How can Mark's Christ be David's son
Abstract
This study examines the long-standing debate on the Davidssohnfrage in the Gospel according to
Mark (12:35–37). In contrast to the traditionsgeschichtliche paradigm set forth by Wrede (1907),
it argues that Mark’s stance on Davidic sonship cannot be assessed properly by isolating the
words “(Son of) David.” Rather, the totality of Mark’s messiah language—what the narrative
communicates about “Christ” (Χριστόϛ; Mark 1:1)—is relevant to how one assesses the issue of
the Messiah’s ancestry. Justification for this paradigm shift is rooted in observations about the
ways in which ancient authors communicate what they mean by the term “messiah.” Careful
attention to ancient discourse about “messiahs” reveals that the authors of these texts shared
multiple conventions for communicating that “messiah” means “Davidic messiah,” because they
shared an “encyclopedic competence” of the Jewish scriptures. This study situates Mark’s
language about Christ within its particular socio-linguistic framework. Mark constructs his
portrait of Christ via creative use of the Jewish scriptures developed through an unfolding
narrative. The first half of the narrative depicts Christ as a charismatic “Davidic” Messiah, while
the second half builds on this portrait, confirming the audience’s suspicion that Christ is indeed
the descendent from the line of David promised within a certain strand of scriptural traditions.
When the Davidssohnfrage is approached from within this narrative framework, it becomes
highly implausible that the purpose of the question is to elicit a rejection of Davidic sonship.
Rather, since Mark has already clearly communicated that Christ is David’s son, the
Davidssohnfrage pressures the audience to integrate Davidic sonship with what Ps 110 implies
about the Christ. In this respect, Mark’s deployment of the Davidssohnfrage is no different than
Matthew’s or Luke’s.
Type
Thesis, PhD Doctor of Philosophy
Rights
Embargo Date: 2022-02-14
Embargo Reason: Thesis restricted in accordance with University regulations. Print and electronic copy restricted until 14th February 2022.
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