Jesus' Parable of the Rich Fool: Luke 12:13-34 among Ancient Conversations on Death and Possessions(6 SBL - Early Christianity and Its Literature)

Rindge reads Luke’s parable of the Rich Fool (12:16–21) as a sapiential narrative and situates this parable within a Second Temple intertextual conversation on the interplay of death and possessions. A rich analysis of Jewish (Qoheleth, Ben Sira, 1 Enoch, Testament of Abraham) and Greco-Roman (Lucian, Seneca) texts reveals a web of disparate perspectives regarding how possessions can be used meaningfully, given life’s fragility and death’s inevitability and uncertain timing. Departing from standard interpretations of Luke’s parable as a simple critique of avarice, Rindge explicates the multiple ways in which the parable and its immediate literary context (12:13–34) appropriate, reconfigure, and illustrate this contested conversation, and shows how these themes are chosen and adapted for Luke’s own existential, ethical, and theological concerns.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments Abbreviations Introduction 1. Luke’s Parable of the Rich Fool (12:16–21): Interpreting Its History of Interpretation The Early–Medieval Periods Reformation Nineteenth Century Adolf Jülicher: A Turning Point in Scholarship? “Modern” Readers Reading the Parable with Greco-Roman Texts Reading the Parable with (Jewish) Wisdom Texts Georg Eichholz Egbert Seng Bernard Brandon Scott Advancing a Conversation and Filling a Gap in Scholarship 2. The Interplay of Death and Possessions in Qoheleth and Ben Sira The Interplay of Death and Possessions in Qoheleth Qoheleth 2:1–26 Qoheleth 3:11–22 Qoheleth 5:9–6:2 Qoheleth 8:8–15 Qoheleth 9:1–10 Qoheleth 11:7–12:8 Conclusion to Qoheleth Th e Interplay of Death and Possessions in Ben Sira Death in Ben Sira Possessions in Ben Sira Ben Sira 11:14–28 Ben Sira 14:3–19 Conclusion to Ben Sira 3. Th e Interplay of Death and Possessions in 1 Enoch and the Testament of Abraham The Interplay of Death and Possessions in the Epistle of 1 Enoch Death and Divine Judgment Participating in a Conversation on Death and Possessions Conclusion to the Epistle of 1 Enoch 1 Th e Interplay of Death and Possessions in the Testament of Abraham Death as the Primary Plot Device Th e Inevitability of Death Death, Wealth, and Possessions Making a Will/Testament Hospitality and Death Conclusion to the Testament of Abraham Conclusion to Chapters 2 and 3 4. The Interplay of Death and Possessions in Lucian and Seneca Death and Possessions in Lucian’s Dialogues of the Dead Th e Unavoidability, Irreversibility, and Universal Fear of Death Death as a Reassessment of Possessions Th e Instability of Inheritance and the Distribution of Possessions Death and Possessions in Seneca’s Moral Epistles Perceptions of Death Wealth and Possessions Th e Interplay of Death and Possessions Pleasures, Luxury, and the Fear of Death Ingratitude, Insatiability, and the Fear of Death Luxury and the Living Dead Lucian and Seneca 5. Luke 12:13-34: Participating in a Second Temple Conversation on the Interplay of Death and Possessions Possessions and the Inevitability and Uncertain Timing of Death Death and Possessions in the Parable’s Broader Literary Context (Luke 12:4–34) Sapiential Elements in Luke’s Parable Appropriating and Reconfi guring Qoheleth and Ben Sira Evaluating Sapiential Recommendations Regarding Possessions Enjoyment Inheritance Generosity Giving to God Hospitality Alms Conclusion 6. The Rich Man’s Folly in Light of Sapiential Texts and the Parable’s Immediate Literary Context The Critique and Analysis of Greed in 12:13–21 Alms as Divine Wealth in 12:20, 21b, 22–34 Th e Folly of Saving for the Future Ignoring Death’s Inevitability, Uncertain Timing, and Potential Imminence 7. Luke 12:13–34: Reconfi guring Second Temple Conversations on Death and Possessions Th e Dilemma of An Appropriately Acquired Surplus God, Anxiety, and the (Illusory) Control of Life and Possessions (12:22–34) Why the Man Is (and Is Not) Called a Fool 8. Comparing the Parable of the Rich Fool in Luke and Thomas Conclusion: Illustrating Wisdom Further Implications Luke’s Parables as Sapiential Narratives Parables and Character Formation Bibliography Index of Ancient Sources Index of Modern Authors

About the Author :
Matthew S. Rindge is Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Gonzaga University. He is co-author of the forthcoming The History of Biblical Interpretation to 1835: A Reader (Westminster John Knox) and the recipient of the 2011 Paul J. Achtemeier Award for New Testament Scholarship.