Paul the “god” in Acts 28: A Comparison with Philoctetes

This essay treats an instance of literary aemulatio. Paul in Acts 28, like the famous hero Philoctetes, is bitten by a poisonous snake on a secluded island. The responses of these two figures to the bite, however, are fundamentally different. Philoctetes suffers extreme agony after his snakebite; Pa...

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Bibliographische Detailangaben
1. VerfasserIn: Litwa, M. David 1982- (VerfasserIn)
Medienart: Elektronisch Aufsatz
Sprache:Englisch
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Veröffentlicht: Scholar's Press [2017]
In: Journal of Biblical literature
Jahr: 2017, Band: 136, Heft: 3, Seiten: 707-726
normierte Schlagwort(-folgen):B Bibel. Apostelgeschichte 28 / Paulus, Apostel, Heiliger / Philoktet / Schlangenbiss / Heilung / Held (Motiv)
RelBib Classification:BE Griechisch-Römische Religionen
HC Neues Testament
weitere Schlagwörter:B PHILOCTETES (Mythological character)
B Bible. Acts
B Paul, The Apostle, Saint
B Suffering
B Healers
B Snakebites
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Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:This essay treats an instance of literary aemulatio. Paul in Acts 28, like the famous hero Philoctetes, is bitten by a poisonous snake on a secluded island. The responses of these two figures to the bite, however, are fundamentally different. Philoctetes suffers extreme agony after his snakebite; Paul does not register any pain at all. Philoctetes issues horrible cries illustrating the depths of his suffering; Paul does not let out a whimper. Philoctetes begs to be burned with fire; Paul casually shakes off his viper into a fire. Philoctetes must be healed by doctors; Paul himself, after being bitten, becomes a healer. In this depiction, Paul transcends the values undergirding Greco-Roman conceptions of the manly hero. Paul is portrayed as a new kind of hero, one who is invulnerable and divine.
ISSN:1934-3876
Enthält:Enthalten in: Journal of Biblical literature
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.15699/jbl.1363.2017.288402