For a Later Generation: The Transformation of Tradition in Israel, Early Judaism and Christianity (review)

Randal A. Argall, Beverly A. Bow, and Rodney A. Werline, editors. For a Later Generation:The Transformation of Tradition in Israel, Early Judaism and Christianity. Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International, 2000. Pp. xviii + 333. $40.00.

The authors who contributed to this volume for G. W. Nickelsburg pay tribute not only to his record of scholarship, but also to the sentiment he expressed in his doctoral dissertation: "As an historian, one must study the variety of theological expressions current in the primitive Church." Of course many of them pursue topics that Nickelsburg has also explored (e.g., Enochic literature), but all, as Nickelsburg has, make use of extracanonical Jewish and Christian as well as Graeco-Roman texts to illuminate the varied expressions, long since suppressed by various orthodoxies, to which Nickelsburg refers. While it is impossible in a short review to survey all of the articles, several may serve as examples of the scholarship here.

Elaine Pagels compares the exegesis of Genesis 1 found in the Gospel of Thomas, Trimorphic Protennoia, and the Odes of Solomon, with that in John 1.1-14 and finds two conflicting traditions (focusing on the primordial divine light and its link with the son of man/God), with one (John) effectively sup-pressing the other. Pagels concludes that John's exegesis opposed not only "do-cetic" and "gnostic" theologies, but also a widespread Jewish tradition holding that knowledge of God was continuously available through creation, especially with the creation of humanity (cf. Rom. 1.19).

Dennis R. MacDonald examines the similarities between Luke 24 (the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus) and Odyssey 24. MacDonald believes that the author of Luke, a well-educated Greek, created these stories himself and, using recognizable topoi, compared them with Odyssey 24 . He concludes that Luke 24 represents the supersession of Odysseus by Jesus. This was one way Jesus-followers preached his superiority over competing Graeco-Roman gods and heroes, a technique also employed by Logos theologians and Christian artists.

James F. McCue traces the development of Augustine's theodicy in the context of his exegesis of Romans 9.10-29 (predestination). Initially holding that faith was a human initiative, Augustine came to believe that both faith and works were unmerited gifts from God. McCue notes that Augustine did not teach or preach his doctrine of predestination in the years 397-412; the Pelagian controversy, with its challenge to infant baptism and petitionary prayer, was the impetus for preaching a concept he had previously reserved for scholarly study.

The following articles are important for those who are interested in the Jewish influence on Christian liturgy and prayer: "When Did They Pray: Times for Prayer in the Dead Sea Scrolls and Associated Literature" (Esther Chazon), and "Wisdom Psalms and the Shaping of the Hebrew Psalter" (J. Kenneth Kuntz). In view of the importance of the Exodus narrative for Christian baptism, John J. Collins' article on the treatment of Exodus in Hellenistic Egypt should be consulted. Robert A. Kraft examines the "two ways" traditions of Barnabas (apocalyptic) and the Didache (practical wisdom), focusing on the "binary" framework found in Judaism and its legacy to Christianity, an article of interest to those who study church orders.

A number of articles treat aspects of the Jesus traditions: William Adler discusses a legend concerning the Levitical priesthood of Christ in the Suda Lexicon; Fred Strickert examines the meaning of Jesus' "true family," according to Thomas and the Synoptics; and Norman R. Petersen believes that the rela-tionship between Elijah and John is a clue to understanding the relationship of the Son of God and Jesus as they are presented in Mark.

Each of the studies in this volume provides a window into the variegated landscape of precanonical Judaism and Christianity, reinforcing again how limiting are the orthodoxies and systems into which we try...