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The Identity and Role of James in Acts - A Historical and Literary Analysis
Ojala, L.S.
2016
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Ojala, L. S. (2016). The Identity and Role of James in Acts - A Historical and Literary Analysis.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
GENERAL INTRODUCTION: JAMES IN ACTS ... 1
Acts 12:17 ... 1
Methodology and Critical Orientation ... 3
Structure of Dissertation ... 8
Academic Motivation and Scholarly Relevance ... 8
Overview of Current Research ... 10
INTRODUCTION TO PART ONE ... 14
CHAPTER ONE: DOES PETER LEAVE JERUSALEM AT ACTS 12:17? ... 19
1.1 Survey of Literature ... 19
1.2 The Wording: Does Peter Flee Jerusalem? ... 20
1.2.1 ἐξελθὼν ἐπορεύθη ... 21
1.2.2 ἕτερος τόπος ... 21
1.2.3 Ἀπαγγείλατε Ἰακώβῳ καὶ τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς ταῦτα ... 22
1.3 Verse 19: Does Herod Conduct a Search for Peter? ... 23
1.4 The Narrative Function of καὶ ἐξελθὼν ἐπορεύθη εἰς ἕτερον τόπον ... 24
1.5 Peter’s Departure within Acts 12:1–25 ... 25
1.6 Evidence from the Geographical Movements of Characters in Acts ... 26
1.6.1 Barnabas ... 26 1.6.2 Philip ... 27 1.6.3 Paul ... 27 1.6.4 John Mark ... 28 1.6.5 Timothy ... 28 1.6.6 Silas ... 29 1.6.7 Peter ... 29 1.6.8 Application to Acts 12:17 ... 30
1.7 Summary of Chapter One ... 30
CHAPTER TWO: IS LEADERSHIP TRANSFERRED FROM PETER AND THE APOSTLES TO JAMES AND THE ELDERS AT ACTS 12:17? ... 32
2.1 Survey of Literature ... 32
2.1.1 The Arguments of Richard Bauckham ... 33
2.1.2 The Arguments of Robert Wall ... 37
2.2 Peter and the Twelve: Can Peter Alone Appoint Their Successor? ... 38
2.3 The Appointment of New Leaders in Acts ... 40
2.5 In Acts, the Apostles as a Whole Never Leave Jerusalem ... 42
2.6 The Leadership of Peter and the Apostles at the Jerusalem Council ... 43
2.6.1 The Apostles Are Consistently Named Before the Elders ... 44
2.6.2 Collegial Leadership ... 45
2.7 What Is James to Be Told? ... 45
2.8 Summary of Chapter Two ... 46
CHAPTER THREE: IS JAMES THE MAIN LEADER OF THE JERUSALEM CHURCH FROM ITS INCEPTION? ... 47
3.1 Survey of Literature ... 48
3.1.1 Arguments of John Painter and Ben Witherington III ... 48
3.2 The Special Leadership Role of the Apostles in Luke-Acts ... 51
3.2.1 The Apostles as Witnesses to Jesus’s Life ... 51
3.2.2 Luke 22:29–30: The Apostles as Inheritors of the Kingdom ... 51
3.2.3 The Apostles as Witnesses of Jesus’s Resurrection ... 54
3.2.4 The Apostles as Leaders of the Church in Jerusalem ... 54
3.2.5 James’s Leadership in Contrast to That of the Apostles ... 55
3.3 The Meaning and Purpose of ἀδελφοί in Acts 12:17 ... 55
3.3.1 ἀδελφός/ἀδελφοί Is Not a Leadership Term in Acts ... 56
3.3.2 Is ἀδελφοί a Reference to Jesus’s brothers? ... 57
3.3.3 James and οἱ ἀδελφοί... 57
3.4 Does the Naming of James in Acts 12:17 Signify His Leadership Over the Twelve? ... 58
3.5 Summary of Chapter Three ... 59
CHAPTER FOUR: WHICH JAMES IS LUKE REFERRING TO?... 60
4.1 Survey of Literature ... 60
4.2 Characters with Shared Names in Luke-Acts ... 64
4.3 The Introduction of Named Characters in Luke-Acts ... 67
4.4 James of Alphaeus as a Character in the Acts Narrative ... 76
4.4.1 Peter and James of Alphaeus ... 76
4.4.2 Luke Does Not Legitimize James in Acts ... 77
4.5 The Purpose of the Naming of James of Alphaeus in Acts 12:17 ... 78
4.6 Summary of Chapter Four ... 79
CHAPTER FIVE: IS JAMES THE PRIMARY LEADER OF THE JERUSALEM CHURCH IN ACTS 15:13–21 AND 21:18–25? ... 81
5.1 Survey of Literature ... 81
5.1.1 Scholars Who Emphasize the Primacy of James ... 81
5.2 The Wording of James’s “Judgment”/”Opinion” (Acts 15:19–20) ... 84
5.2.1 The Meaning of κρίνω ... 85
5.2.2 The Function of the Personal Pronoun ἐγώ ... 85
5.2.3 The First-Person Singular Wording of James’s “Judgment”/”Opinion” ... 86
5.3 Contextual Considerations ... 87
5.3.1 What Type of Meeting is the Jerusalem “Council”?... 87
5.3.2 The Importance of Peter’s Speech in Luke’s Portrayal... 90
5.3.3 James as Leader of Law-Observant Christians?... 92
5.3.4 The “Judgment” of James in Light of His Apostolic Identity ... 94
5.4 The Leadership of James in Acts 21:18–25 ... 100
5.4.1 Why is James Singled Out? ... 102
5.5 Summary of Chapter Five ... 103
INTRODUCTION TO PART TWO OF DISSERTATION... 104
CHAPTER SIX: THE BROTHERS OF JESUS AND THE TWELVE APOSTLES IN THE GOSPELS ... 106
6.1 The Gospel of Mark ... 107
6.1.3 Mark and the Family of Jesus: Polemical or Indifferent? ... 112
6.1.4 The Twelve Disciples in the Gospel of Mark ... 113
6.1.5 Summary of Mark ... 115
6.2 The Gospel of Matthew ... 115
6.2.1 Matthew 1:1–2:23 ... 115
6.2.2 Matthew 12:46–50 ... 117
6.2.3 Matthew 13:55–57 ... 119
6.2.4 Indications of Later Church Leadership in the Gospel of Matthew ... 120
6.2.5 Material Unique to Matthew (M) and Its Possible Relationship to James ... 120
6.2.6 Summary of Matthew ... 122
6.3 The Gospel of John ... 123
6.3.1 The Fact That Jesus’s Brothers Speak with Him ... 123
6.3.2 The Fact That the Brothers Distinguish Themselves from the Disciples ... 123
6.3.3 The Fact That the Brothers Do Not Believe in Jesus ... 124
6.3.4 The Fact That the World Cannot Hate the Brothers of Jesus ... 125
6.3.5 The Twelve in the Gospel of John ... 126
6.3.6 Summary of John ... 128
6.4 Summary of Chapter Six ... 129
CHAPTER SEVEN: THE BROTHERS OF THE LORD AND THE TWELVE IN THE EPISTLES, IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION, AND IN JOSEPHUS ... 130
7.1.1 First Corinthians 9:5 ... 131
7.1.2 First Corinthians 15:5–8 ... 132
7.2 Galatians ... 136
7.2.1 Galatians 1:19 ... 137
7.2.2 Galatians 2:9, 12 ... 138
7.2.3 Which James in Galatians 2:11–14? ... 141
7.2.4 James of Alphaeus in Galatians 2:9? ... 142
7.2.5 Preliminary Conclusions and the Importance of the Jameses in Galatians ... 145
7.3 The Epistle of James ... 145
7.3.1 Pseudepigraphic Author ... 147
7.3.2 James’s Own Perceived Authority as a Clue ... 148
7.3.3 Correspondence Between the James of Acts 15 And the Author of the Epistle of James ... 148
7.4 The Epistle of Jude ... 149
7.4.1 Challenges to the Identification of Jude as the Brother of Jesus ... 150
7.4.2 The Relationship of the Author of the Epistle of Jude to the Apostles ... 152
7.5 The Book of Revelation ... 153
7.5.1 The Twelve Apostles among the Twenty-Four Elders in Revelation 4:4? ... 154
7.6 Josephus ... 157
7.7 Summary of Chapter Seven ... 157
CHAPTER EIGHT: SECOND AND EARLY THIRD CENTURY EVIDENCE REGARDING THE JAMESES ... 159
8.0.1 The Possibility that James is Presented as Both a Brother of Jesus and as One of the Twelve ... 159
8.1 Clement of Alexandria (in Eusebius) ... 161
8.1.1 Date of Writing ... 162
8.1.2 The Identity of James in Clement of Alexandria... 162
8.1.3 Scholarly Attestation to Above Identification ... 167
8.2 Hegesippus ... 167
8.2.1 Date of writing ... 169
8.2.2 Hegesippus’ Identification of James ... 170
8.2.4 The Extent of Knowledge Regarding “James the Just” by the time of Eusebius ... 174
8.3 The Apocryphon of James ... 174
8.3.1 The Identity of James in the Apocryphon of James ... 175
8.4 The Gospel of Thomas ... 177
8.4.1 The Identity of James in Logion 12 of the Gospel of Thomas ... 179
8.5. James in the First and Second Apocalypse of James... 180
8.5.2 The Second Apocalypse of James ... 181
8.6 The Gospel of the Hebrews ... 182
8.6.1 James in the Gospel of the Hebrews (Jerome) ... 183
8.6.2 The Identification of James in the Gospel of the Hebrews ... 184
8.6.3 Conclusions Regarding James in the Gospel of the Hebrews ... 186
8.8 Summary of Chapter Eight ... 187
8.8.1 Was “James the Just” James of Alphaeus? ... 188
CONCLUSIONS ... 191
Summary of Findings ... 191
A Brief NT History of the Three Important Jameses of Primitive Christianity ... 192
What Happened to James of Alphaeus? ... 195
