The Body in Question: Metaphor and Meaning in the Interpretation of Ephesians 5:21-33

This study is an analysis of the argumentation of "Ephesians" 5:21-33. The interpretation of this passage remains fiercely contested: while some interpreters appeal to this text to suggest that husbands have authority over their wives, others reject its apparently patriarchal ethic. Approaching "Ephesians" 5:21-33 by way of a discussion of metaphorical language, the present work shows that its argumentation rests upon two very different uses of the "body" metaphor. One use highlights the unity of wife and husband, while the other underlines the distinction between the partners and suggests the husband has a position of authority. The tension created by these two uses of the "body" metaphor implies that neither a simple hierarchical nor a simple egalitarian interpretation of the passage can be justified.

ISBN 9004109595   Volumes 1 ISBN13 9789004109599 (What's this?)   Weight (grammes) 636 Publisher Brill Academic Publishers   Published in Leiden Imprint BRILL ACADEMIC PUB   Series editor Culpepper, R.A., Rendtorff, R. Format Hardback   Series ISSN 30 Publication date 01 Jan 1998   Series title Biblical Interpretation S. Library of Congress 97050049   Height (mm) 247 DEWEY 227.506   Width (mm) 165 Pages 264

		Acknowledgements
		Preface
		Introduction		1
Pt. 1		The Theory of Metaphor
Ch. 1		The Functioning of Metaphor		25
Ch. 2		Metaphor and Meaning		56
Pt. 2		An Analysis of Ephesians 5:21-33
Ch. 3		The Argumentation of Ephesians 5:21-33		81
Ch. 4		Analogy, Metaphor, and Model		110
Ch. 5		The 'Head' Metaphor		122
Ch. 6		The 'Body' Metaphor		150
Ch. 7		The 'One Flesh Union and the 'Great Mystery'		168
Pt. 3		A New Interpretation of Ephesians 5:21-33
Ch. 8		Towards a New Interpretation		195
Ch. 9		The Interpretation of Ephesians 5:21-33		222
App		Christ and the Church as 'Head' and 'Body'
		List of Works Cited		251
		Index of Names		261

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