KA Kernefag: Det Nye Testamentes Eksegese

In early Christian literary culture, the question of a work’s authenticity is directly related to its perceived authority. At the same time, many early Christian works are arguably pseudepigraphal, that is, written by someone other than the attributed author. This course probes the ancient interests in and anxieties surrounding the authorship of scripture and the development of the biblical canon. Paideia, or ancient education, provides a framework within which to analyze the discussion of authorship and its literary characteristics. Engaging with ancient Christian theologians and historiographers such as Quintilian, Eusebius, and Athanasius, as well as the work of modern scholars like Annette Yoshiko Reed, Hindy Najman, Eva Mroczek, and David Brakke, we will explore the vast and varied notion of authorship in the creation of sacred scripture. In conversation with these varied secondary resources, we will read James, 1 and 2 Peter, Jude, and selections from Paul and other early Christian texts.