2018/01/01 by Kirk R. MacGregor · 1 citation
Arts and Humanities · #Biblical Studies and Interpretation #Ancient Egypt and Archaeology #Archaeology and Historical Studies #Passion #Narrative #Silence #Gospel #Criticism #Philosophy #Art #Literature #Aesthetics
paper · doi:10.7833/117-1-1352
openalex publication_date 2018/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
This article argues that the pre-Markan passion narrative ended with a starkly unadorned account of the empty tomb, an account which raises as many questions about Jesus’s fate as it does answers. Employing tradition and redaction criticism, I reveal that the pre-Markan empty tomb account contained no mention of an angel, Jesus’s resurrection, or Galilean appearances. Rather, it straightforwardly de-scribed the women’s coming to the tomb, finding the tomb empty, and fleeing from the tomb in terror and silence. The logic of the pre-Markan ending discloses that the women fled because they naturally assumed grave robbery and feared being implicated in this capital crime. Throughout this article, I interact with the views of Sakkie Spangenberg, Hansie Wolmarans, Andries van Aarde and Julian Muller, four prominent South African scholars who have commented on the empty tomb narrative.