The Offering of the Gentiles: Paul's Collection for Jerusalem in Its Chronological, Cultural, and Cultic Contexts

Description

Money mattered to the apostle Paul. One economic endeavor of signal importance for Paul was the monetary fund that he organized among the largely Gentile congregations of his mission for the Jewish-Christian community in Jerusalem.David J. Downs investigates this offering from a variety of angles. He begins with an attempt to piece together a relative chronological account, based primarily on information from Paul's epistles, of the apostle's fundraising efforts on behalf of the Jerusalem church. After reconstructing this complex story, Downs examines the socio-cultural context of the collection, focusing on analogous forms of giving among ancient pagan and Jewish voluntary associations, including practices of benefaction, common funds, care for the poor, and translocal economic links among these associations.With this chronological and socio-cultural context in mind, the author then explores Paul's use of several cultic metaphors to frame the contribution as a religious offering consecrated to God. Drawing on recent work in the field of metaphor theory, Downs contends that Paul metaphorically frames his readers' responsive participation in the collection as an act of cultic worship, thus underscoring the point that the fulfillment of mutual obligations within the community of believers results in praise, not human benefactors, but to God, the one from whom all benefactions come. This rhetorical strategy suggests that even the very human action of raising money for those in material need originates in "the grace ( charis) of God" and will eventuate in "thanksgiving ( charis) to God" (2 Cor 9:14-15). Cover Dedication Preface Contents Abbreviations Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 The Interpretative Context 1.1.1 The Collection as an Eschatological Event 1.1.2 The Collection as an Obligation 1.1.3 The Collection as an Ecumenical Offering 1.1.4 The Collection as Material Relief 1.2 The Present Study Chapter 2: The Chronology of the Collection 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Methodological Considerations 2.3 Galatians 2:1–10 and the Collection from Antioch 2.3.1 Galatians 2:1–10 2.3.2 Acts 11:27–30 and Assistance from Antioch 2.3.3 Conclusion 2.4 The Organization of the New Pauline Collection 2.4.1 The Collection in Galatia 2.4.2 The Collection in Corinth and Achaia 2.4.3 The Collection in Macedonia 2.4.4 The Collection in Asia 2.4.5 References to the Collection in Romans 2.5 The Book of Acts and the Delivery of the Collection 2.5.1 Introduction 2.5.2 Almsgiving in Acts 24:17 2.5.3 Conclusion 2.6 Conclusion and Implications for the Present Study Chapter 3: The Pauline Collection and Greco-Roman Voluntary Associations 3.1 Introduction: Analogies and Social Locations 3.2 The Pauline Churches and Greco-Roman Associations 3.3 Benefaction within Associations 3.3.1 Types of Benefactions 3.3.2 Honors for Benefactors 3.4 Common Funds and Monetary Collections within Associations 3.5 Care for the Poor within Associations 3.6 Translocal Economic Links among Associations 3.7 Conclusion Chapter 4: The Collection as an Act of Worship: Paul’s Cultic Rhetoric 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Methodological Considerations 4.3 First Corinthians 16:1–4: The Collection of Money as an Element of Worship in the Pauline Churches 4.4 Second Corinthians 8–9: The Collection as a Religious Offering 4.4.1 8:1–6: The Example of the Macedonians 4.4.2 8:7–12: Plea for Generous Giving 4.4.3 8:13–15: The Aim of Equality 4.4.4 8:16–24: Commendation of Delegates 4.4.5 9:1–5: Boasting and Appeal 4.4.6 9:6–10: Generosity That Comes from God 4.4.7 9:11–15: Generosity That Glorifies God 4.4.8 Conclusion 4.5 Romans 15:14–32: “The Offering of the Gentiles” 4.5.1 Introduction 4.5.2 “The Offering of the Gentiles” 4.5.3 Metaphorical Mapping 4.6 Conclusion Chapter 5: Conclusion Bibliography Primary Sources Epigraphical and Palaeographical Sources Secondary Sources Index of Ancient Sources 1. Hebrew Bible / LXX 2. New Testament 3. Early Christian Writings 4. Other Greco-Roman and Jewish Writings 5. Inscriptions and Papyri Index of Modern Authors Index of Subjects