Understanding What One Reads III: Essays on the Gospels and Paul by Jan Lambrecht

Abstract

Reviewed by: Understanding What One Reads III: Essays on the Gospels and Paul by Jan Lambrecht Frank J. Matera jan lambrecht, Understanding What One Reads III: Essays on the Gospels and Paul. ( Annua Nuntia Lovaniensia 71; Leuven: Peeters, 2015). Pp xv + 323. Paper €68. Jan Lambrecht was for many years Professor of New Testament at the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium. After his retirement, he continued to write and publish numerous essays on the Gospels, Paul, and the Book of Revelation, as well as teach at the [End Page 365] Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome. The present volume is the third he has published under the title Understanding What One Reads. The first volume contained essays from 1992 to 2002; the second, essays from 2003 to 2011; and this volume, essays from 2011 to 2014. There are forty-two essays in this volume, twenty-two of which have not been published previously. Except for a few extended essays, most are brief, often in the form of notes and responses to recently published books, essays, and academic articles. A constant theme of these writings is the flow of the argument and the line of thought of the biblical text in question. Paying careful attention to the grammar, structure, and translation of the text, Lambrecht seeks its literal meaning in order to arrive at its theological content. He is always respectful of the work that others have done and is careful to present their thesis fairly before critiquing it. But when he does, it is evident that he has little use for esoteric and convoluted theories that are not supported by the grammar, structure, and line of thought revealed in the text and its wider context. Twenty-five essays deal with the Synoptic Gospels, and one with the Fourth Gospel. The essays on the Gospel of Mark investigate the relationship between Mark and Q. Lambrecht argues that Mark knew and skillfully redacted Q. In his essays on Matthew and Luke, he critiques and responds to recent positions taken by other scholars in books and journal articles. The essays in this section are: "The Stronger-Saying of the Baptist (Q 3,16-17 and Mk 1,7-8)"; "Grammar and Logic in Mark 3,26"; "The Parable of the Strong One (Q 11,21-22 and Mk 3,27)"; "Mark's Use of Q 12,8-10: The Holy Spirit (Mk 3,28-29) and the Son of Man (Mk 8, 38)"; "Mark's View of the Mission (Mk 6,7-13)"; "Mark 7,1-23: Flow of the Argument"; "The Line of Thought in Mark 8,14-21"; "Mark 9,37-42: Redaction and Reasoning"; "The Reasoning of Mark in 10,1-12: A Critique of John P. Meier"; "Mark 10,15 and Grammatical Parallels in Mark"; "The Cleansing of the Temple (Mk 11:15-19)"; "Faith, Prayer, and Forgiveness in Mark 11:22-25"; "Jesus' Cry on the Cross and the Centurion's Statement (Mk 15:33-39)"; "Matthew 1,18-25: A Chiastic Vignette? A Close Reading"; "Salvation by Forgiveness: A Response to Thomas R. Blanton IV"; "The Threefold Motivation in the Fourth Q-Beatitude"; "'You Shall Not Swear Falsely' (Mt 5,33c): A Response to John A. L. Lee"; "Measure for Measure: A Response to John S. Kloppenborg"; "Matthew's Parable Theory according to Peter Yaw Oppong-Kumi: A Critical Note"; "Whitewashed Tombs (Mt 23,27-28): Sober Exegesis"; "'In those Days'" (Lk 2,1): A Reply to Michael Wolter"; "The Narrow and Closed Door (Lk 13,22-30): A Response to Matthias Adrian"; "Does the Parable of the Lost Coin (Lk 15,8-10) after All Belong to Q?"; "The Reasoning in Luke 17,20-21"; "Naherwartung in Luke? A Note on M. Wolter's Explanation of Luke 21"; "Reading and Preaching John 21,15-23." The fourteen essays on Paul focus on Romans, and 1 and 2 Corinthians, with a single essay on Galatians. Many of these are also in the form of critical notes and responses to other scholars. There are, however, extended essays on Paul's line of thought in Romans 4, the use of "I" in Romans 7, and the proclamation of the...