The implications of this ‘Satanology’ are considered for wider projects in NT studies, for the history of religions and hermeneutics. The coherence of the NT portrait of Satan stands out from the inconstant and loosely connected Satan language of Second Temple Judaism, suggesting a new departure in early Christianity. Satan is a consistent feature within NT discourse, characterized by very rich language but also a consolidation of that language through the use of synonyms. Linguistic-statistical tools unveil the literary distribution of Satan language across NT writings, showing Satan to be ‘topical’ in 14/27 NT books and following a fairly even distribution, correlated to word count. This article builds from the count of NT Satan references produced in ‘Diabolical Data’: A Critical Inventory of New Testament Satanology’ (JSNT 39.1).
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |