The Political Issue of the Ascension of Isaiah: A Response to Enrico Norelli

Enrico Norelli argued in 2003 that the references to martyrdom in the Ascension of Isaiah are symbolic rather than actual. This article challenges his reliance on the Mishnah in support of the assertion that Isaiah dies as a martyr in the contest between true and false prophecy in the second-century...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Knight, Jonathan 1959- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Sage 2013
In: Journal for the study of the New Testament
Year: 2013, Volume: 35, Issue: 4, Pages: 355-379
Further subjects:B Apocalypticism
B Ascension of Isaiah
B Antioch
B Ignatius
B Martyrdom
B compensatory fantasy
B Eschatology
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Parallel Edition:Electronic
Description
Summary:Enrico Norelli argued in 2003 that the references to martyrdom in the Ascension of Isaiah are symbolic rather than actual. This article challenges his reliance on the Mishnah in support of the assertion that Isaiah dies as a martyr in the contest between true and false prophecy in the second-century church. It argues that the progress of thought in chs. 1–5 suggests that martyrdom is more obviously an actual and recent feature of the authors’ experience than a merely symbolic entity. The martyrdom of Ignatius is further considered in this context. This result is the insistence that the Ascension of Isaiah has a strong ‘political’ dimension in both of its halves. Such evidence must be inserted into the evaluation of the emerging Christian movement, not least in its response to both Jews and the Romans as factors external to, yet bearing on, the church, at the time of writing.
ISSN:1745-5294
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal for the study of the New Testament
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1177/0142064X13481411