HilastēRion (Rom. 3:25) and the Union of Divine Justice and Mercy. Part I: The Convergence of Temple and Martyrdom Theologies
The meaning of ἱλαστήριον in Rom. 3:25 continues to be debated. This study favours the ‘mercy seat’ interpretation but also proposes a new way to conceive how temple and martyrdom theologies might have converged in Paul’s theology. Previous scholarship proposed a convergence through the generic conc...
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Oxford University Press
[2019]
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| In: |
The journal of theological studies
Year: 2019, Volume: 70, Issue: 1, Pages: 69-109 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Bible. Römerbrief 3,25
/ Greek language
/ Noun
/ Hilastērion
/ Temple (Jerusalem)
/ Atoning death
/ Bible. Makkabäer 2.
/ Makkabäer (Book) 4. 17,21-22
/ Martyrdom
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| IxTheo Classification: | HB Old Testament HC New Testament HD Early Judaism NBK Soteriology NBM Doctrine of Justification |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Resolving-System) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | The meaning of ἱλαστήριον in Rom. 3:25 continues to be debated. This study favours the ‘mercy seat’ interpretation but also proposes a new way to conceive how temple and martyrdom theologies might have converged in Paul’s theology. Previous scholarship proposed a convergence through the generic concept of Christ as sacrificial victim. The lexical evidence does not support such a view. Rather, for Paul Christ is ‘the place of atonement’ where divine justice and mercy meet. Part 1 lays the groundwork. In the priestly theology the sin offering purifies the temple, preventing a ‘build-up’ of sin and God’s departure in wrath, leading to death (a manifestation of divine justice), and also serves as a ransom (divine mercy) for those who would otherwise be ‘cut off’ for violating the temple. In the Old Testament the כַּפֹּרֶת on the Day of Atonement is the place of atonement par excellence. In 2 Maccabees the martyrs bear the death due the whole people for their sins (divine justice) and serve as a ransom for the people (divine mercy). Martyrdom is interpreted within a narrative framework centring on divine neglect and care for the temple. The conceptual parallelism between temple and martyrdom theologies enabled their convergence. |
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| ISSN: | 1477-4607 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: The journal of theological studies
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1093/jts/fly166 |