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Women in Luke's Gospel

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Women in Luke's Gospel Women in Luke’s Gospel Edith Ashley A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy School of Studies in Religion University of Sydney March 2000 ii ABSTRACT Writing for a Jewish synagogue community in the Roman east, Luke uses his gospel narrative to address the theological, social and political questions facing his community. Luke’s narrative is set within the gendered social and cultural framework of first century Mediterranean society. Women are written into the narrative. They tell of a God who acts outside the recognised institution of Temple to announce the salvation Israel has been anticipating. Women are recipients of God’s favour, widows are given a prophetic voice within the Lucan narrative. Women come to Jesus in faith. They are healed and forgiven. Women are disciples and full members of the new community of faith. They are partners with Jesus in mission and witnesses to the crucifixion, empty tomb, the angelic announcement of the resurrection and resurrection appearance. They are commissioned by Jesus as witnesses and are to receive the empowering of the Holy Spirit. The stories of women are critical as they present a narrative that confronts the symbolic universe of Temple and temple system, purity and exclusivity, to reveal a God who becomes present with the outsider and creates community with those who come in faith to Jesus. Luke creates two competing symbolic conceptions of reality - the Temple and the household. Through the narrative he affirms the symbolic reality of household as the place of God’s presence and reveals the Temple and temple system as failing to recognise Jesus as the prophet from God. New symbols of presence create new means of belonging and new patterns of religious, social and economic life for the Lucan community. In contrast to the temple system of purity and exclusivity, Jesus, the prophet from God, now sets the boundaries of the new community – those of inclusivity, faith and forgiveness. Individuals, women and men, who recognise Jesus to be the prophetic word of God, who come in faith and are healed and forgiven, become the new community, the household of faith. The new community adopts the social and economic relationships of household, marked by relationships of reciprocity, mutuality and trust. For first century readers, who are struggling to interpret their relationship with God following the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple, Luke’s gospel narrative provides assurance and legitimation that those who have chosen the path of Christianity are the true Israel. iii iv PREFACE This thesis aims to explore Luke’s theology of God’s disclosure and human response from the presentation of women in the Lucan narrative. The stories of women, read within their narrative context, both embrace the symbolic world of the first century Judaism but also stand over against it. They present a narrative in which Luke creates new symbols of God’s presence and new patterns of human response. Through this Luke articulates a theology of God’s disclosure and human response to address the particular issues facing the Lucan community in the late first century. The thesis is written in two Parts with a Conclusion. Background issues are addressed in Part One. Chapter 1 addresses issues regarding the narrative - approaches to reading Luke, author, date, sources and redactional issues, purpose, and audience. Historical perspectives are explored in Chapter 2 and cultural perspectives in Chapter 3. Chapter 4 reviews the roles and place of Hellenistic, Roman and Jewish women of the period. Part Two forms the main argument and focuses on the presentation of women in the narrative. The five chapters in this Part, Chapters 5 to 9, relate to women in the birth narratives, widows, women who were presented as sick or sinners, to women as disciples and as members of the new community of faith and to women and the cross. The Conclusion summarises the position and role given to women in the Lucan narrative and the ways in which these stories transmit Luke’s theology of God’s disclosure and human response. A final word is given to articulating gospel hermeneutics for the Lucan community. This thesis has been in the writing for many years, alongside a demanding full-time job. I acknowledge the contribution of supervisors along the way - Philip Esler, John Squires and Garry Trompf. To family, friends and colleagues who have given encouragement and support, I express my thanks and appreciation. v TABLE OF CONTENTS PART ONE BACKGROUND ISSUES....................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 1: LUKE’S GOSPEL NARRATIVE .............................................................. 2 CHAPTER 2: HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES ............................................................. 26 CHAPTER 3: CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES ................................................................ 38 CHAPTER 4: WOMEN IN 1ST CENTURY MEDITERRANEAN SOCIETY..................... 53 PART TWO WOMEN IN TH E STORY.................................................................... 78 CHAPTER 5: WOMEN IN THE BIRTH NARRATIVE ................................................. 80 CHAPTER 6: WIDOWS IN LUKE’S GOSPEL ............................................................ 99 CHAPTER 7: SICK, SINNERS, PHARISEES AND GOD........................................... 118 CHAPTER 8: DISCIPLESHIP AND COMMUNITY ................................................... 155 CHAPTER 9: WOMEN AND THE CROSS ............................................................... 195 CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................... 217 BIBLIOGRAPHY ...................................................................................................... 225 vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS BTB Biblical Theology Bulletin CBQ Catholic Biblical Quarterly JBL Journal of Biblical Literature JFSR Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion JJS Journal of Jewish Studies JR Journal of Religion JSNTSS Journal for Study of the New Testament – Supplement Series JSOT Journal for the Study of the Old Testament JSR Journal for the Study of Religion NovT Novum Testamentum NTS New Testament Studies RelSRev Religious Studies Review SBL Society of Biblical Literature SNTSMS Society for New Testament Studies Mongraph Series TToday Theology Today ZNW Zeitschrift fur die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft AJ Antiquitates Judaicae, Josephus Con Ap II Against Apion, Josephus Leg. Spec On the Special Laws ( De Specialibus Legibus), Philo Mor Moralia, Plutarch Virt On the Virtues (De Virtutibus), Philo Wars The Wars of the Jews, Josephus vii PART ONE BACKGROUND ISSUES While it is commonly acknowledged that the two volume work of Luke’s gospel and The Acts of the Apostles form the Lucan narrative only the gospel of Luke will be addressed in this thesis. The Acts of the Apostles does not come within the compass of this thesis. Part One of this thesis will focus on the background issues that contribute to the uniqueness of the gospel narrative. It will give particular attention to the social, cultural and historical setting of the gospel narrative, to the place of women in the first century Mediterranean world. Issues relating to the composition of the gospel as narrative - its sources, authorship, redactional issues, audience and purpose - will be addressed in Chapter 1. The history of the Jewish people as it has contributed to their formation and their understanding of God in the first century will be outlined in Chapter 2. Chapter 3 draws on the work of social scientists and cultural anthropologists to present three models that give insight into the cultural and social assumptions of the gospel setting. Chapter 4 explores gender expectations with reference to Hellenistic, Roman and Jewish women. Part Two of this thesis, Women in the Story, draws on the assumptions and issues of Chapters 1 to 5 to explore the presentation of women in the Lucan narrative. The Conclusion summarises the presentation of women in the narrative, highlighting the way in which their role and position in the narrative contributes to an understanding 1 of Luke’s theology of God’s disclosure and human response. The final section of the Conclusion articulates a gospel hermeneutic for the Lucan community. CHAPTER 1: LUKE’S GOSPEL NARRATIVE In this thesis I am concerned essentially with the theological intent of the evangelist and the impact of the gospel for the original readers. To this end a redaction critical approach is used which focuses on the text in its final form and the role and intent of the evangelist as author. This is in distinction from a form critical approach where the focus is on the pieces of traditional material and their original historical context. Sources are addressed only as an aid to understanding the finished text. There is no attempt to trace sources to their original historical situation or even to earlier forms of tradition. Luke has written a narrative. The author expressly sets out to write ‘an orderly account’ (Luke 1:1-4). Luke’s gospel tells a story - the story of God’s disclosure and human response. In the light of this, a composition critical approach will be used, recognising the literary work of Luke’s gospel, but consciously relating text and context.1 ‘The text operates with an implicit knowledge about its own period which the interpreter must re-activate in order to be able to give an adequately informed 1 See C Clifton Black ‘Rhetorical Criticism’ in Hearing the New Testament
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