This article investigates the social status of Zechariah in Luke's Gospel using Lenski's social stratification model. Beyond macro-sociological setting, we will conduct a multidimensional analysis of Zechariah's social status. We investigate Zechariah's place in the Judean priestly hierarchy using Luke's narrative presentation and Josephus' testimonies about social conflicts among various priestly groups within first-century Judea. The narrative clue about the "priestly order of Abijah" has been ignored by most scholars, but it will be argued that this is an important detail in the placement of Zechariah in the social stratification system. We will also argue that placing Zechariah in the retainer class is not viable. Rather, Zechariah is depicted in Luke's narrative as a humble, lowly priest, who nevertheless maintained rather high social status due to his priestly pedigree.
The themes of possessions and socioeconomic injustice have caught the attention of scholars of the Epistle of James in recent years. Nevertheless, most biblical scholars still focus primarily on the epistle’s historical aspects, a notable exception being Latin American scholars. Yet, even though many of these have interpreted James from the perspective of their context of socioeconomic exploitation, their readings do not report how people themselves understand and use biblical texts.1 This article explores the themes of wealth, poverty, and marginality in James using empirical hermeneutics. For this purpose, a group of Latino/a pentecostal believers in the southern United States read James 1:1–11 and 5:1–8 in a small Bible study group from the perspective of their religious experience, social marginalization, and economic exploitation. This article includes a report of the group’s reading of the above-mentioned passages, along with theological and practical reflections aimed at churches and practitioners.
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