Seon Yong Kim | University of Chicago (original) (raw)

Seon Yong Kim

Ph.D. in New Testament and early Christian literature, University of Chicago Divinity School (2016).

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Books by Seon Yong Kim

Research paper thumbnail of Curse Motifs in Galatians: An Investigation into Paul's Rhetorical Strategies WUNT II/531 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2020).

Papers by Seon Yong Kim

Research paper thumbnail of 마가복음은 βίος인가?: 헬렌 본드의 The First Biography of Jesus에 대한 분석과 평가(Is the Gospel of Mark a βίος? An Analysis and Critical Evaluation of Helen Bond’s The First Biography of Jesus)

신약논단(Korean New Testament Studies), 2023

Research paper thumbnail of They Risked Their Necks for My Life: Toward Comparing Pauline Assemblies and Epicurean Communities With Regard to Communal Ethics

Korea Presbyterian Journal of Theology, 2020

Research paper thumbnail of A Brief Note on the Allusions to Jeremiah in Galatians(갈라디아서 속의 예레미야서의 반향에 대한 예비적 고찰)

Korean New Testament Studies(신약논단), 2020

Research paper thumbnail of God’s “Handing Over” as a Divine Curse: A New Reading of the παραδιδόναι Clause in Romans 1:24, 26, 28

Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft, 2021

Attempts to unravel the thrice-repeated παραδίδωμι clause in Rom 1:18-32 have been surprisingly f... more Attempts to unravel the thrice-repeated παραδίδωμι clause in Rom 1:18-32 have been surprisingly few. Against several interpreters who see God's παραδιδόναι to be basically permissive or abandoning, the present essay seeks to show that reading the passage in light of ancient binding curses, where the verb παραδίδωμι was extensively employed as a terminus technicus, generates a cogent grasp of the text with regard to the tenor and discursive logic of Rom 1:18-32. God's "handing over" is a divine cursing punishment, and the verb expresses God's direct involvement in punishment. Zusammenfassung: Überraschend selten wurde versucht, die in Röm 1,18-32 dreimal wiederholte παραδίδωμι-Formulierung zu enträtseln. Entgegen etlichen Interpreten, die Gottes παραδιδόναι grundsätzlich als Zulassung oder Preisgabe verstehen, will der vorliegende Aufsatz zeigen, dass eine Lektüre der Passage im Licht antiker Bindezauber, in denen das Verb παραδίδωμι übergreifend als ein terminus technicus erscheint, ein überzeugendes Verständnis des Textes in Bezug auf den Tonfall und die diskursive Logik von Röm 1,18-32 erzeugt. Gottes "Ausliefern" ist eine göttliche Fluchstrafe und das Verb drückt Gottes direkte Beteiligung an der Strafe aus.

Research paper thumbnail of "Reading Romans with Dio Chrysostom and Aelius Aristides: Preliminary Remarks on the Epistle’s Rhetorical Genus." Journal for the Study of the New Testament 40.1 (2017): 3-29.

The present study argues that the main content of Paul's letter to the Romans is a deliberative a... more The present study argues that the main content of Paul's letter to the Romans is a deliberative argument based on appeals to honor, which aimed at promoting mutual tolerance among Roman believers. Providing both a corroboration of, and a minor corrective to, Robert Jewett's monumental reading of Romans, this article reads Romans against the background of symbouleutic rhetoric, as attested in the orations of Dio Chrysostom and Aelius Aristides, and it seeks to shed light on the argumentative functions and nuances of each 'theological' unit for the overall flow of the argumentation in Romans. Paul elaborates upon the particular ramifications of his gospel most pertinent for addressing communal problems in the Roman congregations, namely, the transformative potential of the gospel to create a newly enabled moral agency through the indwelling spirit. Paul tries to cultivate an 'analytical stance' among the Roman believers so that they could deliberate about the best course of action with regard to the Jewish law concerning food and Sabbath.

Research paper thumbnail of "Ancient Binding Spells, Amulets, and Matt 16.18–19: Revisiting August Dell's Proposal a Century Later." New Testament Studies 62.3 (2016): 378-397.

The goal of this essay is to reopen the unfortunately unrefined but still illuminating proposal o... more The goal of this essay is to reopen the unfortunately unrefined but still illuminating proposal of August Dell a century agoa proposal to read the motif of 'bind and unbind' in Matt . against the backdrop of ancient magical conventionsand to corroborate this hypothesis with philological precision and contextualisation. The present study seeks to demonstrate how central the motif of 'bind and unbind' was to most binding spells and amulets, and how the verbs λύειν and δέειν and their cognates might have evoked the conventions of binding magic when heard in religious and ritual contexts. We see Matt . as a literary reappropriation of a typical binding spell, crafted to highlight Peter's authority to 'bind' and 'break' whatever entities he should choose. Jesus' guarantee that he/God will 'unbind' whatever target Peter 'unties' is to be understood as a clear indication that Peter is endowed with an invincible potency over every other spiritual entity, symbolised by the power to break any 'binding' spell. The security of the church against malevolent and harmful spiritual entities is further guaranteed by Christ's promise, if read in ancient binding magical conventions: Christ will give Peter the key of the kingdom of heaven so that Peter as the key-bearer may become a figure who can channel the full potency of the keyed object.

Research paper thumbnail of "Paul and the Stoic Theory of οἰκείωσις: A Response to Troels Engberg-Pedersen." Novum Testamentum 58.1 (2016): 71-91.

Three points serve as the backbone of Engberg-Pedersen's interpretation of the social kind of oik... more Three points serve as the backbone of Engberg-Pedersen's interpretation of the social kind of oikeiōsis in Stoicism: (1) rejection of the role of the cosmic nature as a normative premise in oikeiōsis;

Research paper thumbnail of Curse Motifs in Galatians: An Investigation into Paul's Rhetorical Strategies WUNT II/531 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2020).

Research paper thumbnail of 마가복음은 βίος인가?: 헬렌 본드의 The First Biography of Jesus에 대한 분석과 평가(Is the Gospel of Mark a βίος? An Analysis and Critical Evaluation of Helen Bond’s The First Biography of Jesus)

신약논단(Korean New Testament Studies), 2023

Research paper thumbnail of They Risked Their Necks for My Life: Toward Comparing Pauline Assemblies and Epicurean Communities With Regard to Communal Ethics

Korea Presbyterian Journal of Theology, 2020

Research paper thumbnail of A Brief Note on the Allusions to Jeremiah in Galatians(갈라디아서 속의 예레미야서의 반향에 대한 예비적 고찰)

Korean New Testament Studies(신약논단), 2020

Research paper thumbnail of God’s “Handing Over” as a Divine Curse: A New Reading of the παραδιδόναι Clause in Romans 1:24, 26, 28

Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft, 2021

Attempts to unravel the thrice-repeated παραδίδωμι clause in Rom 1:18-32 have been surprisingly f... more Attempts to unravel the thrice-repeated παραδίδωμι clause in Rom 1:18-32 have been surprisingly few. Against several interpreters who see God's παραδιδόναι to be basically permissive or abandoning, the present essay seeks to show that reading the passage in light of ancient binding curses, where the verb παραδίδωμι was extensively employed as a terminus technicus, generates a cogent grasp of the text with regard to the tenor and discursive logic of Rom 1:18-32. God's "handing over" is a divine cursing punishment, and the verb expresses God's direct involvement in punishment. Zusammenfassung: Überraschend selten wurde versucht, die in Röm 1,18-32 dreimal wiederholte παραδίδωμι-Formulierung zu enträtseln. Entgegen etlichen Interpreten, die Gottes παραδιδόναι grundsätzlich als Zulassung oder Preisgabe verstehen, will der vorliegende Aufsatz zeigen, dass eine Lektüre der Passage im Licht antiker Bindezauber, in denen das Verb παραδίδωμι übergreifend als ein terminus technicus erscheint, ein überzeugendes Verständnis des Textes in Bezug auf den Tonfall und die diskursive Logik von Röm 1,18-32 erzeugt. Gottes "Ausliefern" ist eine göttliche Fluchstrafe und das Verb drückt Gottes direkte Beteiligung an der Strafe aus.

Research paper thumbnail of "Reading Romans with Dio Chrysostom and Aelius Aristides: Preliminary Remarks on the Epistle’s Rhetorical Genus." Journal for the Study of the New Testament 40.1 (2017): 3-29.

The present study argues that the main content of Paul's letter to the Romans is a deliberative a... more The present study argues that the main content of Paul's letter to the Romans is a deliberative argument based on appeals to honor, which aimed at promoting mutual tolerance among Roman believers. Providing both a corroboration of, and a minor corrective to, Robert Jewett's monumental reading of Romans, this article reads Romans against the background of symbouleutic rhetoric, as attested in the orations of Dio Chrysostom and Aelius Aristides, and it seeks to shed light on the argumentative functions and nuances of each 'theological' unit for the overall flow of the argumentation in Romans. Paul elaborates upon the particular ramifications of his gospel most pertinent for addressing communal problems in the Roman congregations, namely, the transformative potential of the gospel to create a newly enabled moral agency through the indwelling spirit. Paul tries to cultivate an 'analytical stance' among the Roman believers so that they could deliberate about the best course of action with regard to the Jewish law concerning food and Sabbath.

Research paper thumbnail of "Ancient Binding Spells, Amulets, and Matt 16.18–19: Revisiting August Dell's Proposal a Century Later." New Testament Studies 62.3 (2016): 378-397.

The goal of this essay is to reopen the unfortunately unrefined but still illuminating proposal o... more The goal of this essay is to reopen the unfortunately unrefined but still illuminating proposal of August Dell a century agoa proposal to read the motif of 'bind and unbind' in Matt . against the backdrop of ancient magical conventionsand to corroborate this hypothesis with philological precision and contextualisation. The present study seeks to demonstrate how central the motif of 'bind and unbind' was to most binding spells and amulets, and how the verbs λύειν and δέειν and their cognates might have evoked the conventions of binding magic when heard in religious and ritual contexts. We see Matt . as a literary reappropriation of a typical binding spell, crafted to highlight Peter's authority to 'bind' and 'break' whatever entities he should choose. Jesus' guarantee that he/God will 'unbind' whatever target Peter 'unties' is to be understood as a clear indication that Peter is endowed with an invincible potency over every other spiritual entity, symbolised by the power to break any 'binding' spell. The security of the church against malevolent and harmful spiritual entities is further guaranteed by Christ's promise, if read in ancient binding magical conventions: Christ will give Peter the key of the kingdom of heaven so that Peter as the key-bearer may become a figure who can channel the full potency of the keyed object.

Research paper thumbnail of "Paul and the Stoic Theory of οἰκείωσις: A Response to Troels Engberg-Pedersen." Novum Testamentum 58.1 (2016): 71-91.

Three points serve as the backbone of Engberg-Pedersen's interpretation of the social kind of oik... more Three points serve as the backbone of Engberg-Pedersen's interpretation of the social kind of oikeiōsis in Stoicism: (1) rejection of the role of the cosmic nature as a normative premise in oikeiōsis;

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