Zachary K Dawson | Regent University (original) (raw)
Videos by Zachary K Dawson
This presentation critically assesses the theological consequences that result from the prevailin... more This presentation critically assesses the theological consequences that result from the prevailing solution to the Synoptic Problem—the Two-Document Hypothesis. I begin with a historical sketch of how the Two-Document Hypothesis has influenced many of the major questions in Synoptic Gospel studies and the various critical methodologies used to address them. This overview serves to contextualize the last twenty years or so of Synoptic Gospel research and the significant works that have emerged since then. These works, whether they react against or endorse the Q hypothesis, result in a number of theological consequences for the Gospels that problematize various matters of canon and Gospel traditions. While not an indictment of the Two-Document Hypothesis itself, this article exposes the insidious nature of various approaches reliant on Q that continue to drive much of the research in Synoptic Gospel studies today.
48 views
Books by Zachary K Dawson
Linguistic Biblical Studies 27; Leiden: Brill, 2024
This collection of essays explores the rich intellectual heritage of Russian Formalism and the Pr... more This collection of essays explores the rich intellectual heritage of
Russian Formalism and the Prague School of Linguistics to illuminate
their influence on the field of biblical studies and apply their
constructive and creative potential for advancing linguistic theory,
discourse analysis, and literary interpretation of the texts of the Old and
New Testaments in their original languages.
Linguistic Biblical Studies, 2022
By applying a stylistic analysis within a systemic-functional linguistic framework, this study ar... more By applying a stylistic analysis within a systemic-functional linguistic framework, this study argues that Luke's construal of the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15 and its co-thematic passages attempt to persuade Jewish believers of Luke's audience not to separate from multi-ethnic churches, a goal that is accomplished through subverting the value orientations of a prominent Noahic tradition within Second Temple Jewish literature that promotes strict Jewish isolation from Gentiles. As a result, this study breaks fresh methodological ground in the linguistic study on the New Testament and also advances critical scholarship on the book of Acts. Readership This work is written for a scholarly audience whose interests lie in the linguistic analysis of the New Testament as well as the critical study of the book of Acts. For more information see brill.com
This third volume, like its predecessors, adds to the growing body of literature concerned with t... more This third volume, like its predecessors, adds to the growing body of literature concerned with the history of biblical interpretation. With eighteen essays on nineteen biblical interpreters, volume 3 expands the scope of scholars, both traditional and modern, covered in this now multivolume series. Each chapter provides a biographical sketch of its respective scholar(s), an overview of their major contributions to the field, explanations of their theoretical and methodological approaches to interpretation, and evaluations and applications of their methods. By focusing on the contexts in which these scholars lived and worked, these essays show what defining features qualify these scholars as "pillars" in the history of biblical interpretation. While identifying a scholar as a "pillar" is somewhat subjective, this volume defines a pillar as one who has made a distinctive contribution by using and exemplifying a clear method that has pushed the discipline forward, at least within a given context and time period. This volume is ideal for any class on the history of biblical interpretation and for those who want a greater understanding of how the field of biblical studies has developed and how certain interpreters have played a formative role in that development.
This volume is a collection of essays that applies to the book of James linguistic methods of ana... more This volume is a collection of essays that applies to the book of James linguistic methods of analysis that are based on the same theoretical framework, namely Systemic-Functional Linguistics. This volume is unique in that it provides a theoretically consistent and unified approach to a single New Testament book, which makes the whole volume useful for researchers and students of James. Each essay makes its own creative use of this linguistic perspective to engage important critical questions and to pave new ground for Jacobean scholarship based on linguistic analysis. Various topics in this volume include the textual structure and cohesion of the letter, intertextuality, rhetorical strategies, ideological struggle, interpersonal relations, and other topics related to the letter’s social context and language use.
Articles in Refereed Journals by Zachary K Dawson
Westminster Theological Journal, 2021
This article critically assesses several theological consequences that result from the prevailing... more This article critically assesses several theological consequences that result from the prevailing solution to the Synoptic Problem-the Two-Document Hypothesis. It begins with a historical sketch of how the Two-Document Hypothesis has influenced many of the major questions in Synoptic Gospel studies and the various critical methodologies used to address them. This overview serves to contextualize the last twenty years or so of Synoptic Gospel research and the significant works that have emerged since then. These works, whether they react against or endorse the Q hypothesis, result in a number of theological consequences for the Gospels that problematize various matters of canon and Gospel traditions. While not an indictment of the Two-Document Hypothesis itself, this article exposes the problematic nature of various approaches reliant on Q that continue to drive much of the research in Synoptic Gospel studies today.
Biblica, 2019
This article assesses Jenny Read-Heimerdinger’s application of discourse analysis to the problem ... more This article assesses Jenny Read-Heimerdinger’s application of discourse analysis to the problem of the two textual traditions of the book of Acts. Based on an analysis of the textual variants of the Apostolic Decree and a consideration of Jewish perspective of both traditions, this article concludes, contrary to Read-Heimerdinger, that the Alexandrian tradition is more likely to represent the original text and contains a more Jewish-oriented perspective, which calls her application of discourse analysis into question and reaffirms the primacy of the Alexandrian text.
This article challenges the argument of John Moles that Luke's preface (1.1-4) resembles a Greek ... more This article challenges the argument of John Moles that Luke's preface (1.1-4) resembles a Greek decree more than any other type of writing. Although Moles is not the first to recognise the supposed decree-like features in Luke's preface, he goes further by arguing that the preface is intentionally structured like a decree for the author's rhetorical aim. In this article, I demonstrate that Moles' argument goes too far and that Luke's preface simply displays features conventional to prefaces of historiographical writing-despite common structural patterns of preface writing and decree formulae-and is not layered with additional rhetorical meaning.
A wave of research that began in the late 1970s and culminated with Richard Burridge's What Are t... more A wave of research that began in the late 1970s and culminated with Richard Burridge's What Are the Gospels? in 1992 effectively established the consensus that the Gospels are to be classified as ancient βίοι. In this article, I respond to Burridge's work to demonstrate that his approach to genre is problematic in several ways, which calls the foundation of the current consensus into question. Following this ground clearing exercise, I articulate a way forward in how to understand the relationship between the Gospels' genre and their social purpose, which is more in keeping with modern genre theory, especially as it is envisioned by systemic-functional linguists. The last section of the article then demonstrates the potential benefits of using Systemic Functional Linguistics genre theory by means of a sample genre analysis of the Lord's Prayer in Matt 6:7-13, which demonstrates how to understand the social function of genres and opens an avenue for fresh research into the question of Gospel genres. (Article)
This essay addresses two main questions: Why does the author of Acts invoke the Noahide laws in c... more This essay addresses two main questions: Why does the author of Acts invoke the Noahide laws in chapters 15 and 21, and what is the significance of their redundancy? By implementing a methodology that makes use of intertextuality theory and literary stylistics within the framework of Systemic Functional Linguistics, this essay argues that the Noahide laws were used in first-century Jewish contexts to promote the separation of Jews and gentiles. However, the author of Acts directly opposes this Jewish social value, which is evidenced in the book of Jubilees, and establishes a new use for the Noahide laws within Christian communities, which is to promote ecumenism between Jewish and gentile believers.
Chapters in Books by Zachary K Dawson
![Research paper thumbnail of A Multi-Dimensional Model of the System of Conjunction for the Greek of the New Testament [Pre-published version]](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/117452984/thumbnails/1.jpg)
](Putting the Pieces Together: Formalizing Units and Structures in the Biblical Langagues. Edited by Stanley E. Porter, Christopher D. Land, and James D. Dvorak. McMaster New Testament Studies Series 10. Eugene, OR: Pickwick, 2024.
The Arts and the Bible, edited by Stanley E. Porter and Wendy J. Porter (McMaster New Testament Studies Series 10; Eugene, OR: Pickwick), 2024
BLS Bible and Literature Series BOSS The Biannual Online-Journal of Springsteen Studies BPCS Bibl... more BLS Bible and Literature Series BOSS The Biannual Online-Journal of Springsteen Studies BPCS Biblical Performance Criticism Series BS Bibliotheca Sacra BTB Biblical Theology Bulletin BTCB Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible Abbreviations xviii BTL Blackwell Textbooks in Linguistics CBQ Catholic Biblical Quarterly CBQMS Catholic Biblical Quarterly Monograph Series CI Critical Inquiry CLSG Christianity and Literature Study Group CSCD Cambridge Studies in Christian Doctrine CSR Cambridge Studies in Romanticism CTHP Cambridge Texts in the History of Philosophy CTM Currents in Theology and Mission EC Engaging Culture ELS English Language Series ES Emerging Scholars ETL Ephemerides theologicae lovanienses
The Cambridge Companion to the Bible and Linguistics, edited by Stanley E. Porter (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, forthcoming 2023)
This chapter aims to define register, genre, and style according to explicitly sociolinguistic un... more This chapter aims to define register, genre, and style according to explicitly sociolinguistic understandings and demonstrate their value for the study of the biblical languages to the extent this has already been accomplished and in light of the potential there is for the future of Old and New Testament studies.
Romans and Galatians: Linguistic Exegesis of Two Pauline Letters (Linguistic Exegesis of the New Testament 2; Eugene, OR: Pickwick, forthcoming 2024)
A marginal yet provocative debate has ensued over the last few decades about the meaning of the t... more A marginal yet provocative debate has ensued over the last few decades about the meaning of the term προστάτις in Rom 16:2. On the one hand, the debate is found explicitly in articles and commentaries on Romans and has factored into the wider controversy of the roles of women in churches established by Paul and, by extension, women’s roles in churches today. On the other hand, one can also observe a more implicit trajectory that has taken place in the understanding of this term in the major Greek New Testament lexicons and Bible translations, where various glosses and renderings betray more about the state of New Testament studies than the meaning of the word itself. In this essay, I trace and evaluate the history of the treatment of προστάτις in several major Greek lexicons to demonstrate how they have contributed to the present scholarly perspective of this term. Then, based on my own lexicographical analysis, I will demonstrate that the various senses that προστάτις could take on in Hellenistic Greek have not all been considered. In fact, I will argue that one rendering of the term is, in fact, just as plausible as the other renderings that have enjoyed popularity.
![Research paper thumbnail of Adolf Harnack and Lukan Scholarship at the Height of Classical Liberalism [Pre-published version]](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/68844616/thumbnails/1.jpg)
](Luke–Acts in Modern Interpretation, edited by Stanley E. Porter and Ron C. Fay, 57–91. Milestones in New Testament Research, 2021
Only a select few scholars in the history of New Testament research have achieved the level of st... more Only a select few scholars in the history of New Testament research have achieved the level of stature that Adolf Harnack enjoyed in the eyes of the academic guild of his day. Harnack's importance is often measured with regard to his historical-theological works on church history, the history of doctrine, and the essence of Christianity as defined within the paradigm of classical liberalism. The impact of his scholarship, however, was not limited to these areas of focus. He also made substantial contributions to New Testament research, not least to Lukan studies. In the first half of this essay, I describe the various areas of Harnack's scholarly endeavors within the context of his life, major influences, and academic career. This sets the stage for the second half of this essay where, having situated Harnack's contributions to Lukan scholarship within the context of his life and intellectual environment, I will present the content and arguments in his major works on the Third Gospel and book of Acts to critically assess their strengths and weaknesses and gauge their enduring value.
"Bruce J. Malina and Models of Cultural Anthropology," in Pillars in the History of Biblical Inte... more "Bruce J. Malina and Models of Cultural Anthropology," in Pillars in the History of Biblical Interpretation, Volume 3: Further Essays on Prevailing Methods, edited by Stanley E. Porter and Zachary K. Dawson, 354–83. McMaster Biblical Studies Series 6. Eugene, OR: Pickwick, 2021.
"Henry J. Cadbury and the Composition of Luke-Acts," in Pillars in the History of Biblical Interp... more "Henry J. Cadbury and the Composition of Luke-Acts," in Pillars in the History of Biblical Interpretation, Volume 3: Further Essays on Enduring Methods, edited by Stanley E. Porter and Zachary K. Dawson, 173–99. McMaster Biblical Studies Series 6. Eugene, OR: Pickwick, 2021. [Note: this pre-published version does not reflect the final pagination of this essay.]
The Epistle of James: Linguistic Exegesis from an Early Christian Letter, edited by James D. Dvor... more The Epistle of James: Linguistic Exegesis from an Early Christian Letter, edited by James D. Dvorak and Zachary K. Dawson. Eugene, OR: Pickwick, 2019.
Modeling Biblical Language: Selected Papers from the McMaster Divinity College Linguistics Circle. Edited by Stanley E. Porter, Gregory P. Fewster, and Christopher D. Land, 362–90. Linguistic Biblical Studies 13; Leiden: Brill, 2016
This presentation critically assesses the theological consequences that result from the prevailin... more This presentation critically assesses the theological consequences that result from the prevailing solution to the Synoptic Problem—the Two-Document Hypothesis. I begin with a historical sketch of how the Two-Document Hypothesis has influenced many of the major questions in Synoptic Gospel studies and the various critical methodologies used to address them. This overview serves to contextualize the last twenty years or so of Synoptic Gospel research and the significant works that have emerged since then. These works, whether they react against or endorse the Q hypothesis, result in a number of theological consequences for the Gospels that problematize various matters of canon and Gospel traditions. While not an indictment of the Two-Document Hypothesis itself, this article exposes the insidious nature of various approaches reliant on Q that continue to drive much of the research in Synoptic Gospel studies today.
48 views
Linguistic Biblical Studies 27; Leiden: Brill, 2024
This collection of essays explores the rich intellectual heritage of Russian Formalism and the Pr... more This collection of essays explores the rich intellectual heritage of
Russian Formalism and the Prague School of Linguistics to illuminate
their influence on the field of biblical studies and apply their
constructive and creative potential for advancing linguistic theory,
discourse analysis, and literary interpretation of the texts of the Old and
New Testaments in their original languages.
Linguistic Biblical Studies, 2022
By applying a stylistic analysis within a systemic-functional linguistic framework, this study ar... more By applying a stylistic analysis within a systemic-functional linguistic framework, this study argues that Luke's construal of the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15 and its co-thematic passages attempt to persuade Jewish believers of Luke's audience not to separate from multi-ethnic churches, a goal that is accomplished through subverting the value orientations of a prominent Noahic tradition within Second Temple Jewish literature that promotes strict Jewish isolation from Gentiles. As a result, this study breaks fresh methodological ground in the linguistic study on the New Testament and also advances critical scholarship on the book of Acts. Readership This work is written for a scholarly audience whose interests lie in the linguistic analysis of the New Testament as well as the critical study of the book of Acts. For more information see brill.com
This third volume, like its predecessors, adds to the growing body of literature concerned with t... more This third volume, like its predecessors, adds to the growing body of literature concerned with the history of biblical interpretation. With eighteen essays on nineteen biblical interpreters, volume 3 expands the scope of scholars, both traditional and modern, covered in this now multivolume series. Each chapter provides a biographical sketch of its respective scholar(s), an overview of their major contributions to the field, explanations of their theoretical and methodological approaches to interpretation, and evaluations and applications of their methods. By focusing on the contexts in which these scholars lived and worked, these essays show what defining features qualify these scholars as "pillars" in the history of biblical interpretation. While identifying a scholar as a "pillar" is somewhat subjective, this volume defines a pillar as one who has made a distinctive contribution by using and exemplifying a clear method that has pushed the discipline forward, at least within a given context and time period. This volume is ideal for any class on the history of biblical interpretation and for those who want a greater understanding of how the field of biblical studies has developed and how certain interpreters have played a formative role in that development.
This volume is a collection of essays that applies to the book of James linguistic methods of ana... more This volume is a collection of essays that applies to the book of James linguistic methods of analysis that are based on the same theoretical framework, namely Systemic-Functional Linguistics. This volume is unique in that it provides a theoretically consistent and unified approach to a single New Testament book, which makes the whole volume useful for researchers and students of James. Each essay makes its own creative use of this linguistic perspective to engage important critical questions and to pave new ground for Jacobean scholarship based on linguistic analysis. Various topics in this volume include the textual structure and cohesion of the letter, intertextuality, rhetorical strategies, ideological struggle, interpersonal relations, and other topics related to the letter’s social context and language use.
Westminster Theological Journal, 2021
This article critically assesses several theological consequences that result from the prevailing... more This article critically assesses several theological consequences that result from the prevailing solution to the Synoptic Problem-the Two-Document Hypothesis. It begins with a historical sketch of how the Two-Document Hypothesis has influenced many of the major questions in Synoptic Gospel studies and the various critical methodologies used to address them. This overview serves to contextualize the last twenty years or so of Synoptic Gospel research and the significant works that have emerged since then. These works, whether they react against or endorse the Q hypothesis, result in a number of theological consequences for the Gospels that problematize various matters of canon and Gospel traditions. While not an indictment of the Two-Document Hypothesis itself, this article exposes the problematic nature of various approaches reliant on Q that continue to drive much of the research in Synoptic Gospel studies today.
Biblica, 2019
This article assesses Jenny Read-Heimerdinger’s application of discourse analysis to the problem ... more This article assesses Jenny Read-Heimerdinger’s application of discourse analysis to the problem of the two textual traditions of the book of Acts. Based on an analysis of the textual variants of the Apostolic Decree and a consideration of Jewish perspective of both traditions, this article concludes, contrary to Read-Heimerdinger, that the Alexandrian tradition is more likely to represent the original text and contains a more Jewish-oriented perspective, which calls her application of discourse analysis into question and reaffirms the primacy of the Alexandrian text.
This article challenges the argument of John Moles that Luke's preface (1.1-4) resembles a Greek ... more This article challenges the argument of John Moles that Luke's preface (1.1-4) resembles a Greek decree more than any other type of writing. Although Moles is not the first to recognise the supposed decree-like features in Luke's preface, he goes further by arguing that the preface is intentionally structured like a decree for the author's rhetorical aim. In this article, I demonstrate that Moles' argument goes too far and that Luke's preface simply displays features conventional to prefaces of historiographical writing-despite common structural patterns of preface writing and decree formulae-and is not layered with additional rhetorical meaning.
A wave of research that began in the late 1970s and culminated with Richard Burridge's What Are t... more A wave of research that began in the late 1970s and culminated with Richard Burridge's What Are the Gospels? in 1992 effectively established the consensus that the Gospels are to be classified as ancient βίοι. In this article, I respond to Burridge's work to demonstrate that his approach to genre is problematic in several ways, which calls the foundation of the current consensus into question. Following this ground clearing exercise, I articulate a way forward in how to understand the relationship between the Gospels' genre and their social purpose, which is more in keeping with modern genre theory, especially as it is envisioned by systemic-functional linguists. The last section of the article then demonstrates the potential benefits of using Systemic Functional Linguistics genre theory by means of a sample genre analysis of the Lord's Prayer in Matt 6:7-13, which demonstrates how to understand the social function of genres and opens an avenue for fresh research into the question of Gospel genres. (Article)
This essay addresses two main questions: Why does the author of Acts invoke the Noahide laws in c... more This essay addresses two main questions: Why does the author of Acts invoke the Noahide laws in chapters 15 and 21, and what is the significance of their redundancy? By implementing a methodology that makes use of intertextuality theory and literary stylistics within the framework of Systemic Functional Linguistics, this essay argues that the Noahide laws were used in first-century Jewish contexts to promote the separation of Jews and gentiles. However, the author of Acts directly opposes this Jewish social value, which is evidenced in the book of Jubilees, and establishes a new use for the Noahide laws within Christian communities, which is to promote ecumenism between Jewish and gentile believers.
Putting the Pieces Together: Formalizing Units and Structures in the Biblical Langagues. Edited by Stanley E. Porter, Christopher D. Land, and James D. Dvorak. McMaster New Testament Studies Series 10. Eugene, OR: Pickwick, 2024.
The Arts and the Bible, edited by Stanley E. Porter and Wendy J. Porter (McMaster New Testament Studies Series 10; Eugene, OR: Pickwick), 2024
BLS Bible and Literature Series BOSS The Biannual Online-Journal of Springsteen Studies BPCS Bibl... more BLS Bible and Literature Series BOSS The Biannual Online-Journal of Springsteen Studies BPCS Biblical Performance Criticism Series BS Bibliotheca Sacra BTB Biblical Theology Bulletin BTCB Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible Abbreviations xviii BTL Blackwell Textbooks in Linguistics CBQ Catholic Biblical Quarterly CBQMS Catholic Biblical Quarterly Monograph Series CI Critical Inquiry CLSG Christianity and Literature Study Group CSCD Cambridge Studies in Christian Doctrine CSR Cambridge Studies in Romanticism CTHP Cambridge Texts in the History of Philosophy CTM Currents in Theology and Mission EC Engaging Culture ELS English Language Series ES Emerging Scholars ETL Ephemerides theologicae lovanienses
The Cambridge Companion to the Bible and Linguistics, edited by Stanley E. Porter (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, forthcoming 2023)
This chapter aims to define register, genre, and style according to explicitly sociolinguistic un... more This chapter aims to define register, genre, and style according to explicitly sociolinguistic understandings and demonstrate their value for the study of the biblical languages to the extent this has already been accomplished and in light of the potential there is for the future of Old and New Testament studies.
Romans and Galatians: Linguistic Exegesis of Two Pauline Letters (Linguistic Exegesis of the New Testament 2; Eugene, OR: Pickwick, forthcoming 2024)
A marginal yet provocative debate has ensued over the last few decades about the meaning of the t... more A marginal yet provocative debate has ensued over the last few decades about the meaning of the term προστάτις in Rom 16:2. On the one hand, the debate is found explicitly in articles and commentaries on Romans and has factored into the wider controversy of the roles of women in churches established by Paul and, by extension, women’s roles in churches today. On the other hand, one can also observe a more implicit trajectory that has taken place in the understanding of this term in the major Greek New Testament lexicons and Bible translations, where various glosses and renderings betray more about the state of New Testament studies than the meaning of the word itself. In this essay, I trace and evaluate the history of the treatment of προστάτις in several major Greek lexicons to demonstrate how they have contributed to the present scholarly perspective of this term. Then, based on my own lexicographical analysis, I will demonstrate that the various senses that προστάτις could take on in Hellenistic Greek have not all been considered. In fact, I will argue that one rendering of the term is, in fact, just as plausible as the other renderings that have enjoyed popularity.
Luke–Acts in Modern Interpretation, edited by Stanley E. Porter and Ron C. Fay, 57–91. Milestones in New Testament Research, 2021
Only a select few scholars in the history of New Testament research have achieved the level of st... more Only a select few scholars in the history of New Testament research have achieved the level of stature that Adolf Harnack enjoyed in the eyes of the academic guild of his day. Harnack's importance is often measured with regard to his historical-theological works on church history, the history of doctrine, and the essence of Christianity as defined within the paradigm of classical liberalism. The impact of his scholarship, however, was not limited to these areas of focus. He also made substantial contributions to New Testament research, not least to Lukan studies. In the first half of this essay, I describe the various areas of Harnack's scholarly endeavors within the context of his life, major influences, and academic career. This sets the stage for the second half of this essay where, having situated Harnack's contributions to Lukan scholarship within the context of his life and intellectual environment, I will present the content and arguments in his major works on the Third Gospel and book of Acts to critically assess their strengths and weaknesses and gauge their enduring value.
"Bruce J. Malina and Models of Cultural Anthropology," in Pillars in the History of Biblical Inte... more "Bruce J. Malina and Models of Cultural Anthropology," in Pillars in the History of Biblical Interpretation, Volume 3: Further Essays on Prevailing Methods, edited by Stanley E. Porter and Zachary K. Dawson, 354–83. McMaster Biblical Studies Series 6. Eugene, OR: Pickwick, 2021.
"Henry J. Cadbury and the Composition of Luke-Acts," in Pillars in the History of Biblical Interp... more "Henry J. Cadbury and the Composition of Luke-Acts," in Pillars in the History of Biblical Interpretation, Volume 3: Further Essays on Enduring Methods, edited by Stanley E. Porter and Zachary K. Dawson, 173–99. McMaster Biblical Studies Series 6. Eugene, OR: Pickwick, 2021. [Note: this pre-published version does not reflect the final pagination of this essay.]
The Epistle of James: Linguistic Exegesis from an Early Christian Letter, edited by James D. Dvor... more The Epistle of James: Linguistic Exegesis from an Early Christian Letter, edited by James D. Dvorak and Zachary K. Dawson. Eugene, OR: Pickwick, 2019.
Modeling Biblical Language: Selected Papers from the McMaster Divinity College Linguistics Circle. Edited by Stanley E. Porter, Gregory P. Fewster, and Christopher D. Land, 362–90. Linguistic Biblical Studies 13; Leiden: Brill, 2016
A wave of research that began in the late 1970s and culminated with Richard Burridge's What Are t... more A wave of research that began in the late 1970s and culminated with Richard Burridge's What Are the Gospels? in 1992 effectively established the consensus that the Gospels classify as ancient βίοι. In this article, I respond to Burridge's work to demonstrate that his approach to genre is problematic in several ways, which calls the foundation of the current consensus into question. Following this ground clearing exercise, I articulate a way forward in how to understand the relationship between the Gospels' genre and their social purpose, which is more in keeping with modern genre theory, especially as it is envisioned by systemic-functional linguists. The last section of the article then demonstrates the potential benefits of using Systemic Functional Linguistics genre theory by means of a sample genre analysis of the Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6:9–13, which demonstrates how to understand the social function of genres and opens an avenue for fresh research into the question of Gospel genres.
A wave of research that began in the late 1970s and culminated with Richard Burridge’s What Are t... more A wave of research that began in the late 1970s and culminated with Richard Burridge’s What Are the Gospels? in 1992 effectively established the consensus that the Gospels are to be classified as ancient βίοι. In this article, I respond to Burridge’s work to demonstrate that his approach to genre is problematic in several ways, which calls the foundation of the current consensus into question. Following this ground clearing exercise, I articulate a way forward in how to understand the relationship between the Gospels’ genre and their social purpose, which is more in keeping with modern genre theory, especially as it is envisioned by systemic-functional linguists. The last section of the article then demonstrates the potential benefits of using Systemic Functional Linguistics genre theory by means of a sample genre analysis of the Lord’s Prayer in Matt 6:7–13, which demonstrates how to understand the social function of genres and opens an avenue for fresh research into the question o...
New Testament Studies
This article challenges the argument of John Moles that Luke's preface (1.1–4) resembles a Gr... more This article challenges the argument of John Moles that Luke's preface (1.1–4) resembles a Greek decree more than any other type of writing. Although Moles is not the first to recognise the supposed decree-like features in Luke's preface, he goes further by arguing that the preface is intentionally structured like a decree for the author's rhetorical aim. In this article, I demonstrate that Moles’ argument goes too far and that Luke's preface simply displays features conventional to prefaces of historiographical writing – despite common structural patterns of preface writing and decree formulae – and is not layered with additional rhetorical meaning.
Modeling Biblical Language, 2000
Modeling Biblical Language, 2000