Translating the New Testament: Text, Translation, Theology by Stanley E. Porter & Mark J. Boda

Author:Stanley E. Porter & Mark J. Boda [Porter, Stanley E. & Boda, Mark J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Theology, New Testament, Christian Books & Bibles, New Testament Greek, Bible Study & Reference, Bible Study, New Testament Study, Criticism & Interpretation, Exegesis & Hermeneutics, Religion & Spirituality
Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Published: 2009-09-13T21:00:00+00:00

Paul, the Servant and the Septuagint

On two occasions, Paul cites material from the Fourth Servant Song (Isa 52:15 = Rom 15:21; Isa 53:1 = Rom 10:16). In addition, at least one probable allusion has been noted (Isa 53:12 = Rom 4:25). There is also a third way in which Paul and other early Christian writers draw on scripture.36 Citation explicitly refers back to the scriptural text. Allusion does so implicitly; in a strong allusion, the reader or hearer must recognize the reference to the underlying text in order to grasp the full force of the new statement. Yet it is also possible for scripture to function even without this explicit or implicit backward reference. A scriptural text can serve as a lexical and semantic resource or reservoir from which terms, phrases, or concepts can be freely drawn and adapted to new uses. Fully embedded in their new contexts, they do not draw attention to their scriptural origin; and yet the scriptural impact on the new context may be at least as profound here as in the case of citations and allusions. In the case of Isaiah 53, the claims that Christ died “for us” or “for our sins,” that he was “given up” and that he “humbled himself,” and that all this took place for the benefit of “the many” are all apparently derived from this chapter. These claims are Pauline, but they may also be traced back to the common tradition of Hellenistic Christianity. An obvious locus for such a tradition is the church at Antioch, where Isaiah in its Septuagintal form was presumably familiar, and where Paul himself would have participated in the early process of tradition formation.37

Before pursuing this early use of Isaiah 53 any further, there is a preliminary matter to be discussed. It is currently debated whether Paul’s citations retain links with their original scriptural contexts, or whether they are wholly integrated into their new contexts.38 This debate is relevant here because Paul’s citations from the Fourth Servant Song both relate to Christian mission, and it might be argued that they need not entail any identification of the servant with Christ.39 To refute that argument, it must be shown that the two citations retain links with the scriptural story of the servant from which they have been extracted.

In the first case, Paul uses his citation to confirm the assertion that “not all believed the gospel” and to establish the link between faith and hearing:

But not all believed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who believed our report [τίς ἐπίστευσεν τῇ ἀκοῇ ἡμῶν]?” So faith comes from hearing [ἡ πίστις ἐξ ἀκοῆς], and hearing through the word of Christ. (Rom 10:16–17, citing Isa 53:1)

In the second citation, Paul says that his ambition is

to preach the gospel where Christ is not named, lest I should build on another’s foundation; but, as it is written, “Those to whom it was not announced concerning him shall see, and those who have not heard will understand.” (Rom 15:20–21, citing Isa 52:15)

The two citations form a contrasting pair.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.