Presbyters in Early Christianity and Its Contexts

This is the third book in a series of volumes on leadership in the Early Church after Deacons and Diakonia in Early Christianity (WUNT II/479; 2018) and Deacons and Diakonia in Late Antiquity (WUNT II/606; 2024). The contributors to this volume offer an extensive investigation into the identity and function of presbyters in early Christianity, with particular attention to the first and second centuries CE. They examine the term πρεσβύτερος in its linguistic, religious, and cultural contexts. Instead of a single interpretive framework, they seek to generate a multifaceted account grounded in detailed readings of primary sources.
The authors first explore the Old Testament background, focusing on the zaqenim and their renderings in the Septuagint. Then, they consider presbuteroi within late Jewish literature, Hellenistic writings, and inscriptions. Thirdly, they investigate New Testament usage and the implications for early Christian community structures and finally turn to second- and early third-century Christian texts, tracing the discussion through to Tertullian.
All contributions are guided by a shared set of questions regarding identity, role, plurality, gender, social setting, remuneration, and related leadership terminology. The methodological breadth is intentional: philological analysis is combined with historical and cultural approaches. In the concluding reflection, Frances Young connects the ancient figure of the presbyter with broader themes of wisdom, guidance, and pastoral responsibility. Together, the contributors illuminate the complexity of early Christian leadership and provide a nuanced understanding of presbyterial authority in its formative stages.

Introduction - Bart J. Koet/Edwina Murphy/Murray J. Smith: 1. Presbyters, Not Priests: The Early Church and Its Contexts

Old Testament
Katherine Davis: 2. Zaqenim in the Torah - Gregory Goswell: 3. Zaqenim in the Former Prophets, Chronicles, and Ezra-Nehemiah - Archibald L. H. M. van Wieringen: 4. Zaqenim in the Latter Prophets - Susan Docherty: 5. Presbuteroi in the Septuagint

Jewish and Greco-Roman Background
Albert Hogeterp: 6. Zaqenim in the Qumran Text - Lydia Gore-Jones: 7. Sages as Elders in 4 Ezra and 2 Baruch - Gregory E. Sterling: 8. When the Younger is the Older: Presbuteros in Philo of Alexandria - Lyn M. Kidson: 9. Elders in Documentary Sources - Arco den Heijer: 10. Presbuteroi in Greek and Roman Prose Literature from the Turn of the Eras - Michael P. Theophilos: 11. Presbuteroi in Light of Numismatic Inscriptional Evidence

New Testament
Gudrun Guttenberger: 12. Presbuteroi in the Gospel of Mark - Bart J. Koet: 13. Presbuteroi in the Writings of Flavius Josephus and in Luke-Acts: Acts 20:17-35 Revisited - Murray J. Smith: 14. Presbuteroi in Paul's Letters to Timothy and Titus: God's Stewards, Entrusted with the Gospel for the Church and its Mission - Benjamin L. Merkle: 15. Presbuteroi in the Catholic Epistles - Hanna Roose: 16. Presbuteroi in the Book of Revelation: A Window into John's Ecclesiology and Eschatology

Early Church
L. L. Welborn: 17. Presbyters in First Clement - Allen Brent: 18. Presbuteroi in Ignatius - Paul F. Bradshaw: 19. Presbyters in the Apostolic Tradition - Stephen C. Carlson: 20. The Presbuteroi in Papias - Mark Grundeken: 21. Presbuteroi in the Shepherd of Hermas - Charles E. Hill: 22. Presbyters in Justin and Irenaeus - Annewies van den Hoek: 23. Presbuteroi in Clement of Alexandria - Anni Maria Laato: 24. Presbyters in Tertullian and the Passio Sanctarum Perpetuae et Felicitatis

Conclusion - Frances M. Young: Presbyters: Now and Then