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Sung Uk Lim

Yonsei University, College of Theology & United Graduate School of Theology, Faculty Member

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Address: Yonsei University
College of Theology & United Graduate School of Theology
50 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 03722, South Korea

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Ian G . Williams

Lennart Lehmhaus

Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen

Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School

Johnson Thomaskutty

The United Theological College, Bangalore

Paul N Anderson

George Fox University

University of Notre Dame

Cornelia van Deventer

South African Theological Seminary

Bristol Baptist College

Gary A . Staszak

University of Wales Trinity Saint David

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Books by Sung Uk Lim

Otherness and Identity in the Gospel of John

Palgrave Macmillan, 2021

In this book, Sung Uk Lim examines the narrative construction of identity and otherness through o... more In this book, Sung Uk Lim examines the narrative construction of identity and otherness through ongoing interactions between Jesus and the so-called others as represented by the minor characters in the Gospel of John. This study reconfigures the otherness of the minor characters in order to reconstruct the identity of Jesus beyond the exclusive binary of identity and otherness. The recent trends in Johannine scholarship are deeply entrenched in a dialectical framework of inclusion and exclusion, perpetuating positive portrayals of Jesus and negative portrayals of the minor characters. Read in this light, Jesus is portrayed as a superior, omniscient, and omnipotent character, whereas minor characters are depicted as inferior, uncomprehending, and powerless. At the root of such portrayals lies the belief that the Johannine dualistic Weltanschauung warrants such a sharp differentiation between Jesus and the minor characters. Lim argues, to the contrary, that the multiple constructions of otherness deriving from the minor characters make Jesus' identity vulnerable to a constant process of transformation. Consequently, John's minor characters actually challenge and destabilize Johannine hierarchical dualism within a both/and framework.

Papers by Sung Uk Lim

Jonah's Transformation and Transformation of Jonah from the Bakhtinian Perspective of Authoring and Re-authoring

Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 2008

This article explores the transformation of both the character of Jonah and the text of Jonah, es... more This article explores the transformation of both the character of Jonah and the text of Jonah, especially in ch. 2, from the Bakhtinian perspective of (re-)authoring. Bakhtin's concept of authoring shows that the disobedient Jonah is transformed into an obedient prophet in ch. 2 in his understanding of God and himself. Simultaneously, Bakhtin's notion of re-authoring reveals that the book of Jonah has been transformed in the history of Bible translation as seen in the Masoretic Text, Septuagint, and Vulgate.

Josephus Constructs the Samari(t)ans: A Strategic Construction of Judaean/Jewish Identity through the Rhetoric of Inclusion and Exclusion

Journal of Theological Studies , 2013

In this essay I argue that Josephus performs a dual dynamic discourse made up of the discourses o... more In this essay I argue that Josephus performs a dual dynamic discourse made up of the discourses of inclusion and exclusion in various dimensions—ethnic, geographical, political, religious, and cultural—so as eventually to construct Judaean/Jewish identity in both an inclusive and exclusive relationship with the Samarians/Samaritans in the context of the destruction of the Second Temple. What is interesting is that Josephus does not deploy the rhetoric of inclusion and the rhetoric of exclusion in a dichotomous manner (sameness vs. difference), but along a continuum with varying degrees of both sameness and difference. It is assumed that the boundary per se between Judaeans/Jews and Samarians/Samaritans is fictive and fluid rather than real and fixed. Therefore, Josephus’ attitudes towards the Samarians/Samaritans can be inclusive at times and exclusive at other times, depending on a specific context. The point is that for Josephus, Judaean/Jewish identity-making consists of the twofold process of both assimilation with and distinction from the Samarians/Samaritans. In this regard, Josephus makes the most of the Samarians/Samaritans as a foil against which the Judaean/Jewish people may establish a strategic construction of their identity.

Race and Ethnicity Discourse in Biblical Studies and Beyond

Journal for the Study of Religions and Ideologies, 2016

This paper aims at foregrounding race and ethnicity discourse in Biblical Studies and beyond in o... more This paper aims at foregrounding race and ethnicity discourse in Biblical Studies and beyond in order to undermine transhistorical and transcultural racism and ethnocentrism in religious discourse. It is my argument that matters of race and ethnicity should be approached as analytical categories in an interdisciplinary manner, albeit in a specific context, Hellenistic, Roman, Jewish, or Christian. In doing so, I first examine the works of Steve Fenton as well as Robert Miles and Malcolm Brown in order to look closely at race and ethnicity discourse in the ancient Mediterranean world, especially from a sociological perspective. Then, I indicate how Jonathan Hall and Shaye Cohen examine Hellenic and Jewish identity, respectively, with a focus on ethnic identity in the Greco-Roman world. Finally, I consider how Judith Lieu and Denise Buell analyze early Christian identity as a racial or ethnic discourse in the Jewish, Hellenistic, and Roman matrix. Hence, I contend that identity in general and racial-ethnic identity in particular are by no means stable and static in essentialist terms, but rather they are fluid along the ostensible axis of fixed identity.

신약성서 속 갈릴리인(Γαλιλαῖος) 정체성 연구 (Galilean Identity in the New Testament)

신학논단, 2023

본 논문은 신약성서의 갈릴리인의 정체성을 역사적·문학적 맥락 내 에서 파악하고자 한다. 학계 내외에서 갈릴리를 흔히 이방인의 땅으로, 그리고 갈릴리인을 손쉽게 이방인으로 단정... more 본 논문은 신약성서의 갈릴리인의 정체성을 역사적·문학적 맥락 내 에서 파악하고자 한다. 학계 내외에서 갈릴리를 흔히 이방인의 땅으로, 그리고 갈릴리인을 손쉽게 이방인으로 단정하는 편견을 뒤로하고, 본 연 구는 신약성서가 표상하는 갈릴리인(들)이라는 헬라어 용례 사용을 중심 으로 갈릴리인의 정체성을 분석한다. 이를 위해 먼저 갈릴리인의 역사적 정체성에 대한 최신 연구 동향을 정리하여 소개한다. 다음으로 갈릴리인 의 정체성을 지역, 종족, 정치, 종교, 문화라는 범주에 각각 입각하여 신약 성서 속 본문을 하나하나씩 문학적인 차원에서 분석한다. 마지막으로 신 약성서가 암시하는 갈릴리인의 의미가 역사적으로 무엇을 지시하는지 그 실체를 파악한다. 이처럼 역사적·문학적 고찰을 통하여 독자들은 갈릴 리인의정체성에대해보다통합적인이해를획득할수있을것이다.그 결과, 정치적인 관점을 제외하고는 신약성서가 표상하는 갈릴리인은 역 사적으로 유대적인(Jewish) 갈릴리 지역민으로 이해할 수 있을 것이다.

성서와 경제: 갈릴리, 양극화, 그리고 예수의 경제 신학

종교와 문화 , 2024

This study explores the economic dimensions of early Christianity, with a particular focus on Gal... more This study explores the economic dimensions of early Christianity, with a particular focus on Galilee, which served as the central region for Jesus’ ministry. The essay is structured into three main sections. First, it reevaluates Minjung theology and its portrayal of Galilee as predominantly impoverished, a perspective originally shaped by the historical context of resistance against military dictatorship within the South Korean context. Second, it critically assesses archaeological interpretations that highlight Galilean prosperity during the early Christian period, often overlooking the
underlying complexities of economic disparity within the region. Finally, this study introduces a sociological model that balances these contrasting perspectives, providing a more nuanced understanding of Galilee’s polarized economic landscape that Jesus and his followers encountered. This dual economic context underpins an interpretation of Jesus’ economic theology as a form of pastoral theology that addresses the needs of both the affluent and the marginalized, advocating for voluntary sharing as a means to achieve communal equity.

The Touch of Jesus in a Time of Untact

Doing Theology in the New Normal: Global Perspectives (SCM Press), 2021

This essay wrestles with the meaning of healing by dint of divine touch in what would be termed t... more This essay wrestles with the meaning of healing by dint of divine touch in what would be termed the society of untact, in which safety is believed to be guaranteed only through the sheer lack of contact with others. My contention is, therefore, that Jesus’ touch can be read as the signal for his boundary crossings over the social norms of purity from antiquity to the present. Furthermore, Jesus’ symbolic action of touching encourages us even to reimagine the meaning of a touchless touch, a new phenomenon generated in the time of untact, as divine intervention in human suffering in the post-coronavirus era.

Jairus’s Family Revisited: A Collaborative Model of Parenting (Mark 5:21–24, 35–43)

by Sung Uk Lim and Amy Lindeman Allen

Neotestamentica, 2022

The present study proposes parentist criticism as a new approach to reading the biblical text. As... more The present study proposes parentist criticism as a new approach to reading the biblical text. As a test case, we revisit the healing of Jairus’s daughter (Mark 5:21–24, 35–43) to reconfigure family dynamics with a focus on the role of each parent and their collaboration for the sake of their child. A review of recent scholarship reveals that the roles of Jairus and his wife as parents are treated in isolation from one another, when considered at all—thus, failing to address the larger picture of family dynamics. We, therefore, propose parentist criticism as a more holistic alternative. This criticism takes shape in three stages. Firstly, we examine the gendered roles of Jairus and his wife as they intersect with parental duties within the first-century patriarchal cultural codes. Secondly, we scrutinise the gendered parental roles of Jairus and his wife in light of their crossings of these roles as it pertains to the care of their daughter. Finally, we reconsider the family dynamics in this text as read through a lens of collaborative parenting. Taken together, we propose reading this text with a parentist approach in order to highlight the text’s potential to break down gendered household hierarchies through shared parental concern and action, oriented towards the well-being of the child(ren).

Speak My Name: Anti-Colonial Mimicry and the Samaritan Woman in John 4:1-42

Union Seminary Quarterly Review, 2010

This paper revisits the thorny issue of whether or not the subaltern can speak against the coloni... more This paper revisits the thorny issue of whether or not the subaltern can speak against the colonial authority. It argues that in John 4 the nameless Samaritan woman as a subaltern native is a creative agent who undermines the colonial authority of Jesus as a so-called missionary, when seen through Homi Bhabha’s lens of mimicry. A close reading of John 4:1-42 reveals that the mimicry of the Samaritan woman is anti-colonial in the sense that she, as the colonized, menaces the authority of Jesus as the colonizer by causing ambivalence to him with regard to his ethnic and political identity. As a consequence, mimicry is transformed into the location of resistance against colonialism

Debunking the Uncanny Otherness of Disability in Context: A Postcolonial Critique of Biblical Translation and Interpretation of John 9:1–41

The Critic in the World, 2024

The current study draws on postcolonialism as an analytical lens to revisit the otherness of disa... more

Biopolitics in the Trial of Jesus (John 18:28–19:16a)

Expository Times, 2016

This article explores the biopolitical dimension of the trial of Jesus in John 18:28–19:16a from ... more This article explores the biopolitical dimension of the trial of Jesus in John 18:28–19:16a from the Agambenian perspective of “bare life.” According to Giorgio Agamben, bare life, namely, life at risk of death through sovereign power, operates in the “state of exception.” The state of exception is a state wherein the threshold between the juridical order and anomie, or that between an insider and outsider of the juridical order becomes blurred as a result of a law that is suspended from its effectiveness yet is effective in its suspension. Jesus can be interpreted as a bare life in a zone of absolute undecidability in which both the Jewish and Roman laws simultaneously are operative and ineffectual. More specifically, Jesus is an insider in both the Jewish and Roman worlds on the grounds that he is subject to both the rules of Judaism and the Roman Empire. But at the same time, Jesus is an outsider from both the Jewish and Roman worlds explicitly because his kingship goes beyond both earthly rules (18:36; cf. 8:23; 17:14, 16). Paradoxically, Jesus is simultaneously an insider in and an outsider from each of the Jewish and Roman sovereignties. That is to say, Jesus lives in both of the sovereignties, while at the same time belonging to neither of them. It follows from this that Jesus resides in an in-between zone between insider and outsider. My contention, therefore, is that Jesus is such a liminal character—an unfixed and unfixable character in a zone of uncertainty—that he subverts the sovereign power and hierarchical dualism of the Jewish and Roman worlds.

요세푸스의 갈릴리인 이해를 바탕으로 예수의 갈릴리인 정체성 다시 읽기: 요한복음의 인종-종족 문제를 중심으로 (Revisiting Jesus’ Galilean Identity through the Lens of Josephus: A Racial-Ethnic Rereading of the Gospel of John)

신학사상, 2022

본 논문은 요한복음에 나타난 예수의 갈릴리인(Γαλιλαῖος) 정체성을 요세푸스의 눈으로 새롭게 해석하고자 한다. 유대 역사가인 요세푸스에 따르면 갈릴리인 정체성은 고정적이... more 본 논문은 요한복음에 나타난 예수의 갈릴리인(Γαλιλαῖος) 정체성을 요세푸스의 눈으로 새롭게 해석하고자 한다. 유대 역사가인 요세푸스에 따르면 갈릴리인 정체성은 고정적이라기보다는 유동적이다. 특히 이런 특징은 갈릴리인이 유대인 그리고 사마리아인과 교류하는 과정에서 잘 드러난다. 고대 사회에서 갈릴리인의 복잡한 인종-종족 정체성을 상세하게 기술한 요세푸스의 작품은 거의 동시대에 집필된 요한복음을 이해하는 데에 있어서 깊은 통찰력을 제공한다. 본고는 요세푸스의 갈릴리인에대한 다양한 기술을 충분히 탐구한 이후에 먼저 요한복음에 나타난 여러 종족들, 즉 갈릴리인, 유대인, 사마리아인, 그리고 로마인 사이의 역동적인 관계에 주목하고자 한다. 그다음 본고는 이를 토대로 예수의 갈릴리인 정체성을 보다 예리하게 해부할 것이다. 요한복음 전체에 걸쳐 갈릴리인 예수의 인종-종족 정체성은 유대성(Jewishness)에 기반하면서도 다른 인종-종족과의 관계에 따라서 다소 변동적인 것으로 나타난다. 결론적으로 본고는 요한복음 속 갈릴리인 예수의 인종-종족 정체성이 유대성에 중심을 두면서도 유대성과 비(非)유대성의 경계선을 넘나드는 사회· 문화적인 구성체임을 주장하는 바이다.

고대 그리스 신화와 철학의 관점에서 바라본 요한복음의 기억론 (The Johannine Memory in the Light of Ancient Greek Mythology and Philosophy)

신학사상, 2020

본 논문은 요한복음에 나타난 기억론을 그 사상적 배경에 해당하는 고대 그리스 신화와 철학의 관점에서 재조명하고자 한다. 먼저 그리스 신화에 따르면 기억은 태초의 창조에 관여한... more 본 논문은 요한복음에 나타난 기억론을 그 사상적 배경에 해당하는 고대 그리스 신화와 철학의 관점에서 재조명하고자 한다. 먼저 그리스 신화에 따르면 기억은 태초의 창조에 관여한 지식으로서 과거, 현재, 미래라는 직선적인 시간관을 넘어서는 순환적인 시간관을 내포한다. 고대 그리스 신화 내에서 기억은 므네모쉬네(Μνημοσύνη) 여신과 므네모쉬네 여신의 딸들인 무사이(Μοῦσαι) 여신들을 통해서 형상화된다. 고대 그리스 신화의 여신들을 통해 구현된 기억이란 시간의 범주를 넘어서서 원형적인 반복으로서, 인간에게 다가오는 태초의 때에 대한 초월적인 기억이다. 다음으로 고대 그리스 철학은 그리스 신화의 기억론과는 반대로 순환적인 시간관이 아닌, 직선적인 시간관에 입각해서 경험의 세계와 관련해서 기억을 설명한다. 구체적으로 말하자면 플라톤은 신화적인 세계관에서 완전히 탈피하지 못하고 영혼의 불멸설과 윤회론을 절대적인 진리로 인식하면서 기억(μνήμη)은 경험적인 지각의 보존을 의미하며, 상기(ἀνάμνησις)는 경험적인 인지를 넘어서서 이데아에 대한 선험적인 기억의 회복을 의미한다고 주장한다. 반면 아리스토텔레스는 플라톤의 철학에 잔존해 있던 신화적 세계관의 흔적인 영혼 불멸설과 윤회론을 가정하지 않고 기억과 상기를 경험의 세계 내에서만 설명한다. 아리스토텔레스에게 있어서 기억은 과거에 경험했던 대상이 현재에는 상상물로서 의식에 현전(現前)하는 것이라고 한다면, 상기는 과거에 경험한 내용을 현재 추론과 같은 사유를 통해 그 기억을 복원시키는 것을 의미한다. 이를 염두에 두고 본 논문은 요한복음에 나타나는 기억과 관련된 어휘들을 자세히 분석하여 요한복음의 기억론을 재구성한 후에 요한복음의 기억론을 그리스 신화와 철학의 관점에서 재고찰하고자 한다. 결론적으로 필자는 요한복음의 기억론이 그리스 신화보다는 철학의 관점에서 그중에서도 아리스토텔레스의 상기 개념과 맥을 같이 한다는 사실을 밝히고자 한다.

성경 번역의 문화정치 (Cultural Politics in Bible Translation)

종교와 문화, 2022

This essay investigates the concealed cultural politics of the Gospel of John as embedded in the ... more This essay investigates the concealed cultural politics of the Gospel of John as embedded in the New Korean Translation (NKT, 2021) with a focus on disability and gender. The underlying assumption is that Bible translation is a site of cultural politics in which social values are ceaselessly formed, maintained and recreated. To do so, I scrutinize the cultural politics of disability by analyzing the expressions related to people with disabilities (Jn 5:3; 9:39). Second, I reconsider the cultural politics of gender in such a way as to inspect the specific usages of the Greek word γύναι (Jn 2:4; 4:21; 8:10; 19:26; 20:13, 15). Third, I explore the potential, doubled effect of NKT of both liberating and oppressing social minorities in Korean church and society. Finally, I propose a model of Bible translation with social minorities in the place of a model of Bible translation for social minorities. It is, therefore, my contention that Bible translation calls for a closer inspection of ideological values, especially on the part of minority groups.

An Ethical Reexamination of Nature and Women in the Era of Environmental Crisis (Rom 8:18-25)

University & Christian Mission, 2019

Wrestling with patriarchal systems in an era of environmental crisis, the present essay delves in... more Wrestling with patriarchal systems in an era of environmental crisis, the
present essay delves into nature and women in Rom 8:18–25 from the following perspectives of Christian (biblical) ethics: (1) the ethics of property, (2) the ethics of obedience, (3) the ethics of resistance, and (4) the ethics of risk. An in-depth investigation reveals that out of the four ethical paradigms, the ethics of risk demonstrates that nature and women exceed the limits of male power. Read in this perspective, the patriarchal system transpires to be vulnerable to the uncertainty inherently rooted in the otherness of the ostensibly marginalized nature and women. When all is said and done, it is my contention that the ethics of risk empowers us to take more responsibility for the others in a display of solidarity.

A Double-Voiced Reading of Romans 13:1–7 in Light of the Imperial Cult

HTS , 2015

Drawing on Mikhail Bakhtin’s theory of double-voicedness and James Scott’s theory of public and h... more Drawing on Mikhail Bakhtin’s theory of double-voicedness and James Scott’s theory of public and hidden transcripts, this essay investigates the colonial context of Romans 13:1–7 with particular attention to the Roman imperial cult. It is my contention that Paul attempts to persuade the audience to resist the imperial cult, whilst negotiating colonial power and authority. It is assumed that colonial discourse is, by nature, a double-voiced discourse in that the public transcript of the dominant and the hidden transcript of the suppressed coexist in a continued state of internal tension and conflict. Seen in this light, Paul as a colonised subject parodies the public transcript of the elites in his own hidden transcript. However, Paul’s doubled-voiced discourse finally turns out to be subversive against the dominant culture by suggesting that ultimate honour, fear, and authority should not be due to the rulers of the Roman Empire but to God.

The Otherness of Onesimus: Re-reading Paul’s Letter to Philemon from the Margins

Theology Today, 2016

Onesimus has so far remained a colonized or marginalized other in the text and history of recepti... more Onesimus has so far remained a colonized or marginalized other in the text and history of reception across historical and cultural constraints. In contrast to this colonizing strategy of reading, the thesis of this paper is that Onesimus, as a minor character, plays a major role in liberating himself from the bondage of slavery’s hierarchical structures within the context of Roman imperial rule. There is a commonly held consensus among most, though not all, Western interpreters that Philemon is the letter to Philemon written by Paul on behalf of Onesimus as the other who is marginalized. That is, a “reading for” Onesimus as the other is ultimately doomed to a reading of marginalizing Onesimus as the colonized other. Ironically, such a “reading for” Onesimus has looked down on his agency in the process of interpretation in the fullest sense. Rather, my reading leans towards a “reading with” Onesimus as a subversive character to regain his long-suppressed voice. Toward this end, I propose reading the letter to Philemon from the marginalized perspective of Onesimus rather than from the central perspective of Paul or Philemon. To do so, I first foreground a postcolonial reading strategy as a critical angle of inquiry alongside narrative and deconstructive criticisms. I then reconstruct Onesimus in terms of plot and characterization through a postcolonial lens. Finally, I deconstruct the hierarchy of social structures inherent in the story of Philemon through a postcolonial optic.

The Political Economy of Eating Idol Meat: Practice, Structure, and Subversion in 1 Corinthians 8 through the Sociological Lens of Pierre Bourdieu

Horizons in Biblical Theology , 2012

This paper intends to delve into the political economy of the symbolic practice of eating idol me... more This paper intends to delve into the political economy of the symbolic practice of eating idol meat in 1 Corinthians 8 from a Bourdieuian perspective. My contention is that Paul attempts to undermine the Roman socioeconomic system by substituting a dietary habitus of abstention for a dietary habitus of consumption. In Bourdieu's view, the Roman colony of Corinth can be seen as a religious fĳield consisting of a conflict over diffferent capital between the strong and the weak. Through rhetorical strategies, Paul enables the weak to subvert the hierarchical structure as embodied in the practice of idol meat consumption, while simultaneously urging the strong to surrender the claim to their authority. Thus, while deconstructing an old, colonial habitus of consumption , Paul reconstructs a new, postcolonial habitus of abstention.

Reconfiguring Paul's Economic Democracy in the Korean Context: The Issue of Equity (ἰσότης) Revisited (2 Cor 8:13-15)

Theological Forum, 2021

This essay delves into the intricate topic of economic democracy in the ancient and contemporary ... more This essay delves into the intricate topic of economic democracy in the ancient and contemporary world. To begin with, it delineates an in- creasingly widening gap between the rich and the poor in contemporary neoliberal South Korean society under the total control of competitive rationality. In addition, it observes that where a society is, to a certain extent, devastated by economic polarization and inequality, democracy is found to be in serious doubt. Then, it probes into Paul’s political theology embedded in 2 Cor 8:13-15 in its Jewish and Greco-Roman contexts with the aim of recovering economic democracy in the biblical sense. I suggest that Paul can assist us in reconfiguring the spirit of eco- nomic democracy in such a way that brings to the fore the significance of equity(ἰσότης) based on the act of reciprocal sharing across borders. When viewed from the perspective of political theology, Paul’s new vi- sion of the divine economy can help guide us to transform a neoliberal society run by the logic of competition into an equitable society which orients itself to mutual sharing at the multidimensional level in the name of solidarity. The underlying assumption is that Paul draws due attention to differential capital, which ranges from material capital via
cultural capital to religious capital in Pierre Bourdieu’s terms. It is, therefore, my expectation that Korean Christians today will gain insight into civic participation in democracy by following in Paul’s footsteps for a more equitable and just society.

Mapping Korean Biblical Interpretation in the Shadow of Powers: Anticolonial, Liberationist, and Postcolonial Reading Strategies Revisited

The Oxford Handbook of the Bible in Korea, 2022

In geopolitical terms, the Korean peninsula is surrounded by great powers, such as China, Russia,... more In geopolitical terms, the Korean peninsula is surrounded by great powers, such as China, Russia, Japan, and the United States. Accordingly, realpolitik affects biblical interpretation. Anticolonial, liberationist, and postcolonial reading strategies respond to the colonial, military, and neoliberal powers that have shaped modern Korean history. Specifically, in the colonial era, Kim Gyo-Shin, Ham Seok-Heon, and Gil Seon-Ju provided an anticolonial reading strategy grounded in both biblical authority and religious imagination to inspire a population to oppose foreign imperialism. In the Cold War domestic face-off of South Korean military oppression and democracy movements, Ahn Byung-Mu and Cyris H. S. Moon conducted a liberationist reading strategy using minjung theology and biblical narratives to confront military regimes. Now amidst neoliberal globalization, Korean and Korean American biblical scholars, such as Seong Hee Kim and Uriah Y. Kim, employ a postcolonial reading strategy that empowers gendered and ethnic minorities to restore their agency and identity through critical engagement with biblical narratives. Across these three eras, Korean biblical interpretation has disrupted the exercise of unjust power, revealing the liberative power of the Bible in pursuit of divine justice.

Otherness and Identity in the Gospel of John

Palgrave Macmillan, 2021

In this book, Sung Uk Lim examines the narrative construction of identity and otherness through o... more In this book, Sung Uk Lim examines the narrative construction of identity and otherness through ongoing interactions between Jesus and the so-called others as represented by the minor characters in the Gospel of John. This study reconfigures the otherness of the minor characters in order to reconstruct the identity of Jesus beyond the exclusive binary of identity and otherness. The recent trends in Johannine scholarship are deeply entrenched in a dialectical framework of inclusion and exclusion, perpetuating positive portrayals of Jesus and negative portrayals of the minor characters. Read in this light, Jesus is portrayed as a superior, omniscient, and omnipotent character, whereas minor characters are depicted as inferior, uncomprehending, and powerless. At the root of such portrayals lies the belief that the Johannine dualistic Weltanschauung warrants such a sharp differentiation between Jesus and the minor characters. Lim argues, to the contrary, that the multiple constructions of otherness deriving from the minor characters make Jesus' identity vulnerable to a constant process of transformation. Consequently, John's minor characters actually challenge and destabilize Johannine hierarchical dualism within a both/and framework.

Jonah's Transformation and Transformation of Jonah from the Bakhtinian Perspective of Authoring and Re-authoring

Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 2008

This article explores the transformation of both the character of Jonah and the text of Jonah, es... more This article explores the transformation of both the character of Jonah and the text of Jonah, especially in ch. 2, from the Bakhtinian perspective of (re-)authoring. Bakhtin's concept of authoring shows that the disobedient Jonah is transformed into an obedient prophet in ch. 2 in his understanding of God and himself. Simultaneously, Bakhtin's notion of re-authoring reveals that the book of Jonah has been transformed in the history of Bible translation as seen in the Masoretic Text, Septuagint, and Vulgate.

Josephus Constructs the Samari(t)ans: A Strategic Construction of Judaean/Jewish Identity through the Rhetoric of Inclusion and Exclusion

Journal of Theological Studies , 2013

In this essay I argue that Josephus performs a dual dynamic discourse made up of the discourses o... more In this essay I argue that Josephus performs a dual dynamic discourse made up of the discourses of inclusion and exclusion in various dimensions—ethnic, geographical, political, religious, and cultural—so as eventually to construct Judaean/Jewish identity in both an inclusive and exclusive relationship with the Samarians/Samaritans in the context of the destruction of the Second Temple. What is interesting is that Josephus does not deploy the rhetoric of inclusion and the rhetoric of exclusion in a dichotomous manner (sameness vs. difference), but along a continuum with varying degrees of both sameness and difference. It is assumed that the boundary per se between Judaeans/Jews and Samarians/Samaritans is fictive and fluid rather than real and fixed. Therefore, Josephus’ attitudes towards the Samarians/Samaritans can be inclusive at times and exclusive at other times, depending on a specific context. The point is that for Josephus, Judaean/Jewish identity-making consists of the twofold process of both assimilation with and distinction from the Samarians/Samaritans. In this regard, Josephus makes the most of the Samarians/Samaritans as a foil against which the Judaean/Jewish people may establish a strategic construction of their identity.

Race and Ethnicity Discourse in Biblical Studies and Beyond

Journal for the Study of Religions and Ideologies, 2016

This paper aims at foregrounding race and ethnicity discourse in Biblical Studies and beyond in o... more This paper aims at foregrounding race and ethnicity discourse in Biblical Studies and beyond in order to undermine transhistorical and transcultural racism and ethnocentrism in religious discourse. It is my argument that matters of race and ethnicity should be approached as analytical categories in an interdisciplinary manner, albeit in a specific context, Hellenistic, Roman, Jewish, or Christian. In doing so, I first examine the works of Steve Fenton as well as Robert Miles and Malcolm Brown in order to look closely at race and ethnicity discourse in the ancient Mediterranean world, especially from a sociological perspective. Then, I indicate how Jonathan Hall and Shaye Cohen examine Hellenic and Jewish identity, respectively, with a focus on ethnic identity in the Greco-Roman world. Finally, I consider how Judith Lieu and Denise Buell analyze early Christian identity as a racial or ethnic discourse in the Jewish, Hellenistic, and Roman matrix. Hence, I contend that identity in general and racial-ethnic identity in particular are by no means stable and static in essentialist terms, but rather they are fluid along the ostensible axis of fixed identity.

신약성서 속 갈릴리인(Γαλιλαῖος) 정체성 연구 (Galilean Identity in the New Testament)

신학논단, 2023

본 논문은 신약성서의 갈릴리인의 정체성을 역사적·문학적 맥락 내 에서 파악하고자 한다. 학계 내외에서 갈릴리를 흔히 이방인의 땅으로, 그리고 갈릴리인을 손쉽게 이방인으로 단정... more 본 논문은 신약성서의 갈릴리인의 정체성을 역사적·문학적 맥락 내 에서 파악하고자 한다. 학계 내외에서 갈릴리를 흔히 이방인의 땅으로, 그리고 갈릴리인을 손쉽게 이방인으로 단정하는 편견을 뒤로하고, 본 연 구는 신약성서가 표상하는 갈릴리인(들)이라는 헬라어 용례 사용을 중심 으로 갈릴리인의 정체성을 분석한다. 이를 위해 먼저 갈릴리인의 역사적 정체성에 대한 최신 연구 동향을 정리하여 소개한다. 다음으로 갈릴리인 의 정체성을 지역, 종족, 정치, 종교, 문화라는 범주에 각각 입각하여 신약 성서 속 본문을 하나하나씩 문학적인 차원에서 분석한다. 마지막으로 신 약성서가 암시하는 갈릴리인의 의미가 역사적으로 무엇을 지시하는지 그 실체를 파악한다. 이처럼 역사적·문학적 고찰을 통하여 독자들은 갈릴 리인의정체성에대해보다통합적인이해를획득할수있을것이다.그 결과, 정치적인 관점을 제외하고는 신약성서가 표상하는 갈릴리인은 역 사적으로 유대적인(Jewish) 갈릴리 지역민으로 이해할 수 있을 것이다.

성서와 경제: 갈릴리, 양극화, 그리고 예수의 경제 신학

종교와 문화 , 2024

This study explores the economic dimensions of early Christianity, with a particular focus on Gal... more This study explores the economic dimensions of early Christianity, with a particular focus on Galilee, which served as the central region for Jesus’ ministry. The essay is structured into three main sections. First, it reevaluates Minjung theology and its portrayal of Galilee as predominantly impoverished, a perspective originally shaped by the historical context of resistance against military dictatorship within the South Korean context. Second, it critically assesses archaeological interpretations that highlight Galilean prosperity during the early Christian period, often overlooking the
underlying complexities of economic disparity within the region. Finally, this study introduces a sociological model that balances these contrasting perspectives, providing a more nuanced understanding of Galilee’s polarized economic landscape that Jesus and his followers encountered. This dual economic context underpins an interpretation of Jesus’ economic theology as a form of pastoral theology that addresses the needs of both the affluent and the marginalized, advocating for voluntary sharing as a means to achieve communal equity.

The Touch of Jesus in a Time of Untact

Doing Theology in the New Normal: Global Perspectives (SCM Press), 2021

This essay wrestles with the meaning of healing by dint of divine touch in what would be termed t... more This essay wrestles with the meaning of healing by dint of divine touch in what would be termed the society of untact, in which safety is believed to be guaranteed only through the sheer lack of contact with others. My contention is, therefore, that Jesus’ touch can be read as the signal for his boundary crossings over the social norms of purity from antiquity to the present. Furthermore, Jesus’ symbolic action of touching encourages us even to reimagine the meaning of a touchless touch, a new phenomenon generated in the time of untact, as divine intervention in human suffering in the post-coronavirus era.

Jairus’s Family Revisited: A Collaborative Model of Parenting (Mark 5:21–24, 35–43)

by Sung Uk Lim and Amy Lindeman Allen

Neotestamentica, 2022

The present study proposes parentist criticism as a new approach to reading the biblical text. As... more The present study proposes parentist criticism as a new approach to reading the biblical text. As a test case, we revisit the healing of Jairus’s daughter (Mark 5:21–24, 35–43) to reconfigure family dynamics with a focus on the role of each parent and their collaboration for the sake of their child. A review of recent scholarship reveals that the roles of Jairus and his wife as parents are treated in isolation from one another, when considered at all—thus, failing to address the larger picture of family dynamics. We, therefore, propose parentist criticism as a more holistic alternative. This criticism takes shape in three stages. Firstly, we examine the gendered roles of Jairus and his wife as they intersect with parental duties within the first-century patriarchal cultural codes. Secondly, we scrutinise the gendered parental roles of Jairus and his wife in light of their crossings of these roles as it pertains to the care of their daughter. Finally, we reconsider the family dynamics in this text as read through a lens of collaborative parenting. Taken together, we propose reading this text with a parentist approach in order to highlight the text’s potential to break down gendered household hierarchies through shared parental concern and action, oriented towards the well-being of the child(ren).

Speak My Name: Anti-Colonial Mimicry and the Samaritan Woman in John 4:1-42

Union Seminary Quarterly Review, 2010

This paper revisits the thorny issue of whether or not the subaltern can speak against the coloni... more This paper revisits the thorny issue of whether or not the subaltern can speak against the colonial authority. It argues that in John 4 the nameless Samaritan woman as a subaltern native is a creative agent who undermines the colonial authority of Jesus as a so-called missionary, when seen through Homi Bhabha’s lens of mimicry. A close reading of John 4:1-42 reveals that the mimicry of the Samaritan woman is anti-colonial in the sense that she, as the colonized, menaces the authority of Jesus as the colonizer by causing ambivalence to him with regard to his ethnic and political identity. As a consequence, mimicry is transformed into the location of resistance against colonialism

Debunking the Uncanny Otherness of Disability in Context: A Postcolonial Critique of Biblical Translation and Interpretation of John 9:1–41

The Critic in the World, 2024

The current study draws on postcolonialism as an analytical lens to revisit the otherness of disa... more

Biopolitics in the Trial of Jesus (John 18:28–19:16a)

Expository Times, 2016

This article explores the biopolitical dimension of the trial of Jesus in John 18:28–19:16a from ... more This article explores the biopolitical dimension of the trial of Jesus in John 18:28–19:16a from the Agambenian perspective of “bare life.” According to Giorgio Agamben, bare life, namely, life at risk of death through sovereign power, operates in the “state of exception.” The state of exception is a state wherein the threshold between the juridical order and anomie, or that between an insider and outsider of the juridical order becomes blurred as a result of a law that is suspended from its effectiveness yet is effective in its suspension. Jesus can be interpreted as a bare life in a zone of absolute undecidability in which both the Jewish and Roman laws simultaneously are operative and ineffectual. More specifically, Jesus is an insider in both the Jewish and Roman worlds on the grounds that he is subject to both the rules of Judaism and the Roman Empire. But at the same time, Jesus is an outsider from both the Jewish and Roman worlds explicitly because his kingship goes beyond both earthly rules (18:36; cf. 8:23; 17:14, 16). Paradoxically, Jesus is simultaneously an insider in and an outsider from each of the Jewish and Roman sovereignties. That is to say, Jesus lives in both of the sovereignties, while at the same time belonging to neither of them. It follows from this that Jesus resides in an in-between zone between insider and outsider. My contention, therefore, is that Jesus is such a liminal character—an unfixed and unfixable character in a zone of uncertainty—that he subverts the sovereign power and hierarchical dualism of the Jewish and Roman worlds.

요세푸스의 갈릴리인 이해를 바탕으로 예수의 갈릴리인 정체성 다시 읽기: 요한복음의 인종-종족 문제를 중심으로 (Revisiting Jesus’ Galilean Identity through the Lens of Josephus: A Racial-Ethnic Rereading of the Gospel of John)

신학사상, 2022

본 논문은 요한복음에 나타난 예수의 갈릴리인(Γαλιλαῖος) 정체성을 요세푸스의 눈으로 새롭게 해석하고자 한다. 유대 역사가인 요세푸스에 따르면 갈릴리인 정체성은 고정적이... more 본 논문은 요한복음에 나타난 예수의 갈릴리인(Γαλιλαῖος) 정체성을 요세푸스의 눈으로 새롭게 해석하고자 한다. 유대 역사가인 요세푸스에 따르면 갈릴리인 정체성은 고정적이라기보다는 유동적이다. 특히 이런 특징은 갈릴리인이 유대인 그리고 사마리아인과 교류하는 과정에서 잘 드러난다. 고대 사회에서 갈릴리인의 복잡한 인종-종족 정체성을 상세하게 기술한 요세푸스의 작품은 거의 동시대에 집필된 요한복음을 이해하는 데에 있어서 깊은 통찰력을 제공한다. 본고는 요세푸스의 갈릴리인에대한 다양한 기술을 충분히 탐구한 이후에 먼저 요한복음에 나타난 여러 종족들, 즉 갈릴리인, 유대인, 사마리아인, 그리고 로마인 사이의 역동적인 관계에 주목하고자 한다. 그다음 본고는 이를 토대로 예수의 갈릴리인 정체성을 보다 예리하게 해부할 것이다. 요한복음 전체에 걸쳐 갈릴리인 예수의 인종-종족 정체성은 유대성(Jewishness)에 기반하면서도 다른 인종-종족과의 관계에 따라서 다소 변동적인 것으로 나타난다. 결론적으로 본고는 요한복음 속 갈릴리인 예수의 인종-종족 정체성이 유대성에 중심을 두면서도 유대성과 비(非)유대성의 경계선을 넘나드는 사회· 문화적인 구성체임을 주장하는 바이다.

고대 그리스 신화와 철학의 관점에서 바라본 요한복음의 기억론 (The Johannine Memory in the Light of Ancient Greek Mythology and Philosophy)

신학사상, 2020

본 논문은 요한복음에 나타난 기억론을 그 사상적 배경에 해당하는 고대 그리스 신화와 철학의 관점에서 재조명하고자 한다. 먼저 그리스 신화에 따르면 기억은 태초의 창조에 관여한... more 본 논문은 요한복음에 나타난 기억론을 그 사상적 배경에 해당하는 고대 그리스 신화와 철학의 관점에서 재조명하고자 한다. 먼저 그리스 신화에 따르면 기억은 태초의 창조에 관여한 지식으로서 과거, 현재, 미래라는 직선적인 시간관을 넘어서는 순환적인 시간관을 내포한다. 고대 그리스 신화 내에서 기억은 므네모쉬네(Μνημοσύνη) 여신과 므네모쉬네 여신의 딸들인 무사이(Μοῦσαι) 여신들을 통해서 형상화된다. 고대 그리스 신화의 여신들을 통해 구현된 기억이란 시간의 범주를 넘어서서 원형적인 반복으로서, 인간에게 다가오는 태초의 때에 대한 초월적인 기억이다. 다음으로 고대 그리스 철학은 그리스 신화의 기억론과는 반대로 순환적인 시간관이 아닌, 직선적인 시간관에 입각해서 경험의 세계와 관련해서 기억을 설명한다. 구체적으로 말하자면 플라톤은 신화적인 세계관에서 완전히 탈피하지 못하고 영혼의 불멸설과 윤회론을 절대적인 진리로 인식하면서 기억(μνήμη)은 경험적인 지각의 보존을 의미하며, 상기(ἀνάμνησις)는 경험적인 인지를 넘어서서 이데아에 대한 선험적인 기억의 회복을 의미한다고 주장한다. 반면 아리스토텔레스는 플라톤의 철학에 잔존해 있던 신화적 세계관의 흔적인 영혼 불멸설과 윤회론을 가정하지 않고 기억과 상기를 경험의 세계 내에서만 설명한다. 아리스토텔레스에게 있어서 기억은 과거에 경험했던 대상이 현재에는 상상물로서 의식에 현전(現前)하는 것이라고 한다면, 상기는 과거에 경험한 내용을 현재 추론과 같은 사유를 통해 그 기억을 복원시키는 것을 의미한다. 이를 염두에 두고 본 논문은 요한복음에 나타나는 기억과 관련된 어휘들을 자세히 분석하여 요한복음의 기억론을 재구성한 후에 요한복음의 기억론을 그리스 신화와 철학의 관점에서 재고찰하고자 한다. 결론적으로 필자는 요한복음의 기억론이 그리스 신화보다는 철학의 관점에서 그중에서도 아리스토텔레스의 상기 개념과 맥을 같이 한다는 사실을 밝히고자 한다.

성경 번역의 문화정치 (Cultural Politics in Bible Translation)

종교와 문화, 2022

This essay investigates the concealed cultural politics of the Gospel of John as embedded in the ... more This essay investigates the concealed cultural politics of the Gospel of John as embedded in the New Korean Translation (NKT, 2021) with a focus on disability and gender. The underlying assumption is that Bible translation is a site of cultural politics in which social values are ceaselessly formed, maintained and recreated. To do so, I scrutinize the cultural politics of disability by analyzing the expressions related to people with disabilities (Jn 5:3; 9:39). Second, I reconsider the cultural politics of gender in such a way as to inspect the specific usages of the Greek word γύναι (Jn 2:4; 4:21; 8:10; 19:26; 20:13, 15). Third, I explore the potential, doubled effect of NKT of both liberating and oppressing social minorities in Korean church and society. Finally, I propose a model of Bible translation with social minorities in the place of a model of Bible translation for social minorities. It is, therefore, my contention that Bible translation calls for a closer inspection of ideological values, especially on the part of minority groups.

An Ethical Reexamination of Nature and Women in the Era of Environmental Crisis (Rom 8:18-25)

University & Christian Mission, 2019

Wrestling with patriarchal systems in an era of environmental crisis, the present essay delves in... more Wrestling with patriarchal systems in an era of environmental crisis, the
present essay delves into nature and women in Rom 8:18–25 from the following perspectives of Christian (biblical) ethics: (1) the ethics of property, (2) the ethics of obedience, (3) the ethics of resistance, and (4) the ethics of risk. An in-depth investigation reveals that out of the four ethical paradigms, the ethics of risk demonstrates that nature and women exceed the limits of male power. Read in this perspective, the patriarchal system transpires to be vulnerable to the uncertainty inherently rooted in the otherness of the ostensibly marginalized nature and women. When all is said and done, it is my contention that the ethics of risk empowers us to take more responsibility for the others in a display of solidarity.

A Double-Voiced Reading of Romans 13:1–7 in Light of the Imperial Cult

HTS , 2015

Drawing on Mikhail Bakhtin’s theory of double-voicedness and James Scott’s theory of public and h... more Drawing on Mikhail Bakhtin’s theory of double-voicedness and James Scott’s theory of public and hidden transcripts, this essay investigates the colonial context of Romans 13:1–7 with particular attention to the Roman imperial cult. It is my contention that Paul attempts to persuade the audience to resist the imperial cult, whilst negotiating colonial power and authority. It is assumed that colonial discourse is, by nature, a double-voiced discourse in that the public transcript of the dominant and the hidden transcript of the suppressed coexist in a continued state of internal tension and conflict. Seen in this light, Paul as a colonised subject parodies the public transcript of the elites in his own hidden transcript. However, Paul’s doubled-voiced discourse finally turns out to be subversive against the dominant culture by suggesting that ultimate honour, fear, and authority should not be due to the rulers of the Roman Empire but to God.

The Otherness of Onesimus: Re-reading Paul’s Letter to Philemon from the Margins

Theology Today, 2016

Onesimus has so far remained a colonized or marginalized other in the text and history of recepti... more Onesimus has so far remained a colonized or marginalized other in the text and history of reception across historical and cultural constraints. In contrast to this colonizing strategy of reading, the thesis of this paper is that Onesimus, as a minor character, plays a major role in liberating himself from the bondage of slavery’s hierarchical structures within the context of Roman imperial rule. There is a commonly held consensus among most, though not all, Western interpreters that Philemon is the letter to Philemon written by Paul on behalf of Onesimus as the other who is marginalized. That is, a “reading for” Onesimus as the other is ultimately doomed to a reading of marginalizing Onesimus as the colonized other. Ironically, such a “reading for” Onesimus has looked down on his agency in the process of interpretation in the fullest sense. Rather, my reading leans towards a “reading with” Onesimus as a subversive character to regain his long-suppressed voice. Toward this end, I propose reading the letter to Philemon from the marginalized perspective of Onesimus rather than from the central perspective of Paul or Philemon. To do so, I first foreground a postcolonial reading strategy as a critical angle of inquiry alongside narrative and deconstructive criticisms. I then reconstruct Onesimus in terms of plot and characterization through a postcolonial lens. Finally, I deconstruct the hierarchy of social structures inherent in the story of Philemon through a postcolonial optic.

The Political Economy of Eating Idol Meat: Practice, Structure, and Subversion in 1 Corinthians 8 through the Sociological Lens of Pierre Bourdieu

Horizons in Biblical Theology , 2012

This paper intends to delve into the political economy of the symbolic practice of eating idol me... more This paper intends to delve into the political economy of the symbolic practice of eating idol meat in 1 Corinthians 8 from a Bourdieuian perspective. My contention is that Paul attempts to undermine the Roman socioeconomic system by substituting a dietary habitus of abstention for a dietary habitus of consumption. In Bourdieu's view, the Roman colony of Corinth can be seen as a religious fĳield consisting of a conflict over diffferent capital between the strong and the weak. Through rhetorical strategies, Paul enables the weak to subvert the hierarchical structure as embodied in the practice of idol meat consumption, while simultaneously urging the strong to surrender the claim to their authority. Thus, while deconstructing an old, colonial habitus of consumption , Paul reconstructs a new, postcolonial habitus of abstention.

Reconfiguring Paul's Economic Democracy in the Korean Context: The Issue of Equity (ἰσότης) Revisited (2 Cor 8:13-15)

Theological Forum, 2021

This essay delves into the intricate topic of economic democracy in the ancient and contemporary ... more This essay delves into the intricate topic of economic democracy in the ancient and contemporary world. To begin with, it delineates an in- creasingly widening gap between the rich and the poor in contemporary neoliberal South Korean society under the total control of competitive rationality. In addition, it observes that where a society is, to a certain extent, devastated by economic polarization and inequality, democracy is found to be in serious doubt. Then, it probes into Paul’s political theology embedded in 2 Cor 8:13-15 in its Jewish and Greco-Roman contexts with the aim of recovering economic democracy in the biblical sense. I suggest that Paul can assist us in reconfiguring the spirit of eco- nomic democracy in such a way that brings to the fore the significance of equity(ἰσότης) based on the act of reciprocal sharing across borders. When viewed from the perspective of political theology, Paul’s new vi- sion of the divine economy can help guide us to transform a neoliberal society run by the logic of competition into an equitable society which orients itself to mutual sharing at the multidimensional level in the name of solidarity. The underlying assumption is that Paul draws due attention to differential capital, which ranges from material capital via
cultural capital to religious capital in Pierre Bourdieu’s terms. It is, therefore, my expectation that Korean Christians today will gain insight into civic participation in democracy by following in Paul’s footsteps for a more equitable and just society.

Mapping Korean Biblical Interpretation in the Shadow of Powers: Anticolonial, Liberationist, and Postcolonial Reading Strategies Revisited

The Oxford Handbook of the Bible in Korea, 2022

In geopolitical terms, the Korean peninsula is surrounded by great powers, such as China, Russia,... more In geopolitical terms, the Korean peninsula is surrounded by great powers, such as China, Russia, Japan, and the United States. Accordingly, realpolitik affects biblical interpretation. Anticolonial, liberationist, and postcolonial reading strategies respond to the colonial, military, and neoliberal powers that have shaped modern Korean history. Specifically, in the colonial era, Kim Gyo-Shin, Ham Seok-Heon, and Gil Seon-Ju provided an anticolonial reading strategy grounded in both biblical authority and religious imagination to inspire a population to oppose foreign imperialism. In the Cold War domestic face-off of South Korean military oppression and democracy movements, Ahn Byung-Mu and Cyris H. S. Moon conducted a liberationist reading strategy using minjung theology and biblical narratives to confront military regimes. Now amidst neoliberal globalization, Korean and Korean American biblical scholars, such as Seong Hee Kim and Uriah Y. Kim, employ a postcolonial reading strategy that empowers gendered and ethnic minorities to restore their agency and identity through critical engagement with biblical narratives. Across these three eras, Korean biblical interpretation has disrupted the exercise of unjust power, revealing the liberative power of the Bible in pursuit of divine justice.

Performing the Bible in the Korean Context: Korean Ways of Reading, Singing, and Dramatizing the Scriptures

Religions, 2018

The present study explores the performative nature of the Bible as a sacred text in the Korean co... more The present study explores the performative nature of the Bible as a sacred text in the Korean context. Drawing on the theory of scriptural performance advocated by James W. Watts, I investigate its character as words and contents. First, I delve into the scriptural performance of thoroughly reading (and listening to) the Bible at the level of words. Second, I scrutinize the scriptural performance of singing and dramatizing the Bible at the level of contents. The specific context of South Korea-whether religious, cultural, or social-alerts us to the performed transformation of the semantic range of the long-standing Christian tradition. Given the cultural differences between Western and Eastern Christianity, I contend that the adaptation of Christianity to Korean soil renders the performative dimension of the scriptures all the more semantic. In other words, the Korean ways of performing the Bible are essentially deeply rooted in those of signifying it. In the long term, Christianity turns out to be such a global religion that it provokes a more complex analysis of its scriptural performance in its widely differing range of semantics.

Review of Mary Ann Beavis, The First Christian Slave: Onesimus in Context, CBQ (2023)

CBQ, 2023

In stark contrast to the traditional interpretation deeply entrenched in the dominant perspective... more In stark contrast to the traditional interpretation deeply entrenched in the dominant perspective of Paul or Philemon, Mary Ann Beavis takes a doulocentric, or slave-centered, perspective in analyzing Philemon in order to recover the silenced voice and repressed agency of Onesimus in the dominant societies, both ancient and modern. B.’s awareness of and sensitivity to the long-lasting legacy of the slave trade even in modern history stimulates her to use a cross-cultural reading strategy across spatial and temporal constraints. Reading Philemon with Onesimus in the foreground triggers a liberationist hermeneutics for those enslaved people throughout history.

Review of Chris Seglenieks, Belief and Graeco-Roman Devotion: Reshaping Devotion for John’s Graeco-Roman Audience, RBL (2022)

RBL, 2022

Chris Seglenieks’s first monograph, a revised version of his doctoral dissertation, poses an esse... more Chris Seglenieks’s first monograph, a revised version of his doctoral dissertation, poses an essential but often overlooked question of how the Gospel of John portrays and, by implication, demands the ideal type of response to Jesus. Alongside the traditional Johannine approach to Jesus’s identity as the Christ and the Son of God (20:31), Seglenieks gives special attention to an extensive analysis of the complicated and prevalent aspects of response to Jesus. On the assumption that the majority of the audience of the Gospel of John was more gentile than Jewish, Seglenieks also attempts to investigate Johannine belief as a form of devotion in the Greco-Roman religious settings, particularly in terms of cognitive, relational, ethical, ongoing, public (and ritual) aspects.

Review of Per Jarle Bekken, The Lawsuit Motif in John’s Gospel from New Perspectives: Jesus Christ, Crucified Criminal and Emperor of the World, BibInt (2016)

Review of Jan Willem van Henten, Flavius Josephus: Translation and Commentary, Volume 7b: Judean Antiquities 15, JTS (2015)

AS STEVE MASON, general editor of the Brill Josephus project, articulates in the series preface, ... more AS STEVE MASON, general editor of the Brill Josephus project, articulates in the series preface, the project aims to provide a new translation as well as an in-depth analysis of and commentary on the works of Josephus. The translation is designed to treat the Greek texts with as much accuracy and sensitivity to tone and style as possible. The commentary seeks a sustained balance between historical issues ‘pertinent to the interpretation of the text itself’ and literary issues ‘related to the hypothetical reconstruction of a reality outside the text’ (p. x). As part of this long-standing project, Jan Willem van Henten offers in Volume 7b a new translation of and annotated commentary on the fifteenth book of Josephus’ Judean Antiquities …

Review of William den Hollander, The Emperors, and the City of Rome: From Hostage to Historian, JTS (2015)

"Joseph, Husband of Mary" Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception (2017)

"Hope" Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception (2016)

"Pseudo-Hegesippus" LBD (2015)

Latin account of the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70. This work formed the major source for

"Pseudo-Hecataeus" LBD (2015)

"Pseudo-Eupolemus" LBD (2015)

preserved by Eusebius in Praeparatio Evangelica Book 9. These fragments are often referred to by ... more preserved by Eusebius in Praeparatio Evangelica Book 9. These fragments are often referred to by the author's name, Pseudo-Eupolemus. As writing from the second temple period about an Old Testament figure, these fragments are often grouped with the Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, but since they elaborate on a biblical account, they may also be categorized as parabiblical or rewritten Bible.

"Pseudo-Clementines" LBD (2015)

to Homilies). The Pseudo-Clementines were never widely authoritative during the early church period.