Old Testament Conceptual Metaphors and The Christology of Luke’s Gospel

Description

This volume sits at the intersection of three sub-fields of New Testament scholarship: early Christology, the use of Israel’s Scriptures in the New Testament, and contemporary metaphor theory. Lanier argues that the gospel of Luke employs certain conceptual metaphors reflected in Israel’s traditions – “horn of salvation,” “dawn from on high,” “mother bird gathering Jerusalem’s children,” and “crushing stone” – to portray the identity of Jesus as both an agent of salvation and, more provocatively, the one God of Israel. Putting aside issues of “low” or “high” Christology, Lanier applies insights from conceptual metaphor theory to analyse the various ways in which God and deliverer figures are conceptualized and how, in the gospel of Luke, such conceptualizations are re-mapped to Jesus. In doing so, Lanier suggests ways to overcome the “low”-“high” binary and perceive the gospel’s Christology as multi-faceted. Additionally, in applying metaphor theory to the influence of the Old Testament on Luke’s Christology, Lanier adds methodological rigor to the tracing of Old Testament influences on the New Testament in cases where standard criteria for quotations and allusions/echoes are stretched thin. Cover Title Copyright Contents Acknowledgments Notes Abbreviations Chapter 1: Introduction 1. Field of Inquiry: Studying the Christology of Luke’s Gospel 1.1. Approaches 1.2. Outlooks 2. Area of Interest: Understanding OT Influences on GLuke’s Christology 3. Methodology: Unpacking GLuke’s Christological Use of OT Metaphors 3.1. History of Metaphor Theory 3.2. Current State 3.3. Using Conceptual Metaphor Theory in this Study 3.4. Other Assumptions and Terminology 4. Summary of Objectives Chapter 2: Interpretation of the Κέρας Metaphor 1. Preliminary Questions 1.1. What Are the Relevant Background Issues for the Infancy Hymns? 1.2. What Is Being Engaged by the Use of Ἐπισκέπτομαι in the Benedictus? 1.3. What Is Luke “Quoting”? 1.4. How Has the Metaphor Been Interpreted? 1.5. Summary 2. Establishing the Conceptual Metaphors 2.1. Source Domain(s) 2.2. Source-Target Mappings and Conceptual Metaphors 3. The Κέρας Metaphor in Luke 1:68–69 3.1. A Personified Horn 3.2. Defeat of Enemies, Status, and God’s Blessing 3.3. Intimations of a Divine Horn 3.4. Summary 4. Christological Implications Chapter 3: Interpretation of the Ἀνατολή Metaphor 1. Preliminary Questions 1.1. What Is Luke “Quoting”? 1.2. Ἐπισκέψεται or Ἐπεσκέψατο? 1.3. “From God” or “From Heaven”? 1.4. Is Ἀνατολήan Allusion to Ṣemaḥ? 1.5. How Has the Metaphor Been Interpreted? 1.6. Summary 2. Establishing the Conceptual Metaphors 2.1. Source Domain 2.2. Source-Target Mappings and Conceptual Metaphors 3. The Ἀνατολή Metaphor in Luke 1:78–79 3.1. Into Darkness Shines an Agent of Salvation 3.2. Visitation/Epiphany of the Dawn from Upon High 3.3. Summary 4. Christological Implications Chapter 4: Interpretation of theὌρνις Metaphor 1. Preliminary Questions 1.1. What Is Luke “Quoting”? 1.2. How Has the Metaphor Been Interpreted? 1.3. Is the “Mother Bird” a Wisdom/Sophia 1.4. Summary 2. Establishing the Conceptual Metaphors 2.1. Source Domain(s) 2.2. Source-Target Mappings and Conceptual Metaphors 3. The Ὄρνις Metaphor in Luke 13:34 3.1. Mother Jerusalem 3.2. Gathering Jerusalem’s Children 3.3. Refusal of the Gathering 3.4. Summary 4. Christological Implications Chapter 5: Interpretation of the Λίθος Metaphors 1. Preliminary Questions 1.1. What Is Luke “Quoting”? 1.2. How Have the Metaphors Been Interpreted? 1.3. Summary 2. Establishing the Conceptual Metaphors 2.1. Source Domain 2.2. Source-Target Mappings and Conceptual Metaphors 3. The Λίθος Metaphors in Luke 20:17–18 3.1. Rejection of the King-Stone 3.2. Divine Judgment as an Encounter with the “Crushing Stone” 3.3. Summary 4. Christological Implications Chapter 6: Conclusion 1. Summary of Results 1.1. Luke 1:68–69:Κέρας Metaphor 1.2. Luke 1:78–79: Ἀνατολή Metaphor 1.3. Luke 13:34: Ὄρνις Metaphor 1.4. Luke 20:17–18: Λίθος Metaphors 2. Divine Metaphors and Christology 2.1. God Is…horn, dawn, mother bird, stone-rock 2.2. Divine Identity Christology 2.3. Divine and Human Christology? 3. Closing Remarks Bibliography Index of References Index of Authors