The Parables of the L Source

Dorota Hartman

The Parables of the L Source: Essay on the Parables Unique to Luke’s Gospel

Authors

Dorota Hartman

University of Naples “L’Orientale”

http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9903-4646

Keywords:

Bible, Judaism, New Testament, Early Christian Literature

Synopsis

Publisher: UniorPress

Series: Bibbia e Letterature

Pages: 232

Language: Italian

NBN: http://nbn.depositolegale.it/urn:nbn:it:unina-22353

Abstract: Among the canonical Gospels, the Gospel of Luke contains the largest number of parables, many of which have no parallels in the other Synoptics. The origin of those parables that are unique to Luke, some of which are very well known — like those of the prodigal son and of the good Samaritan — has always been debated. According to some scholars, it can be found in a hypothetical source, conventionally called L, to which Luke could have referred, along with other sources such as the Gospel of Mark and Q. These parables often show non-Lukan features both in vocabulary and content, but at the same time they include subjects that are indeed relevant to Luke — from considerations on everyday life, family and the relations between masters and servants, friends and enemies, to the redemption of outcasts and the most vulnerable groups. Luke contrasts these latter two groups with those who misuse their wealth or who do not care about their neighbors. Another characteristic element is the frequency of morally ambiguous or socially despised characters, who are instead re-evaluated, thereby forcing the audience to change their perspective and to judge entire categories, such as the rich and the representatives of Pharisaic Judaism, in an extremely negative way. In this work, the main interpretations of Luke’s parables and the supposed L source are examined. The subjects, language and objectives of L are also re-examined, as well as how Luke redacted this source.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biography

Dorota Hartman, University of Naples “L’Orientale”

She graduated in classical philology at the University of Warsaw (2003) and in classical studies at the University of Naples “L’Orientale” (2007). She later pursued a PhD in Ancient Near Eastern studies (2013), specialising in biblical studies, with a special focus on the lexical and literary analysis of the Hebrew Bible in comparison with the Septuagint Greek translation. She continued working on the transfer of lexicon and narrative topics from the Septuagint to early Christian writings, in particular to New Testament literature. She was a fellow at the Italian Institute of Historical Studies between 2012 and 2014, where she conducted studies on the historical and documentary background of early Christian literature, which formed the basis of her monograph on the Babatha archive (Paideia, 2016). In 2017 she published her second monograph, on the vocabulary of emotions in the Hebrew Bible and the Septuagint. Since 2014 she has been a research fellow at the Department of Literary, Linguistic and Comparative Studies at the University of Naples “L’Orientale”, where she works on Biblical philology and exegesis and early Christian literature.