Did Ancients Know the Testaments Were Pseudepigraphic?: Implications for 2 Peter
Richard Bauckham argues for the pseudonymity of 2 Peter on the basis of its genre. He argues that 2 Peter was written as a "testament" of Peter, and since other ancient Jewish testaments are clearly pseudonymous, 2 Peter’s testamental genre indicates its pseudonymity. Moreover, since it wa...
| Authors: | ; |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Eisenbrauns
2020
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| In: |
Bulletin for biblical research
Year: 2020, Volume: 30, Issue: 3, Pages: 403-423 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Bible. Petrusbrief 2.
/ Testaments of the twelve patriarchs
/ Pseudepigrapha
/ Pseudepigraphy
/ Authorship
/ Kind
/ Will
|
| IxTheo Classification: | HC New Testament |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Richard Bauckham argues for the pseudonymity of 2 Peter on the basis of its genre. He argues that 2 Peter was written as a "testament" of Peter, and since other ancient Jewish testaments are clearly pseudonymous, 2 Peter’s testamental genre indicates its pseudonymity. Moreover, since it was well known in antiquity that the testaments were pseudonymous, those who wrote them did not intend to deceive. Petrine authorship of 2 Peter is thus, in Bauckham’s words, a "transparent fiction." But did ancients know the testaments were pseudepigraphic? Bauckham provides no evidence. He only suggests that the pseudonymity of the testaments is so obvious that it was "self-evident." The authors of this paper examined ancient authors who cited material from the testaments or testamental-type material. They found no evidence the authors or their audiences knew the testaments were pseudepigraphic. Rather, they appear to cite the testamentary material as authentic, reliable, even authoritative material. |
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| ISSN: | 2576-0998 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Bulletin for biblical research
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.5325/bullbiblrese.30.3.0403 |