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Proquest Dissertations NOTE TO USERS This reproduction is the best copy available. UMI® PhD Thesis - A. Witmer McMaster - Religious Studies JESUS, A JEWISH GALILEAN EXORCIST: A SOCIO-POLITICAL AND ANTHROPOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION By AMANDA R. WITMER, B.Sc, M.T.S., MA. A Thesis Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree Doctor of Philosophy McMaster University © Copyright by Amanda Witmer Library and Archives Bibliotheque et 1*1 Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington OttawaONK1A0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-59935-8 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-59935-8 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'Internet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distribute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non­ support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. Ni thesis. Neither the thesis nor la these ni des extraits substantiels de celle-ci substantial extracts from it may be ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement printed or otherwise reproduced reproduits sans son autorisation. without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne sur la Privacy Act some supporting forms protection de la vie privee, quelques may have been removed from this formulaires secondaires ont ete enleves de thesis. cette these. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. 1*1 Canada PhD Thesis - A. Witmer McMaster - Religious Studies JESUS, A JEWISH GALILEAN EXORCIST PhD Thesis - A. Witmer McMaster - Religious Studies Abstract This study is a broad based investigation of exorcism in the activities of the historical Jesus, particularly the connection between spirit possession and exorcism on the one hand and the socio-political context of first-century Galilee on the other. As such, it draws on research from the areas of sociology, anthropology, archaeology and biblical studies to illuminate this aspect of Jesus' career, as well as the broader social implications of spirit possession in those he treated and the exorcisms themselves. Evidence found in the Synoptic Gospels is evaluated using the criteria of authenticity and comparative analysis in order to establish early and historical material. Questions posed and answered concern the historical plausibility of Jesus' role as exorcist, the possibility that his own career began with a period of spirit possession, and the meaning that his exorcisms conveyed to his first-century audience. Thus, the methodology includes textual analysis, sociological analysis of general cultural patterns within which first-century Palestine can be fitted, and anthropological analysis of the plausible functions of both spirit possession and exorcism in agrarian societies. Jesus' role as exorcist, his own experience of spirit possession, and the fact that he was accused of being possessed by the demon Beelzebul are attested across all strands of the tradition, with the exception of the Gospel of John. This aspect of his career also finds support in the criteria of authenticity, particularly embarrassment, is coherent with his role as healer and prophet and also fits the general pattern of healers and exorcists across cultures, particularly in agrarian societies. iii PhD Thesis - A. Witmer McMaster - Religious Studies Acknowledgements First, I would like to thank McMaster University, and in particular the Religious Studies Department, for generous funding which allowed me to study without undue financial hardship. I am especially grateful to Dr. Anders Runesson, my thesis supervisor, for his ongoing and positive support, without which this project would not have been possible. I also wish to thank the other members of my committee, Dr. Celia Rothenberg, who offered expertise in anthropological understandings of spirit possession and Dr. Stephen Westerholm who provided expertise in biblical studies, for all of their assistance in working through this long and challenging project. I wish to thank Annette Reed for her support as my supervisor during the first two years of my program at McMaster. I wish also to thank the members of the Biblical Colloquium in Waterloo, Ontario (Herald Remus, John Miller, John Van Seters, and Jack Horman), who read a draft of my introduction and offered constructive advice on both the draft and the project as a whole. To Sherry Smith and Lily Vuong, for friendship and moral support throughout our years as fellow graduate students. Also to Sherry for allowing me to read her unpublished paper on symbolic healing and the historical Jesus. To Robert Webb, for assistance in working through a seminar paper and advice on publication. John Miller, Professor Emeritus, Conrad Grebel University College, is responsible for initially igniting my interest in Jesus studies and for believing in my scholarly abilities. For this I am eternally grateful. I also want to thank Michel Desjardins who offered so much of his time and support during the two years I studied at WLU and IV PhD Thesis - A. Witmer McMaster - Religious Studies beyond. Finally, I wish to thank Carol Duncan and Janet Ross for support and affirmation of my teaching abilities. Finally, I owe a large debt to my first family, especially my Mom Lorraine and my Dad Norman, who died in 2001, and is still greatly missed, a heartfelt thank you for all of the interest you both sparked in learning and for your support and advice during all of my years of graduate study. Last, but far from least, I would like to thank the family I now live with, my four boys, Phil, Alex, David and Christopher, who make it all worthwhile, and are the centre of my life. I love you all. v PhD Thesis - A. Witmer McMaster - Religious Studies Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Purpose and Scope of Inquiry 1 1.2 Previous Scholarship 8 1.3 Materials 21 1.4 Methodology and Mode of Procedure 25 1.5 Use of Significant Terms 34 Chapter 2: Spirit Possession and Exorcism in the Ancient World 37 2.1 Introduction 37 2.2 Sociological and Anthropological Insights into Spirit Possession 38 2.3 Evil Spirits and Spirit Possession in the Ancient World 52 2.4 Spirit Affliction, Sin and Illness in Jewish Texts 55 2.5 Dualism and Marginality in Jewish Texts 64 2.6 Exorcism and Exorcists in the Ancient World 72 2.7 Jewish Prophets and Spirit Possession 89 2.8 Conclusion 96 Chapter 3: The Socio-Political Context: Galilee in 30 CE 97 3.1 Introduction 97 3.2 Galilee as an Agrarian Society 100 3.3 Galilee Under Roman Rule 117 3.3.1 Herod the Great 117 3.3.2 Herod Antipas 125 vi PhD Thesis - A. Witmer McMaster - Religious Studies 3.4 Social Resistance in Galilee and Judea 131 3.4.1 Banditry 133 3.4.2 Prophetic and Messianic Movements 136 3.5 Conclusions 145 Chapter 4: Jesus the Exorcist: The Indirect Evidence 148 4.1 Introduction 148 4.2 Baptism and Trials 149 4.2.1 Baptism 149 4.2.2 Trials 158 4.3 The Beelzebul Controversy: 167 4.3.1 Beelzebul in Mark 169 4.3.2 Beelzebul in Q 180 4.3.3 Satan and Beelzebul: Binding the Strong Man 184 4.3.4 By the Finger of God 190 4.3.5 Sin Against the Spirit 197 4.3.6 Accusations in the Gospel of John 198 4.3.7 Conclusions 200 4.40ther Evidence in Mark 201 4.4.1 The Strange Exorcist 201 4.4.2 Authority over Unclean Spirits (Mark, Q] 203 4.5 Evidence in Special L 206 4.5.1 The Return of the Seventy and the Fall of Satan 207 4.5.2 Mary Magdalene and the Seven Demons 209 4.5.3 Antipas the Fox 214 vii PhD Thesis - A. Witmer McMaster - Religious Studies 4.5.4 Jesus Rebukes a Fever 218 4.5.5 A Woman Crippled by a Spirit 220 4.6 Evidence in Q 223 4.6.1 Jesus' Reply to John 224 4.6.2 The Return of the Unclean Spirit 226 4.7 Evidence in Special M 230 4.8 Conclusions 231 Chapter 5: Jesus the Exorcist: The Direct Evidence 234 5.1 Introduction 234 5.2 Evil Spirits, Illness and Sin in the Synoptic Gospels 235 5.3 The Exorcisms: Jesus and the Unclean Spirits 239 5.3.1 A Demoniac in a Synagogue 240 5.3.2 A Demoniac in Gerasa 258 5.3.3 A Boy with a Spirit of Muteness and Deafness 287 5.3.4 A Syro-Phoenician Woman's Daughter 295 5.4 Conclusions 311 Chapter 6. Conclusion: Reconstructing Jesus, the Jewish Galilean Exorcist 313 VIII Phd Thesis - A. Witmer McMaster - Religious Studies Abbreviations ANRW Aufstieg undNiedergang der romanischen Welt Ann Rev Anth. Annual Review of Anthropology AA American Anthropologist ASR American Sociological Review AIM Annals of Internal Medicine BAR Biblical Archaeology Review BTB Biblical Theology Bulletin CBQ Catholic Biblical Quarterly CSR Christian Scholars Review CMP Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry CSRB Council on the Study of Religion: Bulletin CurAnt Current Anthropology HTR Harvard Theological Review HUCA Hebrew Union College Annual ICC International Critical Commentary IEJ Israel Exploration Journal JAAR Journal of the American Academy of Religion JBL Journal of Biblical Literature JSHJ Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus JSJ Journal for the Study of Judaism in the Persian, Hellenistic and Roman Periods JSNT Journal for the Study of the New Testament JSNTSup Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement Series JSP Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha JSPSup Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha: Supplement Series JSSSup Journal of Semitic Studies Supplement ix Phd Thesis - A.
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