Jesus the Oracle
Reading Mark in Roman Egypt
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Hardback
£73.00
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Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
ISBN: 9781978711792
Number of Pages: 178
Published: 03/10/2023
Width: 15.9 cm
Height: 24 cm
In Jesus the Oracle, Annelies Gisela Moeser reads Jesus’s journey from Capernaum to Jerusalem in Mark’s gospel through the cultural context of second/third century Roman Egypt. Moeser provides a rich description of the Egyptian practice of oracles, including processional oracles, to build a model with which to read Mark. This prism brings attention to descriptions of Jesus’s supernatural knowledge and wisdom, such as in the story of the Rich Man (Mk 10:17–22). In contrast to Clement of Alexandria’s homily on the Rich Man which counseled detachment from possessions, this reading from a non-elite perspective considers Jesus’s advice to be more radical. This model of processional oracles highlights the importance of access to the divine, including by non-elite crowds, by persons with disabilities (e.g., in comparing Bartimaeus [Mk 10:46–52] with Gemellus Horion of Karanis [a town in Egypt]), and by children. Traditional Egyptian religion upheld the existing sociopolitical regime. However, Jesus’s procession and proclamation of the basileia (reign) of G*d subverts the Roman world order and that of their local, elite allies.
List of Figures and Tables
Acknowledgments
Chapter One: Constructing Markan Audiences
Chapter Two: Readings of Mark by Clement of Alexandria and Richard Horsley
Chapter Three: Oracles in Egypt
Chapter Four: Processional Oracles and Reading Mark
Chapter Five: Jesus the Oracle in the House in Capernaum
Chapter Six: Jesus the Oracle from Capernaum to Jerusalem
Chapter Seven: Conclusion
Bibliography
Selected Primary Sources
Selected List of Papyri, Ostraca, Inscriptions, Coins, and Images
Mark's Gospel. Roman Egypt. Second-Third Century. Oracular Culture. Working with these elements, Annelies Gisela Moeser constructs the possible reception of Mark's Gospel in second-third century, Roman Egypt from the perspective of oracular culture. Sensitive to the dynamics of cultural-imperial society, social status, and gender, Moeser's creative method and rich reading provide insight into both Mark's Gospel and a somewhat elusive sphere and era of the early Jesus movement. -- Warren Carter, Phillips Theological Seminary