arnoldo wrote: ↑Sun Mar 10, 2019 8:33 am
DCHindley wrote: ↑Sun Mar 10, 2019 8:03 am
What this has-to-be-wrong hypothesis does is bracket off material that relate to Christ myth theology. The verses under scrutiny in this thread (1 Cor. 2:2; 2 Cor. 5:16) have been underlined (for whatever reason I cannot select a color). What this demonstrates is that the Christ myth interpolator had his own POV quite different from the POV of the writer of the original letters as read by the interpolator. The dynamics of an interpolator introducing Christ myth theology into an original letter that knew nothing of Jesus as the expected Judean messiah, much less Jesus as a semi-divine savior figure, demonstrates that the proponents of the Christ myth found communities that read letters of Paul that dealt with ways that gentiles who trusted in the Judean god could co-inherit the fruitful land promised by God to Abraham's offspring.
This is similar to scholars on Marcion proposing that Marcion had read ur-texts of one or more collections of letters of Paul, then proposed what he thought was genuine, and what he imagined were Judaic adulterations interpolated into the original letters of Paul. While my hypothesis takes the opposite approach (letters by a Judean who was within the fringes of mainstream of the accepted practices of Diaspora Judeans, which were interpolated by Christ-myth theology).
... But, what do I know anyhow, eh?
No, it is an interesting theory. Along this lines it would be possible Paul didn't also know Cephas, no?
Dont know what happened to your original message above. Maybe you pulled it once you realized this was a can of worms.
The way I figure it, Paul knew a Cephas, a John and a James (Jacob). Paul, to legitimatize his theological stance that gentiles who trust in the Judean God should be accepted as co-heirs to the promises God had made to Abraham, he had lined up priests among the Temple apparatus who would accept these as if from Judeans in the diaspora. These three were likely his priestly contacts.
The interpolator him/herself had known of disciples of Jesus, one Simon aka Peter, one named John, and Jesus' brother James/Jacob. These figures who surrounded Jesus functioned as leaders of his movement after his death, at least until the utter obliteration of Judean society and culture due to Roman response to the Judean rebellion of 66-74 CE.
Of these particular names, James/Jacob and John were exceptionally common in that era, especially in Judean dominated areas. Cephas is a Greek variant of a Hebrew/Aramaic name that is translated Caiaphas in the NT and slightly different in Josephus, although not necessarily the HP by that name in the NT). Peter as a name is not well attested but would be suitable for someone's nick-name if he was known as laying a foundation for something.
My guess would be that Peter represented the Gentile followers of Jesus (who they venerated as a divinely appointed ruler of the future messianic kingdom), primarily resident in Judea, Galilee/Transjordan, Trachonitis, Samaria and Southern Syria up to Antioch. James seemed to have this same role among native born Judeans in these same areas. John, my guess is, was interested in the Hellenized Judeans of the Diaspora who were re-settling in Judea, but not those actually living in the Greek speaking areas.
Paul, for his part, may have worked with Greek speaking households of one of the branches of the Herodian family (possibly one of the princes appointed as client kings of a buffer state against the Parthian empire.
When I did my thing with Galatians, I came up with the following:
Galatians 1:6-24
Recovered "original" text read by interpolator:
1:6a I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you so graciously [i.e., God]
6b [...]
6c and turning to a different (sort of) good news,
7a not that there is another (sort of) good news, but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the (actual) good news 7b [...].
8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you good news contrary to that which we preached to you, let him be accursed.
9 As we have said before, so now I say again, If any one is preaching to you a good news contrary to that which you received, let him be accursed.
10a Am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still pleasing men, I should not be a servant
10b [...].
11 For I would have you know, brethren, that the good news which was preached by me is not man's good news.
12a For I did not receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through a revelation
12b [...].
13 For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it;
14 and I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers.
15 But when it pleased God, who had set me apart before I was born, and had called me through his grace,
16a to reveal
16b [...]
16c to me that I might declare [God's]
16e “good news” among the Gentiles, I did not confer with flesh and blood,
17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia; and again I returned to Damascus.
18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas, and remained with him fifteen days.
19a But I saw none of the other apostles except James
19b [...].
20 (In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie!)
21 Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia.
22a And I was still not known by sight to the churches
22b [...]
22c in Judea;
23 they only heard it said, "He who once persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy."
24 And they glorified God because of me.
The interpolator's introduced Christ myth theology:
6b through Christ
7b (about) the Christ
10b of Christ
12b of Jesus Christ
16b his Son
<him (as)> per existing text
19b the Lord's brother
22b of Christ
Gal 2:1-21
Recovered "original" letter read by the interpolator:
2:1 Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me.
2 I went up by revelation; and I laid before them (but privately before those who were of repute) the good news which I preach among the Gentiles, lest somehow I should be running or had run in vain.
3 But even Titus, who was with me, was not compelled to be circumcised, though he was a Greek,
4a (in spite of false brethren secretly brought in, who slipped in to spy out our freedom which we have
4b [...],
4c in order to bring us into bondage,
5 to whom we did not yield submission even for a moment, that the truth of the good news might be preserved for you).
6 And from those who were reputed to be something (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)--those, I say, who were of repute added nothing to me;
7a but on the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the good news to the uncircumcised,
7b - 8 [...],
9 and when they perceived the grace that was given to me, James and Cephas and John, who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised;
10 only they would have us remember the Poor, which very thing I was eager to do.
11 But when Cephas came to Antioch I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned.
12 For before certain men came from James, he ate with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party.
13 And with him the rest of the Jews acted insincerely, so that even Barnabas was carried away by their insincerity.
14 But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the good news, I said to Cephas before them all, "If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?"
15 We ourselves, who are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners,
16a yet who know that a man is not justified by works of the law but through faith
16b [...],
16c even we have believed
16d [...],
16e in order to be justified by faith
16f [...],
16g and not by works of the law, because by works of the law “shall no one be justified.” (Ps 143:2)
17a But if, in our endeavor to be justified 17b [...],
17c we ourselves were found to be sinners, are we
17d [...]
17e then a servant of sin? Certainly not!
18 -20 [...];
21a I do not nullify the grace of God;
21b [...].
Christ myth theology introduced into original text by the interpolator:
4b in Christ Jesus
7b just as Peter had been entrusted with the good news to the circumcised
8 for he who worked through Peter for the mission to the circumcised worked through me also for the Gentiles
16b in Jesus Christ
16d in Christ Jesus
16e in Christ
17b in Christ
17d is Christ
18 If I build up again those things which I tore down, then I prove myself a transgressor.
19 For I through the law died to the law, that I might live to God.
20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me
21b for if justification were through the law, then Christ died to no purpose
IMHO, this interpolator was trying to harmonize these differing traditions, by equating Paul's Cephas with the interpolator's Peter, Paul's Jacob (the priest) with Jesus' "brother" Jacob (who was probably not really a priest but a Rechabite), and Paul's John (the priest) with John the disciple of Jesus (probably not a priest). At a much later time, whoever organized the distribution of approved NT manuscripts, added "wh is also Cephas" to John 1:42 "You shall be called Cephas" (which means Peter)." Nowhere else in the Gospels or Acts speaks of Cephas, only Peter, except in the Pauline corpus letters to the Galatians and 1 Corinthians.
This might be a good place to offer up this table of the readings for Cephas as opposed to Peter in this block of text:
Verse |
GNT (based on earliest manuscripts) |
TR (Received Text/Byzantine tradition) |
KHFAS |
PETROS |
|
|
|
|
|
1 COR 1:12 |
Κηφᾶ = KHFA |
Κηφᾶ = KHFA |
ALL |
|
1 COR 3:22 |
Κηφᾶ = KHFA |
Κηφᾶ = KHFA |
ALL |
|
1 COR 9:5 |
Κηφᾶ = KHFA |
Κηφᾶ = KHFA |
ALL |
|
1 COR 15:5 |
Κηφᾷ = KHFA |
Κηφᾷ = KHFA |
ALL |
|
GAL 1:18 |
Κηφᾶν = KHFAN |
Πέτρον = PETRON |
p46, 01, 02, 03 |
06, 012, 018, 020 |
GAL 2:7 |
Πέτρος = PETROS |
Πέτρος = PETROS |
|
ALL |
GAL 2:8 |
Πέτρῳ = PETRW |
Πέτρῳ = PETRW |
|
ALL |
GAL 2:9 |
Κηφᾶς = KHFAS |
Κηφᾶς = KHFAS |
01, 03, 04, 018, 020 |
p46, 06, 012 |
GAL 2:11 |
Κηφᾶς = KHFAS |
Πέτρος = PETROS |
01, 02, 03, 04, 015 |
p46, 06, 012, 018, 020 |
GAL 2:14 |
Κηφᾷ = KHFA |
Πέτρῳ = PETRW |
p46, 01, 02, 03, 04, 015 |
06, 012, 018, 020 |
Key:
p46 (c. AD 81-96 [Kim]/c. AD 150 [Comfort]/c. AD 200 [Aland])
p66 (c. AD 90-110[Hunger]/c. AD 150 [Comfort]/c. AD 200 [Aland])
p75 (c. AD 175-225 [Martin/Kasser]/c. AD 275-300 [Comfort]/III [Aland])
p106 (c. AD 200-250 [Comfort]/III [Aland])
01 = א (Sinaiticus, IV)
02 = A (Alexandrinus, V)
03 = B (Vaticanus, IV)
04 = C (Ephraemi Rescriptus, V)
06 = D (Claromontanus, VI)
012 = G (Boernerianus, IX)
015 = H (Euthalianus, VI)
018 = K (Moscow, IX)
020 = L (Rome, IX)
DCH