This paper discusses ways in which NT scholarship can engage meaningfully with contemporary studies in Greco-Roman culture, using recent archaeological exploration in Galilee as samples of such a strategy. Three examples are discussed, dealing respectively with aspects of Hellenisation, Judaisation and Romanisation of the region. These illustrate how specific finds can be brought into dialogue with the literary evidence, providing fresh readings. Such approaches, which recall earlier debates between the Religionsgeschichtliche Schule and the Biblical Theology Movement, raise the issue of how NT scholarship can still be regarded as theological in its aims and objectives. Some tentative answers to this perennial question are offered by way of conclusion.

Le présent article montre l'importance de μονογενης, attribué au Christ dans la tradition johannique et propose une hypothèse sur l'évolution de la signification de cette désignation christologique. La tradition première s'appuie sur le kèrygme initial de l'envoi Fils unique dans le monde destiné à manifester l'amour du Père (Jn 3.16–17; 1 Jn 4.9). L'école johannique en conclut à la nécessité inéluctable de la foi au Nom du Fils de Dieu (Jn 3.18). Placé en tête de l'évangile par l'ultime rédaction johannique, le Prologue confesse la divinité du Fils unique dans sa gloire et le proclame ‘Dieu Monogène’ (Jn 1.14, 18). La communauté johannique aura ainsi largement contribué à valoriser la portée christo-logique et théo-logique de μονογενης. Le choix de cette désignation témoigne en tous les cas d'un ‘monothéisme ouvert’ et en recherche d'expression adéquate.

Paulus wird mehrheitlich als weiterer Exponent einer frühchristlichen Tempel- oder Tempelkultkritik neben Jesus und dem Stephanuskreis betrachtet, obwohl er in seinen Briefen niemals eine direkte Kritik formuliert. In der Forschung verbindet sich mit dieser Annahme die These einer Opposition, weitergehend auch die einer Substitution des Herodianischen Tempels durch Christus oder durch die Gemeinde. Demgegenüber möchte dieser Beitrag aufzeigen, dass Paulus auch als Apostel, etwa in der Ablegung eines Nasiräats, Möglichkeiten der Tempelfrömmigkeit wahrnimmt und dass er angefangen von der Verwendung der Tempelmetapher in der Korintherkorrespondenz (1 Kor 3.16; 6.19; 2 Kor 6.16) bis hin zum Missionskonzept des Römerbriefs (Röm 15.16) eine positive Zuordnung auch der Heidenchristen zum Tempel sucht.

This article seeks a fresh answer to the difficult question of the meaning of the phrase τα στοιχεια του κοσμου in Gal 4.3. The answer is sought by paying close attention to (1) the argumentative context of Paul's use of the phrase in the letter (he posits some sort of equivalence between the veneration of τα στοιχεια του κοσμου and the observance of the Law; he does so for contextually relevant theological and rhetorical reasons), and (2) the cultural-historical context of the addressees, the Gentile believers in Galatia (τα στοιχεια are ‘the gods’ they once venerated; this veneration involved calendrical observances).

Instructions given to the ‘older’ and ‘younger’ in some early Christian texts prompt inquiry into the rationale for this polarity and its ideological freight. Demographics suggest that the adult population rarely contained more than two generations, and comparative study indicates that where age was marked these categories usually sufficed. Their ambiguity and flexibility made them suited to ideological deployment, legitimating the power of the ‘older’. 1 Peter, 1 Clement, the Pastorals, and Polycarp demonstrate this phenomenon in early Christianity, with 1 Tim 4.12 and Ignatius Mag. 3.1 as exceptions that prove the rule. But why are age qualifications absent from the authentic Paulines?

If we take the address of James ‘to the twelve tribes in the diaspora’ seriously and conclude that James represents itself as a letter to Diaspora Judaeans, it becomes easier to account for the fact that James lacks references to most of the beliefs and practices distinctive of the Jesus movement. In that case, James is framed as a letter written to an outsider, much like 4QMMT, in which the (fictive) writer must construct ethos not by reference to special revelations or qualifications of the writer, which would hold no sway with the fictive recipient, but by appeal to exemplary figures of Israel's epic history, in particular Solomon.