Sight and Blindness in Luke-Acts

The Use of Physical Features in Characterization
Erscheinungsjahr 2008
ISBN: 978-90-04-16535-9
Verlag: Brill

Buch, Englisch, Band 94, 226 Seiten, Format (B × H): 165 mm x 244 mm, Gewicht: 522 g

Reihe: Biblical Interpretation Series

The ancient world often thought in terms of physiognomics—the idea that character can be discerned by studying outward, physical features. That physical descriptions carry moral freight in characterization has been largely missed in modern biblical scholarship, and this study brings that to the forefront. Specifically, this is a study of one particular physical marker—blindness. When we look at Greco-Roman literature, a kind of literary topos begins to emerge, a set of assumptions that ancient audiences would typically make when encountering blind characters. Luke-Acts makes use of such a topos in a way that becomes programmatic, serving as a kind of interpretive key to Luke-Acts that is generally unnoticed in modern scholarship.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Hartsock, Chad

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Christentum, Christliche Theologie Bibelwissenschaften Bibelwissenschaften: Sachbuch, Erbauung, Didaktik

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Chapter One: Introduction

Methodology

Outline of Chapters

Chapter Two: An Introduction to Physiognomy

Physiognomy Defined: Its History and Practice

Introducing the Sources—Handbooks on Physiognomy

The Methods of the Physiognomists

Physiognomy in Practice: Examples in Ancient Literature

Conclusion

Chapter Three: Eyes, Sight, and Blindness:

Learning to See with Physiognomic Eyes

Disability in the Greco-Roman World

The Eyes: Window to the Soul

Blindness in Greco-Roman Literature: Developing a Topos

Examples of Blindness in Greco-Roman Literature

Conclusion

Chapter Four: Physiognomy and Blindness in the Old Testament
and Second Temple Judaism

Linking Physiognomy to the Old Testament

Examples of Physiognomy in the Old Testament
and Second Temple Judaism

Blindness in the Jewish Writings

Conclusion

Chapter Five: Physiognomy and Blindness in the New Testament
and Other Early Christian Literature

Examples of Physiognomy in the NT
and Other Early Christian Literature

Examples of Blindness in the NT and Other Early Christian Literature

Conclusion

Chapter Six: Physiognomy and Blindness in Luke-Acts

Physiognomy in Luke-Acts

Blindness in Luke-Acts

Chapter Seven: Conclusion

Bibliography

Über Autor(innen)

J. Chad Hartsock, Ph.D. (2007) in Biblical Studies, Baylor University, is a Teaching Fellow at Baylor University and George W. Truett Theological Seminary at Baylor University. This is his first publication.