Beware the Dogs! The Phallic Epithet in Phil 3.2
The scholarly trope that ancient Jews commonly referred to gentiles as ‘dogs’ has coloured exegesis of Phil 3.2 for centuries. This view gave rise to the interpretation that when Paul calls his opponents ‘dogs’, he is ironically inverting the epithet and using it to identify them as Jews. The presen...
Publié dans: | New Testament studies |
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Auteur principal: | |
Type de support: | Électronique Article |
Langue: | Anglais |
Vérifier la disponibilité: | HBZ Gateway |
Journals Online & Print: | |
Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
Publié: |
Cambridge Univ. Press
[2021]
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Dans: |
New Testament studies
Année: 2021, Volume: 67, Numéro: 1, Pages: 105-120 |
Sujets / Chaînes de mots-clés standardisés: | B
Bibel. Philipperbrief 3,2
/ Chien
/ Excision (Homme)
/ Épithète
/ Phallus
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RelBib Classification: | BE Religion gréco-romaine HC Nouveau Testament |
Sujets non-standardisés: | B
Dogs
B κύων B Philippians 3.2 B phallic epithet B Circumcision |
Accès en ligne: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
Résumé: | The scholarly trope that ancient Jews commonly referred to gentiles as ‘dogs’ has coloured exegesis of Phil 3.2 for centuries. This view gave rise to the interpretation that when Paul calls his opponents ‘dogs’, he is ironically inverting the epithet and using it to identify them as Jews. The present article provides a critical assessment of this interpretation and evaluates the data that has been used to justify this claim. I then provide a new interpretation of how Paul is employing the term ‘dog’ in Phil 3.2. On the basis of its broader usage in the Greek-speaking world and the context related to circumcision in Phil 3.2, I propose that Paul is using ‘dog’ as a vulgar, phallic epithet for his opponents. |
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ISSN: | 1469-8145 |
Contient: | Enthalten in: New Testament studies
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Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1017/S0028688520000107 |