Ehre Vater und Mutter

At first sight, the Fourth Commandment seems to be an unalterable foundation of biblical ethics. However it is Jesus himself who leaves his natural family and calls his disciples to start a new life, creating a new community of believers. Harry Jungbauer analyzes the meaning of the Fourth Commandment and then shows the development it takes through the texts in biblical tradition. He examines canonical texts and also ancient Oriental sources, pagan-Hellenistic authors and especially the broad spectrum of Palestinian-Jewish and Jewish-Hellenistic texts. The author presents the texts analyzed in detail in their original language and in a translation. The final chapter is an appeal to the reader to reflect on new forms of our 'social contract'. This book provides a good exegetic basis for dealing with the Fourth Commandment in school and in church.