“But Their Faces Were All Looking Up”: Author and Reader in the Protevangelium of James

Description

This study of the Protevangelium of James explores the interrelationship of authors, readers, texts, and meaning. Its central aim is to better understand how the process of repetition gave rise to the narratives of the early Christian movement, and how that process continued to fuel the creativity and imagination of future generations. Divided into three parts, Vanden Eykel addresses first specific episodes in the life of the Virgin, consisting of Mary’s childhood in the Jerusalem temple (PJ 7-9), her spinning thread for the temple veil (PJ 10-12), and Jesus' birth in a cave outside Bethlehem (PJ 17-20). Cover Title Copyright Contents Preface and Acknowledgments Abbreviations and Acronyms Introduction The Author The Hypothetical Reader The Intertextual Canon Procedure Chapter 1. The Protevangelium of James: A History of Readings 1.1 The “Rediscovery” of PJ 1.2 An Overview of the Contents of PJ 1.3 Status quaestionis 1.3.1 Critical Edition 1.3.2 Provenance 1.3.3 Date and Sources 1.3.4 A Literary Unity? 1.3.5 Structure 1.4 Genre and Relationship to the New Testament 1.5 Conclusion Chapter 2. Author, Reader, And Ancient Meanings 2.1 Intertextuality—Peril and Promise 2.1.1 Origins of Intertextuality 2.1.2 Intertextuality in Biblical Studies 2.1.3 Suggesting a Way Forward 2.2 The Role of the Author and Authorial Intent 2.2.1 Meaning vs. Significance 2.2.2 The Possibility of Unintended Meaning? 2.2.3 In Search of the Author’s Meaning 2.3 The Identity and Role of the Reader 2.3.1 Literacy and Readers in Antiquity 2.3.2 The Hypothetical Reader—Three Models 2.3.3 Determining the Identity of the Reader 2.4 Defining the Intertextual Canon 2.4.1 Discovering the Cultural Encyclopedia 2.4.2 Criteria for the Detection of Echoes 2.4.3 Intertexts, Layering, and the Literal Sense 2.5 Conclusion Chapter 3. The Temple in the Temple (PJ 7–9) 3.1 Introductory Matter 3.2 The Author and the Text 3.2.1 Ignorance of Temple Practice 3.2.2 Indication of Purity 3.2.3 Insurance/Preservation of Purity 3.3 Literary Analysis of PJ 7–9 3.3.1 Mary as Sacrificial Offering 3.3.2 Nine Years in the Temple 3.3.3 The “Marriage” to Joseph 3.4 The Reader and the Intertextual Canon 3.4.1 Miraculous Feedings 3.4.2 Dancing in the HB/LXX and Early Christian Literature 3.4.3 Dancing and the Gods 3.5 Conclusion Chapter 4. The Virgin, The Spinner (PJ 10–12) 4.1 Introductory Matter 4.2 The Author and the Text 4.2.1 Spinning as Apologetic/Encomiastic 4.2.2 Historical Peculiarities 4.2.3 Alleged Interpolations 4.3 Literary Analysis of PJ 10–12 4.3.1 The Virgin Spinner 4.3.2 Annunciation 4.3.3 Elizabeth and the High Priest 4.4 The Reader and the Intertextual Canon 4.4.1 The Moirae 4.4.2 The velum scissum 4.4.3 The Epistle to the Hebrews 4.5 Conclusion Chapter 5. The Cave and the Cross (PJ 17–20) 5.1 Introductory Matter 5.2 The Author and the Text 5.2.1 The Cave-Birth Tradition 5.2.2 Shift to First-Person Narration 5.2.3 Salome 5.3 Literary Analysis of PJ 17–20 5.3.1 The Journey from Bethlehem and the Suspension of Time 5.3.2 The Theophany at the Cave 5.3.3 Salome and the Midwife 5.4 The Reader and the Intertextual Canon 5.4.1 Cave-Births in Greek and Roman Literature and Legend 5.4.2 Caves in the HB/LXX 5.4.3 Passion Narratives 5.5 Conclusion Conclusions Bibliography Reference Works Primary Sources Secondary Sources Index of Subjects Index of Authors Index of Sources