dc.contributor.author |
Ndekha, L.W. (Louis)
|
|
dc.date.accessioned |
2022-03-18T09:56:10Z |
|
dc.date.available |
2022-03-18T09:56:10Z |
|
dc.date.issued |
2021-05-10 |
|
dc.description |
This research is part of the
research project ‘The
parables of Jesus’, directed by
Prof. Dr Ernest van Eck,
Department of New
Testament Studies and
Related Literature, Faculty of
Theology and Religion,
University of Pretoria. |
en_ZA |
dc.description.abstract |
This article offers a reading of the parable of the Dishonest Steward from the perspective of
Greco-Roman status concern. It observes that the parable has a long and complicated history
of interpretation. The different approaches in the reading of the parable reveal the unresolved
quest in scholarship to establish a reading of the parable that takes into account both the
steward’s act of generosity towards his master’s debtors and the praise that follows this action.
This article proposes the Greco-Roman status concern as a framework for understanding the
meaning of the parable in its original context. Status concern was the spirit of tenacity in
maintaining one’s status and honour against all odds characteristic of Greco-Roman honour
and shame culture. The article argues that when the parable is read within its literary context,
it reveals that at the heart of Jesus’ message in the parable is the theme of persistence as an
attribute of authentic discipleship. This understanding of the parable resonates with the
entrenched Greco-Roman spirit of status concern. The interpretation would also have been
relevant to Luke’s Greco-Roman auditors living on the periphery of the Greco-Roman culture
with the constant pressures to conform to the ethos of the larger social context. The steward’s
resolve to maintain his status even in the most difficult circumstances provided a paradigm for
those Christ-followers to remain steadfast in the faith against all odds.
CONTRIBUTION : The article presents an alternative interpretation of the parable of the Dishonest
Steward. By proposing status concern as an interpretative framework, it offers both new insights
into the socio-economic and socio-cultural realities of Luke’s world and the continuing evidence
of the contribution of Greco-Roman world to the development of the New Testament texts. |
en_ZA |
dc.description.department |
New Testament Studies |
en_ZA |
dc.description.librarian |
am2022 |
en_ZA |
dc.description.uri |
http://www.hts.org.za |
en_ZA |
dc.identifier.citation |
Ndekha, L., 2021, ‘“I am not
strong to dig and I am afraid
to beg”: Social status and
status concern in the parable
of the Dishonest Steward
(Lk 16:1–9)’, HTS Teologiese
Studies/Theological Studies
77(4), a6372. https://DOI.org/10.4102/hts.v77i4.6372. |
en_ZA |
dc.identifier.issn |
0259-9422 (print) |
|
dc.identifier.issn |
2072-8050 (online) |
|
dc.identifier.other |
10.4102/hts.v77i4.6372 |
|
dc.identifier.uri |
http://hdl.handle.net/2263/84560 |
|
dc.language.iso |
en |
en_ZA |
dc.publisher |
AOSIS |
en_ZA |
dc.rights |
© 2021. The Authors. Licensee: AOSIS. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License. |
en_ZA |
dc.subject |
Dishonest Steward |
en_ZA |
dc.subject |
Digging and begging |
en_ZA |
dc.subject |
Honour and shame |
en_ZA |
dc.subject |
Status concern |
en_ZA |
dc.subject |
Greco-Roman world |
en_ZA |
dc.subject |
Parable |
en_ZA |
dc.subject |
Discipleship |
en_ZA |
dc.subject |
Gospel of Luke |
en_ZA |
dc.title |
‘I am not strong to dig and I am afraid to beg’ : social status and status concern in the parable of the Dishonest Steward (Lk 16:1–9) |
en_ZA |
dc.type |
Article |
en_ZA |