,

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HARRYO.MAIER

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PICTUruNG
PAULinEMP[ru
lmperial lmage, TextandPersuasion in Colossians,
E p h e s i a nasn dt h e Pa sto r Ep
a l istle s
 ".-

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 CONTENTS

Acknowledgementsix
Abbreuiations xi
Primary Sources xi
Greek and Latin xi
leuish xiii
Christian xiv
SecondarySources xiv

Lists of Figuresand Plates xxi

Figures xxi
Plates xxiv

Introduction: Picturing Paul 1

The Visual Culture of the Roman Empire 2
The Figure and the ldea 4
Empire and Imperial Situationin Colossians,Ephesiansand the
PastoralEpistles 7
Exegesis,Imperial Imageand Imagination 15
Ekphrasis 28
PlayingPaul tt

I Paul: Making Do in the Roman Empire 3s

Paul and EntangledHistory 36
Strategies,Tactics and Making Do 39
Powersof Horror 41
CarnivalesqueApotheosisand Citizenship 47
Endings 51
The Death for Others 55
Reversals57
 c ( ) N' t ' l. lN' l' s

2 Colossians:Not Barbarian or Scythian.Christ All in All 63

Lettdr from a Roman JalI 63
A C KNOWLEDGEMENTS
Victory in the Heavens 67
Cosmic Harmony 7L
Fertility and Abundance 83
Cosmopolitanism with Love 85
The Aphrodisias Household Rule 9a
Colossians as Counter-Memory 98
This book could not have been completed without the invitation of
'Weber
Professor Jorg Rtipke to take up a fellowship at the Max Center
3 Ephesians:The Uncanny Fluency of Another's for Advanced Cultural and Social Studies at the University of Erfurt.
Language 103 The study that follows is a contribution to the College Research Group,
'Religious Individualization in Historical Perspective'.l Professor Riipke
In Search of a Life Setting 104
was a generous and conscientious host and I am most grateful for
Ambassador in Chains 105 his collegiality and friendship. He, together with Dr Bettina Hollstein,
Ephesian Homonoia: One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism 107 assured that I received not only an excellent office, but also accessto
The \fall of Hostility tts all the University of Erfurt's research resources. I am also grateful to
Paci orbis terrarum augustae 122 l)iana Piischel and Ursula Birtel-Koltes for their administrative support.
Ephesians as Thirdspace 'J.37 Fr Piischel helped negotiate the layers of bureaucracy that come with
being a guest researcher in Germany. Funding for this study also came
from the generous support of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.
4 The Pastoral Epistles: Practicesof Empire r43 'fhis was my third Humboldt sponsored stay in Germany and I am most
Christentum?L44
Btirgerliches grateful for the Foundation's generosity and efficiency, as well as its
Paul'sImperialCloak t+e continuing dedication to helping promote researchexcellenceand interna-
rional academic cooperation.
Athletes and Soldiers 151
Severalof the following chapters were presentedto Max'Weber Fellows
An Imperial Epiphany and Aduentus L52
,rrrd guests professors. Research seminars at the Max'Weber College are
Our Great God and Saviour JesusChrist 157 rr model of disciplined and hospitable interdisciplinary conversation, and
Pictures of Harmony 164 tlrc chapters that follow have benefited from the constructive feedback of
Portraits of Discord tzz colleagues.Richard Gordon read multiple drafts of this book and saved me
Family Portraits '1,79 lrom factual errors, unwarranted historical judgments, misinterpretations
of imperial data and grammatical infelicities. Those many that remain
''Women Who Stray After Satan'? 188
;rrc only becauseI did not take his criticisms seriously enough. At several
Practicesof Empire 192
points \fendy Fletcher invited me to revise and restructure arguments. Her
sullgestions have made this a far stronger book than it would otherwise
Epilogue: Constantine's Triumph i,e7 h:rvc been. Professor Chris Eberhart and Randy Meissner read drafts of a
Santa Pudenziana and the Crowned Apostle 197 rrrrnrbcr of chapters and provided excellent feedback. Professor \Tolfgang
\pickcrmann suggestedseveral fruitful avenues of investigation of Roman
Looking Underground 201
rrrilitary culture. I am grateful to Shannon Lythgoe for help with some
unrlllcs. My work also benefitedfrom the support of my researchassistants,

Bihlkry4raphy 203
I,r r .r tl c s r 'r 'i 1'r l i o rro l t l rt ' p ro j c c t . w w ' w . rrrri c rl rrrt . t l c / l i l c i rt l rt ri rr/ rrs t ' r-t l rrs / K < l l l c g f rl rs c h c rg , ru p p c /
l n d cx tl llilt lic al und A n c i c trt S tu trc c s2 3 7 l l 1'. r l l 6,r ntr ,r [\.ru \ / rr[ i . P 1 l f (. t t rc s rc t l l o l . t rt t t . t rr' ] o l l ).
s{ t,t(:' t' trR tN (;I' Atft. tN r.M Pl R r,

'thirdspace', but different from those found in Ephesiansand (blossians.

The final chapter considers a reading of Paul amidst Roman triumph, first
below, the apse of the fifth century Roman basilica, Santa Pudenziana,
I
where a female figure representing the gentile nations crowns Paul with
a corona ciuica, and then before a sixth century image of St Paul and St
Thecla in a grotto at Ephesus. Santa Pudenziana confronts us with an
imperial image of Pau[; the image of Paul and Thecla in the grotto invites
Paul: Making Do in the
us to a consideration of the apostle from the perspective of a silenced,
'underground' narrative. Throughout the study, picturing Paul in empire Roman E*pire
means a consideration of the larger world of images in which these letters
were composed, as well as the uses of imperial image and text for the sake
of persuasion.

The surge of interest in the imperial cult by New Testament scholars has
been likened to a 'Columbus-like discovery' of a new world.l Sometimes,
however, new world discoveries are not new at all. Explorers arrive in
a new land only to discover people already there. In the case of 'Paul
and Empire' scholarship, over a century ago, biblical scholars impressed
by new archaeological finds from the eastern Mediterranean were quick
to make connections and draw conclusions about the features of the
imperial world and its cult of the emperor on New Testament writers,
especially Paul.2 The recent imperial turn in Pauline studies continues a
long tradition. The purpose here is not so much to explore new territory
as to reconnoiter the ground already mapped by scholars who have
considered the uncontested letters of the Pauline corpus (Romans, 1 and
2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians and Philemon).
This will prepare the ground for a more detailed exploration of the
uses of imperial imagery and vocabulary in Colossians, Ephesians and
the Pastoral Epistles. My interest in considering these earlier letters is to
discuss some of the ways in which Paul draws upon imperial imagery and
vocabulary to place before his listeners' eyes vivid pictures of the Gospel
he proclaims. rU(ith the help of Michel de Certeau's notion of 'making do',
I hope to show how Paul's letters manifest a form of imperial hybridity
as they draw upon imperial images and then redeploy them for new
purposes.

r( i rrl i nsky,20 | | a, | .
rl i rrrcxi ttttpl c ,l )c i s s nunn, l 9l l ; W endl and, 1904; l 9l 2; H arnac k , 1906a,7906b;Li etz mann,
| 909; l .ohnrc y c r,| 9 | 9.
 l' l( ll lil\( , t,\t I t\ I ill ,l l t]
Paul and Entangled Histol'y
In contemporary treatment, the phrase 'Paul and Empire' is usuarlly
assciciatedwith an exploration of the ways in which Paul opposed the
Roman Empire.3 This position, too, has a long legacy. Over a century ago,
Adolf Deissmann described 'a polemical parallelism between the cult of the
emperor and the cult of Christ, which makes it felt where ancient words
derived by Christianity from the treasure of the Septuagint and the Gospels
happen to coincide with solemn concepts of the Imperial cult which sounded
the same or similar.'a Contemporary scholars largely echo Deissmann.
One contrasts 'the Gospel of Imperial Salvation' against 'Paul's counter-
Imperial Gospel', and describesJesusand Paul as leading 'an anti-imperial
movement'.s Another juxtaposes 'Paul's Gospel and Caesar'sEmpire', and
argues that Paul directly challenged the cult of the emperor, which was 'not
only the dominant cult in a large parr of the empire ... but was actually
the means ... whereby the Romans managed to control and govern such
huge areas as came under their sway.'6 others write of 'Rome's imperial
theology' which 'Paul's Christian theology confronted nonviolently but
opposed relentlessly.'7Still others contrast Paul's preaching of the 'peace
of Jesus Christ' as motivated in the first instance by opposition against the
'pax Romana', or read passagesin Paul's letters as a form of 'disguised
affront' against Roman power.s John C. Scott's model of resistance in
peasant situations of subjugation and control is used to detect evidence of
disguise, and even 'political unconscious', in Paul's letters, as he used the
resourcesof his religious and social heritage to expressa subversive'hidden
transcript' of opposition against the 'public transcript' of Roman domina-
tion.e On the other side are those, like Bruno Blumenfeld, who argue that
Paul was not interestedin opposing the Empire. Paul's mission relied on the
Roman Empire for his success.'Paul must not upset - and, more important,
does not wish to upset - the Roman political establishment.' Indeed, the
argument of Romans relies so heavily upon the terms and categories of
3SeeHarrison,201.1,3-14, for a history.
aDei s s m a n n ,1 9 1 1 , 3 4 6 .
s Hor s l e y , 1 9 9 7 a , 1 - 2 4 , a t 1 , 3 ,
5.
5! 7ri g h t , 2 0 0 0 , 1 6 0 - 8 3 , a t 1 ,6 1 .
TCrossan and Reed, 2004, x.
8'Wengst,1987 Georgi, 1987, 72-8.
; i t4-.12.
eE lli o t t , 2 0 0 8 , 5 4 - 7 ; fo r ' h id d e n
tr a n scr ip ts' in p e a sa n t cul rures, see S cott, 1990, especi al l y
1'36-82; for political unconscious in peasant cultures, see Scom, 1985, 2847. Scott bases
both notions on hundreds of hours of field research of peasant society; with only Paul's
letters available as evidence it is methodologically unsound to posit the apostle'sre.achingsas
analo g o u st o s u c h p e a s a n tfo r m s o f r e sista n ceo th e r th a n in a hi ghl y tenti rti vcand hr,porl rt,ri cal
fashion.
l ,\l | \l thl \t. lxr l\ | fl l l ((t\l \\ I \l l ' l l (l
tfl l l rt.rr;rlrtrlt ' t lr . r t ', ) n( '( ( , r r lr l l. nr r\ r t . r \ . l ( olt t r illt t t iot t t o lt l; t 's/ st '/ . r r if
f <>r
't
N r.ro, to C t 'lt 'llt '. t tttlt' r '( 'nt lX'tt t J'\ r lt t t t t r lt t t 't t t t it tttllt
t t f ( t t t ll. 't t l
S trch pl rr r r st . slr , r vt ' . r p'r vt 'r 'lr r l r 'lr t 't or icit lcf f cct , especiallyf or t hose
l vho scck to wir r lr or r r l'. r r r l . r e( ) unt cr - cult r t r al at t it ude t o cont em por ar y
pol i ti cs rrnclct r lr r r r ctor f or t hosc, like Br uno Blum enf eld,who wish t o
rcpresenthirn ;.rs'rcvoluti()nilry reactionary' who effectivelycapitulated to
thc Roman Empire to achievehis missionary goals.11But they also ignore
rhe complexity of both 'Paul' and 'Empire', not to mention the social and
lristorical idiosyncrasiesof the imperial cult in Greek and Roman society.12
Ir is as misleadingto describePaul as 'relentlesslyopposed' to the Roman
l-.mpire as it is to describe him as sympathetic to its aims and political
goals. Indeed, as a product of the social and cultural contexts of his urban
cnvironment, Paul, the Roman citizen, was aS much a part of the Roman
F.mpireas he could have been opposed to it..This can be readily recognized, >
rrs we will see directly, in the way Paul frquently applies terms from his
political imperial world to describe his communities.13Paul also exhorts
hi s audi encesas he does in 1Thess. 4. 11. - I 2, 't o aspir et o live quiet ly, t o
nrind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we charged you;
so that you may command the respect of outsiders, and be dependent on
nobody.' Paul presentshimself as a man who is, like his listeners,an artisan
(l C or.4.' 1 , 2;1 Thess. 2. 9; cf . Act s 18. 3) ; indeed t he chur cheshe f ounds
look remarkably like Greco-Roman associations.laHe plays his part in the
cconomic organization of his day, he travels on Roman roads, he relies on
Itoman law - if Acts is to be trusted - to adjudicate chargesbrought against
l ri m (A cts 22. 25- 9; 23. 27; 25. 2"1. , 25) .This is not t o say t hat Paul did
not recognize the forms of political intrusion if not terror and threat that
:rccompanied Roman rule, nor can one deny that the logic of his Gospel
challengessuch an organizatton of society, nor that at the time Paul was
writing the imperial cult was penetrating deeply into the civic life of Asia
Minor.ls Indeed, Paul vividly describesthe full force of his imperial context
l " l ]fumenfel d,2003, 289,292.
" lJlumenfeld,2003, 289-92.
'lior local initiatives, as well as local political and religious influenceson differing architec-
'
ttrral expressions,officials and relationship to pre-existing deities of the Flavian imperial cult
rrl rhe sebastoi in Ephesus, see Friesen 1993,50-75, an argument that he similarly makes
{l:ricsen, 2001, 23-76) for the earlier Julio-Claudian period; similarly, Ando 2000,303:29.
lror uneven distribution imperial cults in the cities Paul visited, as well as entanglementsof the
cult with local cults as part of a complex religio-political landscape,see Miller 201'0,
rrrrl'rcriirl
' ' l:or rln excellerrt ovcrview of Paul's appropriations of civic language as a means of organi-
u.rt irrlr rrrrd sclf-rlcfittitiort. scc F.bner20 | 2, 8.5-100, 228-30.
" l l rrrs A scor rgl t,2(X )3; l ' l bc l , 20041 2012, 190-23.5; H arl and, 2003; 2009; K l oppenborg'
(,,96.t(' -.10; l ' hei s s c rr,2(X )7. 221-47l ' ' T' re
1.tv |. J I 2-.l tt : | bi l r:o, 1994,291-362, as w el l as the
,l rstrrssi ottthr tt l ol l orv s ott tl tt' l ' rts torrtll :pi s tl t' s .
r('()r(l ()tl . l t)t)(). l t)t) IIl .
 | ,t( | | ilt\( . t' \t I t\ | \l l .l l i l , l ' \l | \l thl \t, lXf l\ |fl l l (()\l \\I\l l ,l l (l

w her e hc r c c ir lls' i l trp ri s o tu l )e rrrs ( or' . Il .l .l ),

l rrrtl c o rrrrtl cssl l t.i rtrrrl i r' 1.1
o r wher e he s t at e sth a t th e e mp e ro r i s i l ' tc rro r l Qofi osI' to l r.rrl(()nsetcncc
Str a l t' 1 g i t' s,' l i r t' ti t' sa n ( l M a ki n g D o
a n d' does not bea r th e s w o rd i n v a i n ' (R o m. 1 3.3,4). A frcr i rl l , l )i rrrlw ri rcs
l hc tl rorrg ht ol t lr t ' s( ) r r . r lt lr t 'or ist , r r r r l phil<lsophcrM ichel de Cer t eau
letters from a Roman prison, and his final fate attesrs the brutality of
ol l ' crsa trscf r rrl ncr lnsol obst 'r vir r g: r r r ar r l r alysingt his Paulineent anglem ent
Roman power, as does indeed his proclamation of Jesus crucified 'by the
.urd l rybri dit y, : r ncl sct s t hc st illlc f or t he discussiont hat will f ollow in
rulers of this age' (1 Cor. 2.8).t,
strbsccluentchaptcrs. Hc distinguishes between 'strategies' and 'tactics'
For Paul,'the form of this world is passing away'(1 cor. 7.31,),but ro
i rr the regu lat ion and daily decisionsof societ y. 'St r at egy'or 'st r at egic
the degree it remains very much present, Paul develops and appropriates
r':rrionalization'describesthe normalizing delineation of place by dominant
that form, including its leading metaphors and vocabulary, to suit his
groups for managing and organizing an environment and making it 'the
ends. The postcolonial norion of hybridity is a properly nuanced way to
place of its own power and will.'2l Tactics, by contrast, describe uses of
describePaul's relationship to his imperial context. The term speaksneither
tlrc elements and values of everyday life as a means of self-definition and
of relentless opposition to the Roman Empire, nor to a kind of spiritual
social resistance.'A tactic insinuates itself into the other's place, fragmen-
quietism or political conservatism for the sake of larger theological formu-
trrrily, without taking it over entirely, without being able to keep it at a
lations, but of Paul's negotiation of the cultural and social arrangemenrs
tlistance.' Since tactics exist in another's space, 'it is always on the watch
of his urban contexts to make his Gospel persuasive to his listeners.lT 'Whatever
Ior opportunities that must be seized "on the wing." it wins it
Postcolonialism uses the term 'hybridity' to describe the complex ways in
tloes not keep. It must constantly manipulate events in order to turn them
which colonizer and colonized negotiate and construct identity wittr one
irrto "opportunities."'22 'Making do' describesthe daily usesof objectsand
another. When applied to Paul, hybridity urges a formulation that steers
rrreaningsthat similarly insert themselvesinto larger models of behaviour
away from binary opposition of Paul and Empire, but rather considers
rrrrd production and become the means to the counter-practice of society
Paul and Rome under the aspect of entangled history. Entangled history
,rnd its dominant meanings. de Certeau describesinstancesof colonization
attends to 'mutual influences,responsesand effects' in treating the relation
rvhere the colonized have adapted laws, practices and modes of represen-
of local to global historical analysis.lsApplied to Paul 's letrers, entangled
trrtion for specificand often unintended ends. Those who 'made due' in this
history concentrateson ways in which the apostle'sGospel revealsthe influ-
wxy, de Certeau argues, metamorphosed the dominant order: 'they made
ences of its imperial location, even in its most dissonant formulation, and
it function in another register.They remained other within the system that
how such influences have an effect, however unintended, of legitimating,
they assimilated and which assimilated them externally. They diverted it
through appropriation of terms, narratives and values of an overarching
r,vithout leaving it. Proceduresof consumption maintained their difference
civic and imperial order. In the case of Paul, the use of imperial language
irr the very space that the occupier was organizing.'z3
to articulate the differencesof Christ groups from their imperial *orld
"nd From a postcolonial point of view, de Certeau'sanalysis is too static and
to preach the comingof a lord and saviour, whose victory over death was
rrni-directional. Hybridity and entanglement focus on the negotiation of
likened to a military triumph, reinforced imperial understandings.leBut it
both strategistsand tacticians in social relations and how both are trans-
also deconstructed it in unique ways.2OHybridity and entanglement rather
formed as a result of it. Nevertheless,his notion of 'making do' is useful for
than opposition describesthis mutual relation.
trnderstandinghow Paul used the categoriesof his larger civic and imperial
context, to metamorphose his social world and make it'function in another
rcgister'. This he did, as we will see, not only by inviting his audiencesto
16Fordiscussionwith literature hcar in certain ways through the rhetorical performance of his letters, but
of the 'rulers' as both cosmic and political reference,seeElliott
1994 , 1 1 4 - 2 3 . ,rlso by inviting them to see differently. The shared elements of his visual
l7For treatment of Paul, postcolonial world were close at hand to servethe means of metamorphosis.In deploying
study and hybridity, see Punt, 2011, 53-61,; Stanley,
2011., 110-26; Hanges, 2011, 27-34. srrch tactics for persuasion he established a legacy for the formulation of
t8Epple, 2012,155-75 at 1'63;
Epple relates entangled history to considerarionsof a modern lris Gospel that was passedon to later generations of Christ-followers, and
transnational history that attends to complexities of hybridity in investigating the relation
rvhich resulted in an unfolding history of effects that extended far beyond
of the national to the global. Entangled history avoids a simplistic cause-effect/dominant-
subservient model of history in favour of close analysis of interaction of local politics with
larger transnational entities.
leSchiisslerFiorenza, 2007, Itl c ( .t'r tc l ttt, l 9 t l 4 , 1 7 .
13.
20Fo ra n o v e r v i e w o f Pa u l' s 'tl t' (
a p p r o p r ia tio n s o f civic la n g u a geas a means <l f orgrrni z:rri rrrrrrrcl c r l c r tr r . l ()1 | 4 , x i r.
s elf -d e f i n i t i o n ,s e e E b n er 2 0 1 2 , 8 5 - 1 0 0 . 2 2 9 - 3 0 . 'tl t' ( t'r l t',ttt, I t )I J 4 . t l .
 l ' \l t \l rhl \t. l X r t\ | ill l { i l \l \\ | \l l ,l l l l

wlr at l) r r ulc ' r r l c r rrrrv ci rrrrrg i rrc rr,;r

rri s t' ry trri
""' sI'rrr\r/
strrrryr,rkt.r,fr
r'r^(-\ l l f r l111
l rrr,rr.rr' si s
of the contested co r p u s. Itlrvt't'sol I l()t'l'()r'
P aul r epeat e d l yd e p l o y sl a n g u a g e
a t h o rne i n hi s l argcr i rrr' cri rrl
context' As has long been recognized, " l ' hi trrksl rt't o ( iot l. r vlr o r r r( . lr r r st; r lr vr r ys
his letters draw fi.rr;i;;n that' rl isocial
ri cal lcir clsus in t r iur nph [ 0pr oppeuour r l,
rirtorld: saviour [oc^rr{p], salvation-
{ocornpioi,. corpel [eriayydrrou],peace
-i*,io,ori, ;tttcltl trottglt r r s spr t ', r . lst lr r 'lr ': r gr : lnccleur , : 6iqlof t he knowledge of him
son of God [uiosroO
[eiphurl], 0eo0iL;td cvcryw l tcrc .For wc r lr c t lr c r r r <lr naof Chr ist t o G od am ong t hose who ar e
reconciliation and cognares p"';;;li" [ncpouoio],
{roro-iroyri], i"-b"rr"dor, [npeoBeio]and l rci rrgsnrvcdir ncl: r nr ongt hosc who ar e per ishing' ( 2 Cor . 2. I 4) . 'G od has
cognates'as well as 'church'.
[irrtrr1o[a],'.uoay (of chriiri' Jo.i1ro, .o0 t'rhibited lond6srfevlus apostlesas last of all, like men sentencedto death;
Xproroil, and 'citizenship'
[nollieuprj, ;;; b;; few instancesthat reflect bccausewe have become a spectacle[0dorpou]to the world, to angels and
borrowing applicatiott,o trir pro.l"-Jon," instruction t<r people'(1 Cor. 4.9). The image of a triumph is striking and offers an
"ld
tation. Metaphors and exhor-
suchas 'sraveof ihrirtj
to meer the Lord' [dndur-r1orv io"i,r., ro0 Xproro'], .goingout cxcellentexample of Paul'suse of vivid metaphor to evoke imagination and
ro0 rup[ou],tirir.rrrt ip in heaven, participation on the part of his listeners. The passageoffers a provocative
rEuuqiu oirpcvoisl,'read in triumph' [rb nori
paul,s cxample of Paul remaining 'other' within a culture associatedwith military
urban and Romanpolitical context, tgp"ug;r,rl ,-i';i"riy-r.nect .dying
as Joeshis descriptio' J,rCt rir, rneaningsand celebrationsbut also making it 'function in another register'
for' others, and languagethat celebrates (de Certeau). At the heart of the metaphor is what we may call a power of
the superabundantgrace of his
Gospel'2a In communicalinghis Gospelin th.r.
ways, paul reachesfor a horror - that is a display of military might in a victory designedto humiliate
meansto expre.ss the length and breadth of his claims. rhe vanquished and glorify the triumphator. As such Paul exploits in a
languageof philosophicalschoolssuch Trri, rr. h"ds in the
and Middte platonism, paradoxical way imagery commonplace in the Hellenistic world, both of
as well as the universalizingelements "tstoi-.irm
and narrativesof the Hebrew Bible the conqueror who has defeated his enemies,and of the defeatedwho bow
and Jewish tradition. Mosi important,
however,for proclamation to a before the victors.r'
religiouslyvaried,if not largely illiteraie
is the political vocab- The Greek word OpropBeieru can be translatedgenerallyas 'to triumph',
ulary and imageryhe a vehicleto"udi.r,.., 'to lead in triumph', or 'to display, or exhibit'.2s Since the verb does not
"d"ptJ", make his craims.
In de certeau'sterms' this was a tactic that borrowed from rrppear in the sense of military triumph in literature contemporary with
in order ro transposererms and imag., one domain
i;;;- J ,r.- register,for the sake l'aul it has sometimes been interpreted to mean 'display'.26 But recent
of an alternativtitt of practicesand
beliefs.still more critical for paul,s cxegetical studies have shown that the rhetorical situation and literary
strategiesof persuasionis his useof
vivid civic metaphorand narrativeto context of its appearancesin both Corinthian passagesindicate that what
communicatewith his churches.Paul
,tr"t.gi."lly usedsuchvivid language is intended is almost certainly the second meaning of Roman military
to persuadehis listenersof the truth
of his"universalclaims.vivid speech triumph.2TPeter Marshall correctly argues that although the verb does not
activatedhis listeners'imaginationsso
that they could not only hear paul,s rrppear in the sense of military triumph in literature contemporary with
claims,but also seethemsJlu.,as inhabitants Paul, the Julio-Claudian period was sufficiently saturated with military
or ,rr. ,r.* ord., th"t
deathand the triumph of his resurrection ;.r.rr,
had won. we canseethis in paul's iconography celebrating imperial victories to make 'to triumph', or 'lead
useof languageto.describe
Jesus'death iri'lph and the meanstoward irr triumph' the meaning Paul intends here 1'For an audien.i inh"biting n,
a universalreign,in paul'sdescriptions", "
of his own suffering,in paur,svivid the Roman colony of Corinth, military triumph would have instantly
eschatological represenrations .#rr"g'"rrd in his-descriptions of created a visual sense of Paul as a prisoner led in a triumph with Christ
his churchesas the body of christ"f^y.r.rr'
and in solftarity with one another. rts the triumphator or victor. The images that survive today come from
each case'Paul represenrshis teachings In
with ii. h.rp of imperiarimage nlonuments, such as the relief on the Temple of Apollo Sosianus (Figure
and vocabulary,often onry to ,..o.rfig,ir.
it. p".ri makesdo with the visual l), on coins or, as Zanker has shown, on household furniture and private
culture and languageof the Roman
Empire and -^' invites his listenersto <rbjects.A first-century oil lamp with a relief of a victory (Figure 2), as
imaginethemselves in new and striki"g *"yr. well as a victory on the ceiling plaster of a Roman palace (Figure 3) show
It<lw amongst both rich and poor victory was an ever present image. But
rve should imagine them spread across the Empire in other forms as well

2aFor
Jesus' death as .for sinners/us/you/all,as at home
in political
language of sacrifice
thlir cities, Eschne r, zoto,2.7G3_217; .the l )cl l i ng. 1966, I 59-(r0; W i l l i rrrns on, l 96tl , 3 l l l -22.
?1.]:.:1.:'
Augustan l.,r
eschatology, _see tor grace agai nst tht. hrr1.L1l p1yp
1yf
seeHarrison,zloi,-i)i_ioi zrini. 18.5-97. l '1i ,rn.1977. i 4-(r0, .rrrrlf or gc rrt' r:rlrt' v i t' u' of tl rc l i tc rrl tl rrc ,s c e W i l l i arrrs on,1968,322-6.
I l .rl t'nr,rnrr.l()s { ), l l -l (); l ()()0. 5l l ; \l rtrs l trtl l . l 9l l } . } 02- 17.
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 I t.l lt I l ' \l | \l rl l \t, l i l rl \ llll l { |' \l \\|\l l ' l l (l

suc lt r ls lt lr lc r lr rl srtrrtlP o s l t.r.s

tl rrtt rv t.r.t,
rv i tl t. l ytl rsP l .rvt.tl,r. ,r.l r(.t.n\(.l n(.nts (' \(' (l l l rorrol lr r r t 'r r cnr r ( '\ . rI\, r r t r 'l t lr t '\ r ( l( ) t '\ 'r 'it t r : r l.lr r : r ll of t lt is, howcvct i
<lf t hc c l' n1' lc r r l r'sstrc c c s s .l t
M ar s hall not e s th a t P a u l ' s u s a g ec ' n f' rm s t' l ' .rrrli rrvt' rt\nr ( '. r nnr l'.\ ur
\ ( ( 'lr . 'r r r ut . r t ( '\t lt t 'ont 'who was hir r r sclfcot r quer ed
l urci crrtrl rt,t.ri cal tl rc' ri - .rrrtlt' rt' crrtct lir r r nr r r li\ r on. \ 't 't t o lr t 't lr t r s v: t r t r luishcdis, in t he apost le's
zation of the usesand meaningsoi metaphor in
persuasigl.r',As rr dramatic ,l rstorrrsc,to llc l) : r r t ol t lr t 't r r r nr r phof ( , hr ist in r esur r ect ion.Paul'm akes
metaphor one may add that its deploymenr
fits in with the use of vivicl ,1,,'rvi th tl tc secr t t egor it 's : t r t t lwholly t r ansposest hem .
speech to awaken imagination and-the emotions
associatedwith striking I lc cleprloysa sirrrilar rhetorical strategy in 1 Cor. 1-4, where, again,
description' Here Paul s portrayal of himself
would have triggered strong (lrl('sti()trs of statusand origins dominate a situation that has createdfaction
emotions associatedwith the celebration of
the victor and the humiliation .rrrrorrgstmembers of the church due perhaps to competing allegiancesto
of the vanquished.
The metaphgt is so paradoxical it has led scholars ,l rl l cri rrgapost les( 1 Cor . 3. 4) . Paul challengest hem in t heir com pet it ion
to argue that paul ()\ ('r statusas boastful (3.18-22). Here the languageof triumph and humili-
could not have been using it in the senseof
a milit ary parad,J.cert"irrly it ,rriorris situatedas a part of the apostle'scastingof the Corinthian divisions
required Paul's audience to take in the full force
or in. i;;;. of triumph rvrth the help of rhetorical commonplaces and language associatedwith
in order fully to understand what paul intends
in p;.r.;;! b.for. th. t rvic faction and concord.32Thus, it is not only 1 Cor. 4.9 that represents
eyes of his audie.ncean image_of.himself as part
o? th..o.roq,r.r.d in a lris insertion of political language; civic vocabulary and commonplaces
triumph' Marshall argues that Paul's use of 0prquperieru
to describe himself lrnn a red thread that runs all the way through the first four chapters of 1
as a shameful figure belongsto a rhetorical strategyof
2cor.2.744.1g to t orirrthians. This is again not surprising given Paul is writing to a church
win a persuasive-hearing with the corinthians
who have found reason ro rrr rr city very much conscious of its status as Roman colony.33'$7hatis
doubt his credibility as an apostle.3'Paul here
seeksto win starus by turning however, is the way he foregrounds both himself and Christ
the charge of weakness into an argument for 'rrrprising,
his true sratus and dignity. ,rs the victims of Roman violence in order to persuade the Corinthians to
The apostle pillories his opponenrs as boastful
(2 cor. 1.12; cf. 11.12), .'rrrbodyin their own ixrtrrloiqall the idealsof harmony and good order that
underhanded and cunning 14.2), 'huckster,
l.orrair0oure5l oibodt word, . lrrrrarcterrzethe rightly functioning state.
(2'17), promising teachingsgrearer than
his ftjf--t+; cf . 1r.4), and,relying l)rrul'sresponseto Corinthian faction and strife is to invite his listenersto
on letters of recommendation (3.1; 4.1-2) ro
win corinthian hospitality. rrrr:rgine the truly faithful as those who bear the humiliation, weaknessand
By contrast, Paul amplifies his weaknesses,
humiliations, and sufferings l,rolishnessof the crucified Christ. Again, he evokesan image of himself as
on behalf of the Gospel and for the corinthian
chur.h i2 cor. 1.3_11; (.rptive in triumphal processionin 1 Cor. 4.9,but this time with extended
6'3-10; cf. 11.7-L0, z3-g). He presents himself
as a shamed hostage in t'kphrasis.'God has exhibited [ondderfeu] us apostlesas last of all, like men
triumph-;,The vanquished apostle thus becomes
9llir_t': the image of the st'ntencdto death; becausewe have become a spectacle [0datpou] to the
faithful apostle #ho as a captive in christ's
victory march - now switching rvorld, to angelsand to people.'3aHere the passagenot only describeshim
metaphors - has become in fact a sacrificial
offering in Christ,s honour and ,r\ rln exhibit, but through vivid description makes the audience see Paul
dedicated to the worship of God: 'a sacrificial
offer]ng to the knowledge of ,rntl the apostlesas spectacles.There follows then an extended vivid passage
him' [diu oopilutis yvrooecosqi,roO], 'the aroma
of Christ' [Xpro-ro1eirc^r6io] rlr;rt moves beyond the image of humiliation in a triumphal parade to
(2 cor. 2.14, 1s). ro those who Jisbelieve
his Gospel, his sufferings and .lt'scribethe apostlesat work in the Roman Empire as fools, weak, disrepu-
humiliations reveal him as little more than 'fragrance
from death to death, r.rhle,hungry and thirsty, demeanedlabourers, reviled, slandered,indeed
looutl ix 0qudrou 0dru-a'rou], but to those who"believe it, he is ,a fragrance
1'1s tl rr' ' refuse' [ nepr xo0dppor o] and 'f ilt h' [ nepiq4po]of t he wor ld ( 4. 8- 13) .
from life to life' [oopi1ix
fro?15eis fc^rltv]Q.rs-16). The srrong implication l:rrrlierhe has urged his listenersto remembertheir own low statusand how
is of course that paul's oppon.rrl, b.iorrg
to the former siic. they call ( iocl has used them to shamethe strong of the world (1.26-31,).Here, as in
him into question.(2 cor. ib.to;.rt rhe viiid
language of sacrifice, and of I (.<rrinthians2.I4-t5, the strategy is to persuadeby prompting factious
execution, similarly evokes pictures of the
emperor as sacrificant and the .rrrrflroastfulCorinthians (1 Cor. 3.4,1',8-22)to imagine the truly faithful as
rlrosc who bear the humiliation, weaknessand foolishnessof the crucified
28Ando, 2000, ( l rri st.S uchar e t he m ar ks not of def eatbut of vict or y ( 1. 27- 9; cf . 2. 1, - 10) .
256-9.
2eM a r s h a l l ,
1 9 8 3 , 3 1 0 - - 1 1 ; similarly Witheringto n, 199
loMar s h a l l , 5, 370.
1 9 8 3 , 3 1 3 - 17 .
31I assume \\'t'l l l rorrr. l el i 7, S 5- | | l ; | 997, l - I5; Mi tc he l l 1991, 68-l l l .
here that 2 Cor. 1.0-12 is in direct relationship
with the compl ai nts i rrrclrhefori cal |()r' ,l n .r((()u nt tl r;rt rt' l rttt' s( ori ntl ri rur t:tc ti orral i s rrl()v c r s trrtusw i th the l arger pol i ti c al
s t rat e g i e so f 2 . 1 4 - 6 . 1 3 . an d that perhaps the
later chapters are :r l ater l ettcr fr:tgrnt.rrt;l :rrrrri sh. ( ot ttttlt. ()()
1984, 3 5 4 1 . .r'lttltfl ol rt't' Itol'.ololl, |()()r, I]1.
'l ,rr tlrsr rt\\r{rn. st'r' I Lrlcttt,tnn, l')S{'. \l-i (r'1.
 l 'Al tl ,r tl Al l N l i l X, l N I l l l l t( ) M AN l :M Pl l tl .t7

'lir a nr t ldc r n
at rc l i c l l c cttn trrl i n c ciln th c s tri l tcgi csof .yrcacrtrl rt.t' ri c
t< l w i rr r.tcri fi ccfrl r t hc sr t kcol ot lt cr s r r r t lr c sr r r c lt opc of r csur r cct ionand G od's
assentthrough emotion' the em<ltivcdimenrl,rn,
of thcsc ,"*,*-[)ass unrec-
ognized' But Paul has carefully representedhimself tri trrrrphovc r clcit t h. "'l, ir lcr in t hc cont csr cdcor pus, as we will see, t he
and his ,,,ff"ring, for the nrcnt()ryof l) ir ul'ssuf f cr ir Ulsicspccir r llyhis chains ( Eph. 6. 20; Col. 4. 18;
effect.He placisbeforehisaudience
a pictureof himself,
lqn::L:Tl:t","t
and wtth the picture he expects a particular emotional I 'l'inr. l.l5), bccorncs:ur inrportilnt source of communal self-definition.
,erporrse associated l';rrrl'slirter follt)wcrs continucd to imagine the apostlewith the help of civic
with his portrait. Again, the ..rrrit is paradoxical:
faithfulness in humili- l.urguageand imperial narratives to articulate their communal ideals and
ation and defeat only serves to underr.or. paul's
triumph ,, secure fi ni ti ons.
honour in the eyes of his listeners and thus his reliability ""a ' cl f-de
as an apostle.
Thken together 2 cor. 2.14-rs and 1 cor. 4.9,with
tir. l"rg., repertoire
of- civic commonplaces of 1 cor. r.11,4.1g as whole,
reveal i".rr .making
do' with existing political ideals and features
of imperial iir.. ny way of CarnivalesqueApotheosis and Citizenship
the dramatic inversions, he prompts an imagination
of a wholly different
civic order, where traditional categories of it"to, l'lrc application of the image of Roman triumph and the spectacleof those
and understandings of
victory are stood on their head. He inserts his prrrrrdedas vanquished, as well as abasement as honour, is consistent with
small .o-p.tirrg household
irrlqo(cr into the larger political world of Corinth's l':rrrl'scarnivalesquerepresentation of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection
irrlr;oiq and Rome,s
military ,rs (iod's victory over the powers of sin and death. Paul again deploys
,triumphus but adapts their ranguage of ho.ou;;il g;;ry for his
own ends. highly evocative speech drawn from his imperial context. The crucifixion
\7e find similar paradoxical adaption of political ,f .fesusis of course already a strikingly political image even if Paul does
vocabulary in 2 Cor.
5.18-20, where Paul uses the civic i"rg,r"g. of rrot invite his audiencesto imagine it through vivid description. Rather he
ambarr"dorrhip (npeoBeia;
npeoBer]co)to represent himself as Itrrnishesit with paradoxical meanings by relating it, again, to victory and
of Christ,s reconciliation
(raralldooco; Kqrqlldy4re)." T!: - again"ekphrastic
"" "!.tt, trirrmph. The so-called Christ Hymn of Phil 3.6-11 overturns crucifixion as
- description of his
abasementthat follows in 6.4-1,0 belorigsro ,h. tlre rnode of God's victory. Here self-empyting ('he emptied himself [iourbv
world of diplomacy where
ambassadorial trials for the sake of recolciliarion ixeucooeu] taking the form of a slave [uopQnv6o0troulaBr^:u]'; Phil.2.7) and
were expected.3d Anthony
Bash argues that in the case of 2 Corinthians Paul's rclf-humbling in crucifixion ('he humbled himself [iraneiur^roeu iqurdu] and
ambassadorshiptakes
a dramatic turn as the status rich apostle abases bccarmeobedient unto death, even death on a cross'; 2.8) expressesthe
himself by becoming not
only agent, but suppliant for reconciliation. s.rpfli."tion t'1'ritomeof shame in the honour-shame culture of the Greco-Roman world.
makes the apostle
lower himself before the Corinthians even as ir l'he affirmation that follows ('God has highly exalted him and bestowed
."r., of diplomatic gestures
for reconciliation defeated parties typically sought orr him the name which is above every name' [Phil. 2.91) arguably echoes
terms for reconciliation
with victors.3T Ferdinand Hahn and-Mariin Hlrrgel llcbrew Bible ideas found in Ps. 110.1 of the faithful exalted king, or the
argue that the image
here derives directly from the Greco-Roman .''rlt, t'xaltation of the faithful Suffering Servant of Is. 52.'1,2-13.40
wherJth. victor imposes
the terms of reconciliation.3sIn either case, as Bash More important, however, for an audience inhabiting the Roman colony
argues, ,,r.h an image
would have shocked his audience, as Paul overrurns of Philippi - whose members included those 'from Caesar's household'
J"t.j-i., of honour
and power' Such self-abasementarises becausePaul "il ,4.2I)
'alw"y, ."rri.s in his - is the passage'sinvocation of imagery associated with Roman
body the death of Jesuschrist' and becausehe is .always rrrle. Apotheosis on account of great achievements was an honour that
being given up to
death for Jesus' sake' (2 Cor. 4.rr).Indeed, the lr:rd been accorded Augustus and Claudius soon after their deaths. A later
ministry of reconciliation
he endures through the trials and tribulations .cc<rndcentury relief from Ephesus offers a dramatic representation of such
that he describes so vividly
to his Corinthian audience is the ongoing revelation ,rpotheosis;the emperor Lucius Verus is carried heavenward on a chariot.
of Christ,s reconciling
Nlfte or Vctory, to his left, and Virtus accompany his ascent.Helios stands
.rt the rear to signify the cosmic and Olympian aspectof the apotheosis,and
xoroudvqandtheirusage
in theranguage li'llus, goddessof earth and fertility, reclines below the chariot (seePlate 1).
,1lf:*:':1::::':::*:r:l i:':ll*";
diplomatic mission, see Breytenbach, or
19g9. l'hil. 2.6-11 has been repeatedlyinterpreted from the early twentieth century
*:1.:1 j*:lon, see Bash, 199.7,105-10. Bashpoints similarly at p. ,,rrward as a direct representationof a scenesuch as this, or as motivated by
i'.a:: 106to 2 Cor.
ascchoinglanguage
usedro describe
the da'geis;iil;;;i"rrni
1!1'.-ttravels.
dorial
ip and ambassa-
37Ba s h ,1 9 9 7 , 1 0 9 - 1 0 .
38He n g e l , ''l l :rl t.rrri rrrrr
l 9 116..5l -4.
7 9 5 7 , 7 5 ; H ah n 1 9 7 3 .2 4 7 .
"\t't'Iol trttt'y't'ti l 92l l l i rr di s c rrs s i ort;
rtl s o Mrtrti rt, l c )97, x l v i .
 , .,! J,l r tl - l l t

wcr e iilr agesof

r , r llt ot t ( ( ) llls, t t t t l t t t t lt r uillct lt s
,rr i t..,,l l tl .i tl ly r r lr r t lr r t t lr r lr emperor'aaThe
krrcc lrcl,rt' .lll clltIr(lttctl tlr triurnphant
1rt.''lc '. [crrtlc{ victory over !l: Dacians'
( ,.lrrr'' .f 'l'rajirrr,Srrilt t,, e..l.lrr,lrcrhc cntperor's
would have invited listenersto
.lr()ws what kincl 6f ilttitl3cssrtclttlcscription
of the emperor who
rrrr:r14i'e (Figure+i. fi"r" thc relief t.f..t.",s the.mercy
below him hail him and plead for
r\ c.rhroned in triumph cven as o".l""t
nl crcy.
S trchi mager ycom m unicat edadivinelyappoint eddom inionover t he
Roman sway' As.Peter oakes argues'
tlivcrse peoples and territories under
these imperial claims'
l'lrilippian, ur. g-i1 fot.rrtly iuxtaposes
,fheE mpe r or r egar dedever ykneeonear t hasbowingt ohim . Chr ist
the
grrins the su-bmiiriot of every knee on earth"" This supersedes
-i-f.tor's.
sphere and even presumably
h.mperor,, in th.
""ilrori,y own knee bowing. Christ goes on to claim a
includes the Emperor's
w i derspher eof aut hor it y: under t heear t handit sskies. as
Paul's
what \il(ayne Meeks has called
lr is here that we should place of humanity
.rrrrpian declaration' of the ou.rlo-ittg of all divisions
wriies in Gal' 3'27-8 that for those
rrrrclcrthe rule oi Cnrir..a6 Thus Paul nor
.lrrrptized irrto christ" 'there is neither Jew nor Greek, neither slave
are all in christ Jesus" Meeks
FIGURE 4 Relief depicting Dacians on their kneessubmitting to Trajan, scene lrcc, no longer and female; for you
the unity of
LXXV, the column of Traian, Rome (secondcentury cn) @ Anger D-DAI-R}M -"1.
,rrrrl others rightly relate this to a long uto-Fian hope of
89.745 connects this with a
lrunrankind realized through u"piir-J{."rr iMeeks
origins.-But this neglectsthe political
\()srnic myth of androgyrro,rr-frri-"n
resistanceto the divine honours the imperial cult ascribed to the emperor.al i-ittial victory Philippians describes
r(.sonancethat relates to tn. il"] .i
But it is the final acclamation that bears the most significant imperial imprint, ciuic domain tirat one ought to place
rrr rhe passageabove, and it is in this
where it acclaims that 'at the name of Christ every knee should bow, in confirmed recently in the studies
tlris utopian imag ery'osThi' i"' btt"
heaven and on earth, and every tongue confessthat JesusChrist is Lord, to who,.in separate studies, have taken
.l llrigitt. r"hl irri o"uirr. iop.z
the glory of God the father' (2.t0-11). Martin has argued that these verses .f c;i;ians and related it to a long Hellenistic
.' rhe gr"pni;i;;;;"g.
represent a midrashic expansion of Isa. 45.23.a2He denies, however, any conquered appropriated by Roman
r r:rdition of female images of the
imperial connection. Yet the imagination prompted by such universalistic of all diuiti'ottt for the sake of
rr.()'ograpn.rrio .elebra[ ,ft.'"".-"t"i* as
language from Isaiah could only have been made more vivid by political Miihl has capturyd sL9h ideology
,r rrrrnscendent political orrity. tut"* the
iconography everywhere present in the world of the Philippians rhar affirmed with power'i4e\(/e will return to
rlrc ltoman idea of 'cosmopolitanism
the worldwide dominion of the emperor. From Augustus onward, imperial our discussionof Colossians
t.v.cirtive imagery of such..t;;;;litanismln
coinage regularly representedVictory and the globe, usually standing (see it is for recognizing their strategies
Figure 34 for a Flavian example that reproduces an Augustan type), or sitting .r.tl lrphesians,and see h.* ;;;;ive

.Irl rcxi l fl l p|e, B MC R E 1.6024(pl ate14.18_19);1.504-5(pl ate72.20-27).

'l'995,69-93"tVe reserve rntt:j::t^1t1t1"J:tt:::r:":t;::
"f rrr irn overview, see Kuttner " imagerv of colossians' For
thetriumphar
arFor apotheosisduring the Principate,see Taylor, 1937, 142-80;
Fears, 7977, 189-ZSZ. ;;,i:ll,ill'l],'.i"lii',lageryfor ourdiscussi...r
(pl ates 7' 7-9; 4' 16\'
Representative rrrrrrttstrti tti c i ee B MC R E ' l ' 127-30
treatmentsof Phil.2.6-11 in the light of apotheosisincludeDeissmann,791.1, "* rt.pt"' ,
345-6; Bornhauser, 7938,1-35; Lohmeyer,l9l9,1-58; Ehrhardt,194s,45-51;Knox, 't949, ' ( ),tkcs.200 7, 149.
23340; zelleg 7988, 141-76; seeley,1994, 49-72; oakes, 200"t, 73G, 132; 147-74; Tellbe, '' \l t't'ks. 1977, 209-21'
2007' 253-9; Heen, 2004, 725-53; Fantin, 2077, 252-67. For an overviewof the earlier ' \l ccks, 1e74. 165-20tt.
l 9[l l 420-567 '
,, I r rr f l rc i rottt A l c x i tttdc r ottw i trc l ' s ecTay l rl r '
literature,seeOakes,2007, 129-38. l roli ti errl ,r.l i ai .,,,
a2Martin,7997,Lxi. . \l rrl rl . l e7s , l { 1.
 rll P 1' 1' 511. r \ r()n
r \g .u
. n , rr r\ r(' 1 n .u ' k ,rl rl t.rt' o ttr,lnnl
n ,r.rr.rlJ,,.,rf,...rr\(.. tl r.rr l ' .rrrl rrrt' .l r r r . t olo1', r 'r ( 'l. un\r,lut ur x'r r . rrl r r r lt r r r r.tr r r r lr '( . ( lur r '( . \ ,rur
nl; lll( . olt lr t .
i r is t hr ot r glr t hc d c i ttl r o l (,l rrrs t n ()r tl rt.v i t' t()r.\.ol(.rt.r.rr
tl r.rt tl rt.rrrri * , I' rt' .ttl tl rol (. t t 's. r r 's[ r 'oPr , lr t r . . t rl r r lt 'lor r t s lr r ll Pt 'r sr r r r sivt 'f or cc.
o f people is ac h i c v c c l .
l ' ,tttl tl rrt r v\ ( ) n l) ( ) \ r '( 'r ol
\ lt r ) r r ( ) rir \ s( ) cir r t crwitl h cr t r cif ixionin t he casc
A lit t le bit lat e r i n Ph i l i p p i a n s , P rtu lrc tu n r s r() prl i ti crrl l rrrrgtragc
w 6crc ,' l tl tt' l ' l ri l i p piir nspilssir ll( '( ,wit r h lt or nr r r rt r iunr ph in t he Cor int hian let t er s
he, inv it est he P h i l i p p i a n s to s ta n d fi rm i n th e l i ght of .l l ut
.fcsus' cgnri pg: t' pl ocl rti tn r r ( iospcl wit lr st r iking r r r r dvivid im ager y.Paul com plains in
our c om m onwe a l th i s i n h e a v e n [tb n o l i ts upa i u oi pouo' i sLnci pX erl , (,.t1;tti :ttts
i rpd .J. l of ( ialat ian bcliever swho have succum bedt o a f alseG ospel
from it we await a saviour, the Lord
Jesus christ, who will .hurj. ,ru, tlr.rt tlcrttartclsthc circunrcisi<lnof Gentile Christ-followers, 'O foolish
lowly- body, by the power which .n"bl., him even to subject
all lhings ( ,,rl:rtirrrrs! Who has bewitched you, before whose eyeslesus Christ was
unto himself [rcrd d1u ivdpyetquro0 6riuqo0qrqi'rby rqi irnordfor
c,irc3 id l,ttltlicly prrtrayed as crucified?' (Gal. 3.1, my emphasis).The passage
n du' r o] ' ( P hil. 3-2 0 -1 ). Pa u l c o u l d h a v e d ra w n rhe terms' .o-rri orrw eal rh,,
r\ rr dcscription of the apostle's own ekphrastic rhetorical practices of
'S av iour ' , ' Lor d ' a n d ' s u b j e c ti o n ' fro m many sources,
but i t i s most Itt'r'stursi<tn, and we can expect that he deployed similar techniques in
probable that he chose his terms carefully for greatest effect
in commu- l'lrilippi and Corinth. In fact, Paul continually prompts his audiencesto
nicating to a church in a city with strong Roman associations.
Certainly pl;tcc before their eyespictures of self-sacrificeand humiliation not to glory
the political language of commonwealth and subjugarion belong
ro rhe rrr;r kind of Nietzschean'slavemorality', but to articulatea way of being in
Greco-Roman political imagination that conceiueJ military
power as ,rrr rrlternative commonwealth on earth, under the rulership of its crucified
a mans of political incorporation. Paul imagines a 'commonwealth,
I orcl and Saviour. The power of his persuasion lies in its ability to draw on
marked by concord and peace that comes from an ethical
formulation t lrc world of imperial imagery and civic vocabulary, only to revise it so that
centred in the order revealed in his Gospel: 'being of the
same mind, t lrt' visual world that such imagery usually describesnow becomesa vehicle
having the same love, being in full accord and of onf mind'
1riit. 2.3; cf . Ior irnagining a wholly different order. Paul thus, in de Certeau's senseof
4 '2' 7). This is language that draws directly from commonplace
language t,rctics, diverts the dominant order without leaving it. But if he does not
dedicated to the themes of imperial harmony. The .rrb", lrrrdsca"pe
lf It':rveit, he neverthelessanticipates its ending.
Paul's listeners was covered with statues and inscriptions that
celebrated
concord. The use of repetition in 2.3 is evocative ,io,
descriptive
and plays on visual associations. Again, as we will -.r.ly see, later letters
continue to deploy vocabulary and imagery dedicated to civic
articulate communal ideals.
harmony ro Endings
There is here again, however, a strong contrast with its use in 'l'he
the propa- eschatologicalfocus of the Philippians passageexpressesanother aspect
ganda that celebratedJulio-Claudian rul.. Th.re, peaceand
concord are the of Pauline appropriation of imperial imagery for the sake of communal
result of Roman military triumph and the right honoring of
the victorious Iormation and persuasion. The sebasteionat Aphrodisias offers a powerful
by the conquered.s0The 'mind in Christ
JesJs' expressesan opposite logic vision of the Augustan and Julio-Claudian notion of worldwide renewal,
of the strong emptying themselvesfor the sake of oth.rs
ih. common it programme that mystified Roman rule by means of representations of
good. In Philippians, civic language and imperial imagery have "nd
found a new crnperors living in harmony both with their family members and the gods.
register; the letter inserts itself into a dominant political discourse
and in so We will return to this monument in our later discussion of the Letter to
doing refashionsjt in the light of eschatological'hop., and expectarions.
On rhe Colossians. Here, we pause briefly to note its eschatological dimen-
the other hand, if Philippians transposescivic languageinto a new
register,it sions. Aphrodisias was well placed for a temple dedicated to the imperial
very much retains an imperial tonality. Paul off.is an alternative
noAirrupo, cult becauseof Augustus' and his successors'claim of descentfrom Venus.
but as Joseph Machal has argued, it is a commonwealth very 'fhe sebasteionbore images
much oriented of Augustus' achievementson its south facing
to a territorial expansion of the Gospel throughout rhe *orld (1.12;3.21,),
side, as well as reliefs of emperors and princes pacifying nations personified
and idealization of subject peoples, not ,mdJ, Caesar, but
Christ.s1 Here irs vanquished and terrified women. Additionally, it represented along
its north and south sides statues of women representing the nations and
peoples Augustus had conquered. The monument is not only a testament
50Oakes,2001,,
1,50-G,1724; for the associarionof pax and Victoria, iconographically,
see p.
211.
5rMachal,2008,
39-90. Machal's argument goes further to include an analysis
of gender in performance. The chapter that follows on the Pastoral Epistles will offer a similar investigation
Paul's letter and how this similarly reflects , for- of imperial
mimicry of masculine cultural of the appropriation of imperial imagery as a means of communal self-definition.
 lo , \ r r r ir r r t , ur,rrrr,lfrrl ro( l ,rrrr,l r.rrt
l. gic r t l. I lr c s a r i l l rrrrri rr;rrt.tl
it t t c ls c t , lllld c ()l l l l l l L ttl i c i ttc,r
Aphr odis iasis a d ra tn a ti ce x a r' p l c l.f i r' p rc r i al
example at Rome, where the Senateerectecl
for the construction of a mausole.um
his Res gestae, a list of territorial and{oq
on the temple of Roma and Augustus
elsewhere' The Augusteum at PsidLn Antioch
Augustus' military successes
and despoiled weapons to celebrare the ro*'
an inscription of the Res gestae.s2Temples
means for Augustus solidify, as well as strengthen loyalty to,
The incorporation of-ro the record of his achievementsshows Augustus
these monuments as a means of propagurrd".J
However, for those without-b.".fi-t of
Aphrodisias, Rome, Ancyra or Antioch,
11
idealized featuresof Roman rule with a series
of emperors in relation with Rome patron's
salus, Porestas,Victoria, concordia, Iustitia
successorsfound in coinage a means of
basis of their rule as well as the gifts of
security that came along with it. Ii is i-portuit
of imperial propaganda to over-d.t.r-irr.
texts' It is equally important not to ignore
language and ideals allows one to recognize
many of the elements of his vivid.eschrtology
Roman rule and an imperial imagination.
tions is a paradoxical retelling of stories
larger political backdrop if one is to understand
Paul is aware of Roman claims of stability
victory' This is obvious from 1 Thess. 5.3
church in a Roman colony, Thessalonica,th. ".roth.,
of Macedonia whe-r. quores the sloga" ';;:.
!.
o-o0dlero], each of which were ,.pr.r.nted
Figs 5 and 6), often in direct association
scdne for the Second coming of
Harrison has argued, the motif o"f y.r.rr'
archaeological
study and discussion
with photos,seeRubin, ,oor,;;,
,r1"j#tttiption,
53Kienasr,
7982,202-74, 217 for propaganda.
5aH a r r i s o n ,
2 0 1 1 , 5 1 -6 3 ; a ko M ? g .r e z, 1 9 9 0 , 4 7 - 6 7 ;
For Pax and Securita.s,see Simon, 1994,211;
Fortuna and Oecumene (210_11\.
.rrl l r(.\(.n l (.nr\. l ,,rrt.rr,.,,,r,, g,r1t...,.l r,rrrr
i rrr:r* t.s,r ()l l rr\ rl ,l sl r ..r,1..
.r\ , r.()\(.
(l ,' .' i g ,rw i tl' rr.r
()r.\
rrrrt,l ,,.l t, tl rt.t.rrtl s,l rl rt,,.l .l rt,.
cl rri rrrs;tl rt,r.t,r' t,r.t.rtl rt,rs,
l'r
an Altar <lf l)cacerr'cl lrrrr.rgccl
,tug,rrru, and his famiry. He hacl
aipr"itutic achievemenrs,inscribed
in Asia Minor, at Ancyra and
included ,.pr.r.rrrations .f
on land and sea, captive barbarians,victories
irgustua, as well, again, as
such ai these were an important
his rule.
using
the iconological programmes
Roman mints communicated
of legendsand representations
I l(;tlRE 5 Reuerseof dupondiwswith FIGURE 6 Reuerse of aureus with
deities: pax, Felicitas, securitas,
rl,,' legend SECUR/TAS AUGUSTI, the legend PACI AUGUSTAE, Mint of
and so .; A";;;s and his
\ l t t t t r f L y o n s,6 4 - 6 cr ., BM C R E 1 .2 1 2 Rome,41-2 c:n,BMCRE 1.6 @ Trttstees
advertising the diviriely appointed
' ' I rttsteesof the British Museum of the British Museum
th. goa, in worrdwij! p.".. u'd
nor ," uiio* ,Jih ir,rr"r,..,
l,,rcl<groundof Roman claims to being guarantors of an idealizedpolitical
the interpretarion of pauline
.r'tlcr in order to take in the full force of Paul's claims here that it is not
them, for attention to such
( .rcsrrr'sarrival, but Christ's that is determinative for the Thessalonians.ss
the ways in which paul inserts
Irrrther, Paul places before his listeners' eyes a seriesof vivid images to
within ,n. r"rg;, do-"i' of
lrrrtril/ Christ's coming: the sounds of battle (4.1,6),a thief coming at
ni"i" at the centre of such inser-
rrrsht (5.3) , a m ot her giving bir t h ( 5. 3) and dr unkennessat night ( 5. 7) .
d;;i"ion and rule that need the
"f \lrlitarry imagery of the call to battle and the trumpet places before his
their full force.
Irstcners'eyesan evocativepicture of Christ's battle and victory. \7hen he
brought about by military
.rhorts his listenersto'put on the breastplateof faith and love, and for a
- lerter addressedto a
lrt'lrnetthe hope of salvation' (1 Thess. 5.8), he has placed his listenersin
mf.rial administrative centre
,ur i'rpocalypticimperial situation. As Christina Eschner argues, the 'wrath'
and security, [eipru' roi
l'.rrrl describesin'the following v. 9 ('God has not destined us for wrath,
on Julio-claudian issues(see
lrrrt to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ'; 5.9) juxtaposes
with oi-r. ,.rorher, as the mis-en-
l,rrrguagerecognrzablein its imperial context of what she calls a Roman
Jesus as a thief in the night.ia As
James '\/r'rnichtungskrieg'against the idolatrous, and
..-i"g must be set against the Jesus as coming Saviour,
,r' rcflerxl victorious in battle.56The use of the term is potent and evokes
nn:rltcsof tWorld \Var II atrocity; Eschner has put her finger on the power
, vivid metaphor to place an idea before one'seyes.In this battle, however,
'l
\\('rr[)onsare not physical, but ethical and spiritual (faith, love and hope),
2 012, 145_55; corr6s, 1993, 190_7.
other associationsinclude Concordia, Felicitas.
I f.rrri son,20| l , 47-7l .
I l tttt'r,l 0 10. | . I l 7-4 I.
'r
 rrr r D fl 'l l t l l A l l i $t. l ((t\1.\N l ,\l l ' l l (1.
l ,tt I lXr l\ |f l l

It t t t l r : t dic ir llyr c fl rs l ti ' l r th c

8- 9' t oget herw i th th c i rrtp c ri a l' p c a c cru rc l
military languageand imperial ideology
of christ with his idolatrous enemies,arrd
reorient themselvesby remaining faiihful
lyptic finds a no less vivid civic register in
diplomatic language of the recepti,on of a
alive atJesus'adve_nt as going out'to meer the Lord in the air'
ro0 xupioueis qdpql,an image he expectshis
and with it, no,doubt, to experienie all the
reception of a dignitary or even emperor.sT
Elsewhere,links with political votabulary
but no less instructive foi ,ecognizing ways
images and language drawn froq hTs poriti."r
where Paul outlines the events of the second
is imbued with recognizably imperial imagery
Paul writes for believers in an imperial_.olorry"rd
familiar with the.forms of-Augustan eschatology
Roman rule as tJrl^ar^riyalof peace amongst
case of 1 Cor' 1'5'23-B Paul's ischatologyln.l,rJes
in which all things are put under subjJction
God. The use of biblical imagery h.r. is apparent,
75.27; Ps. 110.1; ps. 8.5), but as in the
bowing in Phil. 2.1,0-1,L, such descriptio"
place imperial iconography that represent,
vanquished at his feet. Later in 15.35-7 ('Deathis
[uixo5]; O death where is your vjclo^ry 1i; un.osl? O death,
sting?'), Paul echoes Hos. 1,3.14 ('o death,
sheol, where is your destruction?,), as well -h.r.
up death forever'). The change of :plagues,
notable in a passagethat ttot only h"s iepi*.Jlil
God, but also ends in an acclamation to
uixo5l through our LordJesus christ' (rs.s7).paul,s
assault on the Roman Empire, but rather
of death. Nevertheless, his representation
emotional forcefulness of
deliver'the kingdom to God the Father afterdestroying "
and power' [nGoau apxilu xqi n&oo, itoroio,
l:'lglitr
75'24)' In representing the abolition of
P ri l c ti c c srf w l rrfi rrc.' l ' l rct,rrrgrl l .r l .rrr* f vv.
s ccuri ry',l v. .I rrst.vi vi 4 trsc,f
to ,.jr.r.n, rr c()rrrlr firal battlc
also invites the Thcssal'nians to
to paul's Gospel. pauline apoca-
4.[7, where the apostle uses the
visiting dignitary to depict those
[eis&ndurr;oru
audience ro be abL L visualize,
celebration associatedwith the
and imagery are lessdramaric,
in which paul .makes do, with
world. The other passage
coming, 1 cor. ls.20_g, s1,_7
vocabulary. Here again
who would have been very
associatedwith a vision of
i.r-"r* and the gods. In the
a rehearsal Jf the stages
irrr to Christ and finally to
of course (for exampre,
care of the imagery ofevery knee
,rrit irrgly resembles common_
.rrthiorr.a .-f.ror rith th.
"r,
swallowed up in victory
where is your
are your plagues? o
as Isa. 25.g (.He will swallow
""Jla.rrr,rctiorr'rolui.rory, i,
things 6.irrg subject to
God .who gives",us the victory
[rb
rro, here an
"'rg,r-.rriir
a celebration of the vanquishing
of God's ui.t*y ;;p;;1, on the
uiuid picture of imferial triumpi, j.r.r,
*ill
every rule and every
rai 60uopruJ(1 cor.
death it is the language of imperial
\ r(t()r' \'l tt' tt t vokt 'r .. t t t r lt lt ct , ' r r lt t t lt ' t l, t t t lr tt lt : t t l'lt t r l t llcilllst o inclt r clct he
s lr r s. l. r r '. unonll\ tt lt c'powcr s.St r chlt t r r t cclam at ionas a
l tol i ti ei rls)' sl( . ntol
l sr r . r sr ( )ltnlls: t s it s chief t et r getneit her Hebr ew Bible
nl (' ;l nsof rht 't or ir '; r pcr
r rt:l ti on,n()r - in t lr t ' lir st ir r st r ulcc - ir claim againstt he Rom an Em pir e, but
rl rt' :rw i rkcnir r gof cr r r ot ior r silssociat edwit h im aginat ion.Her e Paul dr aws
, rrrirrr:lgcsand idcas prcvarlentin the discourseof imperial rule togetherwith
r lrt' :rssociationsthat come with triumph, and inviteshis audienceto imagine
.rrrtlto experiencethe celebration of the coming triumph of God through
(.lrrist. Under the Principate,especiallyAugustus,Victory as iconographical
rrrorif was so widely spread that it became synonymous with the emperor
lrirrrselfand the age of renewal of his coming had inaugurated.ssIndeed,
,rs Zanker has argued, the ubiquity as Victory iconographically assured
rrs 1'rrivateinternalization. Its widespread presencein households, ranging
Irorrr oil lamps to ceiling frescostestifiesto this internalization. Absorption
rrrro households and into Paul reconfigures the association so that the age
pcace Victory brings is not the triumph of Caesar over far flung terri-
't
rorics and peoples,but that of Christ over death and hostile cosmic powers,
.'tpccially those associatedwith the power of Sin and Death.
The Death for Others
l':rrrl'streatment in Rom. 5.1-11 of the peace of God that comes through
(,hrist also works with political language and ideals associated with
rrrrperialrule. Here Paul celebratesChrist as the peace of reconciliation
lrt'twer God and those who have been freed from the dominion of death
.rrrcl sin. 'Therefore, since we are rightwised by faith, we have peace
lriprtuqu]with God through our Lord JesusChrist.'seChristina Eschnerhas
rlrown how this passage,when understood in the larger context of Paul's
.rrgument from Rom. L.16 onward, echoesmotifs of wrath associatedwith
rfrc ideology of Roman peace. As a treatment of divine wrath against the
rrrrrighteous(1 .18-32) as well as those who arrogantly boast of possession
ol the Law but fail to obey it (2.I-29), Paul invokes an understandingof
( iocl as a terror to those without the faith of Christ. She argues that the
Itornan threat of violence against the disobedient furnishes an important
b;rckdrop for understanding how Paul's listeners would have heard his
l.rrger apocalyptic narrative of the Saviour who comes as judge. Unlike
tl rt' rrpocalypt icdevelopm ent sof L Thess. 5. 8- 9, however ,wher e divine

57Fortreatments, peterson, ' l t.rl tr', l '')L)7 268.

,
see 1930,6g2-702;Heath, 2009,1g-20;Harrison,
2;; ,r_u, 'l ,rvorrri ng h c rc tl re i nc l i c ati v cl X ogevov er the s ubj unc ti v e i X c opev .The argument dev el oped
cosby, 1994' 18-20. cosby, 20-34 r.1..r, thi, int.rpr.trtio.,
t..ruse of the absenceof specific l rr.rr.l rol rl s i n t' i tl rc r i rrs ti rrrc cIf. thc s trbj ul rc ti v ci s preferred,as J ew ett has s how n (2007,344,
featuresof the diplomaticarrival arri the use
of didr.rlo,, in an apocalypticpassage. paul, i .l H ), rl rc l )i t\s i tl l (' rt' trri rrspol (i os pc l s c rv esas an al ternati v eto the i mperi al
however'is more evocativethan precise.A :r i ti c rrlfoc rrs .Itrtrrl ' s
hybrid und..rt"nding of Jcsrrs,c.rrrirrg6.rr.ws ,,r,k.r'ol ri vi t l i l c rrrrtl pol i ti ts . thr.rrrgl rtl tt' ov t' rc < l nti ng < l f b< tas tfttlc nttti ry for the s i rk e of
from one discourse and translates
it into anotherwith thc help.f a. rrpr.t.;rlr.1.rrr(
lrilrr:rrrv(.. | | tt ) l r ( 'l ,l l l ( tl l .
 x t\(. l .\l I l N t,i l l .f fa]
wr ilt h is c r lt P l tl ts i z c cl ltc
' rc i l t l (,rtri rrrsi r i s
f < lr e'R, m ans h < i l d strp tl ' rep r,rtti s c
as unrighteous' In distincti'n t'
tl're impious are conquered and
Romans, paul invokei the image
ungodlv (s.6-9y.eoThere is no *ir.to_*ir,
though 'righteous', dies for 'sinners' (5.8). ;;;.,
is not through obedience to raws
of violence, but through rhe reconciling
analysis represents a groundbreak_ing
Jesus' crucifixio.t tttble death. uJ*.?,
"t
formulation. To write of wrath, of the p";.;;i
to persuade by placing vivid pictures
Unlike 1 Thess. where the emphasis
Iyptic atrival and judgment' in
eyes the image of self-sacrifice.
'while we were enemies' (Rom.
understand paul's ranguage of
both of the self-sacrific. 6f ,h. uirtuo,rr,
state or for friends, as well as rituals
enmity berween estranged parties,
defeated.5lwhat paur invites his rirt.n.r,
Pompeiian frescos associatedwith
guilty' These frescos are representative
across the Roman Empire.& on. fresco,
play, Iphigenia in Auiis, depicts,Ip.ligenia
teering to sacrifice herself o" u.tt"tr "or
been senrenced to death for kilring.Di";;i-r**
the right while lphigenia's mother,
frescos r.pr.r.rri.d1he death or
Euripedes' version of the story, she-lyt"-rr.r*
fails properly to sacrifice ,o Arr.-is.
itself into such norions of the noble
gives himself though without fault
from the bond"g. of sin and a."ir,.
the righteous for the sinner, invoke,
tions of the vanquished seelirrg ,..orr.iliation
aspacification,
seeRubin
i;:nr::iTrffi:i;;:r.rlpeace
6rEschner,2010,
1.274-360, at 2g1-5, 334-7;.arso
84-108' considersthe emotion-laden
elementsof iconog.apdi.rltr."t-enrs
trearmenrof Jesus,death for orhers.
ll:t :
62Hahil and Linant de Bellefonds, tggi,219_ZZ.
63Fora list,
seeSurace,19g1,S4l, with ic'n.graphical
l ' \l I l l rtl \r. lil r l\ | lll l { ( l l \l \\ | !\l l ' l l (l '
r cc' rrci l ri l rr(),rl r.rttrrrrt.s r, tl rc
p;rr;rckrxieir r rlr ot r lul r ( 'r onr r lr . r t r r )rrc'v( r his hor r or if iccodc and as such
r 'r scs
rf rc c ' . ci l i ari ,r w rrh rl rrsr.i t l rrrs
cast l rt' l orrgsto t lr t 'ot lr t 'r ; r . r r '. r t kr xicir
notl ions <lf a def eatas t r ium ph explor ed
the Roman ide'krgy ,f vi,lcrrcc
where :rl rovc.' l ' l rcpcr r cct h: r t . f cst rof s f cr sis not t hen t he violent peaceof Rom e, but
vanquished by the divinely established
rr peircebasccl()n g,rilccand divine self-giving. Here, again, iconography is
of ihe son who gives his rife for
the inrportant. The force of the reversalPaul invokes gains its force from a clear
but I d.athlo, alr.
Jesus, vicw Paul can assumehis listenersknow from the signs of imperial presence
salvation from the wrath of God
,rll around them: pictures of the violent pacification of Rome's enemiesas a
and-decre.r, ,ro, a pacifying war
or threat sign of the blessingof the gods.
d."ti of Jesus (5.g_9). Eschner,s
Paul's later New Testament interpreters continue to deploy language
,ipri*ion of the understanding of
rclating to the reconciliation and pacification of enemies even as they
ii-i.rrd, toward a roo abstracr
transform a future-dominated Pauline eschatology to a more realized one.
sin and death, and rerror is
l'hese authors draw on Roman imperial victory motifs and continue to
befor. listeners, eyes.
develop the paradoxes of their predecessor,but in a more ecclesiological
falls on sudden and swift apoca_
direction. As we will see,as they promote communal ideals they draw from
Romans Paul places before his
listeners, rr rich repertoire of metaphors and concepts to place pictures of ideally
Jesus gave himself unro death for others
functioning communities before their listeners' eyes.
5.10). Es.h.r., demonstrates that
we must
christ .d;-G-;"r, as a revision of
notions
oi r.rl.r, o, g.rr.r"r, for a city_
of sacrific. with an end to Reversals
.rp..i"liy ilrio.rgr, "rro.i"ted
rhe execution of the 'l'he strong given for the weak, the rich for the poor, the righteous for the
,o i-"girre can be seen in several
the ,robie J."rrt of the innocenr for trnrighteoushas as its backdrop benefaction or euergetism.In Paul's Greco-
the
of depictions that *.r. *id.rpr."d l{oman world, elites or those with enough resourcesto be patrons donated
b;JJ;" a scenefrom Euripides, cirpital or other forms of material wealth and in return for their gifts they
b.-; taken away aftervorun_ rcceived honour.5a lilfhat G6,zaAlfoldy describes as the 'the epigraphic
he, i;ri., Agamemnon, who has culture' of the Greco-Roman world was the public acknowledgement
He stands pensivery through inscriptions of donations and the means of according honour.65
to
(seeprate 2). other l{ecorded honours in return for gifts penetrated through all of civic life,
et..rrm r.r^rr.r-..ps husband Admetus.63In trom the benefactions of elites for their cities to the patronage of the
uolont; ;; die for Admetus after he wcalthy for the many local associationsand collegia that gathered together
Paul's model of reconciliation inserts trrrdespeople as well as devoteesof religious cults. Paul's representation of
d.ath,-chrirt dies for enemies, iclcal community life draws attention to benefaction and the according of
and
to die r.t ri"".rs, that they might Ironours, but, as in the caseof the aspectsof imperial and civic life discussed
be free
Th. t;;;;g giri"g himseli ror1n. rrb<lve,not without some surprising reversals.
weak,
of normal expecta_ In his discussion of spiritual gifts in 1 Cor. L2,PauI famously adopts the
"g"in;h;;;r.rsal
with the triumphant. paul,s rvell-worn trope of the body politic as analogy for the church (12.12-27).
I'crsonificationsof the citizen body or deities such as Concordia or Fortuna
\vcre a regular feature of civic art in the cities of the Roman Empire. The
, 1e84,21,40;Mazet,,r*, ,_^ \rlrtues and reliefs that portrayed deities represent perfectly proportioned
seerey, 1gg0, g3_141;Barch, 200g,
as a resourcefor ' '\t'r 'nt., | 99 0 , | . l l -. 5 6 ; rrl s o . S c l t rt t i t t l)antcl, 1997, 359420, for the development of
( 'i l ( 'r 'l i ( 'l r s r tt i tt t l rc I l t ' l l t ' rri s t i r rv (} l l rl : t t t rl i ts rt' l rrti on to s oc i al patterns < l f ex c hange i n earl i er
l ,r 't'totl s .
exirr.plcs. ( r (,
,\l l ,'l tl r . | l . )l l (, ll'1.
 l r.l tt l l (,)tt(l l lr{ )l ,l rv (,) ntl ,rrt,r,' rtl ,trv rrr,u., trl rrl v l . tl r.tt tl tt' l t' ttt.t\ l tt.' tt,,tl ts trl l ' tl
rrr l l tt' Itotl t. l rrrl tl r,rl rrr,' rrrl t,' 1. rrr.l \ l r.rrt' tl tt' s .ul r(' r' rl rt' l ol ' ()n(' l l n()tl l c r' '
r l -l .l .l 5 ). ( .ortt(' nrP or.u \ t r (' .tt nr(' nt ol l ' ;trrl ' s i rl c l rl of tl rc c l rttrc h i ts ' :.1
t onrnl uni tv ol (' (l l r,rl s ' l .rr,. to r' (' r' ()l l ni z .c thc v i v i d pi c ture P l rul i nv i tes hi s
Irstt'rrt'r's to i nrrrgi rrt' . r\s l ):rl c M:rrti rt arguc s , I)aul ' s argument

is n()r il c()rnpcnsrrtorymove on Paul's part, by means of which

t lroseof krwer status are to be compensatedfor their low position by a
bcrrcfuction of honour. Rather, his rhetoric pushes for an actual reversal
of the normal, "this-worldly" attribution of honor and status.The lower
is rnade higher, and the higher lower.68

l'rrrrltakesa recurring visual experiencein the civic world of his listenersand

( rcrltes a picture that inverts a traditional visual representation of honour.
I le inverts the normal beauty/honour/virtue association by privileging
.ur irlternative ugly/dishonourable association. His point here is not to
rr'place one honour code with another, but through reversal to destabilize
.rll prrevailinghonour codes that in Paul's eyes have brought division and
..liscordto the Corinthian church.
In his teachingsconcerning the Jerusalem Collection, that is, the offering
of the Gentile churches for the poor in Jerusalem,describedin Gal. 2.1.0,
FIGURE 7 Liuia as concordia,, pompeii (first
century cE), Nys carrsberg l'rrul presents a further revision of duties and obligations associatedwith
Glyptotek, Copenhagen
the exchange of material gifts and honours. Much attention has been given
to the presence in the uncontested letters of technical terms, virtues and
<rlrligationsassociated with benefaction.6eHere we focus on 2 Cor. 8-9,
figures which are properly dressedand whose which is possibly a fragment of a letter dedicated to increasing the size of
faces represent all the ideals
of Roman self-control, modesty and sobriety. the collection in Achaea. In thesechapters, Paul's does not frame his appeal
Such uiru"l ,.pr.r.rrration
belongs to an elite view of the aristocratic for Jerusalemaccording to normal euergistic rituals and gifts and honours.
ruling class as displaying a
physiognomy that representsthe virtuous life (ireco-Roman euergetism or benefaction was centred on an asymmetrical
oriented to an ethical Golden
Mean.66 A Pompeiian statue of Livia as concordia system of reciprocal exchange where the wealthy gave gifts in return for
(re. Fig,r;e 7), for
example, illustrares the union of virtue, ideal honours. Paul's collection does not focus on personal gifts in exchange
form ;J G.rrr"., rule,
and.thus portrays sculpturally the harmony oith. for honours. Rather, he invites the various groups of Christ followers to
civic order.67.paul,s use
of the properly functioning body as analogy rrn act of solidarity with the impoverished believers in Jerusalem with the
for the body of Christ is in
the context of this visual iulture unsurprising. full expectation that should they be in similar need, those whom they have
However, when he turns
to portray 'the weaker' [co0eudor'pq],,1.r, rrssistedwill in turn assistthem. He describesthe collection as a 'fellowship
h-orrourable,[orrp6rspo] and
'indescent parts' ;'f^, of servi ce'[ q xor vcouiqt is 6r qxoviqs]( 8. 4) .
f&oxquova]as given_
pau] (vv' 22-3), he
gr"^* horro.rr,[rrpilu neprooor6_
vividly reviies th. pr.lu"iling commonplace Steven Friesen has related this collection to the sharing of resources
in a new
In doing so, he reversesnormal indices ofionour of Christ followers who are not wealthy, but are living with low levels
Y"y' and shame: .God
has so composed the body, giving the far greater <lf income iust above or at subsistence.To The collection was, then, not
honour to the inferior

o6Seeespecially " sM a r t i n , 7 9 9 5 ,9 6 .
Ps-Aristotle, Phgn. 810a14-814b8 and the
discussion of Mart in 1995,3s_7,
which takes up this and related texts as ideological
products of elites political culrure.
""I)anker,1982; Joubert,2000; Downs, 2008; Harrison, 2003, 289-32. For the broader
67For the I lellenisticbackdrop,centredin philotimia and philanthropia, see Schmitt Pantel, 1.997,
attribution and for discussion of imierial'*iu"r,
well as the imperial household
generally, represenredas concordia, see ",
Holscier, tggo, igs-g; 106-8.
for images 5.2, 33240. '"
l:ricsert. 2010. 4.5-.54
 l' l( | | lil\ ( . l, \ t . l t N l, i l r l l t l
l ,\l | \l \hl \r. l ri l l\ | lll l { (} \l \\ | \l l ' l l tl

a r c plic ilt iolt ol' l )a tr()l ti U l c()r c u c l ' g c ri s n l .l tatl rcr i t w ;r\' .rrr
rrttr.rrrpt5y \\,(.r(.' bcggir r gt r s t . . r r r r cst l\llr
' rr , , noAAr lrnopoxt r qoec^ls 6eopeuor ilpcovlf t lr
I)ir ul t o pr ollr ot e fi n a n c i a l re d i s tri [l u ti o na rn ong p(x)r pcopl c, (i crrri l c
rrl cl rl rt. l rrvorrrot 't r r kir r gp. r r t ir r t lr c r clicf of t hc silit t t s'( t t . 4) . Wit h t he help of
Jewish, in the assembliesof the easternMediteiranean. It conrradicteclthe
not'mal expectations of patronage and replaced them with ,rs\()ni l ncc,hc 1'r l: r r 'tlr. st 'lor c ( , or ir t t hir t ltcyes a pict ur e of joyous wor ship
an economy of l or thci r supp( ) r t , r ls t hough it wer e alr eady happening: 'You will be
voluntary redistribution among the sainti.'7r The Corinthian
believers are t.rrriclrcclin cvery way frlr great generosity[iv novti ntroutrfopevol eis n&oqu
to follow the example of the Macedonian believerswho have
given as rhey onlo'rr1"rol,which through us will produce thanksgiving to God; for the
have been able from their poverty, not their wealth (8.2-3). p"aul
imagines rt.nclcringof this servicenot only suppliesthe wants of the saints but also
a reciprocal arrangement wherein those with resources
benefit those in ,rvcrtl<rwsin many thanksgivings to God' (9.t1,-1'2). In turn, the Christ
need as an expressionof the Gospel (vv. 13-15). Paul revises
cultural codes lollowers in Jerusalem not only glorify God for the collection, 'they long
of exchange of material capital and the symbolic capital
- of honours, by lor ygu and pray for you [6efioer Ln]p Luciv inrno0oiurou Luqsl becauseof
exhorting Christ followers, in imitation of Christ, to show
one another tlrc superabundantgrace'[nepBdil\ouoqv Xdpru]in you' (v. 14). Indeed, the
love (dycinn; xciprs; v. 14). Such love is to imitate the abundance
that God,s .lrrrpter concludes with an act of thanksgiving: 'Thanks be to God for this
graciousnessprovides believers, 'you may always have enough of
_sothat rrnspeakablegift' (9.15). Elsewherein Rom. 15.15-16, Paul again deploys
everything and may provide in abundance for every good work, (9.g).
This vivicl cultic language to represent himself as 'a priest of Christ Jesusto the
motif of love functions differently from euergistic .od., because
it implies gcntiles'[)\erroupybvXproto0'lr1oo0eis rd l0ul] and asks that the Roman
a relationship of intimacy of giver and recifient. This is
why paul turns (,lrrist followers pray 'that the offering of the Gentiles, sanctified by the
to fictive familial imagery to describe his co-iorkers in th.
.oll..tion: the I loly Spirit, might be acceptable' [npooQopd td>u i0udrv eirnp6oderros,
brother 'who is famous among all the churches for his pr.".hirrg
of the ilyroopdur; iu nuetiparrdyiq.]. Paul asks his listenersto imagine Jesus'cruci-
Gospel' (8.18), and later (v.22) 'our brother whom *. li"u.
often tested lirion as a means by which Jesus though rich became poor' that by his
and found earnest in many matters.'
In a similar vein, Sze-kar'Wan has drawn attention to the breaking lx)verty the Corinthians might become rich (v. 9). 'Those who sow sparingly
down rvill reap sparingly; those who sow bountifully will also reap bountifully'
of ethnic boundaries of the collection. Gentiles care for
the Jewish poor (t1.6).'He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply
in Jerusalem and the poor there, in turn, pray for the
Gentiles. There is a ,rnd multiply your resourcesand increasethe harvest of your righteousness'
solidarity then that transcendsnot only ectnomic practices
of benefaction, (v.l0). In the agrarian world of the listeners again images are vivid.
but also expressesthe unity of
Jews and Gentiles under paul,s Gospel. In drawing on imperial imagery and language for the sake of persuasion,
He describes the collection as an 'anti-colonial act'. That
is, instead of ;rnd in revising the practices of benefaction with the help of metaphor and
promoting a model of patronage that preserves the
asymmetrical social vivid speech, Paul both draws upon and reconfigures his listeners' visual
relationships of patron and client, Paul's tollection symbol
ized,anemerging ct,lture. The apostle communicates his Gospel with the help of political vocab-
universalizing society that came with its own economic principles
and bases trlrrry and civic imagination. The result is a form of religious discourse that
for. structuring life.in- sociery.' 'wan argues that paul
saw ih. ;.r.rralem t.remplifies hybridity and entanglement;Paul makes do in the Roman Empire.
collection as 'a symbol of resistanceand subversion, and it
*", heart an l.ike other cultures under Rome's dominion, which adapted its images for
anti-imperial and anti-hegemonic protest.'72This conclusion "i
exceeds the rlrcir own religious purposes, Paul borrows from the visual world he shares
bounds of the evidence, since Pauf nowhere contrasts his
collection with rvith his listeners and similarly revises it for his own uses. Others cast their
Roman imperial economics. Still, the effect of the collection
is to overcome irrr:rgesin stone, metal and wood.73Paul created his through imagination. This
not just economic but also socio-religious and ethnic distinctions
in a way lr.ft the Pauline Christ followers with a powerful, indeed universalizing, way
that goes beyond pafterns of social exchange customarily
associatedwith ol' cxpressingbelief and practice. The contested letters, Colossians,Ephesians
benefaction.
As in the case of the body image of 1 cor. !2, in 2 .rrrclthe Pastorals,attesr ro a conrinuing practice of using imperial image and
cor. g-9 paul vrritbulary for the sake of persuasion.The writers of theselater letters invited
places before his listeners' eyes vivid images of thankrgiuirg-"nd joyful
giving. The Macedonians gave 'from their d..p.rt pou.rt-y' rhcir listenersto picture Paul afresh and to listen to him speak again - vividly
[i1"roto patio* - ts tftcir own context and concerns. Paul's earlier letters offered a way both
nrcoxeial (8.2).The Macedonians not only haue giu.r, libeially,
but they of spcirkingarrd of seeingthat could be redeployed for a later generationof
Iolkrwcrs.lt is to this l)rtul,both picturing and pictured,that we turn.
7rF rie s e n ,
2010. 51.
-rW : lr r , 2 0 0 0 .
195.
l (' \ S .l : l (X ) l . 14-S l ,
 ()n.t l l ()\l of ntorl r.l sl l ortt vi srt,rl.,l l r(l l (..,
l )l ,tw i trp, rul (tr rrtr . t r t
arrtl tropol ogy,Mai er resi sts si l n;l l i strr.rcrl ur.l i ol rsof l ) , t ul
ei ther to an opponent of empi re, or a reacti onary,Ma ier
show s- and ri chl yi l l ustrates- how the i mperi ali mageryof
conquest,tri umph, concord, di vi ni zati on,sal vati onand a
host of other vi sual l y-constructed i mages became part of
the persuasi vepow er of P aul ' sl anguageand that of th e
deutero-and pseudo-P aul i ne l etters.Thi s i s a must-readf or
al l i nterestedi n persuasi on, i n the C hri stmovement i n the
R omanE mpi re,and i n P aul andhi ssuccessors.'
John S. Kloppenborg Universityof Toronto,Canada

'How did the early admirers of Paul picture him? Did they
portray hi m as an anti -i mperi al i stor as an apostl e w ho
operatedwithin Rome'simperialframework?HarryO. Maier
answ ersthese questi onsw i th sophi sti cati onand nuance.
The vol ume focuses on the deuteropaul i netradi ti ons-
Colossians,Ephesians,and the Pastoral Epistles and
exami nes thei r compl ex entangl ements w i th i mper ial
discourses of renewal, redemption, power, hope, and
judgment. Maier applies a range of modern theorists to
these texts and contextualizesthem within the Roman
Empire's rich visual culture and rhetorical traditions.The
result is a complex yet clear reconstruction of how early
churches redefined a dominant culture where they were
neithercompletelyestrangednor fully at ease.'
Steve Friesen, Universityof Texas,USA

' H i ghl yori gi naland methodol ogi cal ladventurous,

y thi s bo ok
exploresthe disputed letters of Paul in light of the visual
cul ture of the R oman E mpi re. Mai e/s w ork i s deeply
informed by a knowledge of ancient iconography and
i ncl udes a sophi sti cateddi scussi onof numerous i mages
which appear in the book. lt is impressivenot only for its
understandingof ancient society,but alsofor the manner in
which it draws upon recent methodologiesand theoretical
approachesin the study of the NewTestament.'
Margaret Y. MacDonald, St.FrancisXavierUn iversity,Canada

Cover design:
Catherine
Wood.Cover "Augustus
image: byLandandSea,"thesebasteion otAphrodisias
(firstcentury
CE),Aphrodisias
Archaeological T ur k ey
lvluseum, Photogr aph,
H ar r y 0M ar er i

r s BN 978- 0- 567- 0599s - 6

J/'

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