Digital Commons @ George Fox University Doctor of Ministry Seminary 10-1-2013 Jesus and his Jewish World: A Resource That Brings First-Century Biblical Context into the Twenty- First-Century World Through Technology Paul D. Conway George Fox University This research is a product of the Doctor of Ministry (DMin) program at George Fox University. Find out more about the program. Recommended Citation Conway, Paul D., "Jesus and his Jewish World: A Resource That Brings First-Century Biblical Context into the Twenty-First-Century World Through Technology" (2013). Doctor of Ministry. Paper 70. http://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/dmin/70 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Seminary at Digital Commons @ George Fox University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctor of Ministry by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ George Fox University. JESUS AND HIS JEWISH WORLD: A RESOURCE THAT BRINGS FIRST-CENTURY BIBLICAL CONTEXT INTO THE TWENTY-FIRST-CENTURY WORLD THROUGH TECHNOLOGY A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GEORGE FOX EVANGELICAL SEMINARY IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF MINISTRY Paul D. Conway PORTLAND, OREGON OCTOBER 2013 i George Fox Evangelical Seminary George Fox University Newberg, Oregon CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL ________________________________ DMin Dissertation ________________________________ This is to certify that the DMin Dissertation of Paul D. Conway has been approved by the Dissertation Committee on October 25, 2013 as fully adequate in scope and quality as a dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Ministry in Semiotics and Future Studies. Dissertation Committee: Primary Advisor: Marc Turnage, PhD Secondary Advisor: Derek Voorhees, DMin Lead Mentor: Leonard I. Sweet, PhD Expert Advisor: John Bergquist, BS Copyright ©2013 by Paul Conway 2013. All rights reserved. No reproduction of written or visual material of this work is permitted without written permission of the author. All photographs and videos are the property of Conway and Conway Enterprises LLC. All Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version unless otherwise noted. All quotations of the Babylonian Talmud are from Rabbi Epstein’s edition unless otherwise noted. All quotations of Josephus are from the Bible Works 8.0 version. All quotations of the Jerusalem Talmud are from Jacob Neusner’s Logos version unless otherwise noted. All quotations from the Tosephta are from Jacob Neusner’s translation unless otherwise noted. ii Five Gospels record the life of Jesus. Four you will find in books and one you will find in the land they call Holy. Read the fifth Gospel and the words of the four will open to you. Saint Jerome Send them out that they may begin to go throughout the land, writing a description of it with a view to their inheritances… Joshua 18:4 iii DEDICATION Marc Turnage, Ph.D. (A.B.D.), who has taught me more about the historical Jesus in three years of study than thirteen in the college setting. You are a true sage of Galilee. Flusser would be proud. iv CONTENTS EPIGRAPH ........................................................................................................................ iii DEDICATION ................................................................................................................... iv TABLE OF CONTENTS .....................................................................................................v LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................... vi ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................... vii SECTION 1: THE PROBLEM ............................................................................................7 Thousands of Miles and Years of Separation ......................................................................7 Incarnation in Theology but Not Humanity Scholarship Rendered Scattered and Static by Anti-Semitism Geography That Is Scholarly, Scattered, and Static Language That Is Scholarly, Scattered, and Static Literature Whose Access is Scholarly, Scattered, and Static Images and Resources That Are Scholarly, Scattered, and Static Summary of Problem .........................................................................................................19 SECTION 2: OTHER PROPOSED SOLUTIONS ...........................................................20 A Visual Guide to Bible Events, Edited by James C. Martin .................................26 Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary .......................................21 The Holy Land Satellite Atlas, Vol. I & II, by Richard Cleave .............................32 Biblical Backgrounds .............................................................................................37 SECTION 3: THE THESIS ...............................................................................................39 Incarnation in Humanity for Theology ..................................................................39 Geography Reassessed ...........................................................................................48 Language Reexamined ...........................................................................................54 Literature Regrouped .............................................................................................58 Conclusion .............................................................................................................64 SECTION 4: THE ARTIFACT DESCRIPTION ..............................................................66 SECTION 5: ARTIFACT SPECIFICATION ...................................................................66 SECTION 6: POSTSCRIPT ..............................................................................................69 BIBLIOGRAPHY ..............................................................................................................73 v LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure 1. The Judean Wilderness, from Holman Bible Atlas 2. A Visual Guide to the Bible, Book Cover 3. A Visual Guide to the Bible, Inside Sample 4. Coin of Herod Phillip 5. Temple to Caesar at Omrit in the Region of Banias (Caesarea Philippi) 6. Petra, Nabataean Capital 7. Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary Set 8. Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary Set Map 9. Extra-Biblical Literature Expansion Window 10. Ancient Alms 11. Holy Land Satellite Atlas, Vol. 1 and 2, DVD 12. Kursi and the Eastern Shore of Galilee 13. Cartography of the Holy Land Satellite Atlas 14. Holy Land Satellite Atlas Software 15. Biblical Backgrounds 16. Biblical Backgrounds Map Work vi ABSTRACT THE PROBLEM The twenty-first century Assemblies of God Christian and communicator are separated by thousands of years and miles from Christ’s first -century context. Few tools provide a three dimensional resource that converge the literature, land and language to construct a bridge that empowers learners to cross that distance independently. Many resources available are scholarly, scattered or static. Those privileged to visit the Holy Land leave enthusiastic but fail to export large portions of the educational experience. This often results in the traveler sharing their images and impressions for several weeks until all that remains are emotional memoirs and a dim recollection of the hermeneutical content received. THE THESIS Thousands of miles and years separate the average Assemblies of God pastor, educator, parishioner and student from the first-century world of Jesus. This distance often results in a strong theological hermeneutic that is weak in the understanding of the literature, land and language that embedded the life of Christ. I claim that producing a twenty- first century electronic resource that integrates these elements will better bridge the physical, cultural and historical distance our world and the first-century Jewish world of Jesus and occasionally improve our theological understanding of Jesus’ words and works. SUMMARY OF THE WRITTEN STATEMENT This artifact is an iBook titled “Jesus and His Jewish World.” It could be used as a tool for pre- and post-trip development for academic tours to the Holy Land. The outline is driven by tour locations and chronology, covering events and subject matter relevant to the biblical sites. This will create a three-dimensional experience both visually through vii technology and scholastically through a unique discipline of hermeneutics found in the literature, land, and language of Christ’s first-century context is portable and user friendly delivery system. viii SECTION 1: THE PROBLEM Thousands of Miles and Years of Separation Thousands of miles and years separate the twenty-first-century reader from the biblical world of Jesus. Many of the resources available are scholarly, scattered, and static. The Bible and incarnation occurred in a specific time and space of geography, culture, language, and history.1 The task of the biblical reader is to understand the message of Jesus in its first-century setting and then export it into twenty-first-century applications. The challenge is the method and material that an individual leverage to bridge that distance and make this goal achievable. It would seem logical that the most significant step toward entering the world of Jesus would be to attend a Holy Land tour. This assumption is contingent on the quality of the guide or agency selected and possessing the financial means to travel.