Feasting and Social Rhetoric in Luke 14

by Willi Braun

Overview

In this original and thought-provoking study, Willi Braun draws both on social and literary evidence regarding the Greco-Roman elite banquet scene and on ancient prescribed methods of rhetorical composition to argue that the Pharisaic dinner episode in Luke 14 is a skillfully crafted rhetorical unit in which Jesus presents an argument for Luke's vision of a Christian society. His analysis underscores the way in which gospel writers manipulated the inherited Jesus traditions for the purposes of ideological and social formation of Christian communities.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521495530
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	08/25/1995
Series:	Society for New Testament Studies Monograph Series , #85
Pages:	236
Product dimensions:	5.51(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.67(d)

Table of Contents

1. Introduction: how to read Luke 14?; 2. Assumptions and preliminary reading; 3. Jesus as a healer of craving desire (14:1–6); 4. Uncommon 'symposium rules' (14:7–11, 12–14); 5. The big dinner (14:15–24): aspects of Lukan performance; 6. The conversion of a wealthy householder; 7. Forms, genres and composition; 8. Composition as argumentation: the rhetoric of Luke 14; 9. Toward closure (and openings).

Editorial Reviews

Conspicuous in range, depth, and competence, the book is innovative not only in methodology but also in advancing options for interpretation....Genuinely provocative, this book raises some questions. Methodologically, Braun performs source analysis and traditional redaction criticism....Questions aside, Braun succeeds in exposing the social dynamics in Luke 14. This book is innovative, finely nuanced, and one of the most satisfactory investigations of Luke 14 of which I am aware.
— Society of Biblical Literature

Robert L. Brawley

"An excellent model of one way literary and rhetorical criticisms can be combined in exegetical work." Religious Studies Review

"Braun is adept in the various analytical methodologies, both traditional and modern. Social-scientific insights are a comparatively recent addition to the exegetical toolbox for early Christian texts, and Braun uses them deftly. He draws upon a solid store of European and English-language secondary scholarship. His analysis is persuasive, detailed and substantial, but not ponderous. The fact that his prose is vigorous and at times leavened with humor is a bonus in a field that often lacks such stylistic features. This book is highly recommended, particularly for New Testament scholars and researchers into the social history and rhetoric of early Christianity." Novum Testmentum XXXVIII

"Braun's book is a welcome addition to interdisciplinary studies of Luke and it provides a provocative illustration of how productive our dialogue can be with first century literary, rhetorical, social and cultural contexts." David B. Gowler, Toronto Journal of Theology

"...good theological libraries and students of Luke-Acts will want to have Braun's book available." Robert F. O'Toole, The Catholic Biblical Quarterly

"Braun's original arguments and well-reasoned style make for stimulating, and at times exciting, reading." Studies in Religion

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