Lex Talionis in Early Judaism and the Exhortation of Jesus in Matthew 5.38-42

by Davis, James

• ISBN13: 9780567041500
• ISBN10: 0567041506
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-06-30
• Publisher: Bloomsbury T & T Clark

Summary

In Matthew 5:38-42, Jesus overrides the Old Testament teaching of 'an eye for eye and a tooth for a tooth' - the Lex Talionis law - and commands his disciples to turn the other cheek. James Davis asks how Jesus' teaching in this instance relates to the Old Testament talionic commands, how it relates to New Testament era Judaism and what Jesus required from his disciples and the church.

Table of Contents

Foreword	xi
Acknowledgments	xii
Abbreviations	xiii
Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION	1	(6)
The Problem Stated	2	(1)
The Need for this Study	3	(2)
The Lex Talionis and Judaism	3	(1)
The Lex Talionis and Jesus' Teaching	4	(1)
The Lex Talionis and the Church	4	(1)
The Method and Overview of this Study	5	(2)
Chapter 2 LEX TALIONIS IN RECENT INTERPRETATION	7	(30)
Benno Jacob	7	(2)
Louis Finkelstein	9	(3)
David Daube	12	(3)
Robert Tannehill	15	(1)
John Piper	16	(1)
Robert Geulich	17	(1)
D.A. Carson	18	(1)
Harvey Kugelmass	19	(3)
Ulrich Luz	22	(2)
Richard Horsley	24	(1)
Walter Wink	25	(2)
W.D. Davies and Dale C. Allison	27	(2)
Raphaël Dral	29	(1)
Dorothy Jean Weaver	30	(3)
Hans Dieter Betz	33	(1)
Craig S. Keener	34	(1)
Conclusion	35	(2)
Chapter 3 LEX TALIONIS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT	37	(18)
Primary Texts	37	(11)
Exodus 21.22-27	37	(6)
Leviticus 24.17-22	43	(2)
Deuteronomy 19.15-21	45	(3)
Secondary Texts	48	(5)
Conclusion	53	(2)
Chapter 4 LEXTALIONIS IN EARLY JUDAISM	55	(50)
The Apocrypha	56	(2)
Qumran	58	(2)
The Pseudepigrapha	60	(4)
Philo	64	(4)
Josephus	68	(4)
The Mishnah and Tosefta	72	(5)
The Targums	77	(4)
The Midrashim	81	(7)
The Palestinian Talmud	88	(1)
The Babylonian Talmud	89	(4)
R. Eliezer	93	(4)
The Roman Lex Talionis	97	(1)
Conclusion	98	(3)
Summary Table of B. Baba Qamma 83b-84a	101	(4)
Chapter 5 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT OF MATTHEW 5.39-42	105	(32)
Resistance and Meaning of ανthetaιστημι	105	(5)
Other Examples of Resistance Texts in Early Judaism	110	(2)
Laws of Insult in Early Judaism	112	(3)
Lawsuits over Personal Property	115	(6)
Commandeering under Roman Rule	121	(4)
Financial Requests	125	(8)
Conclusion	133	(4)
Chapter 6 AN EXEGESIS OF MATTHEW 5.38-42	137	(14)
Context and Audience of the Sermon on the Mount	137	(2)
Translation and Text of Matthew 5.38-42	139	(1)
Exegesis of Verse 38	139	(1)
Exegesis of Verse 39	140	(2)
Exegesis of Verse 40	142	(3)
Exegesis of Verse 41	145	(1)
Exegesis of Verse 42	146	(1)
Correlation with Luke 6.29-30	147	(1)
Correlation with the Didache	148	(1)
Conclusion	149	(2)
Chapter 7 CORRELATION OF MATTHEW 5.38-42	151	(15)
Relation of Jesus' Statement to the Old Testament	151	(1)
Relation of Jesus' Statement to Early Judaism	152	(2)
Relation of Jesus' Statement to Himself	154	(2)
Relation of Jesus' Statement to His Disciples	156	(8)
Teaching and Examples from the New Testament	157	(2)
Teaching and Examples from Early Church History	159	(5)
Conclusion	164	(2)
Chapter 8 FINAL CONCLUSIONS	166	(3)
Appendix	169	(4)
Bibliography	173	(10)
Index of References	183	(8)
Index of Authors	191