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  • From: "Hyam Maccoby" <h.z.maccoby AT leeds.ac.uk>
  • To: "Corpus-paul" <corpus-paul AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: Jewish origins of apostle
  • Date: Sat, 8 Dec 2001 19:21:23 -0000


The word shaliah, as an equivalent to apostolos, does have the advantage of
being derived from a word meaning `to send'. However, as Jeffery Gibson
points out, it is late; and also it carries certain unwanted connotations.
It always means someone who acts as a representative in some legal matter,
e.g. conveying a divorce-document on behalf of a principal. It does not
mean an emissary conveying a message.
I think we need to consider that the word `apostle' may have had a
different meaning for the Twelve, on the one hand, and for Paul, on the
other. The Twelve were emissaries sent out by the earthly Jesus to convey a
message of repentance in preparation for the coming kingdom of God. Paul,
on the other hand, claimed to have received his commission from the heavenly
Jesus, a claim disputed by some as a delusion (see 1. Cor. 9:1-2). Paul was
therefore claiming a high status as a recipient of divine appointment, i.e.
a prophet, whereas the Twelve did not make this claim.
Perhaps, therefore, we should be looking for two different Hebrew
expressions, one for the Twelve and one for Paul. For the Twelve, a word
meaning simply `envoy, messenger, ambassador' will do: I suggest TZIR (see
Isa. 18:2). For Paul, a more impressive expression is perhaps needed: I
suggest the compound expression MAL'ACH U-MELITZ (Job 33:23).
On the other hand, the unpretentious word TZIR can also be used to
describe a prophet: see Jer. 49:15 (TZIR BA-GOYIM SHALUAH). We know from
several other passages that Paul saw himself in a Jeremiah-like role (as
Fred Rich points out), so this last phrase could well be in the background
of Paul's view of his own apostolic-prophetic role, especially as it
contains, like apostolos, a reference to a verb meaning `to send', and also
refers to a mission to the `nations'. (The Twelve, on the other hand, did
not have a mission to the nations, so this phrase is especially suited to
Paul.)

Hyam Maccoby



Research Professor
Centre for Jewish Studies
University of Leeds
LS2
Direct lines: tel. +44 (0)113 268 1972
fax +44 (0)113 268 0041
e-mail: h.z.maccoby AT leeds.ac.uk
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jeffrey B. Gibson" <jgibson000 AT attbi.com>
To: "Corpus-paul" <corpus-paul AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
Sent: Saturday, December 08, 2001 2:15 PM
Subject: [corpus-paul] Re: Jewish origins of apostle


> Frich107 AT aol.com wrote:
>
> [snip]
>
> > I have also been considering whether there is any way of suggesting that
a
> > missionary (lit. one sent) could be understood to be Jewish in a
Diaspora
> > setting. Again my research is giving me little joy on this idea. The
only
> > other idea I have had, and it's really quite a stab in the dark, is that
> > apostleship is a development of the prophetic ministry found in large
> > sections of the Hebrew Bible. Again I am aware of the problems of this,
> > especially considering how Paul himself describes apostleship in his
letters.
> > My interest is to particularly understand Paul's apostleship, and his
> > understanding of the office, over against apostleship in general in the
NT.
> >
>
> Given the echoes of the call of Isaiah and Jeremiah in Paul's
"biographical notices" in
> Gal. 1:15-16, your idea that Paul's perception of apostleship being
grounded in OT
> ideas of the prophetic office seems like **more** than a stab in the dark,
doesn't it?
>
> Yours,
>
> Jeffrey Gibson
>
> >
> > Regards,
> > Fred Rich.
> >
> > Ph.D. student, University of Sheffield.
> >
> > ---
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>
>
> --
> Jeffrey B. Gibson, D.Phil. (Oxon.)
> 1500 W. Pratt Blvd.
> Floor 1
> Chicago, Illinois 60626
> e-mail jgibson000 AT attbi.com
> jgibson000 AT hotmail.com
>
>
>
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