Date of Award
Spring 1973
Document Type
Dissertation - Restricted
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Theology
Abstract
I. There does not seem to be an extended study of Luke's version of the defendant on his way to the magistrate. The Fathers almost universally interpreted this passage as a parable meaning that man was to make peace with God and His Law. They found various identifications of the different characters, but did not seem to have any scientific criteria for either the literary form, the identifications, or the meaning of the passage. Neither have commentaries on Lk or on the parables been much more specific about the reasons for their interpretations. This variety of opinions seems traceable to a lack of method. The method followed here will be the consistent use of editorial analysis outlined by Q. Quesnell in The Mind of Mark. II A detailed investigation of the vocabulary, grammar, and sources of the pericope itself, plus an investigation of the Greco-Roman juridical praxis gave no sure criteria of literary form or meaning. The passage seems to get both form and meaning from its Lukan context. III. Delimitation and investigation of the immediate context (Lk. 12:35-19:9) revealed a unit profoundly eschatological, centered on response to Christ (especially in 12:35-13:9). This context, then, seems to make 12:57-59 parabolic, symbolizing life as a way to God; however there remains confusion over the roles of God and Christ in judgment, and this confusion is congruent with the hellenistic judicial terms used here. Nor is it clear how man is acquitted...