Early Christian and Jewish Narrative

The authors of this volume elucidate the remarkable role played by religion in the shaping and reshaping of narrative forms in antiquity and late antiquity in a variety of ways. This is particularly evident in ancient Jewish and Christian narrative, which is in the focus of most of the contributions, but also in some »pagan« novels such as that of Heliodorus, which is dealt with as well in the third part of the volume, both in an illuminating comparison with Christian novels and in an inspiring rethinking of Heliodorus's relation to Neoplatonism. All of these essays, from different perspectives, illuminate the interplay between narrative and religion, and show how religious concerns and agendas shaped narrative forms in Judaism and early Christianity. A series of compelling and innovative articles, all based on fresh and often groundbreaking research by eminent specialists, is divided into three large sections: part one deals with ancient Jewish narrative, and part two with ancient Christian narrative, in particular gospels, acts, biographies, and martyrdoms, while part three offers a comparison with »pagan« narrative, and especially the religious novel of Heliodorus, both in terms of social perspectives and in terms of philosophical and religious agendas. Like the essays collected by Marília Futre Pinheiro, Judith Perkins, and Richard Pervo in 2013, which investigate the core role played by narratives in Christian and Jewish self-fashioning in the Roman Empire, the present volume fruitfully bridges the disciplinary gap between classical studies and ancient Jewish and Christian studies, offers new insights, and hopefully opens up new paths of inquiry.Ilaria Ramelli/Judith Perkins: Introduction: The Role of Religion in Shaping Narrative Forms

Part 1: Ancient Jewish Narrative
Lawrence M. Wills: The Differentiation of History and Novel: Controlling the Past, Playing with the Past - Erich S. Gruen: The Twisted Tales of Artapanus: Biblical Rewritings as Novelistic Narrative - David Konstan: The Testament of Abraham and Greek Romance

Part 2: Christian Gospels, Acts, Biographies, and Martyrdoms
Karen L. King: Endings: The Gospel of Mark and the Gospel of Judas - Laura Salah Nasrallah: »Out of Love for Paul«: History and Fiction and the Afterlife of the Apostle Paul - Dennis R. MacDonald: Jesus and Dionysian Polymorphism in the Acts of John - Lautaro Roig Lanzillotta: A Syriac Original for the Acts of Thomas? The Hypothesis of Syriac Priority Revisited - Mark J. Edwards: The Deferred Fulfilment of Prophecy in Early Christian Fiction - Vincent Hunink: Following Paul: The Acts of Xanthippe, Polyxena, and Rebecca as an Ancient Novel - Richard I. Pervo: Dare and Back: The Stories of Xanthippe and Polyxena - Ilaria Ramelli: The Addai-Abgar Narrative: Its Development through Literary Genres and Religious Agendas - Kathryn Chew: »On Fire with Desire« (πυρουμένη πόθῳ): Passion and Conversion in the Ancient Greek Novels and Early Christian Female Virgin Martyr Accounts

Part 3: »Pagan« and Christian Narratives: Social Worlds and Philosophical Agendas
Judith Perkins: Competing Voices in Imperial Fiction - Svetla Slaveva-Griffin:Argumentum ex Silentio: Religion in Heliodorus' Aethiopica