Theology

When law becomes divine: Lida Leonie Panov explores the origins of divine law, examines the tension between God, law, and kingship, and highlights the role of priestly scribes and the intertwining of law and religion in ancient Israel and Judah.

Since the second century, the eunuchs of Matthew 19:12 have been read as a figure for celibacy. Ian Kinman challenges this consensus: drawing on first- and second-century literature, he argues that Matthew presents eunuchs not as models of discipleship but as an anti-type - those who remain »withered« in the face of the kingdom's demands.

How did Christian communities across time and space engage with religious others? Informed by current debates on global history, the studies in this volume cover Eastern and Western Christian traditions stretching from the second to the twentieth century and portray Christianity as a fluid, relational, and globally entangled religion.

The contributors examine how wisdom traditions - from Amenemope and the Septuagint through Second Temple literature - shape New Testament theology, ethics, and communal identity. Seventeen essays trace wisdom motifs across the Gospels, Acts, the Pauline and Johannine literature, James, and Hebrews.