An analysis of the concept of “peacemaking through blood” in Colossians 1.20b: the Graeco-Roman and Jewish background

In this work, I use insights from Conceptual Metaphor and Frame Semantics to demonstrate that the metaphorical expressions εἰρηνοποιήσας and διὰ τοῦ αἵματος τοῦ σταυροῦ αὐτου (Col. 1.20b) evoke conceptual frames from both the Graeco-Roman conceptual world and the Jewish one. The impact of the christological configuration of the concept of peacemaking through blood in Colossians lies precisely in the incongruity between its message and the familiar frames known to the Gentile/Jewish audience in Colossae. The thesis is divided into two main parts bracketed by an introductory chapter and a conclusion. Having presented my literature review and method in chapter 1, Part 1 of the thesis (chapters 2 and 3) investigates εἰρηνοποιήσας διὰ τοῦ αἵματος τοῦ σταυροῦ αὐτου (Col. 1.20b) against the Graeco-Roman conceptual world. In chapter two, I propose that the pax romana frame, strongly present in Asia Minor, constituted a key conceptual frame for the analysis of peacemaking through blood in Colossians 1.20b. In chapter three, I examine how the pax romana frame affects the reading of εἰρηνοποιήσας διὰ τοῦ αἵματος τοῦ σταυροῦ αὐτου in Colossians 1.20b and how it challenges the perception of reality of the first-century readers in Asia Minor. The second part of the thesis (chapters 4–6) addresses the question of what frames could have been triggered in the mind of a Jewish reader steeped in the Old Testament by the metaphorical language of reconciliation and peacemaking by human bloodshed in Colossians 1.20. I argue that the reconciliation language (Col. 1.20a) had the potential to activate the rîb-pattern frame while peacemaking through human bloodshed (Col. 1.20b) could have evoked the offering of the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 52.13–53.12—a passage located in the midst of rîb-passages in Deutero-Isaiah. Chapter 4 outlines the main elements of the Old Testament rîb-pattern whereas chapter 5 investigates Isaiah 53 within the literary context of Deutero-Isaiah. Chapter 6 argues that “reconciliation” metaphor in Colossians 1.20a had the potential to evoke the rîb-controversy frame whereas peacemaking through blood in verse 20b had the potential to activate the Isaiah 53 frame in the minds of the Jewish audience of Colossians.