Paul, military imagery and social disadvantage

Abstract

In the past, attention for the social position or standing of the early Jesus followers was overrun by concerns for the theological and religious dimensions of those communities. The role of the Roman Empire and the impact of its military forces on the lives of people have generated even less attention. Paul's use of military images in the context of the Roman Empire underlines the prevalence and influence of the military, and provides an important perspective for understanding first-century social location.

Military Forces in Judaea 6–130 ce: The status quaestionis and Relevance for New Testament Studies

“…There is much work to be done on the military in the New Testament. Two recent books discuss the military in Luke–Acts (Brink 2014; Kyrychenko 2014) and there are a handful of initial studies on other biblical texts (e.g., Punt 2016), which can provide important grounding for further research. The literary function of the military in other biblical texts needs further debate and discussion: scholars tend to assume that attitudes about the Roman Empire apply mutatis mutandis to attitudes about the military and thus fail to account for the distinct ways in which authors related to different military units.…”

Believers or loyalists? Identity and social responsibility of Jesus communities in the Empire

“…A correspondence can be traced between the kind of commitment demanded of the soldier and the warrior of Jesus (Hobbs 1995:257). 34 Paul's use of military terminology and metaphors (see Punt 2016) is suggestive of the military context as part of the linguistic location for understanding the rhetorical force of πίστις.…”

The New Testament as Political Documents

“…Leander 2013, on Mark). 25 The use of military imagery in the Pauline letters, in connection with social disadvantage was discussed at length elsewhere, see Punt (2016). Harrill (2011:304-308) connects Paul's heavy use of military imagery to his apocalyptic language, showing the link between the Roman valorisation of war and emperor worship (well symbolised in the carved oak wreath, or corona civica).…”