The Dove in the Story of Jesus’ Baptism: Early Christian Interpretation of a Jewish Image
The expression “like a dove” in Mark 1.10 is syntactically related either to “Spirit” or “descending.” Although a dove was often interpreted as the symbol of the Spirit in later Christian tradition, such imagery is not found in Jewish and early Christian texts of the first century. In my paper I dem...
| Subtitles: | Special Issue: “Extraordinary spirit, knowledge, and understanding” (Dan 5.12): Papers in honour of David J. Clark |
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| Main Author: | |
| Contributors: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Sage
2018
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| In: |
The Bible translator
Year: 2018, Volume: 69, Issue: 2, Pages: 240-251 |
| Further subjects: | B
Baptism
B dove B Clark, David J. B Gospel B Festschrift B Qumran B Spirit B Talmud |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | The expression “like a dove” in Mark 1.10 is syntactically related either to “Spirit” or “descending.” Although a dove was often interpreted as the symbol of the Spirit in later Christian tradition, such imagery is not found in Jewish and early Christian texts of the first century. In my paper I demonstrate that this expression resonates with Gen 1.2; 4Q521; Odes of Solomon 28:1; the Babylonian Talmud tractate Ḥagigah 15a; and Genesis Rabbah 2.4 as connected with the description of how the Spirit hovers (like a bird) over the righteous. This symbolism was adopted by the pre-Gospel tradition about Jesus’ baptism to specify the manner in which the Spirit descended upon Jesus. |
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| ISSN: | 2051-6789 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: The Bible translator
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1177/2051677018778740 |