제 14권 2호 2020년 가을 Jonathon Lookadoo / The Form and Function of the Psalms in Barnabas 6...pp. 211-246
This essay finds its starting point at the confluence of two scholarly streams in early Christian studies. Recent scholarship has taken an increased interest in the textual form of early Christian documents, while studies of the Greek Old Testament have found a state of textual pluriformity in the first and second centuries CE. The Epistle of Barnabas quotes regularly from Israel’s scriptures, even while arguing that its audience should behave differently from Israel. This essay takes up the Psalter in Barn. 6 in order to explore the form and function of the Psalms within the letter. The textual form of the Psalms in Barnabas 6 varies with regard to how closely their wording mirrors both modern critical editions of the Greek Psalter as well as ancient Greek manuscripts of the Psalms. The Psalms function to support larger arguments, to summarize earlier findings, and to illustrate how the Son inhabits his people. Although this study is narrowly focused, the conclusion demonstrates how this small article may shed light on the role of the Psalter within Barnabas’s logic, raises questions about the pluriform manner in which early Christians may have known the Psalms, and contributes to ongoing discussion about testimonia and composite quotations in second-century Christian scriptural interpretation.
