The Sermon on the Mount in the Light of the Temple

Title

The Sermon on the Mount in the Light of the Temple

Series Title

Society for Old Testament Study Monographs

Publication Type

Book

Year of Publication

2009

Authors

Welch, John W. (Primary)

Number of Pages

254 Publisher

Ashgate

City

Farnham, UK

Abstract

No religious text has influenced the world more than has the New Testament’s Sermon on the Mount, and yet this crucial text still begs to be more clearly understood. Why was it written? What unifying theme or purpose holds it all together? Should it be called a sermon? Or is it some other kind of composition? How would its earliest listeners have heard its encoded allusions and systematic program?

This book offers new insights into the Sermon on the Mount by seeing it in the shadow of the all-pervasive Temple in Jerusalem, which dominated the religious landscape of the world of Jesus and his earliest disciples. Analyzing Matthew 5-7 in light of biblical and Jewish backgrounds, ritual studies, and oral performances in early Christian worship, this reading coherently integrates every line in the Sermon. It positions the Sermon as the premier Christian mystery.

Table of Contents

10 Chapters

Preface

Welch, John W. | pp. ix-xii

The Quest for a Unifying Understanding of the Sermon on the Mount

Welch, John W. | pp. 1–14

The Temple on the Mount

Welch, John W. | pp. 15–39

Hearing a Temple Register in the Beatitudes

Welch, John W. | pp. 41–65

The Creation of a New Covenantal Relationship

Welch, John W. | pp. 67–113

A Higher Order of Righteousness and Consecration

Welch, John W. | pp. 115–155

Blessings and Consequences of Righteousness or Unrighteousness

Welch, John W. | pp. 157–182

Unifying the Sermon with Temple Themes and Ritual Theory

Welch, John W. | pp. 183–207

Conclusions and Further Implications

Welch, John W. | pp. 209–221

Select Bibliography

Welch, John W. | pp. 223–237

Subject Keywords

Covenant

Sermon on the Mount

Temple Worship

Bibliographic Citation

Terms of use

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