The New Testament Conception of Witness
Trites, Allison
D.Phil (1968), Regent's Park College, University of Oxford
Terms like "witness" and "testimony" occur frequently in religious contexts and have special significance there, culminating in the development of the Greek martus (witness) into the English "martyr". They also have a legal context, and I examine their use in the New Testament in the light of ancient legal practice.
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I argue that the idea of witness is a live metaphor in the New Testament, to be understood in terms of the Old Testament legal assembly, though the Greek lawcourts are also relevant. The witness theme is developed in a sustained way in John, Acts and Revelation, and is also used in the Synoptic Gospels, the Pastoral and General Epistles, and Hebrews. In contexts of persecution and suffering the forensic metaphors tend to be identified with military ones, but in principle they are quite distinct. In summary, I contend that the idea of witness in relation to Christ and his gospel plays an essential part in the New Testament and in Christian faith and life generally.
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The thesis is a treatment of a subject discussed extensively by New Testament scholars in German, but strangely neglected in English-speaking circles. As a study of a key concept in the New Testament writings, it addresses a vital theme in New Testament interpretation.
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Thesis published in hard back as The New Testament Concept of Witness in Cambridge and New York by Cambridge University Press in 1977, and is Volume 31 in the Society for New Testament Studies Monograph Series. It has been reissued by Cambridge under the same title in 2004.
ISBN 0 521 21o15 1 hardback
ISBN 0 521 60934 8 paperback
