Resurrection in Mark 12: Refining the Covenant Hypothesis

Abstract

The defence of resurrection in Mk 12.18-27 has been understood in various ways, based on different reconstructions of the logic of Jesus’ citation of Exod. 3.6. These various approaches may be generally grouped under two broad categories: ‘present relationship’ hypotheses and ‘covenant/context’ hypotheses. This study evaluates those approaches, seeking to critique the existing covenant/context proposals of F. Dreyfus (1959) and Bradley R. Trick (2007) and extend their insights in new directions. In doing so, it focuses on citation context and similar reasoning in other early Jewish and Christian texts, including an overlooked analogue in Heb. 11. It will be argued that this context and these analogues lend support to a revised version of the covenant/context hypothesis that understands Mk 12 as predicating resurrection on divine faithfulness to the covenant between God and the patriarchs.