Jesus at Fifty: Irenaeus on John 8:57 and the Age of Jesus
Irenaeus’s reading of John 8:57, especially his conclusion that Jesus was approximately 50 at the time of his crucifixion, is well known. While secondary scholarship typically explains Irenaeus’s exegesis of this text with reference to his possible sources or his doctrine of recapitulation, this stu...
Main Author: | |
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Format: | Electronic Article |
Language: | English |
Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
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Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
Published: |
Oxford University Press
[2020]
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In: |
The journal of theological studies
Year: 2020, Volume: 71, Issue: 1, Pages: 158-163 |
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Bible. Johannesevangelium 8,57
/ Irenaeus, Lugdunensis 140-202, Adversus haereses
/ Jesus Christus
/ Age of life
/ Death
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IxTheo Classification: | HC New Testament KAB Church history 30-500; early Christianity NBF Christology |
Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
Summary: | Irenaeus’s reading of John 8:57, especially his conclusion that Jesus was approximately 50 at the time of his crucifixion, is well known. While secondary scholarship typically explains Irenaeus’s exegesis of this text with reference to his possible sources or his doctrine of recapitulation, this study looks to his broader religious context. A similar argument from Mekhilta de-Rabbi Ishmael suggests that Jesus’ age is relevant to ancient discussions of religious conversion. Just as Abraham’s circumcision at 99 made room for all proselytes under that age, so too the Irenaean Jesus has passed through every stage of life, enabling persons of any age to join Irenaeus’s church. |
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ISSN: | 1477-4607 |
Contains: | Enthalten in: The journal of theological studies
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Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1093/jts/flz170 |