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1 - Ethnicity Ancient and Modern

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 June 2022

Katie Marcar
Affiliation:
University of Otago, New Zealand
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Summary

This chapter examines modern and ancient conceptions of ethnicity. For Smith, six elements constitute ethnicity: a name, myth of collective descent, history, culture, territory, and a sense of solidary. However, a connection with a special territory and the myth of common descent are particularly important. David Horrell has demonstrated that these six elements are active in 1 Peter. Ethnicities are expressed in culturally specific ways. Therefore, this chapter examines conceptions of ancient Jewish and Greek ethnicity, with particular focus on putative common descent. Most Jews in the Second Temple period were Jewish by birth. However, the possibility of conversion and apostasy complicate the picture. Along with birth, Jewish identity was maintained through social praxis. In the Hellenistic period, “Greekness” came to be identified with paidaeia, or education. Those not born Greek could become Greek. Yet, “Greekness” never fully lost its connection to birth. In both Jewish and Greek culture, birth and paidaeia continued to constitute ethnic identity in a complex tension.

Type
Chapter
Information
Divine Regeneration and Ethnic Identity in 1 Peter
Mapping Metaphors of Family, Race, and Nation
, pp. 7 - 23
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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  • Ethnicity Ancient and Modern
  • Katie Marcar, University of Otago, New Zealand
  • Book: Divine Regeneration and Ethnic Identity in 1 Peter
  • Online publication: 01 June 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108888844.002
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  • Ethnicity Ancient and Modern
  • Katie Marcar, University of Otago, New Zealand
  • Book: Divine Regeneration and Ethnic Identity in 1 Peter
  • Online publication: 01 June 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108888844.002
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Ethnicity Ancient and Modern
  • Katie Marcar, University of Otago, New Zealand
  • Book: Divine Regeneration and Ethnic Identity in 1 Peter
  • Online publication: 01 June 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108888844.002
Available formats
×