Category:Seventy Disciples (subject)
The Seventy Disciples was an episode in the Ministry of Jesus, according to the Gospel of Luke (10:1-12.17-20).
Overview
The Seventy Disciples is an addition by the Gospel of Luke, aimed to show that Jesus did not preach only to Jews but also to Gentiles. As Jesus appointed the Twelve as representatives of the tribes of Israel, he must have appointed also a group of "seventy(-two)" as representatives of the Nations.
The number "seventy" (or "seventy-two") was the number that in ancient Judaism was traditionally associated with the Nations (see in particular, the Letter of Aristeas, where this is the number of the translators of the Torah into Greek).
Luke built the narrative as a frame around a saying of Jesus (see Woe to Unrepentant Cities) he inherited from Q, but manifestly had nothing to do with the mission of the 'Seventy Disciples."
Later Christian tradition would speculate on the identity of the members of the group. The most complete list is that offered under the name of Hyppolytus of Rome. The list is an important document for our knowledge of the early Church but is completely fictitious and irrelevant for research on the historical Jesus.
The Seventy Disciples in ancient sources
Gospel of Luke
Luke 10:1-12 (NRSV) -- After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. 2 He said to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. 3 Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. 4 Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. 5 Whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this house!' 6 And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. 7 Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. 8 Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; 9 cure the sick who are there, and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.' 10 But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, 11 'Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.' 12 I tell you, on that day it will be more tolerable for Sodom than for that town.
Luke 10:17-20 (NRSV) -- 17 The seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!" 18 He said to them, "I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. 19 See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."
The Seventy Disciples in Scholarship
The Seventy Disciples in Fiction
External links
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