Weeping and tears in Luke’s Gospel narratives: between ancient and modern commentators

Thesis

Within the Synoptic Gospels, Luke’s Jesus is known to be the most self-restrained. However, Luke’s is the only Gospel that describes Jesus with the verb κλαίω (it is δακρύω in John 11:35) when he weeps over Jerusalem (Luke 19:41). The Third Gospel also accounts for the greatest number of references to weeping in the NT—11 out of 40. Apart from Jesus’ weeping, there are five stories with weeping narrative characters—the widow at Nain (7:13); the anointing woman (7:38, 44); Jairus (8:52); Peter (22:62); and the daughters of Jerusalem (23:28). Luke’s is also the only Gospel to use the word ‘tear’ (δάκρυον, 7:38, 44). Luke seems to display a special interest in weeping and tears—a topic seldom discussed in Lukan studies.

In this study I seek to understand how we might interpret the Lukan motif of weeping through an analysis of the six weeping narratives (7:11-17; 7:36-50; 8:40-56; 19:41-44; 22:54-62; 23:27-31). I employ a reception historical approach to observe how early Christian authors read these weeping passages in Luke, to gain an understanding of what ancient interpreters thought about the significance of crying. Thereafter, I turn to modern Lukan scholars and their views on the same passages. I argue that by placing ancient comments in active dialogue with current interpretations, we broaden our appreciation for the range of reference and resonance in these Lukan weeping narratives, discovering fresh and different ways to interpret these texts.

The questions that guide this project are: What is the significance of the slippage between what the ancients thought and how the moderns perceive these texts? How could an ancient reading enrich, contribute to, and offer insights to modern views, and vice versa? This study fills a scholarly lacuna, contributes to issues in Lukan studies, and, ultimately, offers insights with pastoral significance.

Authors: Mak, SA

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-zvbjnq9p8
• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English, Greek, Ancient (to 1453), Latin
• Keywords: weeping; tears; reception history; emotions; Luke's Gospel
• Subjects: Bible. New Testament--Criticism, interpretation, etc.--History