Empire and new testament texts : theorising the imperial, in subversion and attraction
Date
2012-05
Authors
Punt, Jeremy
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
AOSIS OpenJournals
Abstract
Considering the overt or sublime connections biblical scholars increasingly indicate between
biblical texts and empires, this contribution engages the need for the theorisation of empire
beyond material depiction. It is suggested that empire is primarily of conceptual nature and a
negotiated notion, a constantly constructed entity by both the powerful and the subjugated, to
which the concomitant responses of subversion and attraction to empire attest. The discussion
is primarily related to the first-century CE context, arguing also that postcolonial analysis
provides a useful approach to deal with (at least, some of) the complexities of such research.
Description
The original publication is available at http://www.hts.org.za
Publication of this article was funded by the Stellenbosch University Open Access Fund.
Publication of this article was funded by the Stellenbosch University Open Access Fund.
Keywords
Bible -- Criticism, interpretation, etc., Ethnicity in the Bible.
Citation
Punt, J. 2012. Empire and New Testament texts : theorising the imperial, in subversion and attraction. HTS Theological Studies, 68 (1), doi:10.4102/hts.v68i1.1182.