The Reformation
Southwestern Journal of Theology
Volume 60, No. 1 – Fall 2017
Managing Editor: W. Madison Grace II
Exploring Biblical Kinship: Festschrift in Honor of John J. Pilch. Edited By Joan C. Campbell and Patrick J. Hartin. The Catholic Biblical Quarterly Monograph Series 55. Washington, DC: The Catholic Biblical Association of America, 2016. 290 pages, $32.00.
In Exploring Biblical Kinship, Joan Campbell and Patrick Hartin have assembled a collection of essays celebrating John J. Pilch. Pilch earned his PhD in New Testament at Marquette University in 1972. He subsequently worked in the health care sector, which led him to his interest in anthropology and healing. After returning to academia, he became one of the founding members of the Context Group, known for its specific, strict application of social scientific approaches to the Bible. The essays in this volume contribute in the same way.
This book consists of three sections, the first of which is a group of three articles discussing patronage. In the first article, Joan Campbell looks at Sirach 4:10 to explicate the several kinship relations mentioned there by comparing them to the Mediterranean family. Next, Bruce Malina examines sacrifice through a social scientific model and concludes that “sacrifice was always about life” (xiii), however abstract that notion may be. Concluding this section Marciel Ibita approaches Micah 7:10 and Joel 2:17 through honor/shame and patron-client lenses.
The second section examines family dynamics. The first article here is by Pilch himself, who looks at violence toward elders through a General Systems Theory Model. Walter Taylor then analyzes 1 Corinthians 11:17–34 by applying known models of familial conflict in Mediterranean family dynamics. John Elliott employs a Weberian model in the Pastoral Epistles concluding that they do not describe offices, but roles within the community. Kenneth Stenstrup looks at kinship that believers share after death. Finally, Marilou Ibita, like Walter Taylor, looks at 1 Corinthians 11:17–34 through a familial lens, but focuses on the phrase ἀδελφοί μου.
The final section explores kinship, descent, and discipleship. Dennis Duling begins this this section by focusing on kinship and discipleship in Matthew noting that Matthew’s view of fictive kinship contrasts with traditional kinship even though this gospel often describes traditional kinship throughout its narrative. Jerome Neyrey shows Hebrews describes Melchizedek like deity, and then this quality like deity should be applied to Jesus. In the final essay of this work, Dan Darko claims that fictive kinship in the Sermon on the Mount functions to create group solidarity.
Two essays in particular demonstrate the strengths and weaknesses of this volume. The first is Campbell’s essay on Sirach 4:10. In this article, she asks two questions of Sirach 4:10, (1) “what is the nature of these culturally-defined kinship relationships into which Ben Sira invites the addressee” and (2) “what light does knowledge of the relationship between biblical mothers and sons shed on the declaration that a man who behaves accordingly will be loved more by God than by his own mother” (4). She first looks at the Hebrew Bible’s use of terms for orphan and widow, then launches into a detailed explanation of social-scientific models for Mediterranean family relationships. Campbell explains the social-scientific models well, and therefore this essay is valuable for anyone looking for a short introduction to the topic. However, she fails to show how this model or her lexical studies in the Hebrew Bible shed light on Sirach 4:10. She relates her studies to her questions in only one small concluding paragraph (22–23), which does not sufficiently show how her methodology answered those questions. Further, it is unclear how this methodology has any more explanatory power for Sirach 4:10 than more traditional approaches.
The second essay is Elliott’s article on leadership in the Pastoral Epistles. Elliott approaches the Pastorals through Max Weber’s typology of domination, which breaks down into three ideal types of authority: (1) traditional authority, (2) charismatic authority, and (3) legal-rational authority (131). After a lengthy explanation of Weber’s typology, he then traces the development of authority in early Christianity from the time of the earliest writings through the second century. Next, he examines the Pastoral Epistles and notes how these portray the relationships between Paul and Timothy and Titus, the qualifications for leadership, and the house church setting. Through these and other features of the letters, Elliott concludes that it is inappropriate to speak of offices in the Pastorals. These epistles instead describe roles. Elliott further concludes that institutionalized offices appear first in the second century writings of Ignatius of Antioch (156). This would likely place the writing of the Pastorals well into the first century. As with Campbell’s essay, Elliott’s article is helpful for anyone searching for an introduction into Elliott’s chosen social scientific approach—Weber’s leadership typology. Unlike Campbell, Elliott was successful in showing how the methodology is useful for answering his question. He ably showed how Weber’s typology can help determine the nature of the roles described in the Pastorals, and further entered the contentious space of relative dating of those epistles. This essay promises to be a significant contribution to the study of the Pastoral Epistles.
The essays provided in this volume show the diversity of methods employed within the social scientific study of the Bible. As such, it will prove to be valuable for the student entering this conversation. Overall, this book is a fitting tribute to John Pilch.
