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Friendship and Gift in 2 Corinthians 8–9: Social Relations and Conventions in the Jerusalem Collection

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Friendship and Gift in 2 Corinthians 8–9: Social Relations and Conventions in the Jerusalem Collection Concordia Seminary - Saint Louis Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation Concordia Seminary Scholarship 5-1-2018 Friendship and Gift in 2 Corinthians 8–9: Social Relations and Conventions in the Jerusalem Collection Ruth Whiteford Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.csl.edu/phd Part of the Biblical Studies Commons Recommended Citation Whiteford, Ruth, "Friendship and Gift in 2 Corinthians 8–9: Social Relations and Conventions in the Jerusalem Collection" (2018). Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation. 83. https://scholar.csl.edu/phd/83 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Concordia Seminary Scholarship at Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation by an authorized administrator of Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary. For more information, please contact [email protected]. FRIENDSHIP AND GIFT IN 2 CORINTHIANS 8–9: SOCIAL RELATIONS AND CONVENTIONS IN THE JERUSALEM COLLECTION A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Department of Exegetical Theology in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Ruth Ang-Onn Whiteford May 2018 Approved by Mark A. Seifrid Advisor Jeffrey J. Kloha Reader Joel C. Elowsky Reader © 2018 by Ruth Ang-Onn Whiteford. All rights reserved. ii To my mother Priscilla and my husband Matthew iii δυνατεῖ δὲ ὁ θεὸς πᾶσαν χάριν περισσεῦσαι εἰς ὑμᾶς, ἵνα ἐν παντὶ πάντοτε πᾶσαν αὐτάρκειαν ἔχοντες περισσεύητε εἰς πᾶν ἔργον ἀγαθόν 2 Cor 9:8 iv CONTENTS PREFACE........................................................................................................................................... ix ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................................. xi ABBREVIATIONS ......................................................................................................................... xiii ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................................... xix CHAPTER ONE ................................................................................................................................. 1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................... 1 THE JERUSALEM COLLECTION ........................................................................................ 4 General Studies on the Collection................................................................................... 7 Studies on the Impact of Social Ordering and Distribution of Resources in the Collection ......................................................................................................................... 8 Studies on the Significance of Friendship in the Collection ....................................... 14 PURPOSE OF STUDY ........................................................................................................... 19 SOCIO-HISTORICAL METHODOLOGY .......................................................................... 20 PLAN OF STUDY .................................................................................................................. 23 CHAPTER TWO .............................................................................................................................. 25 THE SIGNIFICANCE OF SOCIAL STATUS ..................................................................... 25 THE PERVASIVE FACTOR OF SOCIAL STATUS.......................................................... 25 RECIPROCITY IN THE ANCIENT GRECO-ROMAN WORLD ..................................... 29 Patronage vs. Benefaction ............................................................................................. 30 Patronage vs. Kinship .................................................................................................... 32 Patronage vs. Friendship ............................................................................................... 33 Kinship vs. Friendship ................................................................................................... 35 THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL STATUS IN THE CORINTHIAN CHURCH ...................... 36 v The History of Corinth .................................................................................................. 37 Social Status Issues within the Corinthian Church ...................................................... 39 Status as a Barrier to the Completion of the Collection .............................................. 44 CHAPTER THREE .......................................................................................................................... 45 FRIENDSHIP IN THE GRECO-ROMAN WORLD ........................................................... 45 THE GREEK FOUNDATIONAL THINKERS ON FRIENDSHIP .................................... 46 Homer ............................................................................................................................. 47 Plato ................................................................................................................................ 49 Aristotle .......................................................................................................................... 52 Definition of Friendship ....................................................................................... 54 Types of Friendships ............................................................................................ 54 Qualities of Friends .............................................................................................. 56 PAUL’S GRECO-ROMAN CONTEMPORARIES ON FRIENDSHIP ............................. 62 Cicero .............................................................................................................................. 63 Seneca ............................................................................................................................. 68 Dio Chrysostom ............................................................................................................. 73 Plutarch ........................................................................................................................... 75 OTHER RELEVANT AUTHORS ON GIFT AND FRIENDSHIP .................................... 78 Philo ................................................................................................................................ 78 Clement of Alexandria ................................................................................................... 81 IMPORTANT ELEMENTS OF THE FRIENDSHIP TOPOS ............................................ 83 CHAPTER FOUR ............................................................................................................................. 86 FRIENDSHIP AND GIFT IN 2 CORINTHIANS 8–9 ......................................................... 86 vi 2 CORINTHIANS 8–9 AS DELIBERATIVE RHETORIC ON UNITY ........................... 87 PAUL’S PARAKLETIC METHOD ...................................................................................... 90 The Example of the Macedonians (8:1–6) ................................................................... 90 The Collection as Reconciliation......................................................................... 90 The Impact of God’s χάρις on the Macedonians ............................................... 91 The Paradoxical Macedonian Experience of Poverty and Wealth .................... 93 The Gift and Request of the Macedonians .......................................................... 98 Completing the χάρις ........................................................................................ 101 The Rivalry between Macedonia and Corinth (8:7–8) .............................................. 103 The Rhetorical Function of the Rivalry ............................................................ 104 The Triads ........................................................................................................... 105 The Example and Gift of Christ (8:9) ......................................................................... 108 The Christ Event as the Ground of Giving ....................................................... 109 Christ’s Riches and Poverty ............................................................................... 109 Expediency and Goodwill (8:10–12) .......................................................................... 113 The Advantage of Finishing the Collection ...................................................... 114 The Role of προθυμία in Giving ...................................................................... 114 An Acceptable Corinthian Gift .......................................................................... 115 Equality and Reciprocity (8:13–15) ............................................................................ 117 A New Christian ἰσότης .................................................................................... 118 The Timing and Content of the Practical Expression of ἰσότης ..................... 126 Paul’s Citation of Exodus 16:18 ........................................................................ 128 The Gift-Delegation (8:16–23) ..................................................................................
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