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Dissertation Information for Sean Charles Martin

NAME:
- Sean Charles Martin

DEGREE:
- Th.D.

DISCIPLINE:
- Theology

SCHOOL:
- Pontificia Universita Gregoriana (Vatican City) (Italy) (1997)

ADVISORS:
- None

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
- None

MPACT Status: Incomplete - Inspected

Title: Pauli Testamentum: Studium secundae epistulae ad Timotheum in conspectu intertestamentariarum fabularum de ultimis verbis Moysis

Abstract: "This study examines the claim to authority in 2 Timothy, the last of the Pastoral Epistles, by comparing what purport to be Paul's last words to his disciple, Timothy, to the words reputed to have been spoken by Moses to his successors before his death. Moses was the authority par excellence in the estimation of first-century Judaism; and while what are supposed to have been his final words are found in the Book of Deuteronomy, the mysterious circumstances attending his death, and the fact that the place of his burial was otherwise unknown, occasioned the development of certain legends, found in what is called the ""rewritten Bible,"" which may be defined as those works which take as their literary framework the course of the biblical text itself and apparently have as their major purpose the clarification and actualization of the biblical narrative.

The justification for this comparison between Moses and Paul may be found in the kinds of references, both direct and indirect, which are made in 2 Timothy to the figure of Moses. The allusion to the rebellion of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram (Numbers 16:1-35) at 2 Timothy 2:19, and the mention of Jannes and Jambres at 2 Tim 3:8 introduce into the argument of 2 Timothy the direct references to the figure of Moses. The theme of challenge to the authority of the community's leader which is common to both stories is immediately relevant to the polemic against the ""teachers of the Law"" in the Pastoral Epistles. More to the point, however, the allusions set up a kind of implicit analogy between Paul, Timothy, and ""the faithful men who will be able to teach others also"" (2 Tim 2:2), on the one hand, and Moses, Aaron, and those who have received the divine commission to lead the community of faith, on the other. A series of indirect references to the figure of Moses and his successors are made in the application of certain titles to Timothy (""servant of the Lord"" at 2 Tim 2:24; ""the hand of God"" at 2 Tim 3:17), in the exhortation to ""be strong that is in the grace of Christ Jesus"" at 2 Tim 2:1), and in the manner by which Timothy is said to succeed Paul through the laying on of hands at 2 Tim 1:6. In these indirect references, as in the direct references, Paul's legitimate successor in the person of Timothy is vested with Mosaic authority.

The Paul/Moses analogy becomes further apparent when one considers the testamentary form of 2 Timothy. Most contemporary scholars have been content to assert the testamentary character of 2 Timothy without, however, exploring the implications of that literary form, nor the uses to which the testament had been put in the literary tradition, particularly in connection with the figure of Moses, specifically the propensity of authors like Josephus, Philo, and the otherwise anonymous authors of the Testament of Moses and the Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum to use the last words of Moses as a vehicle to comment on contemporary affairs. This study asserts a similar purpose for what purport to be the last words of Paul in 2 Timothy. "

MPACT Scores for Sean Charles Martin

A = 0
C = 1
A+C = 1
T = 0
G = 0
W = 0
TD = 0
TA = 0
calculated 2008-06-08 20:45:49

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