Pub Date : 2018-10-03DOI: 10.1163/9789004386860_015
Wesley Dingman
The patristic appropriation of the golden calf incident is paradoxical. On the one hand, some Christian authors employ the golden calf to argue that the Jews have an essentially defective character: unlike Christians, they are simply unable to obey God. Their initial repudiation of Moses and ongoing rejection of Jesus bookend a history of apostasy. This first, dominant interpretation of the calf incident sees a relationship of discontinuity between Jews and Christians. It is often virulently anti-Jewish and may be regarded as a staple of Christian adversus Judaeos literature. On the other hand, other authors use the story to warn Christians. Like the ancient Hebrews, Christians have received salvation and benefited from God’s mercy. Nevertheless, they may still lose what they have gained if they lapse into apostasy. They must therefore learn from the Hebrews’ sin with the calf so as to avoid their fate. This second, subsidiary interpretation sees a relationship of continuity between Jews and Christians such that the former can teach the latter. For this reason, it may be considered pedagogical. This chapter examines the growth and development of these two parallel yet intertwined interpretations of the calf incident in the second through fifth centuries by selected Greek and Latin patristic writers.
{"title":"Anti-Judaism and Pedagogy: Greek and Latin Patristic Interpretations of the Calf Incident","authors":"Wesley Dingman","doi":"10.1163/9789004386860_015","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004386860_015","url":null,"abstract":"The patristic appropriation of the golden calf incident is paradoxical. On the one hand, some Christian authors employ the golden calf to argue that the Jews have an essentially defective character: unlike Christians, they are simply unable to obey God. Their initial repudiation of Moses and ongoing rejection of Jesus bookend a history of apostasy. This first, dominant interpretation of the calf incident sees a relationship of discontinuity between Jews and Christians. It is often virulently anti-Jewish and may be regarded as a staple of Christian adversus Judaeos literature. On the other hand, other authors use the story to warn Christians. Like the ancient Hebrews, Christians have received salvation and benefited from God’s mercy. Nevertheless, they may still lose what they have gained if they lapse into apostasy. They must therefore learn from the Hebrews’ sin with the calf so as to avoid their fate. This second, subsidiary interpretation sees a relationship of continuity between Jews and Christians such that the former can teach the latter. For this reason, it may be considered pedagogical. This chapter examines the growth and development of these two parallel yet intertwined interpretations of the calf incident in the second through fifth centuries by selected Greek and Latin patristic writers.","PeriodicalId":366177,"journal":{"name":"Golden Calf Traditions in Early Judaism, Christianity, and Islam","volume":"137 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115203519","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2018-10-03DOI: 10.1163/9789004386860_011
J. Green
Within the narrative of Luke-Acts, the (golden) calf is mentioned only once, in Stephen’s famed speech in Acts 7, where it plays a pivotal role in Stephen’s recounting of Israel’s story.1 In this chapter, I will argue that Stephen uses the calf episode in a programmatic way to counter the charges brought against him and, indeed, to redirect those charges on to those who sit in judgment over him. This will require that I attend to the nature of the indictments on the basis of which Stephen is brought before the Jerusalem council and then to the overall development of his speech. I will then be in a position to urge that Stephen uses the calf incident to speak to both charges, the one concerning his position vis-à-vis Moses and the law and the other concerning “this holy place,” the temple (Acts 6:13).
{"title":"“They Made a Calf”: Idolatry and Temple in Acts 7","authors":"J. Green","doi":"10.1163/9789004386860_011","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004386860_011","url":null,"abstract":"Within the narrative of Luke-Acts, the (golden) calf is mentioned only once, in Stephen’s famed speech in Acts 7, where it plays a pivotal role in Stephen’s recounting of Israel’s story.1 In this chapter, I will argue that Stephen uses the calf episode in a programmatic way to counter the charges brought against him and, indeed, to redirect those charges on to those who sit in judgment over him. This will require that I attend to the nature of the indictments on the basis of which Stephen is brought before the Jerusalem council and then to the overall development of his speech. I will then be in a position to urge that Stephen uses the calf incident to speak to both charges, the one concerning his position vis-à-vis Moses and the law and the other concerning “this holy place,” the temple (Acts 6:13).","PeriodicalId":366177,"journal":{"name":"Golden Calf Traditions in Early Judaism, Christianity, and Islam","volume":"15 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"124349060","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2018-10-03DOI: 10.1163/9789004386860_008
G. Sterling
{"title":"When Silence Is Golden: The Omission of the Golden Calf Story in Josephus","authors":"G. Sterling","doi":"10.1163/9789004386860_008","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004386860_008","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":366177,"journal":{"name":"Golden Calf Traditions in Early Judaism, Christianity, and Islam","volume":"84 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"126268301","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2018-10-03DOI: 10.1163/9789004386860_014
Devorah Schoenfeld
{"title":"“A Good Argument to Penitents”: Sin and Forgiveness in Midrashic Interpretations of the Golden Calf","authors":"Devorah Schoenfeld","doi":"10.1163/9789004386860_014","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004386860_014","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":366177,"journal":{"name":"Golden Calf Traditions in Early Judaism, Christianity, and Islam","volume":"126 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"124204762","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2018-10-03DOI: 10.1163/9789004386860_018
Michael E. Pregill
{"title":"“A Calf, a Body that Lows”: The Golden Calf from Late Antiquity to Classical Islam","authors":"Michael E. Pregill","doi":"10.1163/9789004386860_018","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004386860_018","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":366177,"journal":{"name":"Golden Calf Traditions in Early Judaism, Christianity, and Islam","volume":"9 8","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"114085847","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2018-10-03DOI: 10.1163/9789004386860_005
Richard J. Bautch
{"title":"The Golden Calf in the Historical Recitals of Nehemiah 9 and Psalm 106","authors":"Richard J. Bautch","doi":"10.1163/9789004386860_005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004386860_005","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":366177,"journal":{"name":"Golden Calf Traditions in Early Judaism, Christianity, and Islam","volume":"25 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125026943","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2018-10-03DOI: 10.1163/9789004386860_002
R. Vito
{"title":"The Calf Episodes in Exodus and Deuteronomy: A Study in Inner-Biblical Interpretation","authors":"R. Vito","doi":"10.1163/9789004386860_002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004386860_002","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":366177,"journal":{"name":"Golden Calf Traditions in Early Judaism, Christianity, and Islam","volume":"20 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127874820","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2018-10-03DOI: 10.1163/9789004386860_017
A. J. Hayes
{"title":"The Incident of the Golden Calf in Pre-Islamic Syriac Authors","authors":"A. J. Hayes","doi":"10.1163/9789004386860_017","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004386860_017","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":366177,"journal":{"name":"Golden Calf Traditions in Early Judaism, Christianity, and Islam","volume":"67 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"126272076","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2018-10-03DOI: 10.1163/9789004386860_007
T. H. Tobin
{"title":"Philo of Alexandria’s Interpretations of the Episode of the Golden Calf","authors":"T. H. Tobin","doi":"10.1163/9789004386860_007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004386860_007","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":366177,"journal":{"name":"Golden Calf Traditions in Early Judaism, Christianity, and Islam","volume":"241 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132643404","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2018-10-03DOI: 10.1163/9789004386860_012
E. F. Mason
{"title":"Traces of the Golden Calf in the Epistle to the Hebrews","authors":"E. F. Mason","doi":"10.1163/9789004386860_012","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004386860_012","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":366177,"journal":{"name":"Golden Calf Traditions in Early Judaism, Christianity, and Islam","volume":"28 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"121325890","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}