person, n o n e similarly conceives o f moral behavior in the c o m m u n i t y . W h e r e these texts deploy moral discourse, it is to characterize the keeping o f T o r a h in terms that draw o n values a n d modes o f expression shared with G r e ­ c o - R o m a n society. In particular, the importance o f the category o f intercessory prayer in James stands o u t in sharp contrast to the absence o f the same in 1 Q S and m.

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Berakhot.

"Asking" in these prayers is expressed as b e n e d i c t i o n rather than as

petition o r intercession.

W h i l e is it possible, and even likely, that certain

prayers o f these two texts are i n t o n e d to request benefit for one's fellows o r for the c o m m u n i t y as a whole, the texts nearly exclusively characterize prayer as blessing G o d for gracious acts o f the past and c o n t i n u e d acts o f lovingkindness.

T h e result is that G o d ' s benefits are presented as already present, and

the c o m m u n i t y as fulfilled in its needs rather than lacking, whereas J a m e s highlights the n e e d for completeness (Jas 1:5) and for the care that its members show o n e a n o t h e r through intercession o f the Divine. Confession in 1 Q S and doing good deeds in T o b i t provide exceptions to this pattern. W e n o t e d that the Levites hear Israel's (i.e. initiates') confession, thus fulfilling a priestly role as divine intermediaries for the yhd. In the act o f correction as well, m e m b e r s e x a m i n e o n e a n o t h e r for either sanction or adv a n c e m e n t in rank, and acceptance into the C o m m u n i t y covenant is c o n c o m i ­ tant with G o d ' s salvation, while expulsion from it assures ultimate destruction. In the same way, although J a m e s makes n o provision for h u m a n sanction or e x c o m m u n i c a t i o n , b o t h healing (which forgives sins) and turning b a c k an err­ ing b r o t h e r (a "sinner") bring about G o d ' s salvation, while u n c h e c k e d sin leads to death. T o b i t ' s excellence in righteousness highlighted acts performed for fellow Israelites living in exile, in particular giving the dead proper burial and paying fair wages to workers. T o b i t ' s rise from the ashes o f his life then b e c o m e s an analogy for all o f Israel, and an object lesson in faithfully keeping T o r a h to ensure G o d ' s restoration as promised in the prophets.

James too

c o n n e c t s G o d ' s salvation to the religious a c t s / m o r a l deeds o f the c o m m u n i t y , b u t he has a distinctive vision o f the social entity, and o f what salvation en­ tails, as we will discuss presently. In addition to the categories derived from J a m e s , the e x a m i n a t i o n o f these particular Judaic texts has generated unique categories, and these highlight particular aspects o f J a m e s ' s moral vision as well.

M o s t notably, regarding

prayer, it is apparent that J a m e s o n o n e hand, and the authors o f 1 Q S and the M i s h n a h o n the other, are speaking a b o u t different things to different people. For b o t h 1 Q S and m. Berakhot, the time for prayer, the words spoken aloud in prayers, and the posture o f the body are dictated by regular and predictable circumstances.

1 Q S characterizes prayer as a structured discipline, to be of­

fered o n certain special days o f the year and at certain times o f t h e day and night, b u t also to frame t h e many different daily activities in life in the yhd. M. Berakhot explicitly speaks o f reciting the Shema and Amidah at specified times, and blessings over various foods and in a range o f circumstances as the fulfill' m e n t o f a religious obligation, working o u t when an Israelite male can be sure that he has m e t that obligation, and when he has failed to do so. T h e c h i e f

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criterion for fulfilling the obligation is the intention o f the Israelite: h u m a n intentionality has the power to transform profane space and time into the sa­ cred, and to re-form scattered Israelites, engaged in the organic chaos o f daily life, into the single, holy Israel, anywhere and everywhere fixed o n G o d . S u c h concepts are utterly foreign in J a m e s , where the author speaks o f n o schedule for prayer, n o liturgy, and most importantly n o power o f intentionality, b u t prescribes prayer only in response to various crises: lack o f wisdom, the pres­ e n c e o f sickness, and by implication, o f sin. Also absent in J a m e s is any n o t i o n o f the restored Israel such as we find in Tobit

and T. Benj., o r in the case o f the M i s h n a h , the U t o p i a o f Israel never

dispersed. J a m e s does n o t betray that he imagines the "twelve tribes o f the Di­ aspora" constituted as a unified people inhabiting the Land, drawing the na­ tions to themselves and to G o d .

Rather, h e uses the image o f Diaspora to

speak o f many small congregations scattered throughout the cities o f the Em­ pire until the c o m i n g o f the Judge. A c o n c e r n for the accrual o f h o n o r and the avoidance o f s h a m e such as we find in Sirach and T o b i t finds little expression in J a m e s . Y e t despite showing slight interest in the e c o n o m i c s o f status, J a m e s h i m s e l f deftly wields the idea o f s h a m e in his moral exhortation. M o s t striking is the absence o f actual family or h o u s e h o l d in the Epistle o f J a m e s . In contrast to Sirach, T o b i t , and T. Benj., w h i c h display great c o n c e r n for the preservation o f the Israelite family in exile through highlighting the practice o f endogamy, faithful handing down o f a distinctive way o f life, and proper relations between parents and children, J a m e s simply has n o t h i n g to say o n the subject o f husbands and wives, parents and children, o r even mas­ ters and slaves. In J a m e s , G o d alone is called " F a t h e r , "

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G o d and Jesus C h r i s t

alone receive the h o n o r o f "Lord," and J a m e s is a "slave." By implication, fel­ low believers—James's "beloved brothers"—are co-slaves with J a m e s . A l t h o u g h it is n o t transparent in the sections o f Berakhot and Ta'anit that we read, family also forms a primary category in the M i s h n a h , in w h i c h the m a i n t e n a n c e o f religious purity that is reserved for the priesthood in biblical texts applies to all Israelite households in their workaday world, and o n the S a b b a t h in particu­ lar. In J a m e s , remaining unstained by the world is a moral issue, and the Isra­ elite h o u s e h o l d receives n o instruction. In T o b i t (and less so in T. Benj.), theodicy is a central category, for justify­ ing T o b i t ' s blindness and Sarah's d e m o n i c t o r m e n t serves to explain Israel's travail: G o d ' s true people living everywhere as a minority and ruled by outsid­ ers, with neither h o m e l a n d n o r holy city with its T e m p l e .

T h e tale assures

readers that afflictions are temporary for the upright, whereas restoration is part o f G o d ' s plan and permanent.

J a m e s makes a statement a b o u t sin's ori-

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gin and the persistence o f "trials" as the basis for his exhortations to keep faithful a n d to m a i n t a i n t h e integrity o f the C h r i s t i a n c o m m u n i t y .

Waiting

o u t present suffering means surviving to see G o d ' s justice finally prevail with the arrival o f the Judge. W h a t is most remarkable in a c o m p a r i s o n between J a m e s a n d these par­ ticular examples o f J u d a i c instruction is the use o f only o b l i q u e references to Israelite history in the epistle's eschatology. T h e text focuses o n the circum­ stances a n d fate o f c o m m u n i t i e s o f believers. B y contrast, with the exception o f Sirach, the J u d a i c texts that characterize Israel as living in the p r e d i c a m e n t o f a disassembled people scattered t h r o u g h o u t t h e Diaspora draw o n the twin myths o f S i n a i (sometimes obliquely by reference to G o d ' s law) a n d David's dynasty to put forth an expectation o f Israel's glorious restoration to L a n d and T e m p l e . T h i n g s are destined to return to the way they o n c e were, a n d m o r e importantly, to the way G o d wants t h e m to b e , with Israel's propensity for sinning erased a n d sin's disastrous c o n s e q u e n c e s set right.

Even S i r a c h looks

b a c k to Israel's glorious past (for Sirach, the past that was made great by great m e n o f wisdom), a n d for their part the M i s h n a h ' s Sages imagine Israel as a ful­ ly functioning society, with an e c o n o m i c system, a single calendar for deter­ mining

festivals

and

sacrifices,

a working

Temple

cult with

rules

for

maintaining purity for b o t h the priesthood and non-priestly families, a code o f civil laws, a n d a plan for Israelite governance that did n o t exist at the time o f the work's c o m p l e t i o n .

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In a text that presents an understanding o f w h o constitutes Israel, a way o f life for that holy people, a n d an understanding o f their social order such as J a m e s does, the absence o f a restored Israel in J a m e s ' s eschatology is conspicu­ ous. J a m e s ' s eschatology c o n c e r n s n o t restoration to a former idyllic state, b u t the arrival o f what has n o t existed before: the perfection o f the c o m m u n i t y in wisdom, the overturning o f its fortunes, a n d its reception o f "the crown o f life." A n d all o f these benefits are to c o m e to localized c o m m u n i t i e s in the cit­ ies o f the E m p i r e . T h e Diaspora is n o t u n d o n e ; t h e scattered people are n o t reconstituted, d o n o t repopulate the Land, and d o n o t re-establish the T e m p l e cult, n o r d o they o n c e again enjoy self-rule u n d e r a reinstated high priest and king.

In James, "the L o r d " will rule justly a n d mercifully, b u t it is n o t at all

clear what type o f society h e will govern, n o r what role G o d ' s people will play in it. W h a t distinguishes J a m e s from o t h e r Judaic systems is n o t merely his ven­ eration o f Jesus C h r i s t as L o r d a n d his setting forth o f Jesus' teachings as c o m m u n i t y instruction, b u t his vision o f a way o f life for G o d ' s people that has c o m e to light in every section o f this study. J a m e s remains focused o n the problem o f daily living in the here-and-now, b u t his aim is the survival o f

• T H E D E E D S O F T H E C O M M U N I T Y IN

lQS

183

c o m m u n i t i e s , which, in the face o f various trials from within a n d without, are in danger o f disintegrating. T h e Judge is at the gates. C o n s e q u e n t l y , their way o f life is short-term, designed b o t h to preserve the c o m m u n i t i e s intact, and to assure their favorable j u d g m e n t .

73

• J A M E S RILEY S T R A N G E *

184

Notes 1.

In the discussion of The Community Rule, I refer only to the manuscript of 1QS.

2.

The Hebrew text of 1QS is that of Florentino Garcia Martinez and Eibert J. C. Tigchelaar, eds., The Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition, vol. 1 (Leiden, Boston, and Koln: Brill, 1997), 9 3 - 9 9 . The translation is adapted from the same volume.

3.

The term occurs some four times in 1QS. Three of these occurrences Martinez and Tigchelaar translate as "Instructor" (1.1; III. 13; DC. 12); for the passage under review here (IX.21) they use the term "Inspector." Nowhere do they explain the shift in English terms. The Damascus Document ( C D - A ) repeatedly refers to an Inspector (ipse). I use "Instructor" in this chapter.

4.

1QS IX.26a.

5.

lQSXI.15b-16a.

6.

Cf. Talmon ("Prayer in Israel," 2 1 2 0 , who divides this concluding passage, which he calls "a separate literary unit," into three subunits: a section beginning in IX.26, another comprising X . 8 - X I . 15, and a final section beginning at XI. 16.

7.

Cf.n-iaX.15, 17; XI. 13.

8.

The necessity for such an attitude has already been established at IX.24.

9.

The text specifies sunrise, set times during daylight, sunset, dark, set times during the night, and morning twilight.

Talmon interprets the language of X . l a - 3 a ("at the com­

mencement of the dominion of light, during its rotation and at its retirement to its ap­ pointed abode. At the commencement of the vigils of darkness...and during its rotation, when it retires before the light. W h e n the lights shine out of the holy vault, when they retire to the abode of glory") as dividing both daylight and night into three watches, marked by prayers at the beginning and end of each, as well as the midpoint (noon and midnight). Talmon, "Prayer in Israel," 2 1 5 . Cf. the liturgical prayers of l Q 3 4 / 3 4

b i s

II. 1,

4 Q 4 0 8 , and 4 Q 5 0 3 . 10.

For a concern with the calendar, see the delineation of the priestly courses in 4 Q 3 2 0 , 4 Q 3 2 1 , and 4 Q 3 2 5 ; 4 Q 3 2 7 ; 4 Q 3 2 8 . See also the calendrical system laid out in 4 Q 3 1 9 , and the astrological and astronomical texts of 4 Q 1 8 6 , 4 Q 3 1 7 , 4 Q 3 1 8 , 4 Q 5 3 4 , and 4Q561.

11.

Cf. 4 Q 5 0 4 - 6 and 4 Q 5 0 7 - 9 .

12.

Cf. the language of the Shema: "Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise" (Deut 6:7).

13.

The language of 1QS simply does not acknowledge interaction between men and wom­ en, and addresses members of the community in exclusively male terms (but see XI. 16, 21).

14.

Cf. V.25b-VI.2a; VI.24b-VII. 10a.

15.

Cf. X I . 7 - 8 .

16.

Exod 13:3-10; 2 3 : 1 4 - 1 9 ; Lev 16, 23; Num 2 8 - 2 9 .

• T H E D E E D S O F T H E C O M M U N I T Y IN

17.

185

lQS«

Talmon, "Prayer in Israel," 2 0 2 - 2 0 9 . Cf. Joseph M. Baumgarten, "The Essenes and the Temple: A Reappraisal," in Studies in Qumran Law, SJLA 24 (Leiden: E. J . Brill, 1977), 5 7 - 7 4 ; Daniel K. Falk, "Qumran Prayer Texts and the Temple," in Sapiential,

Poetical,

and Liturgical Texts from Qumran: Proceedings of the Third Meeting of the International

Organi­

zation for Qumran Studies, Oslo 1998, ed. Daniel K. Falk, Florentino Garcia Martinez, and Eileen M. Schuller, STD] 35 (Leiden, Boston, and Koln: E. J . Brill, 2000); Esther G. Chazon and Moshe J. Bernstein, "An Introduction to Prayer at Qumran," in Prayer from Alexander

to Constantine: A Critical Anthology, ed. Mark Kiley et al (London and New

York: Routledge, 1997), 9. The idea that prayer and attitudes of the heart suffice for sac­ rifice is present already in some scripture passages: cf. Ps 5 0 : 1 2 - 1 5 , 23; 5 1 : 1 5 - 1 7 ; Prov 15:8; Hos 14:2; Sir 3 5 : 1 - 5 ; Tob 4 : 1 1 .

See also 1QS I X . 3 - 5 a : "When these [of the

'Community of holiness,' unp irr) exist in Israel in accordance with these rules...in order to atone for the guilt of iniquity and for the unfaithfulness of sin, and for approval for the earth, without the flesh of burnt offerings and without the fats of sacrifice—the offer­ ing of the lips in compliance with the decree will be like the pleasant aroma of justice and the perfectness of behavior will be acceptable like a freewill offering...." W e must al­ so note, on the other hand, the repeated references to special "feasts" (riir.C; 1.15) and "pure food" (mno V.13; VI. 16, 25; VII.3, 16, 20; VIII. 17, 24) in the Rule, which suggests rituals associated with sacrifice, whether in actual practice or also figuratively (cf. C D - A IX. 14; X I . 1 7 b - 2 1 a ; XIV.20; l Q 2 8 b III. 1). Translations of m r a (Martinez' and Tigchelaar: "pure food"; Vermes: "pure Meal") leave some ambiguity about its meaning. 18. 19.

CT.SE [ncnrr. ...J. Roland de Vaux, Archaeology and the Dead Sea Scrolb: The Schweich Lectures of the British Academy,

1959 (London: Oxford University Press, 1973), 1 2 - 1 4 ; PI. Xlb; Jean-Baptiste

Humbert and Alain Chambon, Fouilles de Khirbet Qumran et de Ain Feschkha I: Album de photographies Repertoire du fonds photographique

Synthese des notes de chantier du Pere Roland de

Vaux OP, NTOA.SA 1, Fouilles de Khirbet Qumran (Gottingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1994), 1 2 8 - 1 3 0 , Pis. 2 6 2 - 6 8 ; Roland de Vaux, Die Ausgrabungen von Qumran und en Feschcha IA: die Grabungstagebucher,

NTOA.SA 1A, ed. Ferdinand Rohrhirsch and Bet-

tina Hofmeir (Gottingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1996), 7 6 - 7 7 . Cf. C D - A X I . 1 7 b 21a. 20.

For a recent, thorough study that argues this case, specifically taking on alternative hy­ potheses, see Jodi Magness, The Archaeology of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls, Studies in the Dead Sea Scrolls and Related Literature (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 2002). a

21.

See also the citation of Prov 15:8 in CD-A X I . 2 0 - 2 1 ; cf. 1 1 Q 5 / 1 lQPs (= Syriac Ps II) XVIlI.9b-12a: "The person who gives glory to the Most High is accepted like one who brings an offering [nn:c], like one who offers [ r i p e ] rams and calves, like one who makes the altar greasy with many holocausts, like the sweet fragrance from the hand of just ones."

22.

The Qumran community lived out this ideal by withdrawing to a desert plateau near the Dead Sea. Other Essene communities may well have lived in other villages or special neighborhoods (so-called "Essene quarters") in cities. Josephus, B.J. 2 . 1 2 4 - 1 2 5 ; Philo, Prob. 76; 8 5 .

23.

The individual nature of the prayer is evident in the opening language, "And these are the regulations for the behavior of the Instructor" (IX.21).

186

• JAMES RILEY STRANGE •

24.

"Vow" is the term that I have selected to call this section of 1QS. It is neither addressed to God nor, as is quite often the case in the Greco-Roman world, accompanied by a vo­ tive offering or promise of one, but it reads like a solemn oath uttered in the hearing of the Community and in the presence of the Deity.

25.

Cf. especially the Hodayot hymns of l Q H .

a

Eileen M. Schuller, "Prayer, Hymnic, and

Liturgical Texts from Qumran," in The Community of the Renewed Covenant: The Notre Dame Symposium on the Dead Sea Scrolb, ed. Eugene Ulrich and James VanderKam, Chris­ tianity and Judaism in Antiquity Series 10 (Notre Dame, Ind.: University of Notre Dame, 1994), 155; cf. Talmon, "Prayer in Israel," 2 1 3 . 26.

Cf. 4 Q 2 8 0 , 2 8 6 - 9 0 (4QBerakhot).

In l Q 2 8 b (IQRule of Benedictions),

it is the Instructor

who blesses the Community as a whole, the priests ("sons of Zadok), and "the prince of the congregation," presumably before an assembly.

According to Chazon, "Prayer at

Qumran," 9, the Dead Sea Scrolls contain over 2 0 0 non-biblical prayer texts of various types. 27.

XI.2b-9a.

28.

The language is strongly suggestive of resurrection from the dead on the day of judg­ ment: "and raise up [opm] the son of your handmaid to stand everlastingly in your pres­ ence...."

29.

Petitions are more prevalent in prayers from other Dead Sea Scrolls texts. Blessings in­ voked over individuals or groups may be interpreted as intercessions; see l Q 2 8 b (= lQSb). Other texts contain more explicit petitions; see Word of the Luminaries ( 4 Q 5 0 4 506); Festival Prayers ( l Q 3 4 - 3 4

b i s

, 4 Q 5 0 7 - 5 0 9 ) ; War Scroll (1QM, 4QM

a > b> e

) ; War Rule

(4Q285); HQBerakhot. 30.

The blessings and curses in 1QS II. 1 - 1 0 may be taken as general forms of intercession lacking any references to specific circumstances.

31.

If this is the case, then 1QS VIII.8b-9a-referring to the Community ("[It will be] the most holy dwelling for Aaron...in order to offer a pleasant /aroma/....")—may indicate the Community at prayer. Cf. l Q 2 8 b III. 1.

32.

1QS formulates the community as ^fc "inn "\m ("those whom God has selected" XI.7), UT\D ("their assembly" XI.8), irr ("the Community" XI.8), and cn» "vna ("the chosen ones of humankind" XI. 17); James, as ouvaycoyr) (2:2, although this term could refer to the place of gathering) and

33.

EKKAEOICX

(5:14).

Conducting a limited reading as we are, it is difficult to draw firm conclusions about who makes up "the men of the pit" (nne? -TOR DC.22 ; X . 2 0 ) , whom the Instructor is to shun and to hate. The epithets of XI.9—"assembly of unfaithful flesh" (b ,v -ien T.D) "as­ sembly of worms" (nm Tie?), and "those who walk in darkness" ("fcnn -D^in)—in context re­ fer to all of humanity, which the text decries generally as "evil" (nircn cn«). Earlier in the document, however, the contrast between the "sons of light" and "sons of darkness" (1.9-10), and between "sons of justice" and "sons of deceit" (111.20-21) but especially the requirement that the "men of the Community" must segregate themselves from the "congregation of the men of injustice" and submit to the authority of the "sons of Za­ dok" ( V . l - 2 ) , implies that 1QS envisions a separate priesthood and congregation, re­ garding all other claims to the same as false, thus excluding the Jerusalem priesthood and its apparanis, namely the Temple. Cf. C D , lQpHab. %

• T H E D E E D S O F T H E C O M M U N I T Y IN

34.

lQS

187

M. Peak; Lev 19:9-10; m. Terumot; Exod 2 9 : 2 7 - 2 8 ; Lev 7:14, 32; Num 1 8 : 2 6 - 2 9 ; cf. Lev 2 5 : 1 - 5 5 . The first division of the Mishnah addresses the topic of agriculture, and so of the economy. For example, the entire discussion of peak (the designation of produce for the poor) is governed by the categories of those who own property, and hence who des­ ignate peak, and those who do not and so whose ability to feed themselves and their families depends on the Israelite's designation of it. Likewise, the discussion of terumot ("heave offering": tithe for the feeding of priestly families), is predicated on the separa­ tion of heave offering from the produce of the land-owning Israelite's field; the process is therefore controlled by the intention of the owner to designate a portion of his own earnings as a gift to the priesthood. In neither case does the Israelite male turn over the sum of his possessions to be held in common by a group; rather, he surrenders a portion of what belongs to him for the care of those who otherwise have no means of support.

35.

n-.c-ic; it is not clear that this word carries the subtle connotations of "sophistries" (mean­ ing plausible but misleading arguments). It is better read as a synonym (and thus a re­ dundancy) forcriD ("deception"; Martinez and Tigchelaar translate it as a plural) and riTD ("lies").

36.

These vows of the Instructor echo regulations regarding correct speech in a convening of the Many in V I . 2 4 - V I L 1 8 b .

37.

C'ir.pc, literally "detestable things," usually reserved for unclean animals.

38.

Talmon, "Prayer in Israel," 2 0 1 - 2 0 2 .

39.

1QSI.1-I3a; V.l-3a.

40.

Cf. 1QS V. 1 0 - 1 1 ; 13b-20a; VI. 1 3 - 1 4 .

41.

Pliny, Nat. 5.17.4 [731; cf. Philo, Prob. 7 6 .

42.

An assembly of all ranks together is called "the Many" (csnr:); cf. 1QS V I . 8 - 9 .

43.

Cf. esp. 1QS V I . 8 b - 9 a also V.9; VI.4, 8 b - 1 3 a .

44.

1QS V. 1 3 b - 2 4 a . VI. 1 3 b - 2 3 . See the discussion below.

45.

The admonition for the happy person to sing hymns in 5:13 is individualistic (as is the

;

;

preceding instruction for the suffering person to pray), although it reveals that James knows of hymns. This in turn suggests that he assumes that his readers engage in this sort of communal practice. He has nothing further to say on the subject, however. 46.

T o claim that the author of 1QS (or that the Essenes) had no notion of intercessory prayer, or oaths, or petition is an argument from silence.

The same must be said for

James's silence on the subject of liturgical prayer. a

47.

But cf. l Q H X X . 2 4 - X X V . 9 , which may reflect some kind of personal confession by the

48.

The text does not specify what sins the Levites mention.

Instructor.

49.

Cf. Jud 10:10, 15; 1 Sam 7:6; 12:10.

50.

Cf. III.26-IV. 1; IV.6-7, 1 2 - 14a.

51.

See promises of "plentiful peace in a long life" to the sons of light in I V . 6 - 7 and of "bit­ ter weeping" during "all the ages of their generations...until their destruction" to the sons of darkness in IV. 1 2 - 1 4 a . John Collins' discussion of eschatology in the Dead Sea Scrolls focuses on the phrase, "the last days" ( c c n mn&), and so deals with 1QS only pe­ ripherally. John J. Collins, "The Expectation of the End in the Dead Sea Scrolls," in Eschatobgy, Messianism, and the Dead Sea Scrolls, ed. Craig A. Evans and Peter W . Flint

188

•JAMES RILEY STRANGE •

(Grand Rapids, Mich, and Cambridge, U. K.: William B. Eerdmans, 1997), 7 4 - 9 0 . The expectation in 1QS of a day of judgment at some unspecified time contrasts with the ex­ pectations in the Pesher on Habakkuk

(lQpHab) 7 : 6 - 1 3 and CD-A X I I I . 2 3 - X I V . l a that

this day would occur on a specific date; ibid., 8 2 - 8 5 . 52.

Cf.CD-AVII.2.

53.

Cf. Jas 5:9.

54.

From ]ny "to have an offensive smell," hence, "to offend, insult."

55.

Martinez and Tigchelaar translate this word as "with deception." Their rendering creates a pair of redundant prohibitions with "making deceit," which follows. Hence, my sug­ gestion of "haughtily," reading Diioa as "proudly" (fr. e n ) ; B D B 929a. nemo indicates "fraudulent"; Jastrow, 8 3 9 .

56.

1QSX.22

57.

Readme.

58.

The sanction takes into account blaspheming (bbp), using an expletive, or unintention­ ally calling the name in a blessing or while reading from a text, which is done aloud in the ancient world. See the discussion above in m. Berakhot about differentiating between reading the verses of the Shema vs. reciting them in prayer.

59.

See note 5 4 .

60.

Cf. VI 1 3 b - 2 3 .

61.

Presumably this language refers to ritual meals of some type, or it may be that every meal has religious significance, and one eats alone or with other catechumens during the pro­ bationary period.

The ancient copyist corrected the manuscript at this point.

See

Martinez and Tigchelaar, Study Edition, 8 6 . 62.

This appellation falls within a discussion of the Community Rule's "two ways" ("two spir­ its") discourse in III.13-IV.26. See esp. III. 17b-19a; cf. 1QM 1.16.

63.

W e examined only banned forms of speech, but the section also talks about feeling ani­ mosity toward a fellow, retaliation, lack of modesty (in the form of exposing oneself to a fellow deliberately or inadvertently) and crude acts (spitting): 1QS VII.8b- 14a.

64.

W h e n James uses forensic language, it is usually negative: one should not "judge a neighbor" because this is God's place ( J 4 : 1 1 - 1 2 ) ; it is wealthy outsiders who drag members of James's communities into court (Jas 2:6). a s

65.

Granted, the "rich" and "poor" language and James probably operates on a figurative level as well, and so may not merely describe people of different economic status. See Johnson, "The Social World of James: Literary Analysis and Historical Reconstruction," in The Social World of the First Christians: Essays in Honor of Wayne A. Meeks, ed. L. M. White and O. L. Yarbrough (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1995), 1 7 8 - 1 9 7 ; repr., Brother of Jesus, Friend of God, 1 0 1 - 2 2 . Penner uses the ambiguity of the language to argue that James's outsiders are "Jews who are opposed to the incipient Christian movement"; Pen­ ner, James and Eschatology, 2 7 2 . He then adduces the anti-Jewish sentiment evident in Q, the tensions in Paul's letters, and Matthew as corroborating evidence for his claim; ibid., 2 7 3 - 7 6 . In those texts, however, the polemic against religious rivals is transparent, and along with 1QS they provide examples of how a group that lays claim to Torah rejects other such claims. In contrast to them, James's characterization of outsiders does not engage religious rivals, but focuses on social and economic oppression.

66.

Notably absent is a true apocalypse.

T H E D E E D S O F T H E C O M M U N I T Y IN

67. 68.

lQS

189

This conclusion is based on the isolationist language in 1QS correlated with descriptions of Essene communities in Pliny and Josephus and the archaeology of Kirbet Qumran. Eschatology is notably absent in Sirach, which follows the precedent of many Israelite texts by regarding the end of earthly life as the end of meaningful existence, and escha­ tology is peripheral in the Mishnah. While we can find eschatological expectations (the coming of Messiah, the resurrection of the dead, the world to come) expressed here and there in the Mishnah, the Mishnah's teleology is focused on Israel's sanctification in the here-and-now rather than on its future salvation. Jacob Neusner, Messiah in Context: Is­ rael's History and Destiny in Formative Judaism,

The Foundations of Judaism: Method,

Teleology, Doctrine Part Two: Teleology (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1984), 1 9 - 2 0 , 3 0 . 69.

Cf. I Enoch 9 1 : 1 1 - 1 4 .

70.

For examples, see 4 Q 1 7 5 ; 4 Q 2 4 6 ; 4 Q 5 2 1 ; CD-A XII.23-XII.1; XIV.19; C M XIX. 1 0 11; 4 Q 1 7 4 (4QFlor).

For a synchronic reading of Qumranic eschatological texts, see

Collins, "Expectation of the End"; for a critique of Collins and an alternative, diachronic reading, see Philip R. Davies, "Eschatology at Qumran," JBL 104 (1985): 3 9 - 5 5 ; reprint, Sects and Scrolls: Essays on Qumran and Related Topics (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1996), 6 1 - 7 8 . 71.

Abraham is "father" as a metaphor for the heroic ancestor and progenitor, but "God gave birth" to James's congregations and sustains them through his mercy.

72. 73.

Neusner, Messiah in Context, 18. See Timothy B. Cargal, Restoring the Diaspora: Discursive Structure and Purpose in the Epistle of James, SBLDS 144 (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1993), 4 9 - 5 0 . Cargal argues that James's use of "Diaspora" is multilayered, both referring to his readers' "status as 'exiles' in an evil and hostile world," and "because they have become a 'Diaspora' by 'wandering from the truth'"; ibid., 50.

C O N C L U S I O N

The Moral World of James

W

hen making his way in the Hellenistic Mediterranean world, J a m e s takes s o m e paths walked by many others. W e expect as m u c h from

a religion in the early decades o f its existence.

Y e t J a m e s never

fades into his background, for in the e n d he treads a distinctive moral a n d re­ ligious course. In his exhortation, J a m e s deploys many tools o f G r e c o - R o m a n philosophers and moralists, while h e also sees the c o m m u n i t i e s he addresses as the c o n t i n u a t i o n o f biblical Israel.

However, in contrast to Utopian visions,

J a m e s proposes n o changes to whole societal structures, n o revision o f laws or adjustments in the m e c h a n i s m s o f government.

Indeed, he betrays n o vision

at all for large-scale societies, n o o p t i m i s m a b o u t the polis or the R o m a n Em­ pire.

In addition, although he carries forward n o t i o n s o f T o r a h observance

and purity, h o p e for the restoration o f all Israel does n o t register in his prose. Rather, he focuses his c o n c e r n s o n the life and death o f particular religious communities.

It is within knots o f humanity that revolution is to occur: val­

ues, modes o f thought a b o u t the divine, and their implications for how people live are to be transformed within tightly defined groups.

In t h e present age,

c o m m u n i t y m e m b e r s wait for G o d to bring ultimate justice and purification o f all h u m a n endeavors soon, at "the c o m i n g o f the Lord."

In the m e a n t i m e ,

m e m b e r s must endure the abuses leveled by society and reject its way o f life as a polluting influence. T h e y must survive. T h i s is a m o r a l vision for a minority that primarily (although n o t necessar­ ily exclusively) occupies the lower rungs o f society, b u t it also avoids the ways o f popular G r e c o - R o m a n religion we e n c o u n t e r e d at Epidauros, in Asia Mi­ nor, magical spells, or the writings o f Aelius Aristides. Tipr), n o trace o f X ^ P ' S ,

n

o

W e find n o h i n t o f

domesticating o f powerful divine beings to o n e ' s

advantage, n o mystical u n i o n with the deity. Rather, J a m e s deploys metaphors o f receiving death from sin and life from G o d . James's exhortation draws au­ thority from G o d , the c o m m u n i t y ' s Father w h o gives birth, and urgency from the l o o m i n g end: the c o m m u n i t y must live o n in order to receive its reward from the c o m i n g judge. Survival is a c o n c e r n because the demise o f the group means that it has a b a n d o n e d the generous giver o f all good and perfect gifts, and has b e c o m e ensnared in the trap laid by its own alluring sin. T h e death o f

192

•JAMES RILEY STRANGE •

the c o m m u n i t y signals the death o f its faith, the failure to endure to the end, a n d seduction by its own desires.

D e a t h also shows that t h e group has been

receiving instruction from the envious, d e m o n i c wisdom o f the world rather than from the wisdom that G o d gives generously to all w h o ask for it. C o n s e ­ quently, J a m e s draws an unambiguous line between the friends o f G o d and the friends o f the world, and he erects boundaries a r o u n d small c o m m u n i t i e s to keep o u t the vast "world" until the e n d that G o d is bringing. A m o n g the texts read for this study, such stark, moral a n d eschatological dualism finds its closest m a t c h in the c o m m u n i t y vision o f 1 Q S , w h i c h also draws sharp distinctions between outsiders and insiders, and in w h i c h confes­ sion and correction are key practices for the formation and preservation o f the yhd, w h i c h also awaits the e n d , expressed in its own terms.

S o the epistle o f

J a m e s emerges, m u c h as 1 Q S does, as a d o c u m e n t produced within a minority group that is attempting to define a distinctive way o f life tied to the past o f a n c i e n t Israel, b u t also looking forward to the eschaton. T h e current existence is an interim state. Nevertheless, it is clear that J a m e s ' s "Twelve T r i b e s o f the Diaspora" are n o t the regimented ranks o f Israelites envisioned in the Commu­ nity Rule, for 1 Q S solidifies and canonizes status distinctions, based o n its own system, rather than equalizing m e m b e r s . Likewise, J a m e s ' s c o m m u n i t i e s must develop tactics for maintaining their distinctive way o f life while living in for­ eign and hostile surroundings.

Surprisingly, unlike 1 Q S , J a m e s m e n t i o n s nei­

ther a warrant for, n o r a m e a n s of, e x c o m m u n i c a t i o n .

S i n n e r s are to b e

corrected b u t n o t expelled. F r o m the beginning, this study has bracketed questions about t h e date and authorship o f the Epistle o f James, and even n o w it is inappropriate to say m o r e than a few sentences a n d to draw o u t a handful o f implications. T h e is­ sues m e n t i o n e d above bear o n any discussion o f t h e date o f the letter's com­ position. W e ask, in what setting o f Christianity's early decades does James's m o r a l vision fit best?

C o n s i d e r the strong links between righteousness and

T o r a h observance in J a m e s a n d the corresponding failure to separate from T o ­ rah cleanly in the ways that Paul and all four gospel writers attempt to do. N o t e the striking similarities with some aspects o f the vision o f 1 Q S , tempered by the relative egalitarianism o f the congregational structure.

N o t i c e the ad­

dress to small groups that probably are made up largely o f lower-class people, a n d references to those people enduring trials in the courts a n d tribulations in the workplace at the hands o f wealthy outsiders.

T h e reworking o f unattrib-

uted sayings o f Jesus and recapitulations o f Jesus' healing ministry—none o f w h i c h can b e shown to draw directly from the G o s p e l s themselves—and the u n d i m m e d expectation o f Jesus' immediate return without a h i n t o f having to a c c o u n t for its delay are b o t h significant factors, a n d they correspond with

• T H E MORAL W O R L D O F JAMES •

193

James's anxiousness about the loss o f c o m m u n i t i e s and even o f individual m e m b e r s from t h e m . N o t e also the absence o f instructions for families, which finds a m a t c h in James's view o f the c o m m u n i t y as a kinship group. W h e n considered in sum, these observations suggest a setting within the first decades o f Christianity's emergence, during which t h e religion spread rel­ atively quickly in the form o f small congregations in cities o f the R o m a n Em­ pire and a few outside o f it: a time in which Jesus' sayings and deeds are n o t yet widely available, i f at all, in written form and righteousness is still strongly associated with keeping T o r a h . T h e y imply that followers o f Jesus are numer­ ous e n o u g h to b e noticed and to face s o m e form o f persecution that is n o t yet systematic, b u t still few e n o u g h that the author views the loss o f a congrega­ tion as a catastrophy and and insists that every wandering m e m b e r be re­ turned.

In light o f this evidence, a date near the reigns o f Claudius ( 4 1 - 5 4 )

1

2

o r N e r o ( 5 4 - 6 8 ) seems reasonable. T h e question o f authorship is complicated by the quality o f the G r e e k , which many regard as too elevated to c o m e from the pen o f a Galilean, Jewish 3

artisan (assuming that we are to understand "James a slave o f G o d and the Lord Jesus C h r i s t " to indicate the b r o t h e r o f Jesus, as I t h i n k we should). In­ deed, o u r investigation has confirmed that the author's facility in G r e e k rhe­ torical flourishes and the genres employed by G r e c o - R o m a n moralits rivals the talent o f Jesus b e n Sirach's Alexandrian grandson.

O n the o t h e r hand, for

decades now, excavations in the Galilee have b e e n blurring clear distinctions between what is "Hellenistic" and what is "Jewish," and between w h o is liter­ ate and w h o is n o t .

4

Moreover, to m a k e a clear distinction between authentic

and pseudonymous writings based o n the complexity and quality o f language may indicate an understanding o f a n c i e n t authorship that is t o o simplistic, es­ pecially given what we k n o w about the use o f amanuenses for letter composi­ tion, and given a broader n o t i o n o f "authorization" that might include many people in the production o f a piece o f a n c i e n t Christian moral e x h o r t a t i o n . W h o and how many, for example, t o o k part in the c o m p o s i t i o n o f the undis­ puted Pauline epistles to the C o r i n t h i a n s , the Philippians, and the Thessalonians, all o f w h o m n a m e others in addition to Paul in their salutations? W h a t role did Tertius play in the c o m p o s i t i o n o f R o m a n s ? W e are beginning to pile conjecture upon conjecture and should go n o further, except to say that good Koine in J a m e s is n o t fatal to a view that the letter is early and authored, o r au­ thorized, in s o m e way by J a m e s the b r o t h e r o f the L o r d .

5

Even so, questions about the letter's date and authorship remain ancillary to the aims o f this study, w h i c h are to view the Epistle o f J a m e s alongside oth­ er examples o f religious and moral instruction o f the G r e c o - R o m a n world.

In

light o f the writings examined here, J a m e s ' s letter emerges as a piece o f urgent moral instruction, keenly focused o n the preservation, for a short while, o f in-

194

JAMES RILEY

STRANGE*

dividual groups o f Greek-speaking worshipers o f the risen Lord.

W h a t the

Lord will inaugurate when h e c o m e s , J a m e s does n o t say. W h a t c o u n t s n o w is persevering to the e n d , withstanding the wickedness o f the world outside, and, like G o d , c o m m i t t i n g deeds within the c o m m u n i t y that preserve its God-given life.

• T H E MORAL W O R L D OF JAMES

195

Notes 1.

Apparently unable to differentiate Jews from Christians, Claudius expelled Jews from

2.

Nero's infamous persecution of Christians in Rome occurred in 6 4 C E : Suetonius, Life

Rome in around 4 9 C E : Suetonius, Life of Claudius 25 A; Acts 18:2. of Nero 16.2; Tacitus, Annals 1 5 . 4 4 . 2 - 8 .

If the letter is a response, whether directly or

indirectly, to persecutions under Nero, any link to James the brother of the Lord can on­ ly be posthumous, perhaps through a follower of James, since based on Josephus' ac­ count in Ant. 20.9 James's death is typically dated to 62 C E . 3.

The term "peasant" does not accurately describe farmers and artisans of first century Judea. See J . Andrew Overman, "Jesus of Galilee and the Historical Peasant," in Archae­ ology and the Galilee: Texts and Contexts in the Graeco-Roman

and Byzantine Periods, Edited by

Douglas R. Edwards and C. Thomas McCollough (Atlanta, Ga.: Scholars Press, 1997), 67-73; Sharon Lea Mattila, "Jesus and the 'Middle Peasants'? Problematizing a SocialScientfic Concept," CBQ 72, No. 2 (April 2010): 291-313. 4.

Challenges to the old hypothesess can be traced to Martin Hengel, Judaism and Hellenism: Studies in their Encounter in Palestine during the Early Hellenistic Period, trans. John Bowden (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1974). See also Martin Hengel, "Hellenism and Judaism Revisited" in John J. Collins ck Gregory E. Sterling, Editors, Hellenism in the land of Israel (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 2 0 0 1 ) , 6-37.

5.

For a thorough treatment of the issue of authorship and an argument for authenticity, see Johnson, Letter of James, 8 9 - 1 2 3 . For an argument for a late date of composition and inauthenticity based in part on the implications of his study of Stoic influences on James's thought, and responding to Johnson's views, see Matt A. Jackson-McCabe, Logos and Law in the Letter of James The Law of Nature, the Law of Moses, and the Law of Freedom, NovTSupp, vol. C (Leiden: Brill, 2001), 2 4 3 - 5 3 .

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STRANGE*

Johnson, Luke Timothy. Among the Gentiles: Greco-Roman Religion and Christianity. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2 0 0 9 . . Brother of Jesus, Friend of God: Studies in the Epistle of James. Grand Rapids and Cambridge, U.K.: Eerdmans, 2 0 0 4 . . "Gender in the Letter of James: A Surprising Witness." In A Feminist Companion

to the

Catholic Epistles and Hebrews, ed. A.-J. Levine, 1 0 3 - 1 1 3 . New York: T & T Clark Interna­ tional, 2 0 0 4 . Reprint, Brother of Jesus, Friend of God: Studies in the Letter of James, 2 2 1 - 2 3 4 . Grand Rapids, Mich, and Cambridge, U.K.: Eerdmans, 2 0 0 4 . . "James 3 : 1 3 - 4 : 1 0 and the Topos ircpi <J)06vou." NovT 25 (1983): 3 2 7 - 3 4 7 . Reprint, Brother of Jesus, Friend of God: Studies in the Letter of James,

1 8 2 - 2 0 1 . Grand Rapids, Mich, and

Cambridge, U.K.: Eerdmans, 2 0 0 4 . . "James's Significance for Early Christian History." In Brother of Jesus, Friend of God: Studies in the Epistle of James, 1-23. Grand Rapids and Cambridge, U.K.: Eerdmans, 2 0 0 4 . .

The Letter of James: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary.

A B 37A. New

York: Doubleday, 1995. .

Religious Experience in Earliest Christianity: A Missing Dimension in New Testament

Studies.

Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1998. .

"The Social World of James: Literary Analysis and Historical Reconstruction." In The

Social World of the First Christians: Essays in Honor of Wayne A. Meeks, 1 7 8 - 1 9 7 , ed. L. M. White and O. L. Yarbrough. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1995. Reprint, Brother of Jesus, Friend of God: Studies in the Epistle of James, 1 0 1 - 1 2 2 . Grand Rapids and Cambridge, U.K.: Eerdmans, 2 0 0 4 . . "Taciturnity and True Religion (James 1:26-27)." In Greeks, Romans, and Christians: Essays in Honor of Abraham J. Malherbe, ed. D. Balch et al., 3 2 9 - 3 3 9 . Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1990. Reprint, Brother of Jesus, Friend of God: Studies in the Epistle of James, 1 5 5 - 1 6 7 . Grand Rapids and Cambridge, U.K.: Eerdmans, 2 0 0 4 . Johnson, Luke Timothy and Wesley Wachob. "The Sayings of Jesus in the Letter of James." In Authenticating the Words of Jesus, ed. Bruce Chilton and Craig A. Evans, 4 3 1 - 4 5 0 . NTTS 28:1. Leiden: Brill, 1999. Reprint, Brother of Jesus, Friend of God: Studies in the Epistle of James, 1 3 7 - 1 4 3 . Grand Rapids and Cambridge, U.K.: Eerdmans, 2 0 0 4 . Johnston, Wendell G. "Does James Give Believers a Pattern for Dealing with Sickness and Heal­ ing?" In Integrity of Heart, Skillfulness of Hands: Biblical and Leadership Studies in Honor of Don­ ald K. Campbell, ed. Charles H. Dyer and Roy B. Zuck, 1 6 8 - 1 7 4 . Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1994. Karris, Robert J. Prayer in the New Testament. New York: The Crossroads Publishing Company, 2000. . "Some New Angles on James 5 : 1 3 - 2 0 . " RevExp 97 (2000): 2 0 7 - 2 1 9 . Kawaidas, P. Fouilles Epidaure. Athens, 1891. Quoted in Louise Wells, The Greek Language of Healing from Homer to the New Testament Times. Berlin and New York: Walter de Gruyter, 1998,21.

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205

AUTHORS

Kawaidas, P. To hpov TOU 'AoxArjrrtou iv 'EmSaupcS KCU' rj dspaireia TCOV dotevcov. Athens, 1900. Quoted in Louise Wells, The Greek Language of Healing from Homer to the New Testament Times. Berlin and New York: Walter de Gruyter, 1998, 2 1 . Kee, Howard Clark. Miracle in the Early Christian World: A Study in Sociohistorical

Method. New

Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1983. Kelsey, Morton T. Healing and Christianity in Ancient Thought and Modem Times. New York: Har­ per ck Row Publishers, 1973. Kierkegaard, Soren. Fear and Trembling and The Sickness unto Death, trans. Walter Lowrie. Prince­ ton: Princeton University Press, 1954. . For Self Examination; Judge for Yourself. Kierkegaard's Writings 5. Edited and translated by H. V. Hong and E. H. Hong. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1990. Quoted in Ri­ chard Bauckham, James: Wisdom of James, Disciple of Jesus the Sage. London and New York: Routledge, 1999. Kiley, Mark and others, eds. Prayer from Alexander to Constantine: A Critical Anthology. London and New York: Routledge, 1997. Kirk, J . A. "Meaning of Wisdom in James: Examination of a Hypothesis." NTS 16 (1969): 2 4 38. Kittel, Gerhard. "Der geschichtliche Ort des Jakobusbriefes." Z N W 4 1 (1942): 7 1 - 1 0 5 . Klauck, Hans-Josef. "Die kleinasiatischen Beichtinschriften und das Neue Testament." In Geschichte-Tradition-Reflexion: Christentum,

Festschrift fur Martin Hengel zum 70. Geburtstag. Vol. 3, Frillies

ed. Hubert Cancik, Hermann Lichtenberger, and Peter Schaffer, 6 3 - 8 7 .

Tubingen: J. C. B. Mohr (Paul Ziebeck), 1996. . The Religious Context of Early Christianity, trans. Brian McNeil, ed. John Barclay, Joel Mar­ cus, and John Riches. Snidies of the New Testament and Its World. Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 2 0 0 0 . Kloner, A. "Ancient Synagogues in Israel: An Archeological Survey." In Ancient Synagogues Re­ vealed, ed. Lee I. Levine, 1 1 - 1 8 . Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society, 1981. Kloppenborg, John S. "Diaspora Discourse: The Construction of Ethos in James." NTS 53 (2007): 2 4 2 - 2 7 0 . . "The Emulation of the Jesus Tradition in the Letter of James." In Reading James with New Eyes: Methodological Reassessments of the Letter of James, ed. Robert L. Webb and John S. Koppenborg, 1 2 1 - 1 5 0 . LNT 3 4 2 . London and New York: T & T Clark, 2 0 0 7 . Konradt, Matthias. Christliche Existenz nach dem Jakobusbrief:

eine Studie zu seiner

soteriologischen

und ethischen Konzeption. S U N T 22. Gottingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1998. Kyriakidis, Evangelion. "Archaeologies of Ritual." In The Archaeology of Ritual, ed. Evangelion Kyriakidis, Cotsen Advanced Seminar 3, 2 8 9 - 3 0 8 . Los Angeles: University of California at Los Angeles, 2 0 0 7 . Laws, Sophie. "The Doctrinal Basis for the Ethics of James." In Studia Evangelica 7: Papers pre­ sented to the Fifth International Congress on Biblical Studies held at Oxford, 1973, ed. Elizabeth A. Livingstone, 2 9 9 - 3 0 5 . Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, 1982.

206

•JAMES RILEY STRANGE •

. The Epistle of James. BNTC. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 1993. Levine, Amy-Jill. "Diaspora as Metaphor: Bodies and Boundaries in the Book of Tobit." In Di­ aspora Jews and Judaism: Essays in Honor of, and in Dialogue with, A. Thomas Kraabel, ed. J. Andrew Overman and Robert S. MacLennan, 1 0 5 - 1 1 7 . SFSHJ 4 1 . Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1992. . "Tobit: Teaching Jews How to Live in the Diaspora." BR 8 (1992): 4 2 - 5 1 , 6 4 . Levine, Lee I., ed. Ancient Synagogues Revealed. Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society, 1981. . The Ancient Synagogue: The First Thousand Years. New Haven and London: Yale University Press: 2000. Lockett, Darian. Purity and Worldview in the Epistle of James. LNT 3 6 6 . London and New York: T & T Clark International, 2 0 0 8 . . "The Spectrum of Wisdom and Eschatology in the Epistle of James and 4QInstruction," Tyndale Bulletin 5 6 , no. 2 (2005): 1 3 3 - 1 4 8 . . "'Unstained by the World': Purity and Pollution as an Indicator of Cultural interaction in the Letter of James." In Reading James with New Eyes: Methodological

Reassessments of the

Letter of James, ed. Robert L. Webb and John S. Kloppenborg, 4 9 - 7 4 . LNT 3 4 2 . London and New York: T & T Clark International, 2 0 0 7 . Lohse, Eduard. Theological

Ethics of the New Testament, trans. M. Eugene Boring. Minneapolis:

Fortress Press, 1991. Luther, Martin. "Preface to the New Testament." In Word and Sacrament. Vol 3 5 , trans. Theo­ dore Bachmann. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1960. Magness, Jodi. The Archaeology of Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerd­ mans, 2 0 0 2 . Malherbe, Abraham J. "Hellenistic Moralists and the New Testament." ANRW 11.26.1, ed. Wolfgang Haase and Hildegard Temporini, 2 6 7 - 3 3 3 . Berlin and New York: Walter de Gruyter, 1992. . Moral Exhortation, A Greco-Roman Sourcebook. Library of Early Christianity 4. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1986. Manns, Frederic. '"Confessez vos peches les uns aux autres'. Essai d'interpretation de Jacques 5,16." RevScRel 5 8 no. 4 (1984): 2 3 3 - 2 4 1 . Marshall, L. H. The Challenge of New Testament Ethics. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1947. Martin, Ralph P. James. W B C 4 8 . Waco: Word Books, 1988. Marxsen, Willi. "Christliche" und christliche Ethik im Neuen Testament. Gutersloh: Gtitersloher Verlagshaus Gerd Mohn, 1989. Matera, Frank J. New Testament Ethics: The Legacies of Jesus and Paul. Louisville: John Knox Press, 1996. Mattila, Sharon Lea. "Jesus and the 'Middle Peasants'? Problematizing a Social-Scientfic Con­ cept." CBQ 72, no. 2 (April 2010): 291-313.

•

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AUTHORS*

207

Maynard-Reid, Pedrito U. Poverty and Wealth in James. Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, 1987. Mayor, Joseph B. The Epistle of James. 3 Mich.: Kregel, 1990.

r d

ed. London: Macmillan, 1913. Reprint, Grand Rapids,

Meyer, Arnold. Das Ratsel des Jakobusbriefes.

BZNW 10. Gieften, Germany: Topelmann, 1930.

McCollough, C. Thomas and Beth Glazier-McDonald. "Magic and Medicine in Byzantine Gali­ lee: A Bronze Amulet from Sepphoris." In Archaeology and the Galilee: Texts and Contexts in the Graeco-Roman

and Byzantine Periods, ed. Douglas R. Edwards and C. Thomas McCol­

lough, 1 4 3 - 1 5 0 . SFSHJ. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1997. McDonald, Ian H. The Crucible of Christian Morality. London and New York: Routledge, 1998. Meeks, Wayne A. The Moral World of the First Christians. Library of Early Christianity 6. Phila­ delphia: The Westminster Press, 1986. . The Origins of Christian Morality. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1993. Meijer, P. A. "Philosophers, Intellectuals, and Religion in Hellas." In Faith Hope and Worship: Aspects of Religious Mentality in the Ancient World, ed. H. S. Versnel, 2 1 6 - 2 6 2 . Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1981. Mitchell, Margaret M. Paul and the Rhetoric of Reconciliation: An Exegetical Investigation of the Lan­ guage and Composition of 1 Corinthians. Tubingen: J. C. B. Mohr (Paul Siebeck), 1991. Moore, Carey A. Tobit: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. A B 40A. New York: Doubleday, 1996. Moralee, Jason. For Salvations Sake: Provincial Loyalty, Personal Religion, and Epigraphic

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in the Roman and Late Antique Near East. Studies in Classics. New York and London: Rout­ ledge, 2 0 0 4 . Mullins, T. Y. "Jewish Wisdom Literauire in the New Testament." JBL 6 8 (1949): 3 3 9 . Muftner, Franz. Der Jakobusbrief. HTKNT, 1 3 / 1 . Freiberg, Basel, and Vienna: Herder, 1964. Nails, Debra and Holger Thesleff. "Early academic editing: Plato's Laws" In Plato's Laws, from Theory into Practice; Proceedings VI Symposium Platonicum Selected Papers, ed. Samuel Scolnicov and Luc Brisson, 1 4 - 2 9 . International Plato Studies. Sankt Augustin: Academia Verlag, 2003. Neusner, Jacob. "Introduction: W h a t Is a Judaism?" In The Brother of Jesus: James the Just and His Mission, ed. Jacob Neusner and Bruce Chilton, 1-7. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2 0 0 1 . . Judaism: The Evidence of the Mishnah. 2 1988.

n d

ed., augmented. BJS 129. Atlanta: Scholars Press,

. Judaism Without Christianity. Hoboken, N.J.: KTAV Publishing House, 1 9 9 1 . . Messiah in Context: Israel's History and Destiny in Formative Judaism. The Foundations of Ju­ daism: Method, Teleology, Doctrine Part Two: Teleology. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1984. . The Mishnah: Introduction and Reader. Philadelphia: Trinity Press International, 1992. . A Rabbi Talks with Jesus: An Intermillenial, Interfaith Exchange. New York: Doubleday, 1993.

208

•JAMES RILEY S T R A N G E *

. "The Synagogue in Law: W h a t the Texts Lead Us to Expect to Find." In Religious Texts and Material Contexts, ed. Jacob Neusner and James F. Strange, 1 5 7 - 1 7 3 . SFSHJ. Lanham, N.Y.: University Press of America, 2 0 0 1 . Neusner, Jacob and Tamara Sonn. Comparing Religions Through Law: Judaism and Islam. London: Routledge, 1999. Neusner, Jacob and James F. Strange, eds. Religious Texts and Material Contexts. SFSHJ. Lanham, N.Y.: University Press of America, 2 0 0 1 . Nock, Arthur Darby. "Paul and the Magus." In The Beginnings of Christianity. Pt. 1, vol. 5, ed. F. J. Foakes Jackson and K. Lake, 1 6 4 - 8 8 . London: Macmillan and Co., 1 9 2 0 - 1 9 3 3 . Reprint, Essays on Religion and the Ancient World. Vol. 1, 3 0 9 - 3 3 0 . Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Uni­ versity Press, 1972. Omanson, Roger L. "The Certainty of Judgment and the Power of Prayer: James 5." RevExp 83 no. 3 (1986): 4 2 7 - 4 3 8 . Overman, J . Andrew. "Jesus of Galilee and the Historical Peasant." In Archaeology and the Gali­ lee: Texts and Contexts in the Graeco-Roman

and Byzantine Periods, ed. Douglas R. Edwards and

C. Thomas McCollough, 67-73. Atlanta, Ga.: Scholars Press, 1997. Painter, John. Just James: The Brother of Jesus in History and Tradition. Studies in Personalities of the New Testament. Columbia, S.C.: University of South Carolina Press, 1997. Reprint, Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1999. Penner, Todd C. The Epistle of James and Eschatology:

Re-reading an Ancient

Christian

Letter.

JSNTSup 121. Sheffield, U.K.: Sheffield Academic Press, 1996. Perdue, Leo G. "Paraenesis and the Epistle of James." ZNW 72 Heft 3 / 4 (1981): 2 4 1 - 2 5 6 . Pettazzoni, Raffaele. "Confession of Sins and the Classics." HTR 3 0 (1937): 1-14. Pfeiffer, E. "Der Zusammenhang des Jakobusbriefes." TSK 1 (1850): 1 6 3 - 1 8 0 . Pickar, Charles H. "Is Anyone Sick Among You?" CBQ 7 no. 2 (1945): 1 6 5 - 1 7 4 . Pilch, John J. Healing in the New Testament: Insights from Medical and Mediterranean

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Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2 0 0 0 . Plecket, H. W . "Religious History as the History of Mentality: The 'Believer' as Servant of the Deity in the Greek World." In Faith Hope and Worship: Aspects of Religious Mentality in the Ancient World, ed. H. S. Versnel, 1 5 2 - 1 9 2 . Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1981. Popkes, Wiard. Der Brief des Jakobus. THKNT. Leipzig: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, 2 0 0 1 . Portier-Young, Anathea. "Alleviation of Suffering in the Book of Tobit: Comedy, Community, and Happy Endings." CBQ 6 3 (2001): 3 9 . Pulleyn, Simon. Prayer in Greek Religion. Oxford, U.K.: Clarendon Press, 1997. Ricl, Marijana. "The Appeal to Divine Justice in the Lydian Confession-Inscriptions." schungen in Lydien, 6 7 - 7 6 . AMS 17. Bonn: Dr. Rudolf Habelt GMBH, 1995.

In For-

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209

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Ropes, James Hardy. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle of St. James. ICC. New York: Charles Scribner & Sons, 1916. Rostad, Aslak. "Confession or Reconciliation? The Narrative Structure of the Lydian and Phry­ gian 'Confession Inscriptions.'" SO 77 (2002): 1 4 5 - 1 6 5 . Sanders, E. P. Jesus and Judaism. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1985. .

Paul and Palestinian Judaism: A Comparison

of Patterns of Religion. Philadelphia: Fortress

Press, 1977. Sanders, Jack T. Ethics in the New Testament: Change and Development. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1975. Sandmel, Samuel. "Parallelomania." JBL 81 no.l (March, 1962): 1-13. Scarborough, John. Roman Medicine. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1969. Schaffer, Peter "Jewish Liturgy and Magic." In Geschichte-Tradition-Reflexion:

Festschrift fur Mar­

tin Hengel zum 70. Geburtstag. Vol. 1, Judentum, ed. Hubert Cancik, Hermann Lichtenberger, and Peter Schaffer, 5 4 1 - 5 5 6 . Tubingen: J. C. B. Mohr (Paul Siebeck), 1996. Schnabel, Eckhard J. "Divine Tyranny and Public Humiliation: A Suggestion for the Interpreta­ tion of the Lydian and Phrygian Confession Inscriptions." NovTXLV (2003): 1 6 0 - 1 8 8 . Schnackenburg, Rudolf. The Moral Teaching of the New Testament, trans. J. Holland-Smith and W . J. O'Hara. London: Burns & Oates, 1965. Schrage, Wolfgang. The Ethics of the New Testament, trans. David E. Green Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1988. Schroeder, Frederic M. "Friendship in Aristotle and Some Peripatetic Philosophers." In GrecoRoman Perspectives on Friendship, 3 5 - 5 7 , ed. David E. Aune. SBLRBS 34. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1997. Schuller, Eileen M. "Prayer, Hymnic, and Liturgical Texts from Qumran." In The Community of the Renewed Covenant: The Notre Dame Symposium on the Dead Sea Scrolb, ed. Eugene Ulrich and James VanderKam, 1 5 3 - 1 7 1 . CJAS 10. Notre Dame, Ind.: University of Notre Dame, 1994. Schulz, Siegfried. Neutestamentliche Ethik. Zurich: Theologischer Verlag, 1987. Scolnicov, Samuel and Luc Brisson, eds. Plato's Laws, from Theory into Practice; Proceedings VI Symposium Platonicum Selected Papers. International Plato Studies. Sankt Augustin: Academia Verlag, 2 0 0 3 . Shauf, Scott. Theology as History, History as Theology: Paul in Ephesus in Acts 19. B Z N W 133. Berlin and New York: Walter de Gruyter, 2 0 0 5 . Shepherd, M. "The Epistle of James and the Gospel of Matthew." JBL 75 (1956): 4 0 - 5 1 . Shogren, Gary S. "Will God Heal U s - A Re-Examination of James 5:14-16a." EvQ 61 (1989): 99-108. Skehan, Patrick W . and Alexander A. Di Leila. The Wisdom of Ben Sira: A New Translation with Notes. A B 3 9 . New York: Doubleday, 1987. Sloan, Robert B. "The Christology of James." CTR 1 (1986): 3 - 2 9 .

210

JAMES RILEY STRANGE •

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Writings and Early Christian

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Magic

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von Vogtle, Anton. Die Tugend- und Lasterkataloge 1936.

211

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Minister:

Aschendorf,

Wachob, Wesley Hiram. "The Languages of 'Household' and 'Kingdom' in the Letter of James: A Socio-rhetorical Study." In Reading James with New Eyes: Methodological Reassessments of the Letter of James, ed. Robert L. Webb and John S. Kloppenborg, 1 5 1 - 1 6 8 . LNT 342. London and New York: T & T Clark, 2007. . The Voice of Jesus in the Social Rhetoric of James. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 2 0 0 0 . Wall, Robert W . Community

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International, 1997. . "James as Apocalyptic Paraenesis." ResQ 32 no. 1 (1990): 1 1 - 2 2 . Watson, Duane F. "James 2 in Light of Greco-Roman Schemes of Argumentation." NTS 3 9 (1993): 9 4 - 1 2 1 . .

"The Rhetoric of James 3 : 1 - 1 2 and a Classical Pattern of Argumentation." NovT

35

(1993): 4 8 - 6 4 . Webb, Robert L. and John S. Kloppenborg, eds. Reading James with New Eyes: Methodological Re­ assessments of the Letter of James. LNT 3 4 2 . New York, and London: T & T Clark Interna­ tional, 2 0 0 7 . Wells, C. Richard. "The Theology of Prayer in James." CTR 1 no. 1 (1986): 8 5 - 1 1 2 . Wells, Louise. The Greek Language of Healing from Homer to the New Testament Times. BZNW 8 3 . Berlin and New York: Walter de Gruyter, 1998. Wilkinson, John. The Bible and Healing: A Medical and Theological

Commentary.

Edinburgh: The

Hansel Press; Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1998. Wright, Frederick J. "Healing: An interpretation of James 5 : 1 3 - 2 0 . " Journal of the Christian Med­ ical Fellowship 37 no. 1 (1991): 2 0 - 2 1 . Zahavy, Zvee. Mishnaic Law of Blessings and Prayers: Tractate Berakhot. BJS 8 8 . Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1987. . Studies in Jewish Prayer. SJ. Lanham, Md., New York, and London: University Press of America, 1990. Zegler, John J. "Who Can Anoint the Sick?" Worship 61 no. 1 (Jan. 1987): 2 5 - 4 4 . Zias, Joseph E. "The Cemeteries of Qumran and Celibacy: Confusion Laid to Rest?" DSD 7 no. 2 Only, 2000): 2 2 0 - 2 5 3 . . "Qumran Archaeology: Skeletons with Multiple Personality Disorders and other Grave Errors." RevQ 21 no. 1 (2003): 8 3 - 9 8 . . "Tombes bedouines: histoire d'une erreur." MdB 151 ( J

u n e

> 2003): 4 8 - 4 9 .

Zimmerman, Frank. The Book of Tobit. JAL. New York: Harper Brothers, 1958..

Index of Ancient Texts

• Greco-Roman Texts • Aelian Nat. an. 9.33

117

11.17

121

Aelius Aristides Disc. 23.16-17 47.1 48.74-78 4 8 . 3 0 - 3 5 , 80; 51.36 Anaxagorus 12 Andocides De myst. 73.2

104 121 101 121 43

82

Apuleius Met. 8.27-28

80

11.2

77

Aristotle Eth. nic. 1.2 1.4 8 . 1 , 3 , 7tY, 13, 14; 9. Iff 10.7,9 Polit. 1.1,3.4,3.6 7.4-12

82 81 83 82

[Aristotle] Virt. vit. 1250B, 1251A BWK 1

122, 123

3

109

4,5

122,123

6,7

122

10

122,123

11,12

122

15, 19

123

18, 20, 35

122

37

122,123

38

122

43

1 1 1 - 1 1 2 , 122, 123

51,52,57,58,59

122

60

123

61,62,63

122

65

123

67

122

68

109-110,122

76

122, 123

97, 109

122

112

110-111

116

122

Cato Agr. 139, 141

77

Catullus 34, 63.92-93, 64.1-04

82 16

77,79

Celsus De med. 4 . 2 6 . 4 - 5

77

46

214

• JAMES RILEY STRANGE

Chariton

•

14,28

77

Chaer. 3.8.7.2-3.8.9.6

77

Galen Med.

Cicero

Temp.

2.10 (DC)

46

Cli*. 5 5 . 1 5 2 Div. 1.129 Fam. 12.15.3 Phil. 13.1.2

81 77 81 81

CIL 12.4333

77

Herodotus Hist. 1.31

77

Corpus Hermeticum

77

2.177

81

Democritus 252

81, 82

Hesiod

Heraclitus Frg. 5

77

Op. Demosthenes 18.141

212 77

81

3 2 0 - 3 4 0 , 4 6 5 - 4 7 9 77 Theog.

Diogenes Laertius Vit. Pytk

77

535-557 902

77 81

Vit. 1.53

82

Hippocrates

6.58; 6 . 9 6 - 9 8

84

Vict. {Regimen)

9.37

82

II, 6 5 (DC)

7.110-113

80

46

Homer Euripides Bacch. 4 1 9

81

81

Horace

Epictetus Diatr. 1.1-8 2.1.31; 2.9.21 3.10 3.10.15; 3.22 3.22.9 3.22.18, 77, 9 4 , 9 5 ,

84 82 117 84 82

96, 100, 103, 105 3.22.23-25 3.22.26-30,38 3.22.42-44 3.22.45,68,83-85

85 72 84 72 84

Epicurus Rat. sent. 1

Od. 3.52, 9 . 1 7 5

Odes 3.6 Iamblichus Life of Pythagoras /G4 .l.121-22 no. 3 no.4 no. 5, 6, 7 no. 9 no. 10, 12, 15 no. 21 no. 23, 25, 27, 30,36 /G4 Syll. 3.1170 2

2

80

77

77 117 117,121 96-97 117 97-98,117 117 98 117 121

• INDEX OF A N C I E N T T E X T S • Isaeus 8 . 1 5 - 1 6

77

215

PGM I. 4 2 - 5 4 , 8 8 - 9 0 ,

Isocrates

95-132, 247-49,

Aerop. 7 . 2 9 - 3 0

77,81

Or. 15.246

77

262-347 11.51-54

117 81

II. 6 4 - 1 8 3 , Juvenal Sat. 6 . 5 3 5 - 5 4 1

145,171 121

117

III. 50ff., 95-160ff., 187-262,

Livy

494-611

Ab urb.

III. 5 3 8

4.43.11

81

5.18.22

77

29.27.2-4

77

Lucretius De re. nat. 6 . 6 8 - 7 8

80

Lysias 18.17

82

117 81

IV. 1 5 4 - 2 8 5 ; VII. 2 1 8 - 2 1 VII. 2 6 0 - 7 1

117 89

LXXXIII. 1 - 2 0

91,117

CXXIV. 6-43

93

Pindar Odes 10{11}.46

43,77

Pyth. 3.38-53

117

Maximus of Tyre Diss.

Plato

5

77

78

78

Euthyphr. 1 4 C E Leg.

5.3

79 78

46

1.631B-D 3.679C, 744D 3.696D-E; 4.709E-710B 4.710B, D 4.713B,C,D-E 4.716B-717A 4.716B-718C 4.717A 4.717A-B 4.717E 4.718A-B;

79 53 78 52 52,54 78 54 79

Menander Georg. 6 0

Menander of Laodicea Rhet.

51,77

Orphei Hymni 1-86

77

32.16,43.2

81

Ovid Ars 2 . 3 2 5 - 3 3 0 Epist. 5 1 - 5 8 Fast. 6 . 3 0 5 - 3 2 7 Metam. 1 1 . 1 2 9 - 1 4 3

80 121 121 121

Pausanias Descr. 1.8.3 2.26.1-2.27.1-6 5.15.3-12

81 117 77

4.737C-D; 4.742A-B; 4.743C-D; 4.745A; 4.745C-E; 4.753B; 4.764A; 4.814C 5.726A-B 5.739C-E 7.801A

54 84 79 78

216

• J A M E S RILEY

7.801D 10.885D 10.887D-E 10.888C 10.903B-905A 10.905D-907B 10.907Dff 10.909E-910A 10.909E-910D Resp.

78,79 78 77,78 78 79 78 79 80 79

2.379A-308C

STRANGE*

68A 68A-B 68F 68F-69F 69A; 7 0 A - B 70B-D, E

83 84 83,84 68 84 83

7 0 F ; 7 1 F ; 72B; 73A-B, D ;

74B

84

74C

83

80

74C-D, D-E

84

2.347E-367E

77

Amic. mult.

2.406C

78

93F; 94Aff; 95C, G D

Pliny the Elder

Aem. 2 9

Nat.

83 80

Def. orac.

5.17.4173]

187

417E 423D

80

23.39-50

46

Fac. 9 4 4 D

80

28.3-13

77

Is. Os.

;

360E-361Q Pliny the Younger

351C

Epist

80

Mor.

8.5.1-2

82

84B

82

10.96.7

16

93A-97B

83

Plutarch Adul

amic.

164E-171F

79

167F

81

1033B

82

Quaest. gr. 3 6

77

50A, D - E ;

Stoic. Abs. 1

82

5IB, B-C, E-F;

Suav. viv. 1 1 0 2 E - F 8 0

52B-D;

Superst.

4 9 C - D , E;

54C, F

Book 2

;

55C, E-F; 55D 56A 56F; 58A, C, C - D , E-F 59F 60B-D 61D 62A, B, E - F 66E 67B 67D 67E, F 67E-F

59

Book 4

16,60,61

83

164F

80,81

83,84

165B, C, D, E - F

80

166A-B, E

81

168D

84, 121

83 84 83 84 83 66 67, 157 83 84 68

169F-170A

80

170A, E

81

171B

80,81

171F

81

Virt. prof. 14

82

Porphyry Abst. 2

16

P. Oxy. 1070

77

• INDEX OF ANCIENT TEXTS • Pseudolsocrates Demon. 11

77, 79

Sappho Frg. 1

77

Seneca

82

•HebrewBible • Genesis

Epist. 10.5,41.1

77

20.1; 9 4 . 4 6

82

Stobaeus Eel. 3.9.23

77,81

Suetonius Claud. 25.4 Nero 16.2

195 195

Ann. 1 5 . 4 4 . 2 - 8

195

Theophrastus plant.

6.1.15

78

7.3.3; 9.8.8

77

Frg. 8.1

77

Thucydides Hist. 8.94.1.1 Tibullus 1.11-12 Xenophanes Frg. 1, 2 3 - 2 6

1:1-2:4

82

80

77

Xenophon Anab. Lac. 8 Oec. 5 . 1 9 - 2 0 ; 11.8 Mem.

16 77 77

1.2.1-4 1.3.1-4,2

77 78

Xenophon of Ephesus Eph. 4 . 3 . 3 - 4 ; 5.4.6, 10 77

22

1:11-12

136

1:26

22

28:18

47

28:30

43

29:35

47

31:13

43

49

146

Exodus 13:3-10

Tacitus

Caus.

Zeno Stoic. 1.61; 3 . 1 6 0

217

184

15:26-25

136

23:7

157, 175

23:14-19

184

28:41; 29:7 29:27-28

47 186

29:36; 3 0 : 2 2 - 2 3

47

30:32

46

34:6

85

40:9-15

47

Leviticus 2

157

2:1-4,14-16

47

2:2

136

4-7 4:18; 4:29

157 35

5:5 5:15-19 5:18 7:14,32 7:37 8:10-12 16 16:14 16:21 19:9-10 23 32 19

47, 161 157 84 186 84 47 171, 184 157 47, 161 187 184 47 157

218

•JAMES RILEY STRANGE •

25:1-55

186

1 Kings

26:10

161

1:34, 39;

26:40

47

27:2,8

43

Numbers

8:31,33,35

47

17:1

4

17:17-24

35

18:1

4

161

18:36

85

5:8

157

18:36-37

44

6

43

18:37

48

6:12

157

22:16

47

15:37-41

153

18:9

157

2 Kings

18:26-29

186

2:24; 9:6

47

28-29

184

30

43

15:29; 17:5, 6

159

Ruth 3:3

46

5:5-7

Deuteronomy 6:4-9

153

6:7

184

1 Chronicles 16:4 28-29

11:13,13-21

153

12:11,17

43

47 161

18:19,22

47

2 Chronicles

28:1-68

160

9:6; 18:15

28:40,58-63

46

28:15

46

33

146

33:18

47

Ezra 9 - 1 0

157

Nehemiah 1:6

47

Joshua 7:1; 22:16, 2 0 , 3 1

157

Judges

47

Job

9:8-15

47

1:21; 2:10

154

10:10, 15

187

4:8

47

18:5

157

1 Samuel

5:18

160

8:1-22

46 45

7:6

187

10:1

9:16; 10:1

47

11:6

46

12:10

187

17:2

45

15:1; 16:3, 1 2 - 1 3

47

22:1-30

46

2 Samuel 2:4

28

159

40:14

47

47

11:7

157

Psalms

12:20

46

4

12:1-15

84

17:50

18,47

14:2

46

18:49

47

22:50

47

23:5

34

44

• INDEX OF ANCIENT T E X T S •

219

32:5

47, 161

7:25

85

44:8

47

11:21

47

45:8

34

12:3; 14:22; 25:4

85

5 0 : 1 2 - 1 5 , 23; 51:15-17

26:9, 16, 2 0

47

185

29:1-32

85

44:16,25

47

75:3 (LXX)

157

9 0 : 1 - 2 (LXX)

91

92:10

47

Lamentations

104:15

46

3:26

85

119:29 (LXX)

157

4:15 (LXX)

157

133:2

47 Ezekiel

Proverbs

1:26-28

121

1-9

159

5:1

47

3:27-35

46

14:6

85

10:12

18,48

16:9; 1 8 : 1 - 2 9

46

11:19; 1 3 : 2 1 - 2 3

46

18:30

45

23:40-45;

15:1

149

15:8

185

15:18

149

19:15-17

46

33:30-33 34:29

85 157

21:4

149

Daniel

22:8

47

5:22; 6:20

85

23.19-21

46

10:3

46

Isaiah 1:6

10:13,21

117

12:1-2

158

34

2:22

175

Hosea

4:10

45

l:2ff

5:9,11-12,22

85

1:6 (LXX);

6:3 (LXX)

91

6:10 (LXX)

48

8:17; 10:1-4, 58; 20:3

85

40:6-8

22

6:3 (LXX)

85 85

10:12

47

12:6; 13:3; 1 4 : 1 - 3

85

14:2

185

4 0 : 6 - 7 , 31; 4 4 : 2 6

85

49:6

45

Joel

51:5,8

85

53:4-5

45

1:5, 8, 11, 13; 2:12-14,13

85 45

57:3

85

3:5

57:3-13

42

Amos

61:1

34

2:6-7a, 7 b - 8 ; 3:7; 4:1; 5 : 1 1 - 1 2

Jeremiah 2:5

84

5:24 (LXX)

85

85

8:10

143

Jonah 4:2

85

220

• J A M E S RILEY STRANGE

Micah

•

13:10b(BA)

160

13:10-17

144

1:8; 2:2

85

2:8

8 5 , 157

14:3

143

3:1-3

85

14:4-5

179

6:15

46

14:5

144, 145, 161

7:3,7

85

14:7

161

14:12

143

Judith 9 : 1 - 1 4

153

Zephaniah 3:8, 13

85

Zechariah

Additions to Esther

l:3-6;2:6; 7:10; 8:16-17

12:3

47

85

13:3

47

Wisdom 4:16

Malachi 3:5

85

3:23,24

44

45

6:12-10:21

159

15:9

45

Sirach

•Apocrypha • Tobit 2:6

143

2:10

160

3:1-6,11-15

153

3:2

142

3:2-5

144

3:3, 6, 13, 15

160

3:17

142, 143, 160

4:21 (BA)

157

4:11

185

6:5, 7, 8, 9

160

6:18

143, 161

7:6

160, 161

8:5-8, 1 5 - 1 7

153

6 : 1 6 - 1 7 , 18; 7:11, 15; 8:4

161

11:11,12

160

11:13-15

143

11:14-15

153

11:15

160,161

13:1-17

153

13:2

160, 161

13:5

144, 145, 160, 161

13:6

144

13:9

160, 161

Prologue

140

1:1-10

139

1:12-13

46

2:1,9c

158

3:1-16

140

3:17

158

3:26-27

46

4:10

158

4:46

47

5:3-6:4

157

5:7,11,13

158

6:5-17

139, 159

6:7-13

83

6:18-19

140

7:2

157

7:17b

158

7:31

157

9:10

83

9:10-11

157

9:12

158

9:13; 10:7, 10-18

157

11:14-20

46

11:21-22,26

157

11:26-27,27-28

158

12:6

157

14:1, 12

158

14:12-19

157

14:16; 1 5 : 1 1 - 2 0

158

• INDEX OF ANCIENT TEXTS •

221

16:11-12

157

39:9-11

139,158

16:22c

158

40:12-30

157

17:1-1,25

157

41:1-4

158

17:25-32

157, 158

4 1 : 1 - 1 3 , 18

157

1 7 : 2 7 - 2 8 ; 18:13

158

41:12-13

158

18:21

157, 158

41:14-42:8

159

1 8 : 2 3 - 2 4 , 27; 19:3,4

42:9-14

140

157

48:3

158 141

19:19

158

44-49

21:1-5

157

44:1-15

139

21:10

158

48:5

47

22:27-23:6

141

48:10

44,48

23:11,12

157

48:11b

158

24:1-12

139

49:4

157

25:13-26:18

140

50:1-21

141

2 6 : 1 1 , 2 9 , 38; 27:22, 29; 28:1-7

157

2 8 : 2 2 - 2 3 ; 29:10

158

30:1-13

140

30:4

158

30:14-20

137

31:12-32:13

139, 159

31:16

158

33:20-33,25-33

140

35:1-5

185

35:12-13, 14-15, 14-17 35:14-26; 36:1-22

158

50:27

135

51:1-30

141

Banich 3 : 9 - 3 7

159

Letter of Jeremiah

85

Prayer of Azariah

153

1 Maccabees 2:19

157

15:27

43

2 Maccabees 7:37

47

1 Esdras 4 : 5 9 - 6 0

47

157

37:1-6

139,159

37:27-31

159

38:1

158

38:1-15

135-141

38:2,

156

2 Esdras

38:3,6

158

9:6, 7, 13, 15; 10:10, 19

38:7

156

38:8

157

38:9

156

38:10,11

156,157

38:10

156

38:11

156,158

38:12

158

38:14

156, 157

38:15

156,158

38:16, 17, 1 8 - 2 0

157

38:24-34

141

38:24-39:11

139

38:34b-39:ll

141

157

• New Testament • Matthew 1:21

45

3:6

48

5:34-37

43

6:5-6,7-8

16

6:5-8

81

6:12,14-15

158

6:17

46

222

•JAMES RILEY

STRANGE

7:7-11

43

9

158

7:10-11

44

9:11-12

44

7:23

47

9:18; 1 0 : 2 6 , 4 9 , 5 2 4 5

8:8, 13, 15

45

11:23

9:2

4 6 , 158

11:25

47,158

9:2-8,6-7

45

13:13,20

45

9:6-16

158

16:1

46

45

16:16

45

43

9 : 2 1 - 2 3 , 25, 27; 10:8,22 10:32

47 Luke

12:31-32

158

12:39

42

1:9-13

43

13:15

45,48

1:16-17

48

14:7

47

1:17

44,48

14:36; 15:28

45

1:47,69,71,77

44 45

16:3

43

2:11

16:25

45

4:18

34

17:6

43

4:25-26,40

45

18:11

45

5:17, 1 7 - 2 6 , 2 4 - 2 5 4 5

18:32,35

158

5:20

46

19:25

45

158

21:21,22

43

5:20-21,23-24 6:9, 1 8 - 1 9 ;

21:28

46

7:7, 10, 14

45

23

16

7:38

24:13; 25:36, 39

45

7:46

46 46,47

26:14-15; 27:9, 25

16

7:47-49

4 5 , 158

28:19

47

7:50

45

8:12, 3 6 , 4 7 , 4 8 , 50,54-55

Mark 1:5

48

1:31

45

45

9:2, 1 1 , 2 4 , 4 0 , 42,56

45

158

10:21

47

2:1-12,11-12

45

10:34

34

2:5

46

11:4

158

3:3,4

45

12:8

47 45

2

3:28

158

14:4

4:12

48

4:35

45

17:4 48 17:15, 19;18:26, 42; 19:9, 10 45

5

158

5:21-48

153

5:23, 28, 3 4 , 4 1 - 4 2 4 5 6 : 9 - 1 0 a , 11

22:32

48

22:51; 24:22

45

91

6:13

34

6:56

45

7

158

7:21-22

16

7:29

45

John 1:20

47

3:17; 4:22, 39, 42, 47, 46; 5:3, 8, 13, 34; 6:2 9:2

45 46

INDEX OF A N C I E N T T E X T S *

223

9:22

47

19:12

10:9; 1 1 : 1 - 6

45

19:18

47

11:2; 12:3

46

20:35

45

12:40,47

45

21:23

43

12:42

47

26:18,20

48

16:24

43

28:8, 27

45, 48

20:23

158

45

Romans Acts

1:29-31; 2 : 1 7 - 2 9

16

45

4:19

45

2:23,36

16

4:20

43

2:38; 3:6, 16

47

4:24-25

45

6 : 1 2 - 1 4 , 19;

2:1,40

3:7

45

3:19

48

4:9, 12

45

7:5,23 8:3

42 45

4:10, 19

16

10:9

45,47

4:12

45

10:10

47

4:18

47

12:4-5

42

5:28,39

16

12:16

82

5:31

45

14:1-2

45

5:40

47

14:11

47

6:1-6

19

15:5

82

7:17

47

16:5

121

7:51-53

16

9:27

47

1 Corinthians

9:34,37

45

1:10

82

9:35

48

1:13

47

10:20

43

4:7

43

10:38

45

5:4

47

10:48

47

6:5

43

11:2,12

43

6:9-11

16-17

11:14

45

6:11

47

11:21

48

6:15

42

12:1-3

16

6:14; 8 : 1 1 - 1 2

45

13:11

117

11:17-32

16

13:23, 26, 47

45

11:29,31

43

13:46

16

11:29-30

45

14:9

45

11:30

46

14:15

48

12:12-27

42

15:1,11

45

14:29

43

15:9

43

15:33

47

15:19

48

16:19

121

16:17

45,47

16:30-31

45

2 Corinthians

16:31

46

3:16

18:18

43

4:14; 1 1 : 2 1 , 2 9 ;

19:5

47

12:10; 1 3 : 3 - 4 , 9

48 45

224

•JAMES RILEY

Galatians

STRANGE*

13:15

3:10,23-25

16

3:27

42

James

4:21-5:1; 5:19-21

16

1:1

6:7

37

Ephesians

47

5

1:2

158, 168

1:2-4

5, 24, 28, 169

1:4

139

1:5

4, 1 7 , 4 0 , 114, 180

4:3, 13

82

1:5-6

17,29,43

4:17-19,21-32

16

1:6

18, 4 3 , 9 9

4:22-24

42

1:6-8

28

5:3-13

16

1:7

75

1:9

17

2:2

82

1:9-11

22,85

2:11

47

1:10-11

18

2:26-27

45

1:12

2 2 - 2 4 , 2 8 , 7 0 , 169

3:1-9

16

1:12-18

40

1:13

158

1:14-15

24-25

Philippians

Colossians 3:1-17

16

1:15

34,40

3:9-10

42

1:16

167

3:14

82

1:17

2 2 , 2 4 , 114, 168

3:17

47

1:18

5,17,22

4:15

121

1:19

75,158

1:19-21

168

1 Thessalonians 1:9 4 8

1:21

16, 1 7 , 2 2 , 2 5 , 4 7 , 4 8 168

1 Timothy

1:22

75, 167

1:9-10

16

1:22-25,26-27

25

4:20

45

1:23

85

6:4

16

1:25

58

6:12

47

1:26

75, 167

2 Timothy 3 : 2 - 5

16

1:27

Titus 1:16; 3 : 3 - 5 Philemon 2

16 121

Hebrews

1 7 , 2 5 , 2 7 , 4 5 , 158, 168, 169

2:1

168

2:1-4

158

2:1-7

140

2:1-12

85

2:1-13

5

2:2

169

2:2-3

17,45

47 42

2:2-5

168

2:4

5,43

4:14-5:10

16

2:6

5, 140, 168, 169, 188

6:4-8

42

2:6-7

24

1:9 3:12

7 : 2 6 - 2 8 ; 8 : 1 - 1 0 : 1 8 16

2:8

18

12:3, 13

2:9

22

45

• INDEX OF ANCIENT T E X T S •

225

2:10

25

4:8-10,9

2:11

18,25

4:10

24,40,132

2:12

5,58

4:11

17

2:13

168

4:11-12

5,188

2:14

24-25,33,28

4:12

2 5 , 3 3 , 3 8 , 5 8 , 168

2:15

140

4:13

42

2:15-16

17,22

4:13-16

168

2:16

82

4:13-17

85 24

85

2:17

24

4:13-5:6

2:18

75

4:14

18,85

2:20

167

4:15

42,114

2:23

18,40

4:16

25

2:26

18

4:17

24,42

3:1

17,45,169

5:1

5,24,42

3:5

17,45

5:1-5

70

3:1-12

1 8 , 2 2 , 2 5 , 154

5:1-6

5,22-24,37-38,85,

3:2

158

3:5,6

25

5:2

18,85

3:5-6

18

5:3

18, 158

3:6

158

5:4, 5

18, 8 5

3:8

26

5:4-6

168

3:8-12

168

5:6

24

3:9

25, 158

5:7

18, 24, 8 5

3:9-12

81

5:7-11

5,85,169

3:11,12

18

5:9

23, 36, 188

3:13

1 7 , 4 5 , 158, 168

5:10

35,47,85

3:13-18

75, 168

5:11

5,40,85

3:13-4:3

132

5:12

17,169,176

3:14

176

5:13

168

3:15

16

5:13-18

27-31

3:17

40

5:13-20

3,6, 18,27-41,49,

3:17-18

5

3:18

82

5:14

4:1,5

17,25

5:14-16

5,29,31-36

4:1-2

22,25

5:15

28,99,158

168

113-116, 177-183 43,46

4:1-3

34,38

5:16

18,36-37,48

4:1-6

85

5:17

158

4:2

25, 29, 43

5:17-18

4,20,29,35,85

4:2b-3

114

5:19-20

1 8 , 3 3 , 3 7 - 4 0 , 169

4:3

6, 7, 24, 4 3

5:20

38,40

4:4

18, 22, 26, 4 0 , 52, 8 5 , 158

1 Peter

4:5

18, 75

1:23; 2:1

16

4:6

18

2:24

45 48

4:7

18, 24, 132

2:25

4:7-10

17,22,40

3:3

16

4:8

38

4:8

18

226

JAMES RILEY STRANGE •

1 John 1:9

47, 158

2:12

158

2:23

47

3:22

43

4 : 2 - 3 , 15

47

2 John 7

47

Jude9

43,91,117

Life of Adam and Eve 36.2,40.1-41.2 46 3 Maccabees 2:1-20; 6:1-5

153

4 Maccabees 3:8; 7:13

45

Prayer Manasseh

153

Psalms of Solomon 9:6

47

Revelation 3:5

47

3:18

46

12:7

91,117

Pseudo Philo Bib. Ant

• Early Christian Texts • Didache 5: Iff

16

Epistle of Barnabas 20: Iff

16

153

Testament of Adam 1.7

46

Testament of Solomon 18.34

46

Testaments of the Twelve T

Patriarchs

Reu.

1.6, 7, 9; 3 . 1 0 - 4 . 2 ;

Justin lApol

51:3-6

61.1-3,

14-17

16

Paulus Descr. 139

81

4.4, 7 - 8 ; 5 . 1 - 3 ; 6.1

162

6.4

161

6.6

162

6.8,11

161

T. Sim. 2.6-7; 4.4-6;

• Old Testament Pseudepigrapha • 1 Enoch 9 1 : 1 1 - 1 4 2 Enoch 2 2 . 8 - 9 Joseph and

189 47

Aseneth

12-13

153

Jubilees 1 0 : 3 - 6

153

5.2,3 7.1

162 161

T. Levi 4.1 9.9; 14.6 16.2 17.11 18.1-12

161 162 161 162 161, 162

T. Jud. 1.6 1 1 . 1 - 5 ; 12.1-9;

161

•

13.5-8 17.1

162 161

17.1-3; 18.2-6

162

18.3; 19.103

161

20

150

22.1; 23.3

162

24.1-6

161

T. Iss. 4.4, 6; 5.2

162

5.7-8

161

7.2

162

7.5

161

13.1

162

T. Zeb. 2.4; 5 . 1 - 3 ; 7 . 1 - 4 ; 8.6

161

T. Dan 5.4

162

5.10

161

T. Naph. 3.5

151

5 . 1 - 5 ; 6.7; 8.2

161

T.Gad 3 . 1 - 5 . 1 1 ; 7.7

162

8.1

161

T.Ash.

150

T. Jos. 4 . 1 - 5 ; 6.7; 9 . 2 - 3 ; 10.2-3 17.2-8 19.11

161 162 161

T. Benj. 3.1-8 3.3, 4; 4 4.1-5 4.2 5 5.1-5 6.1

149 150 147-149 161 150 148 150

INDEX OF A N C I E N T T E X T S

6.5-7 7.5; 8.1 8.2; 9.1 9.2

227

151 148 162 149

• Dead Sea Scrolls • CD-A VII.2 XI.17b-21a

188 ;

XI.20-21

185

XII.23-XIII.la

188, 189

XIV. 19

189

CD-BXIX.10-11

189

1QS 1.1 I.l-13a 1.3-4 I.5b-10 1.8 1.9-10 1.11-12 1.15 1.16,1.21-11.1 II. 1-10 II.7-10 II.8 11.10 11.15,17 11.18

184 187 172 171 172 186 175 185 171 186 16 172 166 172 166

II. 19b-23 11.24 III.4-5

170 175 172

III. 13 III.13b-IV.26 III. 17b-19a 111.20-21 III.26-4.1 IV.3,5 IV.6-7 IV.9-14 IV.12-14a IV.16-17, 1 8 - 1 9 V.l-2

184 172, 188 188 186 187 175 187 16 187 172 186

228

• JAMES RILEY STRANGE •

V . l - 3 a , 9 , 10-11

187

XI.l-2a

168

V.13

185

XI.2l>6a, 3

165

XI.7,8

186

V. 13b-20a, 13b-24a

187

XI.7-8

184

175

XI.9

165, 186

V.22,24b

173

XI. 12

165

V.25b-VI.2a

184

XI.9b-15a

164-165

V.15-17

VI.4, 8 - 9 , 8 b - 1 3 a ,

XI. 13

184

187

XI. 14, XI. 1 5 - 2 2

165

VI.16

185

XI. 16

184

VI.13b-23

187

XI. 1 6 b - 1 7 a

166

VI.24-VII.18b

174, 187

XI. 17

186

VI.25

185

XI.17b-21a

185

VI.24b-VII.10a

184

XI. 18

168

VII.3

185

XIV.20

185

13-14

VII.8b-14, VlI.13b-23 VII. 16

188 185

VII.18b-25

174

VII.20

185

VII.23

175

VIII.8b-9a

186

VIII. 17, 24, DC.3-5a

185

IX.11

179

IX. 12

184

IX. 14

185

IX. 16

184

IX.21

184, 185

IX.22

186

IX.24

184

IX.26

168, 172, 184

IX.26a-XI.22

163-170

IX.26b-X.la

165

IX.26-X.6

164

X.la-3a

184

X.6, 7 - 8 , 8

165

X.8-11.15

184

X. 1 3 b - 1 6 a

164, 169

X.14

165, 166

X.15

184

X. 15b-16a

168,184

X.17b-XI.2a

164

X.17

184

X.19

16

X.20

186

X.22

1 6 7 - 1 6 8 , 188

X . 2 3 , 24, 2 4 - 2 6 ,

lQH

a

186

XX.24-XXV.9

187

1QM

186

1.16

188

lQpHab

186

7:6-13

188

lQSb

153

lQ28b

186

lQ28bIII.l

185, 186

lQ34/34

b i s

186

III

184

4QapocrJosh

a

153

a A e

186

4QpapPrQuot

153

4QpapRitPurB

153

4QM

4QprFetes

a

153

4QprNabar

153

4QritPurA

153

•

4QShir

a

153

4QShirShabb

a

4 Q 1 7 4 , 175

2:1

127-128

2:2,4:1

153

153

4:3

153, 154

189

4:4 4:5,5:1

128-130 128

5:2 5:5 5:12,13

130, 133 129, 131 130

4Q186

184

4Q246

188

4Q280, 285, 286-290

186

4Q317,318,319, 320, 3 2 1 , 3 2 5 , 327,328

161

4Q408,503

184

4Q504-506

184, 186

4Q507-509

184, 186

4Q521

188

4Q534,561,

184

a

llQBerakhot HQ5/llQPs

6:1-8:8,9:2

154

9:3

129, 154

9:4,5

154

m. Peak

186

m.Terumot

19, 186

m. Yoma

161

184

4Q393

HQapPs

229

INDEX OF A N C I E N T T E X T S

153

m. Ta'anit

186

1:2-5

a

XVIII.9b-12a

185

• Philo and Josephus • Philo Post. 31 Prob.

45

76 85 Somn. 2.58

185, 187 185 46

Josephus A J . 2.290 A J . 4.212 A J . 17.172 BJ. 1.657,2.123 BJ. 2.124-125

45 153 46 46 185

• Rabbinic Literature • m. Berakhot 1:1

126-127

1:4

130

132

1:3-7,2:1

133

2:2-3

153

2:2-4

154

3:8

1 3 2 - 1 3 3 , 154

m. Sank. 6:4

161

10

154

m.Abotl:l

153

t. Sank. 1:2

157

y. Ber. 10

157

y.Sanh.

1:18b

157

b. Ketub. 10:6

157

Sifre Num. 9 5

157

General Index

•A« a u a p T i ' a . See

sin

abaton, 98-99, 101 Abraham, 5, 16, 8 1 , 91-92, 145, 147, 151, 189 Albeck, Chanoch, 153, 195 AIM, Martin C , 4 6 , 4 8 , 197 Alderink, Larry J., 78, 197 alliteration, 5, 135, 156 Ambrosia of Athens, 9 6 Amidah, 126, 128-130, 132, 154, 180 Amos, 8 5 , 143 amplification, 135 amulet, 89-93, 9 8 Anatolian Great Mother, 121 Antiochus IV, 155 Antoninus Pius, 9 5 , 120 apocalypticism, 23-24, 37, 57, 70 Apollo, 58, 108 Apostrophe, 156 Aramaic, 20, 9 0 Arata, 98-99, 102 Aristides, Aelius, viii, 49-50, 89, 100-107, 113-117, 121, 191 Aristotle, 2, 16, 64-65, 77, 79, 81-83, 200, 207 Arnold, Russell C. D., 42, 197, 204 Asia Minor, viii, xiii, 87, 9 5 , 100, 107, 111, 113 Asirvatham, 19, 197 Asklepiacus, 101 asklepion, 89, 9 5 , 97-98, 100-101, 104 Asklepios, viii, 87-88, 95-96, 98-103, 105107, 113, 115-116, 119-120 Asmodeus, 141-143 assonance, 135, 156

Assyria, 141, 159 Athens, 78, 8 1 , 100, 119-120, 195, 202 atonement, 3 5 , 39, 67, 108, 136, 138, 157, 166-167, 171, 178 Avery-Peck, Alan J., 153

Babbitt, Frank Cole, 79-80, 83-84 Baker, William R., 42, 197, 202 Bakke, Odd Magne, 82, 197 baptism, 16, 17, 21-22, 2 5 , 47, 58, 170 Baruch, 93 Bauckham, Richard, 4 5 , 123, 155, 159, 197, 203 Baumgarten, Joseph M., 185, 198 Beentjes, Pancratius C , 155-156, 195 Behr, C . A . , 121, 195 beit midrash, 130 Belial/Beliar, 150, 172 belief, 8, 44, 59, 88, 96-99, 105, 116 Bernstein, Moshe J., 185, 198 Betz, Hanz Dieter, 79, 9 4 , 117-119, 195196, 198, 207 Bithynia, 2 bless, 25, 150, 163-166, 168, 170 blindness, 59, 96-97, 142-143 Bobonich, Christopher, 79, 198 Bremer, J. M., 78, 197-198 Brenk, Frederick, 79, 198 Brosund, William F., 4 4 , 4 6 brotherly love, 162 Brown, Michael J., xiii, 19, 77-79, 118, 198 Bury, R. G., 77, 79

232

•JAMES RILEY

•o Cairo Geniza, 155-156 Cargal, Timothy, 189, 198 catchword, 24 category (for systemic comparison), 9, 1114, 2 9 , 4 1 , 5 6 , 62, 64, 75-76, 79, 111, 113, 115, 130-132, 146, 150, 167, 169, 179, 181 Chambon, Alain, 185, 201 charis, 9, 19, 53, 6 8 , 78, 9 2 , 113, 191 Chazon, Esther G., 185-186, 198 Chilton, Bruce., 16, 197-198, 200, 202, 205 church, 4, 5, 2 8 - 2 9 , 3 1 , 3 5 , 3 7 , 114 Claudius, 193-194 Collins, John J., 155, 159, 187, 189, 194, 198, 201 communitarian practice, 21, 29, 35, 39, 42, 56, 58, 66, 7 0 7 1 , 106, 113, 175, 178 concord, 61-62, 66, 82 confession (of sins), 3-6, 8-9, 13, 21, 32, 36-37, 39, 4 1 , 47, 4 9 , 50, 56, 67, 70, 75, 87, 100, 107-114, 116, 121-123, 125, 145-146, 158, 163, 1 7 0 1 7 3 , 175, 176, 178-187, 192, 196 correction, 3, 5-9, 13, 21, 33, 37-41, 49, 50, 63-64, 66-67, 69-72, 75, 9 5 , 111116, 121, 125, 145, 147-148, 150, 163, 173-176, 178-180, 192 Cousland, J. R. C , 160, 199 Crete, 52, 54, 78 curse, 25, 150, 156, 172 Cynic (philosopher), viii, 64, 71-75, 84, 113-116, 121

Dahood, Mitchell, 4 4 , 199 daimon, 9, 119 Daniel, 46, 141, 142, 158, 159 Davies, Peter H., 189, 199 Day of Atonement, 171 de Jonge, M., 161, 162, 195, 201 de Vaux, Roland, 165, 185, 199, 201

STRANGE*

Dea Syria, 121 Dead Sea Scrolls, 2, 125, 152, 163, 166, 184-187, 196, 198-200, 2 0 4 , 207 death (in James), 4, 22-27, 34, 36-37, 40, 4 8 , 67-69, 110, 119, 137-138, 142-143, 145-146, 155, 162, 165, 180, 191, 194 Delphi, 5 8 demon, 46, 89, 141-143, 160 deprecatio, 138, 156 Diaspora, 22, 71-72, 74, 85, 115, 126, 129, 135-136, 139, 141, 144-145, 147, 149, 155, 159-160, 168, 179, 181- 182, 189, 192, 198, 203 diatribe, 5, 11, 74 Dibelius, Martin, 17-18,44-46, 199 Di Leila, Alexander, 155, 158 Dindorff,W., 121, 195 Dionysius, 66-68, 8 3 dream, 96, 102-103, 108 dropsy, 9 8

• E* EKKAnpia. See church Edelstein, E. J. and L. Edelstein, 119-120, 195 Edgar, David Hutchinson, 4 2 , 2 0 0 Egypt, 20, 89-90, 94, 100, 118, 135, 147, 149, 155, 160 Eighteen Benedictions. See Amidah Eilberg-Schwartz, Howard., 154, 2 0 0 elders (in churches), 4-5, 28-30, 32, 34-36, 3 8 , 56, 69, 99-100, 170 Eliade, Mircea., 19, 2 0 0 Elijah, 4-5, 28, 30, 35, 38, 39, 4 4 , 47-48, 9 9 , 133, 151 endogamy, 144, 146, 181 enthymeme, 156 Epictetus, viii, 4 9 , 64, 71-75, 82, 84, 8 5 , 113-117, 195 Epidauros (inscriptions), 89, 95-96, 98102, 105, 108, 112-113, 115-116, 119, 120, 191 epistrophe, 136 epitasis, 156 eschatology, 12, 36, 39, 57, 138, 141, 145, 149, 151, 176, 178, 182, 187, 189

233

INDEX

Essenes, 2, 47, 169, 185, 187, 198 Esther, 141, 159 ethics, 2, 6, 59, 82 Evans, Craig A., 16, 187, 199, 200, 202 evil spirit. See demon

•F* faith, 1, 9, 24, 28-34, 38, 4 4 , 47, 52, 74, 97, 99, 105, 108, 114, 140, 147, 179, 191 Falk, Daniel K.,185, 2 0 0 fasting, 8, 16, 132, 133 fever, 8 9 , 9 1 - 9 2 , 101, 117, 118 Fitzgerald, John T., 16, 82, 2 0 0 flattery, 65-66, 113 Foerster, W., 81-82 folktale, 159 Frankfurter, David, 118, 2 0 0 frankness, 66, 68-69, 84 friendship, 9, 26, 3 1 , 63-67, 69-70, 82-83, 87, 113, 121, 136, 139-140, 150, 158, 159

Gill, Christopher, 77, 201 Glazier-McDonald, Beth, 117-118 governing principle, in Stoicism 71, 74-75 Grateful Dead (folk motif), 159 Gray, Patrick, 58, 79-80, 201

Hadrian, 2 Hagar, 5 Harnhart, Robert, 159 Hartin, Patrick J., 17, 43-44, 46, 201 Hayden, Daniel R., 46, 201 healing, 1, 3-6, 8 - 9 , 13, 21, 27-29, 31-38, 40-41, 4 5 , 47, 49-50, 56-57, 6 3 , 69-70, 87-89, 94-106, 111, 114-115, 117, 125,

129, 134-143, 145-146, 154, 156, 158, 160-161, 176, 178-180, 192 Hengel, Martin, 194 Hollander, H. W., 161-162, 201 Holy of Holies, 128, 134 homoioteleuton, 5, 136 Honi the Circle Drawer, 132-134, 154, 155 Howard, J. Keir, 46, 105, 195, 200, 201, 203 Humbert, Jean-Baptiste, 185, 201

•I* incubation (at shrines of Asklepios), 32, 96-102, 120 initiation, 3, 22, 57, 105, 169, 170 Instructor (of the 1QS Community), 163164, 166-168, 172-173, 184-187 intention (human will), 66, 78, 126-129, 131, 160, 181, 187 Irenaeus, 161 Isaac, 91-92 Isis, 80, 121 Islam, 11-12, 19-20, 2 0 5

•J* Jackson-McCabe, Matt A., 194, 201 Jacob, 4 4 , 9 1 - 9 2 , 146-147 Jerusalem, 132-135, 144, 146-147, 149, 151, 153-155, 167, 186, 195-196, 198, 2 0 1 , 203-204, 2 0 8 Jesus, 1-3, 5, 16-18, 31-35, 4 1 , 45-48, 8 1 , 115, 135, 139, 149, 151, 155, 162, 178, 181-182, 188, 192-194, 197-206, 208 Job, 5, 4 5 4 7 , 142-143, 151, 154, 159-160 Johnson, Luke Timothy, xi, 10, 16-18, 20, 43-47, 81-82, 84, 161-162, 188, 194, 202 Joseph, xi, 142, 149, 151, 159, 161 Judith, 159

234

• JAMES RILEY STRANGE

•K> Karris, Robert J., 4 3 , 46, 158, 2 0 2 Kawaidas, P., 120, 202 Kee, Howard Clark, 105, 119-120, 121, 161-162, 195, 203 Kidron Valley, 154 Kierkegaard, Soren, 7, 19, 203 Kiley, Mark, 77-78, 185, 197-198, 203 Kislev, 132 Klauk, Hans Joseph, 19, 117, 122 Kline, Mosheh,153, 195 Kloppengborg, John S., 17 Kos (island), 119 Kotansky, Roy, 118-119, 196 Kyriakidis, Evangelion, 4 2

•L* law, 2, 26, 3 1 , 38, 4 1 , 4 8 , 55, 57, 7 0 7 2 , 79, 116, 137-139, 158-159, 177, 182 Laws, Sophie, 16-17, 4 4 , 4 6 , 203 Levine, Amy-Jill, 159-160, 202-204 Levine, Lee L, 204 Levites, 166, 169 life (in James), 22, 24 Lockett, Darian, 42, 2 0 4 logos protreptikos, 71 LXX. See Septuagint

• M* Maccabean Revolt, 155 magic, 9, 80, 88-90, 92, 114, 118-119 Magness, Jodi, 154, 185, 204, 2 0 8 Malherbe, Abraham J., 16, 20, 8 1 , 202, 204 Maltomini, Franco, 119, 196 Marheshvan, 132 Martin, Ralph P., 17-18, 43-45, 78, 118, 122, 197-199, 2 0 1 , 203-204, 207 Masada, 155, 196 Mattila, Sharon Lea, 194, 204 Mayor, Joseph B., 17-18, 43-46, 2 0 4

McCollough, C . T h o m a s , 117-118, 194, 204, 206 McDonald, Ian H., 18, 204-205 medicine, 9, 69, 8 8 , 95-96, 9 8 , 143, 160 Meeks, Wayne A., 7, 16, 18-19, 42, 188, 202, 205 Meis Tiamu, 109 Men, 108-109, 122 men of the pit, 164, 167-168, 186 Messiah, 5 , 3 1 , 189, 205 UETavoia. See repentance metaphor, 5, 22, 27, 135, 144, 176, 189 Meter, 108 metonymy, 25 Michael, archangel, 91 Mishnah, 2, 125-127, 129-135, 153-155, 177, 179-182, 186, 189, 195-196, 200, 205 Mitchell, Margaret M., 44, 82, 199, 205 Monster in the Bridal Chamber (folk motiO, 159 Moore, Carrey A., 159-160, 2 0 5 moral discourse, 2, 6-8, 30, 50-51, 60, 66, 70, 89, 107, 131, 150, 172, 176, 178179 Moralee, Jason, 19, 4 5 , 205 morals, 1-3, 6, 10, 16 Moses, 20, 145-146, 175, 194, 201 Mother Anaeitis, 109 Mount of Olives, 154 Mullins, T. Y., 17, 205 Mutfner, Frans, 17-18, 43-46, 2 0 5 mystical experience, 101, 103, 106 myth, 2, 54, 120, 144-145, 160, 173

•N* Naphtali, 159-160 Nero, 193, 194 Neusner, Jacob, 11-13, 16, 19-20, 153, 154-155, 189, 196-198, 200, 205 Nisan, 132 Noah, 142, 154, 159 Nock, Arthur Darby 117, 2 0 6 NRSV, 26, 4 4 , 4 7 , 158

•

•o oath, 2 7 , 3 1 , 9 0 , 169, 176 oil, 4, 28, 30, 34-35, 4 6 4 7 , 88-99 Oldfather, W . A., 84-85, 195 Omnipresent, 128, 132-134 Origen, 161 Overman, Andrew J., 160, 194, 203, 2 0 6

• P. Pache, Corinne Ondine, 19, 197 panegyric, 54, 103, 140 parallelism, 135 parousia, 106, 115

235

INDEX

prayer, 3-5, 8-9, 12-13, 16-19, 27,-36, 39, 4 1 , 4 3 4 4 , 47, 50, 5 1 , 5 3 , 58-63, 70, 75, 7 7 - 7 9 , 9 2 , 94, 99, 111, 113-114, 118, 121, 125-138, 141-142, 145-146, 153154, 156, 163-173, 176, 179-180, 185188 Preisendanz, Karl, xiv, 117, 196 priests, 7, 30, 105, 131, 166, 169, 171, 186 prophets, 2, 5, 35, 4 3 , 74, 141, 151, 153, 172, 180 Ptolemy, VI, 155 VIII, 155 Pulleyn, Simon, 19, 53, 77-78, 2 0 6 purity, 1, 11, 74, 173, 179, 181-182, 191

Paul, 2, 16, 18, 20-21, 25, 33, 3 5 , 37, 424 3 , 47, 80, 82, 117, 177, 188, 192-193, 204-207 peace, 54, 61-62, 79-80, 82, 106, 157, 172, 187 Penner,Todd, 17, 188, 2 0 6 Pergamon, 100-101, 103, 119, 121 Pettazzoni, Raffaele, 121, 2 0 6 Petzl, Georg, 109, 122-123, 196 Philadelphos (aquaintance of Aristides), 102 phylactery, 9 0 physician, 70, 80, 117, 136-138, 156, 158, 160 pigs, 99, 109-110, 112 Plato, viii, 2, 4 1 , 50-58, 63, 66-68, 75, 7780, 83-84, 8 8 , 113-115, 121, 196, 198, 2 0 1 , 205, 207 Pliny the Eider, 77, 169 Pliny the Younger, 2, 82 TTAOUTOS,

81

Plutarch, viii, 2, 8, 16, 49-50, 58-71, 77, 79-84, 87-88, 9 6 , 113-116, 121, 157, 196, 198, 207-208 polis, 2, 9, 13, 58, 63-64, 80, 113, 191 politics, 2, 73, 8 2 polysyndeton, 103, 135 Pontus, 2 Popkes, Wiard, 17-18, 4 3 4 5 , 2 0 6 Portier-Young, Anatheia, 160, 2 0 6

Qumran, xiv, 4 2 , 154, 160, 165, 169, 179, 185-186, 189, 197-200, 204, 207-209 Qur'an, 2

• R* Rabban Gamaliel, 126 rain, 4, 28, 30, 38, 47, 130, 132-133, 155, 176 Raphael, 142-144, 159 R. Eliezer, 128 religion, xi, 2, 8-14, 2 1 , 25, 27, 4 1 , 50-51, 53, 58, 60, 63, 78, 87-89, 94, 100-111, 113-114, 191, 192 religious discourse, 6-7 religious practice, 4, 7-9, 12, 17, 3 1 , 3 5 , 49, 70, 88-89, 107, 113, 171, 176-177 repentance, 4 0 , 63, 67-69, 137, 144, 149, 150 R. Haninahb. Dosa, 129-130, 154 rhetorical devices, 5, 29, 135, 179 R. Judah, xiv, 127-128 R. Meir, 127-128, 153 R. Nehunia b. Haqanah, 130 Robbins, Vernon K., 4 2 , 2 0 6 Rome, 80, 100, 119, 194, 196

236

JAMES RILEY

Ropes, James Hardy, 17-18, 44-46, 2 0 6 Rostad, Aslak, 122-123, 2 0 6 R. Simeon b. Shatah, 132-134 Ruth, 46, 159

•s* sacrifice, 8, 53, 58, 78, 165, 185 Sages, 2, 125-126, 128-129, 132-133, 155, 182 Samaria, 159 Sanders, E. P., 16, 2 0 6 Sarah, character in Tobit, xii, 141-146, 160-161, 181 Sarapis, 100 Sargon II, 159 savior, 73, 105 Scarborough, John, 117, 196, 207 Schaffer, Peter, 118, 122, 198, 203, 207 Schnabel, Eckhard J., 122, 207 Schroeder, Frederic M., 82-83, 207 Schuller, Eileen M., 185-186, 200, 207 Sennacherib, 159 Sepphoris, 117, 153, 2 0 4 Septuagint, 18, 32-33, 43-44-46, 4 8 , 66, 82, 84-85, 136, 156 Shalmaneser V, 159 Shauf, Scott, 80, 117, 207 Shema, 126-128, 130, 153, 180, 184, 188 sickness, 3-4, 32-33, 3 5 , 46, 69, 70, 9 5 , 98, 101, 103, 105, 134, 136-138, 140, 143144, 157, 181 Simon son of Onias, high priest, 155 sin/sins, 3-4, 14, 2 1 , 23-27, 31-33, 35-41, 4 8 , 63, 67, 69-70, 74, 8 1 , 84 108-112, 116, 126-127, 134, 136-138, 141-142, 145, 149-150, 162, 171, 174-178, 1 8 0 182, 185, 191 Sinaiticus, 118, 161 Skehan, Patrick W., 155-156, 158, 207 Smith, Jonathan Z., 10, 20, 207 Smith, Morton, 77, 207 Smyrna, 100, 119 Sodom, 151 Solomon, 91-92, 160 Sonn,Tamara, 11-13, 19-20, 2 0 5 Sons of Zadok, 168

STRANGE*

Sparta, 120 speech, 5, 18, 23, 25-26, 31, 37, 40, 60, 62, 6 5 , 68-71, 84, 102, 158, 164, 167170, 173-176, 187-188 spell (magical), 11, 59, 89-94, 104, 118-119 Spencer, Richard A., 159, 207 Succot, 132 suicide, 143 superstition, 58-60, 80 syllogism, 135 synagogue, 5, 48, 169 synecdoche, 25

table manners, 136, 139, 140 Talmon, Shemaryahu, 154, 184-187, 2 0 8 teachers (in James's churches), 5, 36, 56, 104, 140, 169 temperance, 55 Temple, 130-132, 134, 140-141, 144, 149, 179-181, 182, 185-186, 198, 200 theophoric names, 159 Thomas, 4 5 , 117, 160, 194, 198, 203-204, 206, 208 Tiglath-Pileser III, 159 Tiur), 191 Tobias, 143-144, 161 Tobit, viii, 134, 141-146, 148-149, 159161, 177-181, 195, 199, 2 0 3 , 205, 207, 209 Tomlinson, R. A., 119, 2 0 8 Torah, 1, 12, 20, 25, 4 1 , 125-127, 130, 133-136, 140, 144-145, 153, 170, 172, 175, 177, 179-180, 188, 191-193, 195 Torrey, C. C., 156, 208 tricolon, 136 Trikka, 119 Tsippori. See Sepphoris two spirits, 150, 172, 188

•v Van der Leeuw, G., 19, 208 van Stratten, F. T., 19, 78, 2 0 8

•

vav (conjunction and consecutive), 135 Verseput, Donald ] . , 82-83, 2 0 8 Versnel, H. S., 19, 77-79, 121-122, 197, 198, 205-206, 2 0 8 vice, 2, 16, 37, 39-40, 5 1 , 5 5 , 57, 68-69, 113-134, 149-150, 171, 175, 178-79 virtue, 2, 16, 4 1 , 5 1 , 54-57, 62-69, 75, 79, 82, 84, 89, 104, 114-115, 134, 147-150, 171, 175, 178-179 voces magicae, 8 8 , 90-94, 9 8 von Vogtle, Anton, 16, 2 0 8 Vulgate, 4 4 , 156

INDEX

237 works, 9, 24, 30-31, 38, 4 0 4 1 , 49-50, 58, 63, 79, 112, 121, 125-126, 131, 138, 140, 144-146, 149-150, 157, 168-169 wormwood, 102 Wright, Frederick J., 4 6 , 2 0 9

XQpis, see charis

• y

•w Wachob, Wesley Hiram, 18, 4 8 , 202, 2 0 8 Wall, Robert W., 42, 209 Watchers, 150 Watrous, John, 19, 197 Wells, C. Richard, 2 0 9 Wells, Louise, 4 5 , 119-120, 202, 2 0 9 Wilkinson, 45-46, 209 will, human. See intention witch, 6 0

Yadin, Yigael, 155, 196 Yavneh, 130 yhd,

164, 166-167, 169-177, 180

Zahavy, Zvee, 130, 153-154, 209 Zeus, 72, 74, 78, 108 Ziegler, Joseph, 155-156, 158, 196 Zimmerman, Frank., 159, 209

Studies in Biblical Literature

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In The Moral World of James, James Riley Strange compares the moral system in the Epistle of James with other Greco-Roman and Judaic texts. The author of the epistle prescribed moral practices in a world in which other people, both pagan and Jewish, had long been expressing similar concerns, and more would continue to take up the task centuries after Christianity was well established in the Roman Empire. In this fresh and thick analysis, Strange's systemic comparison of texts (among them works of Plato, Plutarch, Epictetus, and Aelius Aristides, as well as Greek Magical Papyri, tractates of the Mishnah, and the Community Rule of the Dead Sea Scrolls) reveals how James's vision of a distinctive way of community life was both part of and distinct from the moral and religious systems among which it emerged.

"A comprehensive and balanced account of the community and morality of James the Just, based on meticulous scholarship and profound understanding, a major contribution to the understanding of the interplay between belief and behavior in the community of Jesus and his family." Jacob Neusner, Editor of The Brother of Jesus: James the Just and his Mission "Dr. Strange pays the Letter of James the compliment of taking it seriously as an important voice within the religious and moral discourse of antiquity. His study is a model of comparative rigor, distinguished at once by a largeness of vision and a patient attentiveness to specific texts. The result is a fresh and compelling vision of the moral world that James constructs." Luke Timothy Johnson, Robert W. Woodruff Professor of New Testament and Christian Origins, Emory University received his PhD. from Emory University and is an Assistant Professor of Religion at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. He is a member of the American Schools of Oriental Research, the Society of Biblical Literature, and Phi Kappa Phi honor society. He has served as Field Supervisor and Co-Director of the University of South Florida Excavations at Sepphoris, Israel, and is the author of The Emergence of the Christian Basilica in the Fourth Century (2000). JAMES RILEY STRANGE

ISBN 978-1-4331-0881-5