When patrons are not patrons: A social-scientific reading of the rich man and Lazarus (Lk 16:19–26)

Eck, Ernest van

doi:10.4102/hts.v65i1.309

Cited by 8 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Exploitation was characteristic of that world; the few elites of that world exploited the poor masses as they deemed fit. Studies on the sociopolitical world of Palestine during the New Testament time confirm this fact (Goodman 1987;Häkkinen 2016;Hanson & Oakman 1998;Horsley 1987Horsley , 2006Malina 1988;Oakman 1986Oakman , 1991Oakman , 2008aOakman , 2008bOakman , 2014Van Eck 2009a, 2009b.…”

Section: Patronage: a Dominant Social Relationship In The 1st-century Mediterranean Worldmentioning

confidence: 91%

Ancient patronage: A possible interpretative context for Luke 18:18–23?

Uwaegbute¹,

Odo²

2021

HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies

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Against the conventional reading of Luke 18:18–23 as a micro-narrative that revolves around discipleship and the dangers of wealth with regard to inheriting the Kingdom of God, this article reads the text using patronage (and clientism) as a model. It argues that this micro-narrative also mirrors patronal relations in the 1st-century Roman Palestine through which a few elites exploited the majority poor. The description of the chief protagonist in the narrative as a ruler, who was also rich, by Luke casts him in a negative light as a patron who exploited the poor around him who were his clients. From this standpoint, it is therefore argued in the article that the strategy of the narrative is to encourage patrons to move from negative and balanced reciprocity to ‘general reciprocity’ in which giving to the poor without the desire to receive back dominates. This interpretation is still within the framework of the theology of wealth in the Gospel of Luke, which encourages ‘giving without the expectation to receive back’.Contribution: This article argues that the micro-narrative of Luke 18:18–23 mirrors patronal relations of 1st-century Palestine. From Luke’s description of rich ruler, the first hearers of Luke probably thought of him as a patron who exploited his clients, the poor. The call by Jesus to self-divesture therefore is a call for patrons to move beyond negative and balanced reciprocity to practice general reciprocity in which giving to the poor, without the want to receive back, dominates; this is social-scientific criticism of Luke 18:18–23 mostly neglected in Lukan scholarship.

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Section: Patronage: a Dominant Social Relationship In The 1st-century Mediterranean Worldmentioning

confidence: 91%

Ancient patronage: A possible interpretative context for Luke 18:18–23?

Uwaegbute¹,

Odo²

2021

HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies

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“…In the articles by Bruce J. Malina 21 and Jerome H. Neyrey 22 the reader finds the basic elements of the model and its illustration from the Greco-Roman, Jewish and New Testament texts. Further, Zeba A. Crook, 23 Ben Holdsworth, 24 Ernest van Eck,25 and John S. Kloppenborg 26 apply the model to Paul, the beneficiary of God, to Christ, and to other human agents. The above mentioned authors show that the patron-client model can be successfully used to describe not only the relations between the members of Christian communities, but also between God and man.…”

Section: The Application Of the Model To God And Manmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Amongst God's gifts for the believers envisioned in Rom. 8:17-24 one also finds the heritage and the future glory shared with Christ (8:17), the redemption of bodies (8:23) and the fullness of salvation (8: [24][25].…”

Section: 2exchange Of Goodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…45 Cf. Neyrey,"God,Benefactor and Patron",[481][482][483] According to Gieniusz,Romans 8,[18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30] we are in the presence of the conclusio which amplifies the proposition (8,18) and restates it in a positive way. Instead of the claim that suffering does not thwart future glory Paul admits that "God works with those who love him in everything for good" (v. 28).…”

Section: 2exchange Of Goodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…4.3.3;idem,Ep.,4.9.1. 73 On the ethical life empowered by the Spirit, see Rabens,The Holy Spirit and Ethics in Paul, On the ethical implications that Paul draws in Rom 8.12-14 from the gift of the Spirit, see Gieniusz,Romans 8,[18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30]Patrons,Clients,and Friends,48. 75 Cf. Pliny the Younger,Ep.,4.20.…”

Section: Reciprocitymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

God the Benefactor and His Human Clients in Rom. 5–8

Kowalski¹

2018

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The author applies the patron-client model to consider the relationship between God and man in Rom. 5-8. First, the model and its basic features are presented in the context of the Greco-Roman society, including its applicability to divinity. Next, the various elements of the model are traced in Rom. 5-8 (asymmetry, exchange of goods, personal relationship, favoritism, reciprocity, kinship language, honor and voluntary entrance). The article finishes with the advantages of reading Rom. 5-8 through the lens of the patron-client relationship.

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A Peasant’s Satire of the Politics of Debt (Luke 16:1–8a)

Guevara

2024

Biblical Theology Bulletin: Journal of Bible and Culture

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This article reads the parable of the unjust steward (Luke 16:1–8a) using a social-scientific method, particularly the anthropology of agrarian patron-client relations. Here I delineate a model of the erosion of patron-client bonds, based on the work of James C. Scott and others, and the emergence of horizontal solidarity and mutual aid (“balanced reciprocity”). I relate this model to the peasant’s burden of debt, particularly in Jesus’ world. As commercialization develops in an agrarian society patron-client bonds begin to erode, and peasants begin to understand these bonds as relations of exploitation. Consequently, subversive ideology develops, evident in peasant folktales directed against the wealthy and powerful. Accordingly, I argue that the parable of the unjust steward is a satire aimed at landlord-patrons who perpetuate the burden of debt.

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When patrons are not patrons: A social-scientific reading of the rich man and Lazarus (Lk 16:19–26)

Cited by 8 publications

References 19 publications

Ancient patronage: A possible interpretative context for Luke 18:18–23?

Ancient patronage: A possible interpretative context for Luke 18:18–23?

God the Benefactor and His Human Clients in Rom. 5–8

A Peasant’s Satire of the Politics of Debt (Luke 16:1–8a)

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