Chiasm in Mark 7:24-31

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:My provisional identification of chiasm in Mark 7:24-31 initiated this multidisciplinarystudy of the literary shape of this interesting text.New Testament scholars tend to agree that the genre (form, content and function) ofthe Gospel of Mark exhibits the literary characteristics typical of ancient, first centuryAD, Greco-Roman biography thereby evidencing, in a broad sense, Greco-Romanform and function, and Jewish content. As a result, the New Testament Gospels havebeen described as a tertium quid'. However, until fairly recently, few scholarsappear to have taken the possibility of finding Jewish rhetorical form, in the shape ofchiasm, into account in their examination of New Testament texts and have almostexclusively tended to focus on classical Greek rhetorical forms.As a result, this study opens itself to the possibility of finding both Jewish and Greco-Roman literary forms in the text, thereby attempting to obtain a greater presence ofunderstanding of what the implied author was doing with the text. This studytherefore endeavours to understand, not only what the implied author intended tocommunicate through the literary form of the text to the implied reader but also, at thelevel of discourse, the how of that communication within the literary context of theGospel as a whole.In the light of the aforegoing, the research questions appear as follows.(1) What, on a balance of probability, is the literary form or structure of Mark 7:24- 3 1within its literary context? If the form of the text is found, on a balance of probability,to exhibit the characteristics of chiasm: (2) What implied effect would this have on animplied reader when understood and interpreted within the context of Greco-Romanbiography? And, (3) what effect would the answers to (1) and (2) above have on amodern (present) reader of the Gospel of Mark?After a brief overview of the socio-historical and cultural setting to the Gospel ofMark that serves as essential background material necessary for an understanding ofthe text, this study proceeds to consider the ancient roots of chiasm with regard to theliterature of the Ancient Near East and briefly traces its prevalence from the ancientpast through to the period of the New Testament. Because chiasm is a particular formof parallelism, the importance of understanding Biblical parallelisms in the Hebrewliterature in general and its significance with regard to the New Testament and Mark'sGospel in particular is considered. A discussion of various definitions of chiasmfollows. After considering the Gospel of Mark and the literary context of the subjecttext, its literary form is examined in the light of known ancient literary conventions,including Biblical narrative and the various forms evidenced in the exchange ofdialogue are considered and the text examined for further correspondences. Thereafterthe text is reviewed within its literary context and, what follows, is an explanation ofhow the form of the text may function within its literary location.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University