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This explorative study examines the applicability of Morality-as-Cooperation (MAC) theory to early Christian texts, using the Sermon on the Mount as a test case. MAC theory posits seven universal moral domains – family values, group loyalty, reciprocity, heroism, deference, fairness, and property rights – as evolutionary solutions to cooperative challenges. Five participants annotated 102 preselected Koine Greek text units from the Sermon using ATLAS.ti, classifying them according to MAC categories. The data were analyzed computationally. The results indicate that the moral domains proposed by MAC theory are widely represented in the Sermon, with reciprocity and deference emerging as the most prominent. However, substantial divergence among annotators’ interpretations suggests that the metaphorical and ambiguous nature of historical religious texts may contribute to interpretive variability. Addressing this issue will be essential before annotation-based methods can be reliably integrated with machine-learning models in broader studies of early Christian textual corpora.

This article is one in a special issue of the Journal of Ancient History, “Social Biographies of the Ancient World.” It forms one of the “case study” chapters regarding a Judean woman by the name of Babatha. Babatha is known to us because of the discovery in 1961 of what was probably one of her most precious belongings, which was found in a cave overlooking the Naḥal Ḥever Canyon: a leather pouch that contained some 35 legal documents. Labelled Papyri Yadin 1–35, they contain a wide range of legal acts consigned in Greek, Aramaic and Nabatean Aramaic, including marriage contracts, land deeds, deeds of gift and ruthless litigation between kin, all unfolding between 94 and 132 CE. While Babatha's story has been well-known in the field of biblical studies ever since the papyri were discovered, the contribution of social scientists has largely been absent. It is against this background that we use Bourdieu's theoretical framework to reflect on Babatha's agency in the complex socio-legal landscape she navigates. This article employs field theory to link Babatha's litigation to the conflictual social processes accompanying the movement of women—and their economic capital—in and out of households, conceptualized as institutions in the economic and legal field. The article then proceeds to describe the wider legal field, its properties, and operating logics, offering new insights into the legal pluralism that transpires in the sources. Bourdieu's theory of practice is subsequently employed to understand both Babatha's agency and the structural challenges posed by her successive inclusion in new kinship networks.

Uuden testamentin kirjeet muistuttavat monin tavoin syntyaikansa muuta, runsasta kirjekulttuuria, joskin kirjeiden kanonisointi pyhäksi tekstiksi saattoi muodostua tärkeäksi juutalaisuutta ja kristinuskoa erottavaksi identiteettisymboliksi.

This article is the introduction to a special issue of the Journal of Ancient History, "Social Biographies of the Ancient World". It sketches out an outline of Ancient Near Eastern social structures by utilizing sociological concepts first developed by Pierre Bourdieu. It is our contention that the concepts of field, capital, habitus, and the interplay between theory and practice facilitate the analysis of social structures under first millennium BCE empires even with the limitations of extant evidence, that is, even without ethnographic observation or self-aware personal writings. Bourdieusian Field Theory as a model is flexible and amenable to elaboration with further topics beyond the three case studies represented in this issue. We chose to investigate herein a mortuary stele, a literary figure, and a personal archive as they are three common source types for the ancient worlds of western Asia. We hope this forum will encourage other scholars of the ancient world to join us in utilizing these approaches for social-/micro-historyâ - beyond Marxian or Weberian approaches. Through analysis of an understudied mortuary stele of a relatively unknown woman (Ahatabu); a well-known, supposedly anti-imperialist literary figure (Jonathan); and the archive of an early businesswoman (Babatha), this study presents Bourdieusian approaches to sources with varying known contexts and lifeworlds - emphasizing its applicability for broad usage throughout Ancient Near Eastern history. Finally, we reflect on the ways we found Bourdieu useful for thinking about ancient evidence in the three case studies. After analyzing the similarities and differences in our approaches to and uses of his thought, we propose further ways Bourdieu might provide helpful new trajectories for the study of the Ancient Near East. In particular, we point to the debated issues of family and gender.

Sanctity is not an inherent feature of sacred texts. This chapter explores the ways in which texts, biblical texts in particular, were and are made sacred in different ways. Special, even divine status is ascribed to texts at various levels: at the textual level, by appealing to ancestors or prophets, for example; at the symbolic level, by crystallizing identity markers; at the material level, by producing grandiose artifacts or distributing codices efficiently and using them in ritual. Texts now perceived as sacred were not that from the start. As part of canons, texts may gain expectations they do not have on their own. The expectations are varied from direct divine speech to historical testimonies. Each religious tradition has particular expectations that are learned in faith communities. Ethical challenges occur when canonized texts are expected to speak for the present situation and society.

This article looks at Paul as a multicultural individual in the globalized Roman Empire. Following theorists such as Verónica Benet-Martínez, Ying-yi Hong, Mark Khei, and Seth Schwartz, multiculturalism is defined here as a person’s access to more than one knowledge system. The mutual adjustment of these systems, acculturation, is understood as a group phenomenon sensitive to minority and majority positions, often taking place on the abstract level of identity discourse and accessible through the concept of social identity. The article argues that while Jewishness represents for Paul a robust heritage culture, it does not rule out Paul’s access to other cultural knowledge systems. Paul sometimes distances himself from his Jewish identity in favor of an identity “in Christ,” which Paul portrays as a knowledge system, even though this system was not very developed. At times, Paul also identifies with Romanness (Romanitas), signs of which are scarce but potentially visible in his stereotypical criticism of Jews. The article argues that anti-imperial readings of Paul are exegetically one-sided and need reassessment in the light of the new theoretical developments in the study of the Roman Empire as a globalized environment that is not best understood through dichotomies.

Bibliodraama tuottaa usein tunteita, ryhmäprosesseja ja oivalluksia itsestä, mutta sen tähtäyspisteenä on kuitenkin Raamatun tekstien tutkiminen. Myös akateemisen eksegetiikan päämäärä on Raamatun tekstien ymmärtäminen. Tässä kirjoituksessa pohdin, miten nämä kaksi lähestymistapaa, bibliodraama ja tieteellinen raamatuntutkimus muistuttavat toisiaan ja poikkeavat toisistaan. Entä mitä ne voivat tarjota toisilleen?

Globalization has linked distant and distinct societies and intensified social relations and transactions among them. The spread of Roman imperial rule offers an interesting parallel to modern globalization. In both cases, scholars have long been debating the consequences of this process; while many members of society can benefit from new cultural, social, and economic opportunities, it is also claimed that the exposure to global culture can undermine local identities and produce a sense of isolation and antagonism. The articles in this special issue examine various outcomes of the extension of Roman rule in the eastern Mediterranean from the early Roman to the early Islamic period. The contributors, representing classical studies, archeology, history, early Christian studies, and Islamic studies, offer case studies that investigate how the introduction of Greco-Roman culture to the East changed local cultures and resulted in multicultural innovations and reinvented identities.

Artikkelissa tarkastellaan, miten kulttuuri on aiemmin ihmistieteissä ymmärretty ja esitellään evoluution näkökulma kulttuuriin sekä pohditaan meemin käsitteen mielekkyyttä sekä meemien luonnetta. Artikkelissa havainnollistetaan, miten kulttuurievoluutioteorian piirissä tutkitaan kulttuurin leviämistä ja muuntelua ja millaisia lainalaisuuksia tähän liittyy. Tämän jälkeen katsotaan, mitä erityispiirteitä liittyy kulttuurin leviämiseen digitaalisella alustalla. Lopuksi hahmotellaan pääpiirteissään, millaisia viestintätapoja ja -välineitä on käytetty välittämään sanomaa Jeesuksen kuolemasta ja ylösnousemuksesta aina varhaisvaiheiden suorasta suullisesta viestinnästä nykyisen hypermemeettisen digikulttuurin räjähdysmäisesti kopioituviin ja muuttuviin internetmeemeihin.