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Document Details :

Title: The Crucifixion as Chaoskampf
Subtitle: A New Reading of the Passion Narrative in the Synoptic Gospels
Author(s): RUDMAN, Dominic
Journal: Biblica
Volume: 84    Issue: 1   Date: 2003   
Pages: 102-107
DOI: 10.2143/BIB.84.1.3194460

Abstract :
The depiction of the events surrounding the crucifixion in the Synoptic Gospels (particularly the darkness and the tearing of the temple curtain) have provoked widely varying responses from New Testament scholars. This article argues that the inclusion of these details in the narrative can be understood by reference to the Chaoskampf typology of the Old Testament. Here, as elsewhere in the gospels (e.g. Matt 8,23-27; Mark 4,35-41; Luke 8,22-25), Jesus is presented as a creator figure who confronts the powers of chaos. In this instance however, the powers of chaos emerge temporarily triumphant. The old creation is destroyed, paving the way for a renewal of creation with Jesus’s resurrection.

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