Sacred Tradition in the New Testament: Tracing Old Testament Themes in the Gospels and Epistles

by Stanley E. Porter

Publisher:

Baker Academic

, 2016

Overview

Leading biblical scholar Stanley Porter critiques the state of research regarding the New Testament’s use of the Old Testament and sacred traditions. He provides needed orientation for readers interested in New Testament references to themes such as “son of man” and “suffering servant” as well as the faith of Abraham and the Passover. Porter explains that examining scriptural traditions is fundamental to understanding central ideas in the New Testament regarding Jesus. He sheds light on major themes in New Testament Christology and soteriology, offering fresh, constructive proposals.

Key Features

• Explores the larger question of the use of sacred tradition in the New Testament
• Describes the background, methods, and terms of the discussion of sacred tradition
• Focuses on how this tradition informs our knowledge of Jesus

Contents

Part 1: Background, Method, and Terminology

• Background to Discussion of Sacred Tradition
• Method and Terminology in Discussion of Sacred Tradition

Part 2: Jesus and Sacred Tradition

• Daniel 7:13 and the Son of Man
• Isaiah 42-53 and the Suffering Servant
• The Son of God and the Messiah and Jesus

Part 3: The Gospels and Sacred Tradition

• Exodus 12 and the Passover Theme in John
• Psalm 22 and the Passion of Jesus

Part 4: The Epistles and Sacred Tradition

• Genesis 15:6 in Paul and James
• Esau in Romans and Hebrews, by Bryan R. Dyer
• “Jesus Christ” in Paul’s Letters

Praise for the Print Edition

Stanley Porter’s Sacred Tradition in the New Testament brings much-needed nuance and definition to a very important phenomenon in New Testament literature, especially with reference to the popular but often ill-defined term intertextuality. Porter not only clarifies the relevant vocabulary and methods, but he also discusses several important texts and themes that relate to Jesus, his self-understanding, and the Christology that comes to expression in the New Testament. Anyone interested in the topic will want to engage this carefully researched and well-written book.

—Craig A. Evans, John Bisagno Distinguished Professor of Christian Origins, Houston Baptist University

Porter leads us into a fresh and stimulating understanding of the New Testament’s appropriation of the sacred traditions of Israel’s Scriptures. This is more than just another book on the New Testament’s use of the Old. Porter’s decision to focus on the titles of Jesus and broad themes makes the book practically a miniature New Testament theology, with the great virtue of helping us perceive the rich unity of the Bible. This is a book that deserves, and will reward, a thoughtful reading.

—Donald A. Hagner, George Eldon Ladd Professor Emeritus of New Testament, Fuller Theological Seminary

This collection of essays engages a perennial issue within the field of New Testament studies: the relationship of the earliest Christian literature to the heritage of its sacred traditions. In critical dialogue with recent scholarship, Porter clarifies the tricky methodological issues of how the New Testament cites, alludes to, and echoes scriptural texts. His insightful but provocative findings about the use of certain traditional texts and images by early Christians and by Jesus himself will no doubt stimulate further significant scholarly debate.

—Harold W. Attridge, Sterling Professor of Divinity, Yale Divinity School

Product Details

• Title: Sacred Tradition in the New Testament: Tracing Old Testament Themes in the Gospels and Epistles
• Author: Stanley E. Porter
• Publisher: Baker
• Publication Date: 2016
• Pages: 336
• Resource Type: Biblical Theology
• Topic: Old Testament in the New

About Stanley E. Porter

Stanley E. Porter, PhD, University of Sheffield, has taught for more than 30 years in post-secondary institutions in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. He is a Greek and New Testament expert, and, since 2001, has been the president, dean, and professor of New Testament at McMaster Divinity College. He's best known for his works on verbal aspects in New Testament Greek, is actively involved in OpenText.org and the Linguistics Institute of Ancient and Biblical Greek, and is a regular columnist for Christian Week.

Porter is the author or editor of numerous New Testament and Greek studies, including Idioms of the Greek New Testament, Discourse Analysis and the New Testament: Approaches and Results, and Dictionary of New Testament Background. He has edited over 80 volumes and authored 28 books on various New Testament and related topics, including How We Got the New Testament: Text, Transmission, Translation, and The Gospel of John in Modern Interpretation. Plus, he's published more than 450 journal articles, chapters in books, and dictionary entries and regularly speaks at major conferences and other venues around the world.

His interests include Greek language and linguistics, hermeneutics and various methods of interpretation, and a range of New Testament studies from the Gospels to John to Acts to Paul. He is also a papyrological and text-oriented research specialist and is interested in the wider Greco-Roman world. Outside of academia, Stanley has served in young adult ministry and has assisted in developing a lay training institute for the local church.