01/08/2016 Intro “The Parable of the Ḥesedic Samaritan (Luke 10:29–37): • Jesus as Messiah of all Israel healed divisions – Addressed the largest, Judaean-Samaritan divide Jesus’s Affirmative Declaration in the Debate over Samaritan Israelism” • Neglected themes – Messianic reunification (MR) of all Israel – Debate over Samaritan Israelism (SI) James T. Mace Société d’études samaritaines 9th Congress, Prague, 1 Aug 2016 • Luke 10 parable is Jesus/Luke’s specific and affirmative entry in the SI debate – Martina Böhm, Isaac Kalimi, Gary Knoppers, Paul Stenhouse, Benyamim Tsedaka 2 Argument for Samaritan Israelism (SI) • The context of first-century debate over (SI) • The context of messianic reunification (MR) • The questions provoking the parable • Sectarian competition for elect status – #1 Participation in Davidic Israelite kingdom renewal – #2 Scope of Israelite neighbour of Lev 19:18 • • • • The Context of First-Century Debate over Samaritan Israelism • 1st-cent. tannaim like Gamaliel accepted SI Triadic structure of “Priest, Levite, & Israelite” Intertextual allusion to 2 Chr 28:15 The Samaritan observes covenantal ‫ חסד‬/ ḥesed Samaritan neighbours represent Israelite inheritors of the messianic kingdom • Jesus enters the debate by affirming SI – The Samaritan protagonist (Luke 10:33) represents inheritors of Northern Israel undergoing messianic reunification (MR) 4 3 The Parable’s Covenant Indicators • Lukan thematic contexts, e.g., ministry solely to Israel, healing Israelite divisions, inclusion of marginalized Israelites, MR of all Israel, ḥesedism, etc. • The two questions being answered: Torah obedience to participate in messianic Israel • Triadic structure: priest-Levite-Israelite • 1st-cent. debate over Samaritan Israelism • Intertextual allusions to Israelites • Tripartite collocation’s solely intra-covenantal use 5 The Parable’s Context of Messianic Reunification (MR) 6 1 01/08/2016 The Prominent Prophetic Theme of Messianic Reunification (MR) An Isaianic MR Prophecy • “a shoot will spring from the stem of • MR is found widely in both major and minor OT prophets and in the books of Chronicles. Jesse, . . . And He will . . . assemble the banished ones of [northern] Israel, and will gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. 13 Then the jealousy of Ephraim will depart, and those who harass Judah will be cut off; Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah, and Judah will not harass Ephraim” – Isa 11:12–13; Jer 3:18; 23:5–6; 31 passim, esp. v. 31; 33:7, 14–17, 23–26; 50:4–5; Hos 1:11; Zech 9:9–10, 13, etc. • These books were all very familiar to firstcentury readers as part of their larger literary cultural context. (Isa 11:1a, 12–13) 7 8 Seeing Jesus Achieve Messianic Reunification of All Israel An MR Prophecy in Ezekiel • “Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel, his companions; and I will put them with it, with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they will be one in My hand. . . . and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king will be king for all of them; and they will no longer be two nations and no longer be divided into two kingdoms” (Ezek 37:19, 22) • David had become a rallying point for a “Pan-Israelite” ideology – Jacob L. Wright, David, King of Israel, and Caleb in Biblical Memory (Cambridge: CUP, 2014). • Lukan Theme of Jesus as Davidic King – Strauss, Davidic Messiah in Luke-Acts (1995); Zwiep, The Ascension of the Messiah in Lukan Christology (1997); Hahn, “Davidic Covenant Fulfillment in Luke-Acts” (2009). 10 9 Jesus Opposed Division between Judaeans and Samaritans Condemns Intra-Israelite Enmity • When travelling through Samaria, Jesus condemned traditional enmity and worked to overcome it (in fulfillment of prophetic expectations of the reunited Kingdom) 11 • “He sent messengers on ahead of Him, and they went and entered a village of the Samaritans to make arrangements for Him. 53 But they did not receive Him, because He was traveling toward Jerusalem. 54 When His disciples James and John saw this, they said, ‘Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?’ 55 But He turned and rebuked them (9:52–55) 12 2 01/08/2016 Narrative Immediately Preceding Parable References Imminent Kingdom • Jesus prescribed table fellowship, a sign of covenantal solidarity with Samaritans – “Whatever city you enter and they receive you, eat what is set before you; 9…and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you’” (10:8–9) • Immediately preceding the Samaritan parable, Jesus declares that what the prophets and kings long expected is at last coming to fulfillment Now the Luke 10:25–37 parable occurs within the contexts of these various MR messages • The messianic King will replace the divisive enmity between Samaritans and Judaeans with a restored covenantal amity. – “At that very time He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit . . . . Turning to the disciples, He said privately, ‘Blessed are the eyes which see the things you see, 24 for I say to you, that many prophets and kings wished to see the things which you see . . . .’” (10:21a, 23–24a) 14 13 Argument for Samaritan Israelism (SI) We have examined: • The context of first-century debate over (SI) The Questions Provoking the Parable Indicate an MR Response • Question #1 (Luke 10:25): How does one participate in messianic kingdom renewal of Israel? • The context of messianic reunification (MR) – Lev 19:18 love fellow Israelite as oneself • Question #2 (10:29): What is the scope of Israelite neighbour in Lev 19:18? Now we will examine • The questions provoking the parable – Asked in order to justify exclusion of marginalized Israelites like sinners, tax-collectors, & Samaritans 16 15 Argument for Samaritan Israelism (SI) The Ḥesedic Samaritan (Luke 10:30–35) • “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead.... priest.... Levite….33 But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, 34 and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you.’” • We have examined the context of first-century debate over (SI), the context of messianic reunification (MR), and the questions provoking the parable. • We now turn to the parable itself: – Triadic structure of “Priest, Levite, & Israelite” – Intertextual allusion to 2 Chr 28:15 – The Samaritan observes covenantal ‫ חסד‬/ ḥesed 17 18 3 01/08/2016 The Parable’s Triadic Structure • Well-known triadic genre of Priest-Levite-Israelite, indicating that the third character (Samaritan) is an Israelite. • Answering questions #1 (Israel’s renewal) and #2 (scope of fellow Israelite “neighbour”) logically requires the third character to be an Israelite. • Scriptural Priest-Levite-Israelite triad. Triadic Structure –“Priest, Levite, & Israelite”– Indicates Samaritan Israelism – Torah makes this tripartite division of Israel – “All the assembly of Judah rejoiced, with the priests and the Levites and all the assembly that came from Israel” (2 Chr 30:25) • Mishnah, e.g., Sheqal. 1:3 D–H; cf. p. Taan. 4:2, §4 19 20 The Parable Intertextually Alludes to 2 Chr 28:5–15 Intertextual Allusion to 2 Chr 28:15 Connects to Northern Israelites • The Luke 10 Samaritan does what the Samarians did: – Religious motivation to observe covenant. – Acts of loyal assistance to fellow Israelites – Clothes the victim – Carries on a donkey – Takes to Jericho 21 Chronicler’s Pan-Israelite Ideology • Reworked earlier texts with a view to promote the unity of “all Israel” • Hezekiah and Josiah labored to reunite northern and southern kingdoms of Israel and Judah with unitive Passovers • Hebrew canon ends anticipating Davidic MR 23 22 2 Chron 28:5–15 Promotes Loving Solidarity between Warring Samaritans and Their Judaean Fellow Israelites • Records the capture of Judaeans by northern Israelites on a war raid • Samarians observing loving covenant loyalty assist fellow Israelite Judaeans 24 4 01/08/2016 Significance of Allusion to Chronicles • Jesus endorses the Chronicler’s panIsraelite ideology in concord with the kings and prophets’ desire for MR The Samaritan Observes ‫חסד‬ Ḥesed = “Covenant Loyalty” • Jesus teaches that pious Samaritans are also Israelites to inherit united Davidic kingdom restoration (fulfilled in Acts 8) 25 Why Recognize ‫ חסד‬Here? 26 Economic Koinonia ‫ חסד‬/ Loyalty • Linked with “compassion” (Luke 10:33) • Conforms to first-century practice of ḥesedism, intra-covenantal socio-economic solidarity • We see ḥesed(-ism) elsewhere in Luke-Acts • It is commanded for inheriting the renewed kingdom of Israel (Luke 10:37b) • Use of the tripartite collocation – ποιεῖν ἔλεος μετά = ‫עשׂה חסד עמ‬ • Lev 19:18 2GC as almsgiving (ἐλεημοσύνη) – cf. CD 6:20; Test. Iss. 5:1–3 • Joseph A. Giambrone, Sacramental Charity (Tübingen: Mohr-Siebeck, fall 2016) • Susan Sorek has shown 1st-cent. ḥesedism – Remembered for Good: A Jewish Benefaction System in Ancient Palestine (Social World of Biblical Antiquity 2/5; Sheffield Sheffield Phoenix, 2010) 27 Covenantal ἔλεος / ‫ חסד‬/ ḥesed Elsewhere in Luke-Acts 28 Covenantal Ḥesedism in Luke-Acts • Mary’s song praising God (Luke 1:50, 54) • Zechariah on Davidic ‫חסד‬ – “[Lord God of Israel] has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of David His servant– 70 As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from of old–. . . 72 To practice covenantal loyalty with [ποιῆσαι ἔλεος μετὰ] our fathers, And to remember His holy covenant” (Luke 1:69–72) 29 • ἐλεημοσύνη to fellow covenanters – Acts 10:2 alms of Cornelius for Israelites – Acts 24:17 Paul brings alms to Israelites • Cf. 1 Cor 16:1 “collection for the saints”; Rom 15:26, etc. • Conceptual parallels: – “he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you’” (Luke 10:35) – Acts 11:29 contribution to suffering fellow covenanters 30 5 01/08/2016 Tripartite Collocation: ποιεῖν ἔλεος μετά ‫ חסד‬/ ḥesed • Preexisting, established relationship of mutual obligation consisting mostly in actions such as mutual assistance, duty, and loyalty • Luke 10:37a nomikos’s conclusion – ὁ ποιήσας τὸ ἔλεος μετʼ αὐτοῦ • Septuagintism = ‫עשׂה חסד עמ‬ – Nelson Glueck, Hesed in the Bible (1927 Hebrew; English trans. 1967) – Katharine D. Sakenfeld, The Meaning of Hesed in the Hebrew Bible: A New Inquiry (1978); Faithfulness in Action Loyalty in Biblical Perspective (1985) – Gordon R. Clark, The Word Hesed in the Hebrew Bible (1993) • Gordon R. Clark, The Word Hesed in the Hebrew Bible (JSOTSup 157; Sheffield Academic, 1993) • The one who had “mercy”? – No: “The one practicing covenant loyalty” 32 31 Significance of Use of ‫חסד‬ Argument for Samaritan Israelism (SI) • Judaean accepts Samaritan as covenanter – ἔλεος = ḥesed, indicating fellow Israelite status • Foreigner would receive ξένια / xenia, “friendly gifts” (LSJ 1188). Cf. Susan Sorek, Remembered for Good: A Jewish Benefaction System in Ancient Palestine (2010), 204. • Jesus endorses Samaritan Israelism (SI) • The contexts of first-century debate over SI, messianic reunification (MR), Lukan themes of ministry solely to Israel, healing Israelite divisions, inclusion of marginalized Israelites, MR of all Israel, ḥesedism among the covenant people, etc. • The questions provoking the parable – #1 Participation in Davidic Israelite kingdom renewal – #2 Scope of Israelite neighbour of Lev 19:18 • Teaches that Samaritans represent northern Israelites to inherit MR, united Davidic kingdom restoration (fulfilled in Acts 8) • • • • • Commands Israel’s Lev 19:18 obedience to care for suffering fellow covenanters Triadic structure of “Priest, Levite, & Israelite” Intertextual allusion to 2 Chr 28:15 The Samaritan observes covenantal ‫ חסד‬/ ḥesed Conclusion: Samaritan neighbours represent Israelite inheritors of the messianic kingdom 34 33 Bibliography (SES Members) • Martina Böhm, Samaritai bei Lukas (1999); “Wer gehörte in hellenistisch-römischer Zeit zu „Israel“?” (2012) • Isaac Kalimi, “Robbers on the Road to Jericho: Luke’s Story of the Good Samaritan and Its Origin in Kings/Chronicles” (2009) • Gary N. Knoppers, “A Reunited Kingdom in Chronicles?” (1989); Jews and Samaritans (2013) • Paul Stenhouse, “The Good Samaritan: The Unidentified Man Who Fell among Robbers on the Jericho Road” (2005; 2013) • Benyamim Tsedaka, “The Good Samaritan Inn Museum”; www.israelite-samaritans.com/history/good-samaritan-museum/ 35 FINIS 36 6