A Peasant’s Satire of the Politics of Debt (Luke 16
(1–8A)
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21453392 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jonathan Guevara (Jonathan P. Guevara, M.A. (Graduate Theological Union) is an independent New Testament researcher based in Vallejo, California. His email address is ., corresponding author) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 54 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 13-25 |
| Publication date | 2024-02-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Biblical Theology Bulletin Journal of Bible and Culture (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0146-1079 • E-ISSN: 1945-7596 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/01461079241230135 |
| OpenAlex | W4394861418 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 25 |
This article reads the parable of the unjust steward (Luke 16:1–8a) using a social-scientific method, particularly the anthropology of agrarian patron-client relations. Here I delineate a model of the erosion of patron-client bonds, based on the work of James C. Scott and others, and the emergence of horizontal solidarity and mutual aid (“balanced reciprocity”). I relate this model to the peasant’s burden of debt, particularly in Jesus’ world. As commercialization develops in an agrarian society patron-client bonds begin to erode, and peasants begin to understand these bonds as relations of exploitation. Consequently, subversive ideology develops, evident in peasant folktales directed against the wealthy and powerful. Accordingly, I argue that the parable of the unjust steward is a satire aimed at landlord-patrons who perpetuate the burden of debt
Debt · Economics · Macroeconomics · Peasant · Political science · Politics · Biblical Studies and Interpretation · Law
Fresh Light on St Luke xvi. I. The Parable of the Unjust Steward
Folklore as Evidence of Peasant Mentalite
The Growth and Impact of Agricultural Tenancy in Jewish Palestine (III BCE-I CE)
Landowners and Tenants in Roman Egypt
The Dependent Tenant
El machete sirve para cortar la caña
The First Jewish Revolt
The Erosion of Patron-Client Bonds and Social Change in Rural Southeast Asia
Interés propio e interés de clase
The Virgin of Guadalupe
What the People Are Now Singing in a Russian Village
The Mayete as Object and Stereotype in Andalusian Proletarian Poetry
Of Vigilance and Virgins
Peasant Society and the Image of Limited Good
The Dyadic Contract in Tzintzuntzan, II
The Dyadic Contract
The Moral Economy of the Peasant
From Avoidance to Confrontation
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |