Michael Peppard
Biographic Data
| ID | 1076013 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Michael Peppard |
| GIVEN NAMES | Michael |
| FAMILY NAME | Peppard |
| SIGNATURE | PEPPARD M |
| AFFILIATIONS | Fordham University |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 12 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 2 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 12 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2010 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2024 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Torches, Not Lamps, in the Wedding Parable of Matthew 25
Nearly all Bibles printed in English describe the women of the parable of the ten bridesmaids as holding “lamps” (Matt 25:1–13, also called the parable of the wise and foolish virgins). The implied referent of this English word is an ancient terra-cotta oil lamp, which is neither the best translation of the underlying Greek word nor an appropriate understanding of wedding traditions in the ancient Mediterranean region. Some other scholarly editio…
Kingdom, Authority, and Power
This article analyzes narratives and images of power, both earthly and heavenly, in the Synoptic Gospels. It first assesses how each Gospel situates the story of Jesus at the nexus of earthly and heavenly kingdoms. It then summarizes scholarly viewpoints about the sociopolitical context of Galilee and Judea under Roman imperial rule, including forms of resistance to occupation. Scholars attuned to the Roman imperial presence have offered empire-c…
The Photisterion in Late Antiquity
What is a photisterion? Translators usually render the Greek word phōtistērion (site of illumination) as ‘baptistery’ (site of immersion in water). This article reopens the study of phōtistēria, arguing that being ‘immersed’ or ‘illuminated’ evokes different senses of the concomitant meaning of the sites and rites of initiation. It situates late ancient phōtistēria from epigraphic and literary sources in their theological and liturgical contexts.…
Brother against Brother
The World's Oldest Church
In 1932, at an ancient military outpost on the Euphrates, excavators unearthed a series of wall paintings. A procession of veiled women, a soldier with sword drawn, a woman at a well. The space was designed for religious rituals, but whose? As a crossroads for travelers, the city of Dura-Europos had buildings honoring gods of Greece, Rome, Persia, and Judea. These archaeologists soon realized, though, that they were looking at the earliest preser…
The World's Oldest Church
Michael Peppard provides a historical and theological reassessment of the oldest Christian building ever discovered, the third-century house-church at Dura-Europos. Contrary to commonly held assumptions about Christian initiation, Peppard contends that rituals here did not primarily embody notions of death and resurrection. Rather, he portrays the motifs of the church?s wall paintings as those of empowerment, healing, marriage, and incarnation, w…
January 18, 1932, Excavation Block M8
This short introduction narrates the initial discovery of the Christian building at Dura-Europos. It establishes some knowns and unknowns from the first months of reflection on the finds and aims to reopen debate on the identifications of the artistic scenes.
The Son of God in the roman world
Michael Peppard examines the social and political meaning of divine sonship in the Roman Empire. He begins by analyzing the conceptual framework within which the term 'son of God' has traditionally been considered in biblical scholarship. Then, through engagement with recent scholarship in Roman history - including studies of family relationships, imperial ideology, and emperor worship - he offers new ways of interpreting the Christian theologica…
Son of God in the Roman World
The Son of God in the Roman World
This book re‐imagines the meaning of divine sonship in its Roman social and political context. It first critiques the conceptual framework within which the term “son of God” has usually been construed in biblical scholarship. Then, through engagement with recent scholarship in Roman history—studies of family relationships, imperial ideology, and emperor worship—it opens the Christian theological metaphors of “begotten” and “adoptive” sonship to n…
Begotten or Made?
Chapter 3 investigates father‐son relationships in the Roman family, emphasizing the practices of adoption and inheritance among elites. In the Roman worldview, sonship did not primarily point backward to begetting, but forward to inheritance, often through the medium of adoption. For emperors, this observation is especially crucial, since these “fathers” of the Empire had no small trouble propagating their family lines through natural begetting.…
The Eagle and the Dove
This essay argues that the common understanding of imperial divine sonship among biblical scholars can be reframed by emphasizing the importance of adoption in Roman society and imperial ideology. A case study from the Gospel of Mark—the portrayal of Jesus' baptism—demonstrates some of the pay-off for reading the NT with a newly contextualized perspective on divine sonship. Through engagement with diverse sources from the Hellenistic and Roman er…
The Photisterion in Late Antiquity
What is a photisterion? Translators usually render the Greek word phōtistērion (site of illumination) as ‘baptistery’ (site of immersion in water). This article reopens the study of phōtistēria, arguing that being ‘immersed’ or ‘illuminated’ evokes different senses of the concomitant meaning of the sites and rites of initiation. It situates late ancient phōtistēria from epigraphic and literary sources in their theological and liturgical contexts.…
The Eagle and the Dove
This essay argues that the common understanding of imperial divine sonship among biblical scholars can be reframed by emphasizing the importance of adoption in Roman society and imperial ideology. A case study from the Gospel of Mark—the portrayal of Jesus' baptism—demonstrates some of the pay-off for reading the NT with a newly contextualized perspective on divine sonship. Through engagement with diverse sources from the Hellenistic and Roman er…
The Son of God in the Roman World
This book re‐imagines the meaning of divine sonship in its Roman social and political context. It first critiques the conceptual framework within which the term “son of God” has usually been construed in biblical scholarship. Then, through engagement with recent scholarship in Roman history—studies of family relationships, imperial ideology, and emperor worship—it opens the Christian theological metaphors of “begotten” and “adoptive” sonship to n…
Begotten or Made?
Chapter 3 investigates father‐son relationships in the Roman family, emphasizing the practices of adoption and inheritance among elites. In the Roman worldview, sonship did not primarily point backward to begetting, but forward to inheritance, often through the medium of adoption. For emperors, this observation is especially crucial, since these “fathers” of the Empire had no small trouble propagating their family lines through natural begetting.…
The Son of God in the roman world
Michael Peppard examines the social and political meaning of divine sonship in the Roman Empire. He begins by analyzing the conceptual framework within which the term 'son of God' has traditionally been considered in biblical scholarship. Then, through engagement with recent scholarship in Roman history - including studies of family relationships, imperial ideology, and emperor worship - he offers new ways of interpreting the Christian theologica…
Son of God in the Roman World
The World's Oldest Church
In 1932, at an ancient military outpost on the Euphrates, excavators unearthed a series of wall paintings. A procession of veiled women, a soldier with sword drawn, a woman at a well. The space was designed for religious rituals, but whose? As a crossroads for travelers, the city of Dura-Europos had buildings honoring gods of Greece, Rome, Persia, and Judea. These archaeologists soon realized, though, that they were looking at the earliest preser…
The World's Oldest Church
Michael Peppard provides a historical and theological reassessment of the oldest Christian building ever discovered, the third-century house-church at Dura-Europos. Contrary to commonly held assumptions about Christian initiation, Peppard contends that rituals here did not primarily embody notions of death and resurrection. Rather, he portrays the motifs of the church?s wall paintings as those of empowerment, healing, marriage, and incarnation, w…
January 18, 1932, Excavation Block M8
This short introduction narrates the initial discovery of the Christian building at Dura-Europos. It establishes some knowns and unknowns from the first months of reflection on the finds and aims to reopen debate on the identifications of the artistic scenes.
Brother against Brother
The Photisterion in Late Antiquity
What is a photisterion? Translators usually render the Greek word phōtistērion (site of illumination) as ‘baptistery’ (site of immersion in water). This article reopens the study of phōtistēria, arguing that being ‘immersed’ or ‘illuminated’ evokes different senses of the concomitant meaning of the sites and rites of initiation. It situates late ancient phōtistēria from epigraphic and literary sources in their theological and liturgical contexts.…
Kingdom, Authority, and Power
This article analyzes narratives and images of power, both earthly and heavenly, in the Synoptic Gospels. It first assesses how each Gospel situates the story of Jesus at the nexus of earthly and heavenly kingdoms. It then summarizes scholarly viewpoints about the sociopolitical context of Galilee and Judea under Roman imperial rule, including forms of resistance to occupation. Scholars attuned to the Roman imperial presence have offered empire-c…
Torches, Not Lamps, in the Wedding Parable of Matthew 25
Nearly all Bibles printed in English describe the women of the parable of the ten bridesmaids as holding “lamps” (Matt 25:1–13, also called the parable of the wise and foolish virgins). The implied referent of this English word is an ancient terra-cotta oil lamp, which is neither the best translation of the underlying Greek word nor an appropriate understanding of wedding traditions in the ancient Mediterranean region. Some other scholarly editio…
History (8 works) · Art (7 works) · Law (6 works) · Literature (6 works) · Archaeology (5 works) · Biblical Studies and Interpretation (5 works) · Philosophy (5 works) · Political science (5 works) · Politics (5 works) · Theology (4 works)