Parables and the Partings of the Ways

 

Summary

This comparative research on Jewish and Christian parables is guided by the question of why the production of parables ceased in Christianity whereas this genre remained in use in Rabbinic Judaism. The hypothesis tested in this project is that the genre of the narrative parable is part of the Jewish culture of Northern Palestine, in particular Galilee, and the end of Christian parable production is reflective of a geographical, cultural and religious split between Christianity and Judaism. This split, labelled as the ‘parting(s) of the ways’, arguably informs much of Christian-Jewish relations to this day. The first part of the project assesses the shared discursive space of these parables by focussing on the social, cultural and religious imaginary as present in the narratives. The second part discusses the continuation and the end of this genre in Rabbinic Judaism and Christianity, respectively, within the context of rise of Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism as separate religions.

Both Jesus and the Rabbis made extensive use of parables to construct and illustrate their teachings. Parables are fictive narratives with highly rhetorical aims. In order to perform their rhetorical function parables draw their literary motifs and plots from real- life situations, thus bridging the world of religion with everyday life of the recipient. The project analyses how the flourishing of this genre in the cultural and religious setting of Galilee, traces its development in Rabbinic Judaism and relates its disappearance in Christianity to cultural and religious changes indicating the rise of Christianity as a new religion. In tracing the development of a genre as reflective of social and historical changes, this project marks a highly innovative approach in parable research and promises new insights into the birth of religions.

The project evolves in three stages. Since a scholarly edition is still lacking, a textual edition of all extant early Rabbinic parables is prepared, facilitating this and future parable research. The second stage involves comparative studies of Christian and Jewish parables on family relations, on slavery and on common meals. These motifs reflect social images related to Jewish households and voluntary associations in Late Antique Galilee and afford perfect occasions for comparative and interdisciplinary research. The aim of this approach is to read fictive stories as embedded in historical reality. Each of these projects assesses how parables process social and religious realities and reflect the rise of religious movements within Judaism. To assess these realities the parables will be analysed within the historical frame of first-century Jewish households and voluntary associations, Jewish legal history, and the archaeology of Galilee. This interdisciplinary, comprehensive approach to parables is new but highly promising. In the third stage, the development of the genre in Rabbinic sources as exegetical tools and the rise of allegorizing commentaries in second century Christianity are discussed in a comparative perspective. The end of the conventional rhetorical and hermeneutical function of this genre in Christianity indicates a new form of religious authority and correlates with the emergence of Christianity as a separate religion.

 

Principal applicant

 

Dr. Eric Ottenheijm

Judaism and the Jewish World of the New Testament
Department of Religion Studies and Theology/Faculty of Humanities/Utrecht University  

Trans 14 / 3512 JK Utrecht

 

Secondary applicants

 

Prof. Dr. Annette Merz

Professor of Culture and Literature of Earliest Christianity

Department of Religion Studies and Theology/Faculty of Humanities/Utrecht University
Trans 14 / 3512 JK Utrecht

 

Prof. Dr. Marcel Poorthuis
Professor for Interreligious Dialogue
Faculty of Catholic Theology, Tilburg University

W. van Unnik Building Room 815
Heidelberglaan 2/3508 TC Utrecht

 

Institutional Setting

 

Integon: Research Institute for Theology and Religious Studies, Utrecht University.

Faculty of Catholic Theology, Tilburg University.

 

Period of Funding

 

January 1, 2014-January 1, 2019 (5 years).

 

Composition of the Research Team

 

Team Leaders           Prof. Dr. Annette Merz

Dr. Eric Ottenheijm
Prof. Dr. Marcel Poorthuis

 

Researchers             B.1: Post doc, open competition.
B.2., B.3 and B.4.: AIO students, open competition.                 

B.4.: Dr. Eric Ottenheijm and Prof. Dr. Annette Merz;

 

Supervisors              Post Doc:
Prof. Dr. Annette Merz, Dr. Eric Ottenheijm

PhD1 and PhD2:

Prof. Dr. Annette Merz, Dr. Eric Ottenheijm

PhD 3: Prof. Dr. M. Poorthuis and Dr. E. Ottenheijm

                                   

Advisory Board:
Prof. Dr. Leonard Rutgers, Utrecht University; Dr. Huub van de Sandt, Tilburg University; Prof. Dr. Gerard Rouwhorst, FKT Tilburg University; Prof. Dr. Gerd Theissen, Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg; Prof. Dr. Andrew Overman, Macalester College St Paul Minnesota; M. Bregman, University of South Carolina

 

Structure of the Proposed Research

 

Project A:                               Early Rabbinic Parables: Edition, Translation, Commentary

Appointment:                                    Post Doc, 1.0 fte for 2.5 years (2014-2016)

Supervision:                         Dr. Eric Ottenheijm, Prof. Dr. Annette Merz, Prof. Dr. M. Poorthuis

Institution:                             Department of Religious Studies and Theology, Utrecht

 

Project B.1.:                          Family Relations in Jewish and Christian Parables

Appointment:                                    PhD, 1.0 fte for 4 years (2014-2018)

Supervision:                         Prof. Dr. Annette Merz, Dr. Eric Ottenheijm

Institution:                             Department of Religious Studies and Theology, Utrecht

 

Project B.2.:                           Slavery in Jewish and Christian Parables

Appointment:                                    PhD, 1.0 fte for 4 years (2014-2018)

Supervision:                         Prof. Dr. Annette Merz, Dr. Eric Ottenheijm

Institution:                             Department of Religious Studies and Theology, Utrecht

 

Project B.3.:                          Meal Parables in Jewish and Christian Sources

Appointment:                                    PhD, 1.0 fte for 4 years (2014-2018)

Supervision:                         Prof. Dr. Marcel Poorthuis and Dr. Eric Ottenheijm

Institution:                             Faculty of Catholic Theology, Tilburg and Department of Religious Studies and Theology, Utrecht

 

Project B.4.:                           Parables and the Jewish-Christian Schism (synthesis)

Appointment:                                    2 years teaching replacement for 0.5 fte (201-19)

Researchers:                        Prof. Dr. Annette Merz and Dr. Eric Ottenheijm

Institution:                             Department of Religious Studies and Theology, Utrecht

 

Composition of the Research Team, in scheme:

Postdoc (A)	UU	Researcher
AIO (B.1.)	UU	Researcher	Promotor: A. Merz
AIO (B.2.)	UU	Researcher	Promotor: A. Merz
AIO (B.3.)	FKT/UU	Researcher	Promotor: M. Poorthuis (FKT)
Ottenheijm, E and Merz, A. (B.4.)	UU	Main applicant and co-applicant

 

Main questions and aims of the proposed research

 

The proposed research assesses the flowering and the demise of this genre by reading narrative parables as reflective of a shared cultural and religious world, i.e. the Jewish world of Galilee. Systematic comparative study of this genre is rare. Difficulties of access to Talmudic literature and religious predispositions towards Judaism have been serious obstacles to scholarly engagement. That is why part A of this project envisages as an indispensable tool for this project and any future research a text edition of all the available Tannaitic parables, i.e. parables by teachers up to the third century CE. This edition would contain texts and translations, including variants in the manuscripts and parallel versions and would replace the non-exhaustive and non-critical edition of McArthur/Johnston 1990.

 

History and Setting

The project examines the golden era of this genre. Its roots lie in Biblical narratives (Jotham’s fable, Judg 9:7-15); Nathan’s story, 2 Sam 12:1-7; ‘Song of the vineyard’,  Is. 5:1-6; allegorical stories, Ez. 17:3-10), but these lack technical terminology and a stereotyped usage of motifs and characters specific to narrative parables. Moreover, using parables as instruments for teaching probably was influenced by Aesop’s fables or Epictetus’ tales (Flusser in: Thoma 1989; Porton 2006). Jewish and Christian parables are introduced and/or followed by technical terminology (McArthur 1990) and contain ‘transfer signals’, literary features that differentiate a parable from real-life stories, sayings, analogies or case histories (Zimmerman 2007). In Christian communities of the first century CE the parables of Jesus were edited, enlarged and some parables were attributed to him (Merz 2001; Münch 2004). Thus, we have between 37 and 65 in the synoptic Gospels and 41 in the Gospel of Thomas (7 of which have no parallels in the synoptics). We only know of a limited number of parables attributed to Pharisaic teachers, but the Rabbinic movement engendered an impressive collection of approximately 500-1400 parables (Flusser 1981, McArthur 1990, Hezser 2009).

The first part of the main thesis is that parables shared a discursive space where they served as religious propaganda for both Christian and Rabbinic movements. These tried to win members but also strove for support and sympathy among traditional Jewish households (Theissen 2004; Sivertsev 2002). Since neither Qumran literature nor Hellenistic Judaism contain narrative parables this highly suggests a cultural and religious affinity between Jesus, the Pharisees and the later Rabbis (Schiffman 1991).

In late first- and second-century Christian sources, parables give way to allegorical tales (Acts of Thomas, the Shepherd of Hermas), and allegorizing commentaries on the parables of Jesus emerge. Rabbinic Judaism on the other hand continues to produce parables, but these evolve into exegetical narratives, buttressing Rabbinic Bible interpretation (Flusser 1981; Stern 1991). It is striking to note how in Christianity parables become sacred texts and objects of allegorical exegesis, whereas in Rabbinic Judaism parables continue to perform their prime rhetorical roles as realistic narrative. These developments have never been studied comparatively and as indicative of new religious realities, the second part of the main thesis.

 

Sources

The Synoptic gospels were edited in the course of the first century CE. The Gospel of Thomas, containing parables attributed to Jesus, is from the second century. The earliest Rabbinic documents were edited during the third century CE, but these contain traditions dating back to the first century CE (Safrai 1987; Shanks 2007). Moreover, cultural codes derived from economic, agricultural and daily life (meals, family relations, slavery) remain quite stable for some time, even if the ideological themes expressed by these parables may differ (Feldman 1924; Kloppenborg 2006). The project covers parables from the first century CE up to the third century CE which originate in the same geographical area, i.e. Northern Palestine, and, in particular, Galilee.

 

Methodology

Gradually, preoccupation with the aetiology of parables (Jeremias 1962; Flusser, 1981) has given way to a literary and historical approach, analysing the form and function of parables in their socio-historical context (Thoma 1986, Dschulnigg 1988; Young 1989, 2000; Hezser 1990, 2009; Stern 1991; Münch 2004; Theissen und Merz 2011; Merz 2007; Ottenheijm 2009). The proposed project marks a major advance by studying parables in the context of the emergence of Christianity as a separate religion from Judaism. This new approach is, however, in line with the perlocutionary function of parables. Parables are an expanded analogy with a narrative element used to convince and to persuade the listener to enter a new reality (Snodgrass 2008) or to engage in religious practices. Its fictive but highly realistic miniature stories appear as open-ended tales, inviting the listener or reader to comment, question or extend the narrative, and thus to identify with and participate in it. Thus, parables evoke and disclose a world within the narrative (MacFague 1975). The disclosure is of religious realities such as the realm of Torah or God’s Kingdom (Dschulnig 1988; Thoma 1989; Snodgrass 2008). This dual dimension of narrative recognition and rhetorical invitation makes parables an eminent tool in religious teaching and in the formation of religious groups, either in a teacher-disciple context or in public settings (Stern 1991).

Parable narratives feature social reality and discuss tensions, transitions and possibilities. Here, our research operates with the concept of the ‘social imaginary’ as developed in the social history of religion and culture (Castoriadis, 1987; Taylor, 2002). Social imaginary refers to ‘the ways in which people imagine their social existence, how they fit together with others, how things go on between them and their fellows, the expectations that are normally met, and the deeper normative notions and images that underlie these expectations.’ (Taylor 2002, 106), Social imaginaries are shared by society but in time absorb elements of theoretical and ideological views of the elite. The world shown and proposed in parables is a narrative depiction of social relations and tensions understood by ordinary people but commented upon by an elite, who want to push forward their ‘deeper normative notions’, i.e. religious values.

As rhetorical devices, parables are part of the social imaginary but also process social imaginaries in their narratives. To detect this we adapt and expand the concept of the ‘Bildfeld’ as developed in the work of Catherine Hezser. This concept labels the semantics of motifs in parables (Hezser 1990, 2009). Any parable-storyteller derives these from a cultural environment shared by his listeners or readers. Historical hearers of the parable or the ‘first reader’ were able to connect semantemes to a range of meanings or associations, e.g. to know that the king usually stands for God, a vineyard for Israel etc.. This ‘Bildfeldtradition’ is a treasury of meanings accessible to the average public (Zimmerman et al. 2007; Hezser 1990, 2009; Gemünden 1993). The project seeks to develop this semantic theory to include other dimensions of culture as well: legal issues (Hezser 1991; 2009), historical references, social realities (i.p. honour-related) and material culture. A ‘Bildfeld’ may include Biblical motifs (intertextuality) but presupposes social reality and cultural values, since these qualify meanings and relations between characters (Jackson 2007). For example, King parables in third-century Rabbinic parables may refer to the Biblical metaphor for God but primarily derive their content and meaning from contemporaneous experiences of kingship (Ziegler 1903; Appelbaum 2010). A certain extent of realism is necessary for parables in order to perform their rhetorical function (Snodgrass 2008): kings were easily angered and approaching them required diplomacy; sons left their fatherly house and endangered the economic stability; slaves easily misinterpreted the directives of their masters; common meals created community but were a cause of tensions in village life (Smith 2003; Ottenheijm 2009).

 

Social objects

Household relations are analysed in project B.1. (family) and B.2., slavery. Meals (project B.3.) form a common ground for households and voluntary associations. Since narratives are not historical reports, applying a ‘Bildfeld’ theory to uncover social imaginaries involves an innovative, interdisciplinary approach that adduces material culture, legal and social history to comment upon the texts.

In order to verify the first part of the hypothesis, i.e. that parables originate in Jewish Galilean culture, the project aligns itself with a recent tendency in parable research, i.e. analysing parable narratives as a reflection of social, economic and political tensions in society (Warren 1998; Kloppenborg 2006; Appelbaum 2010). In order to come to plausible conclusions, Jewish legal traditions, the archaeology of Galilee and household and slavery in the Roman Imperial world will be studied. Elements of such an approach have been proposed before: economic conflicts lurk behind the violence in the parable of the wicked tenants (Kloppenborg 2006); synoptic but also third century Rabbinic King parables reflect historical tensions in the Roman Empire (Overman 1995; Appelbaum 2010). Legal concepts underlie narratives on hereditary or economic issues, behaviour at common meals or the responsibilities of slaves (Hezser 1990; Jackson 2007).

 

Outline of Research

The research in B.1-3 follows a four-step programme. The first step includes a synoptic and narrative analysis (Resseguie 2006). The characters, motifs and plot are identified and synoptic differences assessed. This move also includes the rhetorical and socio-religious function of the parable in the literary context it serves (Münch 2004; Stern 1991).
The second step involves the relation of the parable narrative to social reality, assessing its inherent ‘Bildfeld’. This step involves tracing, possible, legal elements of the narrative (Jackson, 2007). Moreover, possible connections with material culture will be scrutinized, since both are part of social and cultural reality. Therefore, the parables will be analysed in the light of the archaeology of Galilee, especially adducing the archaeology of houses and villages (Richardson 2004), social and economic reality (Kloppenborg 1996), family life (Cohen 1993) or common meals (Smith 2003).

A third step relates the findings to the religious outlook as presented in the parable. The parable narrative is not writing history but presenting known situations as an opportunity for gaining insight (Young 2000). How do parables comment on households in the light of the religious concerns of religious groups (Sivertsev 2002)? What are the views on the ancient institution of slavery? How do meal parables reflect modes of religious affiliation (Smith 2003)? How do parables reflect on gender constructions, violence or religious inclusion/exclusion (Balla 2003; Beavis 2002; Blickenstaff 2005)?

In the fourth step, the development of this genre in later generations will be discussed. Rabbinic parables show a development towards Scripturalized and highly developed forms, whereas the production of Christian narrative parables gave way to allegorical tales or allegorizing interpretations. Comments on the Christian parables from second-century authors (Ignatius, Justin, Irenaeus) until the end of the fourth century (Augustin) reflect a new religious discourse, i.e. the rise of Gnostic thinking and Christology as the dominant form of Christian parable hermeneutics. In Rabbinic sources, exegetical functions indicate the rise of Rabbinic study culture.

 

Relating Parable Research to the Partings of the Ways

The final project (B.4.) will flesh out the results of the projects in the light of the historical debate on the split between Christianity and Judaism. According to a classical view the parting of Christianity from Judaism began soon after the life of Jesus and was completed with the Bar Kohkba uprising in 132-136 CE. This is expressed by the metaphor of the ‘partings of the ways’ (Dunn 2006). Boyarin, however, argues that Judaism and Christianity share a discursive space to such an extent that until the fourth century CE it is very hard to qualify a phenomenon as Jewish or Christian (Boyarin 2004). Moreover, the Rabbinic movement appears as initially marginal networks of sages (Hezser 1997; Schwartz 2001). However, Boyarin’s proposal lacks basic proof and appears counterintuitive in the light of Christian anti-Jewish polemics and practices (Rutgers 2009). Moreover, Roman Imperial policies already distinguished between Jews and Christians at the end of the first century CE (Heemstra 2010). The flowering and demise of the parable as a genre in Christian and Jewish sources will add significant insights to this debate. When Christianity moved from rural Galilee to urban settings (Antioch, Alexandria, Rome) parables lost their rhetorical function and served new discourses. Rabbinic parables only ended with the rise of Babylonian Jewry.

 

Constituent Parts

 

The project programme entails two parts (A, B).

Part A: Early Rabbinic Parables: Edition, Translation, Commentary

 

(Post Doc, Book, article; 2.5 years, 1.0 fte)

 

A critical text edition should provide Hebrew texts of the parables (only a few were written in Aramaic) and the extant parallels, as well as offering translations and an initial commentary on each parable, including an introduction to each Rabbinic source. The Rabbinic sources Mekhilta de R. Ishmael, Mekhilta deRabbi Shimon Bar Johai, Sifré on Numbers and Sifré Deuteronomy contain most of the parables that are to be analysed in the other parts of this project. Remaining Tannaitic sources (Mishna, Tosephta, Sifra on Leviticus) will, however, also be covered, as will be Tannaitic traditions preserved in later Amoraic sources. In particular parables in the Derekh Erets literature and Aboth deRabbi Nathan must be mentioned as they contain a number of interesting Tannaitic parables.

Scholarly need for such a study-text edition is obvious: Fiebig 1904 offers parables from the Mekhilta deR. Ishmael but is outdated, Strack Billerbeck’s commentary is highly outdated in its philosophy of parallels, its textual basis, translations and commentary. Thoma and Lauer 1986 (four volumes have since appeared) are restricted to parables in Amoraic texts, as are studies on particular sources (Dschullnig 1998). Kooyman 1997 has provided with a Dutch translation of and initial commentary on Tannaitic parables. The collection of Tannaitic parables provided in McArthur, H.K., Johnston 1990 is very helpful but does not meet scholarly standards: Hebrew texts are not provided, textual variants and parallels are not or are only rarely evaluated. Moreover, the narrative context (literary and rhetorical) of the parables is not or only rudimentary discussed. This is an important step though, since each discussion of form, development, meaning and rhetorical function of parables should include their literary setting and reflect on the socioreligious context (Stern 1991).
The first two steps of this project involve a translation based on a critically assessed Hebrew text. Rabbinic text editing has become a contested issue in the scholarly world. Some scholars opt for a synoptical edition of all extant manuscripts, based on the notion that editorial processes do not warrant an edition based on a stable text recension (Schäfer in Goodman 2010). This approach is, however, not uncontested, since differences between manuscripts mostly do not amount to more than morphological or grammatical details. Moreover, it would be an exaggeration to dispense totally with the notion of a stable text (Milikowsky in Goodman 2010). For the relevant sources included in our research scholarly critical text editions do exist (Stemberger 1992). Besides, an edition of parables should not pretend to be a new text edition of the sources themselves. Therefore, extant critical editions will be used and deviations in the manuscripts will be noticed (including morphology, as this sometimes indicates successive tradition). Only where the manuscripts show major differences in readings in terms of plot or content (motifs, characters), will synoptic versions be provided.

Following translations, an analysis of the extant parables will be provided. It will focus on the tradition and redaction of each parable, studying parallels and literary redaction and trying to establish the (oral) forms of the traditions predating the final texts. Second, it will assess the Aggadic or Halachic issues discussed in the parable as well as its rhetorical function in the text. Finally, the commentary will discuss the exegetical backgrounds of each parable to assess the relation of parables to Midrash, the Rabbinic hermeneutics of Scripture (Stern 1991). The preparation of the text edition will advance the PhD projects for one year, enabling the PhD projects to profit from the findings and assessments of the textual basis relevant to their research.

Schematically, the following elements are included:

1. Assessing the Hebrew text, differentiating minor from major deviations, producing a Hebrew text and, where necessary, a synoptic overview of the different versions.
2. An English Translation of the Parables, based on available critical editions of the texts but noting in footnotes major deviations in the manuscripts.
3. A paragraph on the form and structure of the parable.
4. Analysis of the Halakhic or Aggadic issues discussed in the parables in relation to the literary context.
5. Where applicable, a synoptic analysis of the parallels, providing insight into tradition and redaction.

 

Working Scheme:

 

Reading Introductory Literature Parable research and Text editing	4 months
Collecting Parables	2 months
Collecting texts, variants, Manuscript research	6 months
Narrative and contextual analysis	6 months
Preparing edition	4 months
Participation Seminars and preparing paper conference	4 months
Vacation and unforeseen	4 months

 

 

Part B comprises four projects, three projects that provide for an in-depth analysis of shared motifs in Christian and Jewish parables and their relation to social reality (B.1., B,2, and B.3.), and a concluding, synthesising volume (B.4.), focusing on the development of parable production in relation to the partings of Christianity from its Jewish social and religious matrix (B.4.):

B1: Family Relations in Jewish and Christian Parables

(PhD Research, dissertation, article, 4 years, 1 fte)

 

The main question of this project is how Jewish and Christian parables portray family characters and family relations in relation to their respective religious outlooks. The research will follow a four-step programme in line with the main methodology.
First, each parable will be subject to a synoptic (if applicable) and narrative analysis, in terms of character, plot, and motifs used. How are characters and their relations depicted in terms of actions, emotions and tensions? How is space constructed in the narrative? In this phase, the discourse the parable is serving will be discussed as will the social contexts pertaining (pupil-teacher, teacher-teacher, teacher-public or writer-community).
Following this, the construction and reflection of social reality will be analysed by focusing on the Bildfeld of the relevant motif words. What possible intertextual (Biblical traditions etc.) appear; how do extant social realities appear in the characters of a father and his son(s), a father and his daughter(s), a man and his wife etc.? This ‘Bildfeld’ analysis will adduce family studies (Osiek 1997, Balla 2003), archaeological data (see e.g. Peskowitz in Cohen 1993) and focus on Halakhic issues (Cohen 1993). By doing so, social imaginaries concerning family life and family relations will be detected. However, parables also discuss how family relations are evaluated in view of the religious theme the parable is addressing, such as the Kingdom of God, or Torah study. Do these outlooks reflect alternative forms of affiliation, such as spiritual affiliation in contrast to blood lines? In particular, the gendered construction of parables is worthy of note. Christian parables do not portray married women or mother-and-daughters, whereas Rabbinic parables do, albeit in a limited manner. On the other hand, some Christian parables depict single women. This phenomenon requires an explanation, especially in view of the scholarly opinion that the historical Jesus approached women on a relatively equal basis and women were part of the Christian movement (Theissen/Merz 2011).

To fit this into the scheme, the ‘Bildfeld’ analysis comprises four cultural dimensions:

1: Intertextual and rhetorical meanings of motifs

Since Jewish and Christian parables present standardized figures (e.g. ‘a son’ or ‘two sons’, father, wife, king), the relation with Biblical models (e.g. Ephraim, or Jacob/Esau) must be discussed. Also the transition from ‘father’ to ‘king’ will be discussed with regard to the question of whether the metaphors ‘father’ and ‘King’ refer to God (Schottroff 2005; Appelbaum 2010).

 

2. Halakhic elements

Halakhic, i.e. Jewish legal issues or undertones are present in many narratives, as has been shown for the parable of the prodigal son (Jackson 2007). This issue is appropriate in other parables as well, as is the obligation of a father to sustain his children in father-son/daughter parables and rules of marriage and divorce in man-woman parables. The gendered construction of narratives and family Halakha will be addressed (Cohen 1993).

 

3: Social reality

Family relations are structured in narratives as recognizable units. To detect these patterns it is necessary to compare the narratives with family life as depicted in Josephus, Philo and Graeco-Roman sources on the Late Antique Family (Cohen 1993). Investigation of these will seek to uncover how narratives process social and religious change, and in particular the emergence of master-disciple groups and voluntary associations (Sivertsev 2002). Here, the economy of honour will be discussed. Honour is a traditional family value explicitly addressed in some parables (Neyrey 1998). Family honour in changing social-economic conditions has been studied in anthropological research on families in rural areas (Lefebrve 1999) and this approach is fruitful for analysing honour narratives in Late Antiquity. Crucial here is how parables define the way family honour is gendered and how this is related to the role of women in economic production and religious culture (Lefebrve 1999, Beavis 2002).

 

4. ‘Archaeology of Galilee’

The present-day archaeology of Galilee has focused on the distinctive Jewish character of the region. The excavation of villages such as Capernaum, Cana and Meiron and little towns like Yodphata has revealed details that are reflected in parable narratives, such as the mutual economic relations between villages, farms and cities or the organisation of households (Hirschfeld 1995, Richardson 2004). In particular the gendered economic production of Jewish households (Peskowitz in Cohen 1993) necessitates the discussion of parable narratives.

Structure of Research (48 months)

 

Reading Introductory Parable research	3 months
Reading Methodology and Parable research Rabbinics and New Testament.	3 months
Reading Social History, Gender and Archaeology of Jewish Households of Late Antiquity.	5 months
Narrative and contextual analysis of New Testament Parables.	3 months
Narrative and contextual analysis of Rabbinic Parables.	5 months
Reading and analysing archaeological issues; processing Literature.	4 months
Academic Training NOSTER Courses.	1 month
Academic Training Research Visit Israel, archaeological field work.	3 months
Contribution Congress, writing paper.	3 months
Writing dissertation	12 months
Vacation and unforeseen	6 months

 

Project B.2.: Slavery in Jewish and Christian Parables

 

(PhD, Dissertation, article, 1 fte, 4 years)

 

This project answers the questions of how Jewish and Christian parables depict and evaluate slavery and what semantic meanings are attached to the images of slave and master. In her ground-breaking work on Jewish slavery (Hezser 2004), Catherine Hezser’s notices the need for a systematic study of Rabbinic parables on slavery. This research will partly fill this gap by comparing Rabbinic parables with New Testament parables within the perspective of the Jewish-Christian schism. The main questions of this project are: How do Rabbinic Christian parables respectively construe slavery and slave-master relations? Is slavery a stable element of the social imaginary of first- and second-century Judaism/Christianity? Can we see changes in the course of the tradition, i.e. between first-century Christian parables and Tannaitic and Amoraic parables? Are there fixed metaphorical values of the motif word ‘slave’ and related words such as ‘master’ or ‘king’? Is social reality confirmed, criticized or commented upon in the narratives? And finally, what is the relation between the social structure of Christianity as a Jewish movement, early Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism and their respective views on slavery? One hypothesis tested here is that the reality of slavery seems to be taken for granted in the parables. In this phase of the analysis current research on slavery in Late Antiquity (including New Testament studies on the social reality of slaves) will be adduced in order to comment on the texts in their broad Graeco-Roman context. Our research will also look at the role of slaves in the honour bestowed upon their master. Specific attention will be devoted to the role of money and the legal responsibility of slaves with regard to the property of their masters.

 

Structure of Research

An intensive study of secondary literature and courses on method and  language will precede textual analysis. In the second year the New Testament parables will be studied. Narrative analysis will be applied to the parable (characters, plot, setting in time/place; Resseguie 2006) and the literary context of the parable: what rhetorical function does it have, both theologically and within the Halakhic tradition? Tensions and changes relating to social reality will be traced, both within the narrative and in the literary context. In what circumstances does the parable feature? How and why are parables given? Does the text indicate a social setting in which the parables features? The third year will be dedicated to the Rabbinic parables. Here, a similar line of analysis will be followed. The expanded Bildfeld analysis, our main tool to detect the social imaginary will be to detect and, where applicable, to discuss elements of the narrative in relation to four cultural dimensions:

1: Intertextual and rhetorical functions of slavery motifs

What literary and rhetorical associations do slaves have in parables? Since Jewish and Christian parables present slave parables, the religious quality of the image of the slave with regard to Biblical models (Israel as ‘slaves’) will be discussed first. Do parables contain referential signals to Biblical traditions?

 

2. Halakhic elements

An important part of the ‘Bildfeld’ is formed by the Halakhic, i.e. Jewish legal issues or undertones as present in the narratives themselves (Hezser 1990). In particular questions on the obligations of a master to his slave (physical abuse, feeding etc.), the liability of a slave while handling his master’s possessions and the obligation of a slave to guard the honour of the master will be addressed.

 

3: Social reality

The guiding questions here are: what was the extent and reality of Jewish slavery? What was the relationship of the slave to the other members of a Jewish household and their place in the economy of the ancient Jewish world? How did Jewish slavery relate to slavery in the Roman world?

 

4. ‘Archaeology of Galilee’

The guiding question here is whether slaves may be expected in Jewish villages or towns in Galilee. In particular the finding of a multi-level, Roman-style decorated house, probably belonging to a wealthy family, in the little Jewish town of Yodphata has raised questions as to the social division of Jewish society in rural areas (Richardson 2004).

 

Structure of Research (48 months)

 

Reading Introductory Parable research	3 months
Reading Methodology and Parable research, Rabbinics, and New Testament.	3 months
Reading Social History, Jewish and Roman Slavery, and the Economy of Late Antiquity.	5  months
Narrative and contextual analysis of New Testament Parables.	3 months
Narrative and contextual analysis of Rabbinic Parables.	4 months
Reading and analysing archaeological issues; processing Literature on Selected Items.	5 months
Academic Training NOSTER Courses.	1 month
Academic Training Research Visit Israel, archaeological field work.	3 months
Contribution to Congress, writing research paper.	3 months
Writing final dissertation	12 months
Vacation and unforeseen	6 months

 

B.3. Meal Parables

 

(PhD, 4 x 1.0 fte., 4 years, Dissertation, two articles)

 

Meal parables have not been studied in scholarly research on Early Jewish and Christian meals (Nielsen 1998; Smith 2003). Moreover, Christian and Jewish meal parables have not been studied systematically in a comparative manner. This project aims at an integrated analysis, reading Rabbinic and Christian meal parables in their literary, Halakhic, and historical context. In unpublished research, Poorthuis has gathered and analysed some 70 Rabbinic meal parables and this collection forms the basis for this project. Meals constitute a major focal point for social relations, as they establish community, preserve it or question it. After a narrative and literary critical (tradition and redaction narrative) analysis of extant Rabbinic parables, the research focuses on Halakhic (meal etiquette and cultic rules) and social aspects. Attention will be given to the function of meals in ‘voluntary associations’, a phenomenon in Late Antiquity (Sivertsev 2002). Here the guiding questions will be whether meal parables express awareness of changing religious affiliations and social belonging, and whether meals indicate changes of affiliation from families (see project B.1.) to other social units. Also the role of slaves at common meals will be discussed (see project B.2.). Differentiating between Tannaitic and Amoraitic sources, the analysis will focus on formalizing patterns and changed rhetorical functions (Stern 1991; Appelbaum 2010). A comparative study of two New Testament meal parables will appear in the form of an article.

 

Structure of Research

The core of the research will be provided by comparing the parable narratives with current scholarly research on the social role of meals, especially in relation to the transition of Judaism from a household religion to a religious affiliation rooted in voluntary associations and disciple groups. The main hypothesis here will be that these transitions attest changes within the Jewish world of first-century Palestine. In line with the main methodology, the expanded Bildfeld analysis will address four cultural dimensions:

1: Literary and rhetorical meanings of meal motifs

Which Biblical references may come into play when the setting of a meal is presented? At this stage, possible echoes of Biblical meal traditions (Joseph story, sacrificial meal, Pesach) will be traced and evaluated, as well as codes of behaviour or eschatological meanings inherent in the invitation.

 

2. Halakhic elements

An important part of the ‘Bildfeld’ is formed by the Halakhic, i.e. Jewish legal issues or undertones as present in the narratives themselves (Hezser 1990; Jackson 2007). In particular questions on meal etiquette, the seating of guests and rules and obligations surrounding meal invitations will be discussed. In this respect, the relations between Jewish meals and Graeco-Roman symposia will be studied and assessed in the light of the parable narratives.

 

3: Social reality

The leading questions here are: What was the social impact of meal communities and how do meals relate to social entities such as the household? Were meal associations of a temporary nature or did these activities create alternative social networks and groups? Here also the topic of honour comes in. How do parables reflect and comment on the way meals structure the division of honour in the community? How does each parable constitute the social realm (private and public) and how does it award value to social conflicts involving honour? Second, how does the literary context in which the parable is placed relate to what we know of social reality? And how do both levels relate to each other? Gender analysis will focus on the question of why females are notably absent in both Christian and Jewish meal parables. In two articles, overlaps and differences between synoptic and Rabbinic parables will be discussed.

4. ‘Archaeology of Galilee’

The archaeology of Sepphoris has brought to light an early Byzantine ‘triclinium’ which shows the material lay out for a symposium meal. What does archaeology tell us about structures, forms and the social place of common meals? Village archaeology has showed two-level houses, sometimes three-level houses, and scholars assume that meals were held in particular in upper rooms (Richardson 2004).

 

Structure of Research (48 months)

 

Reading Introductory Parable research	3 months
Reading Methodology and Parable research, Rabbinics, and New Testament.	3 months
Reading Social History, Jewish and Roman Meals.	4  months
Narrative and contextual analysis New Testament Parables.	2 months
Narrative and contextual analysis, Rabbinic Parables.	8  months
Reading and analysing archaeological issues; processing Literature on Selected Items.	3 months
Academic Training NOSTER Courses.	1 month
Academic Training Research Visit to Israel, including archaeological field work.	3 months
Contribution to Congress, writing research paper.	3 months
Writing final dissertation	12 months
Vacation and unforeseen	6 months

 

B.4. Christian and Jewish Parables in the Context of the ‘Partings of the Ways’

 

(Synthesising volume, 2 staff members, 2x 0.5 fte., 12 months)

 

This volume will relate the findings of the three PhD projects to the issue of the transition from early Christianity as a movement within the matrix of the Jewish world to a separate religion. The results of these research elements will be used to test the main hypothesis in this project: Christian and Jewish parables are part of Jewish culture and concomitantly, the end of parable production in Christianity and the continuation of its use in the Galilean-Rabbinic world marks the fundamental break of Christianity with Judaism.

Here three issues will be discussed. In the first part, the results of the three studies will be evaluated historically. How can we assess commonalities and differences between Jewish and Christian parables with regard to the question of the partings of the ways? The hypothesis tested here will be that Christianity as a reform movement in the Jewish world of first-century Galilee participated in the production of narrative parables. From the end of the first century onwards, the reception of Jesus parables and the end of parable production in Christian circles marks a major change of the function of this genre. Parables become part of sacred writings that have to be commented on and interpreted. The phenomenon of the end of a genre and the beginning of a Christian hermeneutics of parables will be assessed in the context of Christian identity formation in the second century CE (Rokeah 2002; Robinson 2009). This discussion will cover both orthodox Christian sources and Gnostic sources, in particular the Gospel of Thomas and the Apokryphon of James. Chronologically, the shifts in the meanings of family metaphors, slavery metaphors and meal metaphors will be discussed as reflective of new hermeneutical approaches. As soon as parables became part of a sacred tradition, i.e. canonical texts, this genre made way for new literary forms such as allegorical comments. Geographically, the shifts in meanings will be assessed as a result of changes in the cultural and social context of Christian communities in an urban setting (Zetterholm 2003). In urban contexts, Christian parables fulfil new rhetorical functions and are applied to new contexts. These changes will be compared with Jewish parable production in Galilee in the Amoraic generations This part will test the geographical component of the hypothesis, i.e. whether the production of narrative parables presupposes conditions of a specific geographically delineated culture. The findings of these two parts will be examined in the context of extant literature on the ‘Parting(s) of the Ways’, taking the hypothetical perspective, that the second century indeed marks a major transition.

 

Work Programme

 

Collective programme of the Project (January 2014-January 2019):

 

Before the formal start of the project:
-Procedures for Post Doc and PhD application (6 months)

 

Year 1, January 2014-2015:

-Start applications procedures for Post Doc (procedure starts September) and PhDs (procedure starts March).

-Start of the Post Doc (January 2014).

-Start of the PhD projects (September 2014).

-Team Seminar in Autumn 2014, presenting preliminary results and discussing academic issues.

 

Year 2, 2015-2016:

-Team Seminars (four), presenting preliminary results and discussing academic issues. One of these Seminars will take the form of a Master Class, where an international specialist will be invited.

 

Year 3, 2016-2017:

-Team Seminars (four), presenting preliminary results and discussing academic issues. One of these Seminars will take the form of a Master Class by one of the participants of the International Conference.

-Finishing text edition and preparing for publication.

-Organizing International Conference on Parables in their Social and Historical Setting (January 2017).

 

Year 4, 2017-2018:

-Writing phase dissertations.

-Team Seminar, discussing issues related to writing and editing.

-Editing Conference Volume.

-Writing Synthesizing Volume B4.

 

Year 5, 2018-2019:

-Finishing phase PhD projects.

-Writing Synthesizing Volume.

 

The scheme is as follows:

 

Year 1 (2014-2015)	Year 2 (2015-2016)	Year 3 (2016-2017)	Year 4 (2017-2018)	Year 5 (2018-2019)
(January: Start application procedure Post Doc; July: start application for PhDs). -July: start project with Post Doc. -January 2014: Start of the PhD research programmes.	- International training PhD students -Reading and training phase PhD projects -Textual analysis PhD projects	-Finishing of project A by preparing manuscript of Tannaitic Parables text edition. -Textual analysis PhD projects. -International Conference on Parables in their Social and Historical Setting (Utrecht, summer)	-Writing of PhD projects. -Editing Conference Volume -Writing Synthesizing Volume B4.	-Finishing phase of PhD projects B1,2,3. -Writing Synthesizing Volume B4.
-Team Seminar, presenting preliminary results and discussing academic issues	-Team Seminars (four), presenting preliminary results and discussing academic issues	-Team Seminars (four), presenting preliminary results and discussing academic issues	-Team Seminar.
-Integon Courses	-Master Class -Integon Courses	-Master Class -Integon Courses

 

 

Planned Deliverables and Knowledge Dissemination:
1. Project A: Text edition, Hebrew-English; with introduction and commentary, article (International Conference Volume).
2. Project B.1.: Dissertation (book in an international language), article.
3. Project B.2.: Dissertation (book in an international language), article.
4. Project B.3.: Dissertation (book in an international language), article.
5.Project B.4.: Book (English), two articles (International Conference Volume).
6. International Conference (2017).
7.International Conference Volume (2018).
8. Two Masterclasses for PhD students and Master Students, two public lectures.

In scheme:

Project:                                   `           Main delivery:                       Secondary delivery:

A.	Book	article
B.1.	Dissertation	article
B.2.	Dissertation	article
B.3.	Dissertation	article
B.4.	Book	Two articles
Project	Conference Volume	Two Master classes for Masters and PhD students; two lectures.

 

Key Publications referred to in the project description:

 

_ Hezser, C. (1990), Lohnmetaphorik und Arbeitswelt in Mt 20,1-16. Das Gleichnis von den Arbeitern in Weinberg im Rahmen rabbinischer Lohngleichnisse (Göttingen: Vandenhouck und Ruprecht)

Hezser, C., (2009), ‘Rabbinische Gleichnisse und ihre Vergleichbarkeit mit neutestamentlichen Gleichnisse’, in: Zimmerman (2009), 217-236

Kloppenborg, J.S. (2006), The Tenants in the Vineyard. Ideology, Economics and Agrarian Conflict in Jewish Palestine (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck)

Theissen , G. (2004), Die Jesusbewegung. Soziologie einer Revolution der Werte (Gütersloh: Gütersloher Verlagshaus)

Theissen, G. und Merz, A. (2011), Der historische Jesus: ein Lehrbuch, 4. Auflage (Göttingen: Vandenhouck und Ruprecht)

Merz, A. (2007), ‘Jesus lernt von Räuberhauptmann (Das Wort vom Starken) – Mk 3,27’, in: Zimmerman (2007) 287-296

Ottenheijm, E. (2010), ’The Shared Meal - a Therapeutical Device. The Function and Meaning of Hos.6:6 in Matt 9:10-13’, Novum Testamentum, 53(1) 1-21.

Ottenheijm, E. (2009), ‘Learning and Practising: Uses of an Early Jewish Discourse in Matthew (7:24-27) and Rabbinic Literature’, in: M. Poorthuis a.o (eds.), Interaction between Judaism and Christianity in History, Religion, Art and Literature, JCP 17 (Leiden: Brill), 45-64

Zimmerman, R., D. Dormeyer, G. Kern, A. Merz, Chr. Münch, E. Edzard Popkes , (2007)Kompendium der Gleichnisse Jesu, (Gütersloh: Gütersloher Verlagshaus)

Zimmermann, R., Kern, G., (eds.) (2009), Hermeneutik der Gleichnisse Jesu: Methodische Neuansätze zum Verstehen urchristlicher Parabeltexte. WUNT 231 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck)

 

Bibliography:

Appelbaum, A., (2010), The Rabbis’ King Parables. Midrash from the Third-Century Roman Empire (Piscataway: Gorgias Press)

Balla, P. (2003), The Child-Parent Relationship in the New Testament and its Environment (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck)

Beavis, M.A. (2002), The Lost Coin. Parables of Women, Work and Wisdom (Sfeffield: Continuum)

Blickenstaff, M. (2005), ‘While the Bridgeroom is with them’; Marriage, Family, Gender and Violence in the Gospel of Matthew JSNTS 292 (London: T&T Clak)

Boyarin, D. (2004), Border Lines. The Partition of Judaeo-Christianity (Philadelphia: UPP)

Carter, W. (1998), Matthew’s Parables : Audience-oriented Perspectives. The Catholic Biblical Quarterly Monograph Series; 30 (Washington D.C.: Catholic Bible Association of America)

Cohen, Sh. (ed.) (1993), The Jewish Family in Antiquity. BJS 289 (Atlanta: Scholars Press)

Castoriadis, C. (1987), The Imaginary Institution of Society (Cambridge: MIT Press)

Dschulnigg, P. (1988), Rabbinische Gleichnisse und das Neue Testament : die Gleichnisse der PesK im Vergleich mit den Gleichnissen Jesu und dem Neuen Testament (Bern: Peter Lang)

Dunn, J., (2006), The Partings of the Ways between Christianity and Judaism and Their Significance for the Character of Christianity (London: SCM)

Feldman, A. (1924), The Parables and Similes of the Rabbis: agricultural and pastoral (Cambridge: University Press)

Fiebig, P. (1904), Altjüdische Gleichnisse und die Gleichnisse Jesu (Tübingen: Mohr & Siebeck)

Flusser, D. (1981), Die rabbinischen Gleichnisse und der Gleichniserzähler Jesus. 1. Teil Das Wesen der Gleichnissen. Judaica et Christiana; 4 (Bern: Peter Lang)

Gemünden, P. von (1993), Vegetationsmetaphorik im Neuen Testament und seiner Umwelt. Eine Bildfelduntersuchung. NTOA 18 (Freiburg/Göttingen: Vandenhouck & Ruprecht) 

Goodman, M. and Alexander, Ph., (eds.) (2010), Rabbinic Texts and the History of Late-Roman Palestine (Oxford: OUP)

Heemstra, M. (2010), The Fiscus Judaicus and the Parting of the Ways (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck)

Hezser, C. (1997), The Social Structure of the Rabbinic Movement in Roman Palestine (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck)

Hezser, C., (2005), Jewish Slavery in Antiquity, (Oxford: University Press)

Hirschfeld, Y. (1995), The Palestinian Dwelling in the Roman-Byzantine Period (Jerusalem: Franciscan Press Printing)

Jackson, B. (2008), ‘The Jewish Background to the Prodigal Son: an Unresolved Problem’, in: idem, Essays on Halakhah in the New Testament, JCP 16 (Leiden: Brill), 111-150

Jeremias, J. (1962⁶), Die Gleichnisse Jesu (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht)

Kooyman, A.C. (1997),  Als een Koning van vlees en bloed Rabbijnse parabels en midrasjiem (Kampen: Kok)

Lefebrve, A. (1999), Kinship, Honour and Money in Rural Pakistan. Subsistence Economy and the Effects of Internal Migration (Richmond: Curzon Press)

MacFague, S. (1993), Speaking in Parables: a Study in Metaphor and Theology (Philadelphia: Fortress Press)

McArthur, H.K., Johnston, R.M. (1990), They Also Taught in Parables. Rabbinic Parables from the First Centuries of the Christian Era (Grand Rapids, Mi: Academie Books)

Münch, C. (2004), Die Gleichnisse Jesu im Matthäusevangelium : eine Studie zu ihrer Form und Funktion. Wissenschaftliche Monographien zum Alten und Neuen Testament; 104 (Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener Verlag)

Neyrey, J. (1998), Honor and Shame in the Gospel of Matthew (Lousiville: John Knox Press)

Nielsen, I. & H.S. (eds.) (1998), Meals in a Social Context Aspects of the Communal Meal in the Hellenistic and Roman World (Aarhus: Aarhus UP)

Osiek, C. and Balch, D.L. (1997), Families in the New Testament World (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press)

Overman, J.A. (1995), ‘Matthews Parables and Roman Politics: The Imperial Setting of Matthew’s Narrative with Special Reference to His Parables’, Eugene H. Lovering (ed.), Society of Biblical Literature Seminar Papers 1995 (Atlanta: SBL), 425-439

Porton, G. (2006), ‘The Parable in the Hebrew Bible and Rabbinic Literature’, in: A.J. Levine a.o. (eds.), The Historical Jesus in Context (Princeton: University Press), 206-221

Resseguie, J.L. (2006), Narrative Criticism of the New Testament. An Introduction (??: Baker Bookhouse Co)

Richardson, P., (2004), Building Jewish in the Roman East (Leiden: Brill)

Robinson, Th.A. (2009), Ignatius of Antioch and the Parting of the Ways (Peabody MA: Hendrickson)

Rokéah, D., (2002), Justin Martyr and the Jews (Leiden: Brill)

Rutgers, L. (2009), Making Myths, Jews in Early Christian Identity Formation (Leuven: Peeters)

Safrai, S. (1987), The Literature of the Sages. CRINT III/2.1 (Philadelphia/Assen: Van Gorcum Press)

Schiffman, L.H. (1991), From Text to Tradition. A History of Second Temple & Rabbinic Judaism (Hoboken: Ktav)

Schottroff, L. (2005), Die Gleichnisse Jesu. Forschungen zur Religion und Literatur des Alten und Neuen Testaments; 149 (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht)

Schwartz, S. (2001), Imperialism and Jewish Society, 200 B.C.E. to 640 C.E. (Princeton: PUP)

Shanks Alexander, E. (2007), ‘The Orality of Rabbinic Writing’, Ch. E. Fonrobert, M.S. Jaffee (eds.), The Cambridge Companion to the Talmud and Rabbinic Literature (Cambridge: Cambridge UP), 38-57

Sivertsev, A.M. (2002), Households, Sects, and the Origins of Rabbinic Judaism. SJSJ 102 (Leiden/Boston: Brill)

Smith, D.E. (2003), From Symposium to Eucharist. The Banquet in the Early Christian World (Minneapolis: Fortress Press)

Snodgrass, K.R. (2008), Stories with Intent : a Comprehensive Guide to the Parables of Jesus (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans)

Stemberger, G. (1992), Einleitung in Talmud und Midrasch. 8. Auflage (München: Beck)

Stern, D. (1991), Parables in Midrash : narrative and exegesis in Rabbinic literature (Cambridge: Harvard University Press)

Taylor, C. (2002), ‘Modern Social Imaginaries’, Public Culture 14/1, 91-124

Thoma, C., Lauer, S., Ernst, H.  (1986 ff.), Die Gleichnisse der Rabbinen. 1. Tl.: Pesiqta deRav Kahana (PesK): Einleitung, Übersetzung, Parallelen, Kommentar, Texte (Judaica et Christiana 10, 13,16,18) (Bern: Peter Lang)

Thoma, C., Wyschogrod, M. (eds.) (1989), Parables and Story in Judaism and Christianity (New York: Paulist Press)

Young, B.H. (1989), Jesus and His Jewish Parables: Rediscovering the Roots of Jesus’ Teaching (New York: Paulist Press)

Young, B.H. (2000), The Parables. Jewish Tradition and Christian Interpretations (Hendrickson Publishing)

Zetterholm, M. (2003), The Formation of Christianity in Antioch (London: Routledge)

Ziegler, I. (1903), Die Königsgleichnisse des Midrasch, beleuchtet durch die römerische Kaiserzeit (Breslau: Schottländer)

Preliminary lists of parables for projects B.1. and B.2.:

B.1.: Family Relations
New Testament:

1. Luke 15:11-32; 2. Matt. 21:28-32; 3. Marc 12:1-12/Luke 20:9-18/Matt. 21:33-44

Tannaitic traditions (Selection based on MacArthur/Johnston, 1990:

1. y.Ta’anit 3:4/2. Sifre Deut. 312/3. Sifra Lev. 18:28/4. ARN a 14:6/5. Mekhilta deR Ishmael Pisha 16:62-67/6. Mekhilta deR Ishmael Beshallah 4:35-41 (parr. Ex. R. 21:8)/7. Mekhilta deR Ishmael Beshallah 5:15-31 (parr. Mekhilta deR Ishmael Bahodesh 2:31ff)/8. Mekhilta deR Ishmael Beshallah 6:8-22/9. Mekhilta deR Ishmael Shirata 3:65-74/10. Mekhilta deR Ishmael Amalek 2:16-28 (parr. Sifre Num. 134; Sifre Deut. 29)/11. Mekhilta deR Ishmael Bahodesh 6:103-124/12. Sifre Num. 86/13. Sifre Num. 87/14. Sifre Num. 89/15. Sifre Num. 91 (parr. b.Yoma 76a)/16. Sifre Num. 105/17. Sifre Num. 115/18. Sifre Deut. 19 (parr. Sifre Deut. 356)/19. Sifre Deut. 26 (parr. Lev R 31:4, Sifre Num 137, b.Yoma 86b, Num R 19:12)/20. Sifre Deut. 40/21. Sifre Deut. 43/22. Sifre Deut. 45 (parr. b.Kidd 30b)/23. Sifre Deut. 48 (parr. b.Men 99b; ARN a 24:7; ARN b 35)/24. Sifre Deut. 48/25. Sifre Deut. 305/27. Sifre Deut. 306/27. Sifre Deut. 312/28. Sifre Deut. 345 (parr. Ex R 33:7)/29. Sifre Deut. 352/30. Sifre Deut. 357/

 

B.2.: Slavery
New Testament:

1. Matt. 18:23-35; 2. Matt. 24:45-51/Luke 12:42-46; 3. Luke 17:7-10; 4. Matt. 25:14-30 Luke 19:12-27; (5. Marc 12:1-12; Matt. 21:33-44/Luke 20:9-18); 6. Matt. 22:1-14.

Tannaitic traditions (Selection based on MacArthur/Johnston, 1990):

1. m.Sukka 2:9/2. t.Ber 7:18/3. b.Taan 25b/4. Mekhilta deR Ishmael Beshallah 2:107-118 (parr. Pes.R.K 11:3)/5. Sifre Num. 115/6. Sifre Deut. 8/7. Sifre Deut. 28/8. Sifre Deut. 40/9. Sifre Deut. 48 (parr. b.Men 99b; ARN a 24:7; ARN b 35)/10. Sifre Deut. 357/11. m.Avot 1:4

My Job will be to manage the project, guide the post doc and the PhD's and write, together with Annette Merz, a synthesizing study.

• prof. dr. Marcel Poorthuis
• prof. dr. Annette Merz
• dr. Lieve Teugels
• drs. Martijn Stoutjesdijk
• drs. Jonathan Pater.