Books by Nathanael Vette
Writing with Scripture: Scripturalized Narrative in the Gospel of Mark, 2022
Nathanael Vette proposes that the Gospel of Mark, like other narrative works in the Second Temple... more Nathanael Vette proposes that the Gospel of Mark, like other narrative works in the Second Temple period, uses the Jewish scriptures as a model to compose episodes and tell a new story. Vette compares Mark's use of scripture with roughly contemporary works like Pseudo-Philo, the Genesis Apocryphon, 1 Maccabees, Judith, and the Testament of Abraham; diverse texts which, combined, support the existence of shared compositional techniques.
This volume identifies five scripturalized narratives in the Gospel: Jesus' forty-day sojourn in the wilderness and call of the disciples; the feeding of the multitudes; the execution of John the Baptist; and the Crucifixion of Jesus. This fresh understanding of how the Jewish scriptures were used to compose new narratives across diverse genres in the Second Temple period holds important lessons for how scholars read the Gospel of Mark. Instead of treating scriptural allusions and echoes as keys which unlock the hidden meaning of the Gospel, Vette argues that Mark often uses the Jewish scriptures simply for their ability to tell a story.
A Theology of Gratitude: Christian and Muslim Perspectives, 2023
How, from a theological standpoint, should we make sense of gratitude? This rich interdisciplinar... more How, from a theological standpoint, should we make sense of gratitude? This rich interdisciplinary volume is the first concertedly to explore theologies of gratitude from both Christian and Muslim perspectives. While the available literature has tended to rhapsodize gratitude to God and others as both a virtue and an obligation, this book by contrast offers something new by detailing ways in which gratitude is complicated by inequality: even to the point of becoming a vice. Gratitude now emerges as something more than a virtue and other than merely transactional. It can be a burden, bringing about indebtedness and an imbalance of power; but it may also be a resonant source of reconciliation and belonging. Topics discussed cover the personal and political dimensions of gratitude, including such issues as justice, multiculturalism, racism, imperialism, grief, memory and hope. The book assembles, from different traditions, some of the leading theologians of our times.
Papers by Nathanael Vette
Journal of Biblical Literature, 2023
When Jesus dies in Mark's account, the sky darkens, a loud voice declares that it has been forsak... more When Jesus dies in Mark's account, the sky darkens, a loud voice declares that it has been forsaken by its god, and the temple curtain tears in two. ese phenomena closely resemble the omens thought to have taken place before Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 CE as recorded by Josephus, Tacitus, 2 and 4 Baruch, the Pesiqta Rabbati, and the Talmudim. By surveying the ancient belief that tutelary deities would abandon cities before they were destroyed, I propose that the portents described by Mark and elaborated in subsequent gospels are another version of the popular tradition reporting the Judean god's departure from the temple before 70 CE.
A Theology of Loyalty: Christian and Muslim Perspectives, 2023
Preview of “‘Ungrateful Jews’: The Roman Empire and Early Christian Antisemitism” in A Theology o... more Preview of “‘Ungrateful Jews’: The Roman Empire and Early Christian Antisemitism” in A Theology of Gratitude: Christian and Muslim Perspectives (eds. Mona Siddiqui and Nathanael Vette; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2023), 157-170.
Biblical Interpretation, 2020
Please see published version: https://brill.com/view/journals/bi/aop/article-10.1163-15685152-202... more Please see published version: https://brill.com/view/journals/bi/aop/article-10.1163-15685152-2020002/article-10.1163-15685152-2020002.xml
Abstract:
The fiery furnace episode of Daniel 3 can be described as a martyr legend without a martyrdom. It shares many formal features with other martyr accounts but ends with the deliverance of the three young men. Early on, the episode was used as a model to narrate similar deliverances from fiery furnaces. But with time, the episode became the template for accounts which ultimately end in the death of the martyr. This article traces this development by surveying the use of Daniel 3 as a literary model from the Second Temple period to the present day. By reworking a narrative of deliverance into a narrative of death, Jewish and Christian traditions updated the legend to reflect the reality of a new situation, whilst also responding to a latent story of death already present in Daniel 3.
Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha, 2020
Kenaz is a marginal figure in the Jewish scriptures. And yet for Pseudo-Philo, Kenaz’s importance... more Kenaz is a marginal figure in the Jewish scriptures. And yet for Pseudo-Philo, Kenaz’s importance rivals that of Moses and Joshua. Pseudo-Philo gives Kenaz a long and illustrious career unparalleled in the extant literature (LAB 25–28). But whereas past scholarship has seen the roots of Pseudo- Philo’s description of Kenaz in the language of Judg 1–3, this link is tenuous at best. Instead, the description of Kenaz is pieced together out of unrelated passages from the Jewish scriptures. This article explores the scriptural sources for Pseudo-Philo’s description of Kenaz. In short, Pseudo-Philo has not inherited Kenaz from tradition or exegesis but has invented him using the Jewish scriptures.
Conference Presentations by Nathanael Vette
Advance paper for the Gospel of Mark Seminar at the SBL Annual Meeting, Boston, November/December... more Advance paper for the Gospel of Mark Seminar at the SBL Annual Meeting, Boston, November/December, 2020.
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Books by Nathanael Vette
This volume identifies five scripturalized narratives in the Gospel: Jesus' forty-day sojourn in the wilderness and call of the disciples; the feeding of the multitudes; the execution of John the Baptist; and the Crucifixion of Jesus. This fresh understanding of how the Jewish scriptures were used to compose new narratives across diverse genres in the Second Temple period holds important lessons for how scholars read the Gospel of Mark. Instead of treating scriptural allusions and echoes as keys which unlock the hidden meaning of the Gospel, Vette argues that Mark often uses the Jewish scriptures simply for their ability to tell a story.
Papers by Nathanael Vette
Abstract:
The fiery furnace episode of Daniel 3 can be described as a martyr legend without a martyrdom. It shares many formal features with other martyr accounts but ends with the deliverance of the three young men. Early on, the episode was used as a model to narrate similar deliverances from fiery furnaces. But with time, the episode became the template for accounts which ultimately end in the death of the martyr. This article traces this development by surveying the use of Daniel 3 as a literary model from the Second Temple period to the present day. By reworking a narrative of deliverance into a narrative of death, Jewish and Christian traditions updated the legend to reflect the reality of a new situation, whilst also responding to a latent story of death already present in Daniel 3.
Conference Presentations by Nathanael Vette
This volume identifies five scripturalized narratives in the Gospel: Jesus' forty-day sojourn in the wilderness and call of the disciples; the feeding of the multitudes; the execution of John the Baptist; and the Crucifixion of Jesus. This fresh understanding of how the Jewish scriptures were used to compose new narratives across diverse genres in the Second Temple period holds important lessons for how scholars read the Gospel of Mark. Instead of treating scriptural allusions and echoes as keys which unlock the hidden meaning of the Gospel, Vette argues that Mark often uses the Jewish scriptures simply for their ability to tell a story.
Abstract:
The fiery furnace episode of Daniel 3 can be described as a martyr legend without a martyrdom. It shares many formal features with other martyr accounts but ends with the deliverance of the three young men. Early on, the episode was used as a model to narrate similar deliverances from fiery furnaces. But with time, the episode became the template for accounts which ultimately end in the death of the martyr. This article traces this development by surveying the use of Daniel 3 as a literary model from the Second Temple period to the present day. By reworking a narrative of deliverance into a narrative of death, Jewish and Christian traditions updated the legend to reflect the reality of a new situation, whilst also responding to a latent story of death already present in Daniel 3.