The Descent of Christ: Ephesians 4:7-11 and Traditional Hebrew Imagery

Front Cover
BRILL, 1996 - Religion - 221 pages
This volume examines early Jewish and Christian imagery to demonstrate that the most probable interpretation of Christ's descent in Ephesians 4: 9-10 refers to the descent of the Spirit at Pentecost subsequent to the ascent mentioned in Ephesians 4: 8. The central portion of the book deals with the ascent-descent imagery associating Ps. 68: 19 with Moses as found in Targum Psalms, the rabbinic literature, and other early sources. The section dealing with rabbinic interpretations of Ps. 68: 19 is of particul importance, demonstrating an approach for dating elements found in the later rabbinic tradition. The theological innovation of the author of Ephesians in identifying the ascended Christ as the Spirit who descended at Pentecost is highlighted as the best explanation of this difficult passage.
 

Contents

MOSES ASCENT TO HEAVEN IN OTHER EARLY
123
711 AND THE GIVING OF THE SPIRIT
143
711
171
The Question of Authorship and its Impact on This
198
Bibliography
205
Index of Authors
216
Copyright

Other editions - View all

Common terms and phrases

References to this book

About the author (1996)

W. Hall Harris III, Ph.D. (1989) in Biblical Studies, University of Sheffield, is Professor of New Testament Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary. He has published several articles on Ephesians and contributed a chapter on Johannine theology to "A Biblical Theology of the New Testament" ("Moody," 1994).