Simon J. Joseph, ««Seek His Kingdom»: Q 12,22b-31, God’s Providence, and Adamic Wisdom.», Vol. 92 (2011) 392-410
In Q 12,22b-31, a kingdom-saying functions as the climax to a sapiential collection, but it is not self-evident that this message is sapiential. Q 12,31 uses traditional wisdom structures and forms to advance what appears to be an «eschatological» message. In this study, I re-examine the nature of the wisdom in Q 12,22b-31 and argue that the theme of God’s providence can be understood in relation to eschatological ideals of the restoration of creation and a «Son of God»/Adamic christology.
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408 SIMON J. JOSEPH
played a formative role in the “cultic veneration of Christ†and may
have allowed for the (legitimately) Jewish worship of someone other
than God 61. The identification of Jesus as Adam “probably predates
Paul’s letters†since it is reflected in 1 Cor 15, Rom 5,12-19 and Phil
2,5-11 62. In Philippians 2,5-11, a pre-Pauline Christian hymn, Jesus
is described in a manner strikingly reminiscent of the creation of
Adam in the image, likeness and “form of God†(á¼Î½ μοÏφῇ θεοῦ) from
Genesis 1,27 63. The phrase á¼Î½ μοÏφῇ θεοῦ in verse 6 echoes Genesis
1,26. Paul uses the term μοÏφh, instead of εἰκών, but its meaning is es-
sentially the same 64.
The Book of Dream Visions (1 En 85-90) describes the appear-
ance of an eschatological new Adam is described in terms of a re-
newal of humanity 65. A number of texts from Qumran indicate
that the community anticipated the restoration of the “glory of
61
D. STEENBURG, “The Worship of Adam and Christ as the Image of
Godâ€, JSNT 39 (1990) 95-109, esp. 95, 100.
62
DUNN, Christology in the Making, 111, 114-119. R. MARTIN, Carmen
Christi. Philippians 2:5-11 in Recent Interpretation (Grand Rapids, MI 1983)
108; W. MEEKS, The First Urban Christians. The Social World of the Apostle
Paul (New Haven, PE 1983) 88; O. CULLMANN, The Christology of the New
Testament (London 1963) 181; J.M. O’CONNOR, “Christological Anthropology
in Phil. 2:6-11â€, RB (1976) 25-50; W.D. DAVIES, Paul and Rabbinic Judaism
(London 1948) 41; M.D. HOOKER, “Philippians 2:6-11â€, Jesus und Paulus.
Festschrift für W.G. Kümmel (eds. E.E. ELLIS – E. GRÄSSER) (Göttingen 1975)
160-164; C.K. BARRETT, From First Adam to Last (London 1962) 69-72; L.D.
HURST, “Christ, Adam, and Preexistence Revisitedâ€, Where Christology Began.
Essays on Philippians 2 (eds. R.P. MARTIN – B.J. DODD) (Louisville, KY 1998)
84-95.
63
A. CHESTER, Messiah and Exaltation (WUNT 207; Tübingen 2007) 392.
64
MARTIN, Carmen Christi, 102-119; KIM, Origin, 200-204; CULLMANN,
Christology, 176; DUNN, Theology, 284; BARRETT, First Adam to Last, 71.
65
G.E. NICKELSBURG, 1 Enoch (Minneapolis, MN 2001) 406-407; P.A.
TILLER, A Commentary on the Animal Apocalypse of 1 Enoch (Atlanta, GA
1993) 19-20, 365-392; M. BLACK, The Book of Enoch (SVTP 7; Leiden 1985)
20-21, 279-280; J.T. MILIK (ed.), The Books of Enoch. Aramaic Fragments of
Qumran Cave 4 (Oxford, 1976) 45; G. S. OEGEMA, The Anointed and his
People. Messianic Expectations from the Maccabees to Bar Kochba (JSPSup
27; Sheffield 1998) 56, 68; M. HENGEL, Judaism and Hellenism. Studies in their
Encounter in Palestine During the Early Hellenistic Period (Philadelphia, PA
1974) 344; A.I. BAUMGARTEN, The Flourishing of Jewish Sects in the
Maccabean Era. An Interpretation (JSJSup 55; Leiden 1997) 171.
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