Adams, S. A. and Ehorn, S. M. (2016) What is a composite citation?

An
introduction. In: Adams, S. A. and Ehorn, S. M. (eds.) Composite Citations
in Antiquity: Jewish, Graeco-Roman, and Early Christian Uses. Series: The
library of New Testament studies, 1 (525). Bloomsbury T&T Clark:
London, pp. 1-16. ISBN 9780567657978

This is the author’s final accepted version.

There may be differences between this version and the published version.
You are advised to consult the publisher’s version if you wish to cite from
it.

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 Chapter 1

WHAT IS A COMPOSITE CITATION? AN INTRODUCTION

Sean A. Adams and Seth M. Ehorn

One of the many curious features of citations from the Jewish scriptures
in the New Testament is that at times an author, although apparently only
citing one text, is actually drawing one or more source texts together into
a single, composite citation. Although this phenomenon occurs some-
what regularly in the New Testament, there has been very little work
focused on this citation technique within the broader Jewish, Graeco-
Roman, and early Christian milieux, especially within recent scholarship.
The phenomenon, of course, does occur in the broader environment and
it is the working hypothesis of this volume that by studying this citation
technique in wider compass, one can gain a more incisive understanding
of the phenomenon in its own right, but also as it is found in the New
Testament.
The studies contained within this volume can only serve as represen-
tative examples of composite citations within the period surrounding the
New Testament. We have sought to include a diverse range of ancient
authors, dating from roughly 350 BCE to 150 CE.1 This range will allow
the studies of this volume to assess potential inÀuences upon the New
Testament authors’ use of composite citations and the possible literary
inÀuences extending from the New Testament. We hope that the
examples provided will serve as a helpful step forward in understanding
this citation technique by ancient authors.

1. Although outside the scope of this volume, see J. C. C. Döpke, Hermeneutik

der neutestamentlichen Schriftsteller (Leipzig: Vogel, 1829), pp. 70–87, who
provides a list of composite citations in rabbinic literature. Similarly, the late dating
of Book 1 of Sibylline Oracles (ca. 150–350 CE?) places the composite citation in
Sib. Or. 1.57-58 (Gen. 1.28 and 3.19) outside the parameters of this study. See
especially J. J. Collins, ‘Sibylline Oracles’, OTP 1:331–32.
2 Composite Citations in Antiquity

The following introduction will summarize various issues related to

the use of composite citations in antiquity. This begins by providing a
working de¿nition of ‘composite citation’ that is intended to provide
cohesion to the studies within this volume. This is followed by an
extended example of a composite citation that allows for interaction with
the working de¿nition. Next, the introduction brieÀy surveys previous
research on composite citations. Following this, we provide a rough
overview of this volume in an effort to justify its contents and omissions.
However, before we turn to what this project contains, it is important
to identify the study’s parameters. For the majority of the chapters the
focus is exclusively on literary works. This is because of space concerns
and to provide a more focused project and is not intended to imply that
composite citations are only found in literary compositions. This is
clearly not the case as composite citations also occur in epigraphic
material, especially in magical inscriptions and amulets. For example,
three amulets (IJO III Syr4, IJO III Syr42, and another one from Tel
Aviv) all combine Deut. 33.26 and Num. 10.35, with IJO III Syr42 also
adding Exod. 15.3 and Deut. 6.4.2 Similarly, the amulet IJO I Ach50
joins a number of passages (Exod. 15.3, 26; 38.8; Num. 14.14) into a
combined veneration of God.3 Such examples are intriguing and deserv-
ing of investigation, though they fall outside the scope of this project.
Another important subject that will not be covered in these volumes is
composite allusion. Although this is related to composite citations and
substantially overlaps with our investigation into the creativity of the
author, we believe that they require individual attention and investigation
in their own right prior to being brought into discussion with citation
practice. Moreover, the emphasis (discussed below) on the rhetoric of
quotations makes allusions a less useful source of study. This is because
allusions must ¿rst be identi¿ed by the reader/listener before one can
speak about their rhetorical effect. As will become apparent below, this
project seeks to provide renewed focus on citation practices and
de¿nitions and we felt that including composite allusion would distract
from that aim.

2. R. Pummer, ‘Samaritan Amulets from the Roman–Byzantine Period and their

Wearers’, RB 94 (1987), pp. 251–63, nos. 5, 7, 16; D. Noy and H. Bloedhorn (eds.),
Inscriptiones Judaicae Orientis. Volume 3. Syria und Cyprus (TSAJ, 102; Tübingen:
Mohr Siebeck, 2004).
3. D. Noy, A. Panayotov, and H. Bloedhorn (eds.), Inscriptiones Judaicae
Orientis. Volume 1. Eastern Europe (TSAJ, 101; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2004).
1
 1. What Is a Composite Citation? 3

Finally, we will also not be discussing so-called Rewritten Scripture or

epitomizing texts.4 Again, despite having methodological similarities
with the creation of composite citations, we thought that the inclusion of
these topics would pose too great of a challenge to our speci¿c focus. For
example, Rewritten Scripture is an important sub¿eld in Jewish literature
and questions of authorial practice and methodology are becoming ever
more complex so as potentially to demand their own volume. As a result,
works such as Jubilees, LAB, and Josephus’ Antiquities will be excluded
from discussion unless they contain a composite citation that is marked
in some way.5

1. Working De¿nition of Composite Citation

A de¿nition of a composite citation must address both the noun and its
adjectival modi¿er. For the purposes of this volume we will consider a
citation to consist of the following factors:
x The text must be marked as a citation in some manner, either
with: (1) an explicit attribution to an author or speaker; (2) the
use of an introductory formula; (3) a noticeable break in syntax
between the citation and its new literary context; or, (4) if the
citation is well-known in antiquity or cited elsewhere by the
same author it can reasonably be considered a citation.6
x More allusive examples of literary borrowing, while offering
potential information on citation techniques, must only be
considered with caution.

4. On the latter, see the interesting studies in M. Horster and C. Reitz (eds.),
Condensing Texts—Condensed Texts (Palingenesia, 98; Stuttgart: Franz Steiner,
2010).
5. Although we had hoped to have a chapter dedicated to Josephus, we were not
able to ¿nd any composite citation in his corpus. However, a useful discussion of
Josephus’ stylistic changes to his sources is that by L. H. Feldman, ‘Use, Authority
and Exegesis of Mikra in the Writings of Josephus’, in M. J. Mulder (ed.), Mikra:
Text, Translation, Reading and Interpretation of the Hebrew Bible in Ancient
Judaism and Early Christianity (CRINT, 2/1; Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1988),
pp. 455–518 (476–81).
6. These criteria draw upon studies by D.-A. Koch, Die Schrift als Zeuge des
Evangeliums: Untersuchungen zur Verwendung und zum Verständnis der Schrift bei
Paulus (BHT, 69; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1986), pp. 11–23, and C. D. Stanley,
Paul and the Language of Scripture: Citation Technique in the Pauline Epistles and
Contemporary Literature (SNTSMS, 69; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1992), pp. 33–37.
1
4 Composite Citations in Antiquity

The composite nature of the de¿nition is equally important:

x Within the citation, two or more texts must be fused together.
x This fusing together must not include conjunctions that break
between the two fused texts (e.g., Á¸ĕ, Á¸Ė ÈÚÂÀÅ, etc.). In some
instances, the presence of a conjunction within a citation will
need to be examined more closely in order to determine if the
syntax is broken.
x Prior to or following a list of citations, if the citing author refers
to a plurality of sources, the citation should not be considered
composite.
These culminate in the following working de¿nition: a text may be
considered a composite citation when literary borrowing occurs in a
manner that includes two or more passages (from the same or different
authors) fused together and conveyed as though they are only one.
We have intentionally avoided de¿ning a composite citation more
narrowly for present purposes. For instance, the de¿nition could have
addressed, at minimum, the following issues: How many words must be
included from either passage in order for a citation to be considered
composite? Is the substitution of a single word from the larger literary
context suf¿cient to call a citation composite? How remote must the
second (or third, etc.) text be from the ¿rst to be suf¿ciently differen-
tiated? Finally, how do minor conÀations differ from fuller citations?
While such methodological precision would certainly help to re¿ne the
studies within this volume, we believe that such parameters would be
determined best with hindsight. That is, putative examples of the practice
must be examined closely prior to ruling out methodologically other
putative examples. Accordingly, we have intentionally left these aspects
of the de¿nition open and we hope that the studies in this volume will
help to shed light on this de¿nitional issue for future studies on com-
posite citations.

2. An Example of a Composite Citation

It will be useful to provide an example of a composite citation that
allows for direct interaction with the working de¿nition supplied above.
The example comes from the Epistle of Barnabas, a text that was written
somewhere between 70 and 132 CE. Barnabas has many citations, some
of which are the result of the author’s own reÀection on the Jewish
scriptures and some of may have been mediated via the New Testament

1
 1. What Is a Composite Citation? 5

and other sources.7 Several of Barnabas’ citations are composite,

including the following from Barn. 6.6:8
Ìĕ ÇħÅ Âñº¼À ÈÚÂÀÅ ĝ ÈÉÇÎû̾Ë;
¼ÉÀñÊϼŠļ ÊÍŸºÑºü ÈÇžɼÍÇÄñÅÑÅ (Ps. 21.17 LXX),
ëÁįÁÂÑÊÚŠļ ĸʼĖ ÄñÂÀÊʸÀ Á¾ÉĕÇÅ (Ps. 117.12 LXX),
Á¸Ė ëÈĖ ÌġÅ ĎĸÌÀÊÄĠÅ ÄÇÍ ì¹¸ÂÇÅ ÁÂýÉÇÅ (Ps. 21.19 LXX).
Therefore what again does the prophet say?
A synagogue of evildoers surrounded me,
they swarmed about me like bees around a honeycomb
and for my clothing they cast lots.

Like elsewhere in Barnabas, this citation is introduced as something

that ‘the prophet…says [Âñº¼À…ĝ ÈÉÇÎû̾Ë]’ (cf. Barn. 6.4, 13, etc.),
underscoring his view that scripture is prophetic (cf. Barn. 6.7). Yet, this
singular reference to what the prophet says introduces wording from two
psalms. It would appear that Barnabas or his source has fused together
wording from two different texts.
In their separate editions of the Apostolic Fathers, both Bart Ehrman
and Michael Holmes present the ¿nal clause of Barn. 6.6 as a discrete
citation, connected with the conjunction Á¸ĕ:9
…ëÁįÁÂÑÊÚŠļ ĸʼĖ ÄñÂÀÊʸÀ Á¾ÉĕÇÅ, Á¸Ė· <ÈĖ ÌġÅ ĎĸÌÀÊÄĠÅ ÄÇÍ ì¹¸ÂÇÅ
ÁÂýÉÇÅ.
…‘they surrounded me as bees around a honeycomb’, and ‘for my
clothing they cast lots’.10

7. See esp. M. J. J. Menken, ‘Old Testament Quotations in the Epistle of

Barnabas with Parallels in the New Testament’, in J. de Vries and M. Karrer (eds.),
Textual History and the Reception of Scripture in Early Christianity (SBLSCS, 60;
Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2013), pp. 295–321; cf. J. Carleton Paget,
‘The Use of the New Testament in the Epistle of Barnabas’, in A. Gregory and
C. Tuckett (eds.), The Reception of the New Testament in the Apostolic Fathers
(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005), pp. 229–49.
8. For a list of Barnabas’ citations, see R. Hvalvik, The Struggle for Scripture
and Covenant: The Purpose of the Epistle of Barnabas and Jewish–Christian
Competition in the Second Century (WUNT, 2/82; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1996),
pp. 333–41.
9. However, it is noted that the Latin version of Barnabas takes Ps. 21.19 as a
separate citation.
10. B. D. Ehrman, The Apostolic Fathers, Volume 2 (LCL; Cambridge, MA:
Harvard University Press, 2003), ad loc.; cf. M. W. Holmes, The Apostolic Fathers:
Greek Texts and English Translations (Grand Rapids: Baker, 3rd edn, 2007), ad loc.
Both Ehrman and Holmes appear to be following the editorial decisions of their
predecessors.
1
6 Composite Citations in Antiquity

Although the standard reference editions break the citation at this point,
four reasons militate against this division. First, the ¿nal clause begins
with Á¸ĕ in its original context (Ps. 21.19 LXX; cf. Jn 19.24). However,
because Á¸ĕ is a common connector between multiple citations, this can
only serve to raise, and not solve, the question of whether the ¿nal clause
of Barn. 6.6 is part of a composite citation. Second, and more de¿ni-
tively, the previous clause is itself a composite citation, combining texts
from Psalms 21 and 117 LXX. The ¿nal clause (‘and for my clothing…’)
resumes the line of thought from Psalm 21 LXX. Third, in the opening
line of the citation from Ps. 21.17, the wording of the citation is inverted.
Speci¿cally, the advancing of the clause ȼÉÀñÊϼŠļ prior to ÊÍŸºÑºü
ÈÇžɼÍÇÄñÅÑÅ in Barn. 6.6 rhetorically balances the clause with the
following composite part: ëÁįÁÂÑÊÚŠļ (cf. Ps. 117.12). This may sug-
gest a degree of editorial activity in various parts of the citation. Fourth,
in a previous composite citation in Barn. 5.13, the author presents a
composite citation comprised of verses from Psalm 21 and 118 LXX.
There, again, the text form is slightly modi¿ed from known LXX ver-
sions. All these arguments suggest that it is better to view Barn. 6.6 as a
single, composite citation. It is likely that the texts were fused together
because of the Stichworten ëÁįÁÂÑÊÚŠļ, which occur in both Pss. 21.17
and 117.12 LXX.11
Regarding the wording of the citation, the author included ȼÉÀñÊϼÅ
(third singular; cf. MSS S G) rather than ȼÉÀñÊÏÇÅ (third plural; cf. Ps.
21.17 LXX), which agrees with the singular ÊÍŸºÑºû. The verb from Ps.
21.17 differs in number from most psalm MSS, although it does agree
with P. Bodmer XXIV (= MS 2110).
As for the question of who fused these texts, it cannot be ruled out that
Barnabas received this tradition mediated through another source. The
popularity of Psalm 21 LXX in early Christian sources is well-
documented, as even a cursory glance at the Loci citati vel allegati in a
standard New Testament edition shows. Nevertheless, it is important to
note that Robert Kraft’s study on Barnabas’ quotations has shown that
there is ‘no sign of Christian Tendenz. In fact, the quotations are not so
much anti-Judaic in Àavour as they are pro-ethical.’12 This provides a key
piece of evidence because if Barnabas’ citations are generally thought to

11. F. R. Prostmeier, Der Barnabasbrief (KAV, 8; Göttingen: Vandenhoeck &

Ruprecht, 1999), p. 256; pace K. Wengst, Didache (Apostellehre), Barnabasbrief,
Zweiter Klemensbrief, Schrift an Diognet: Eingeleitet, herausgegeben, übertragen
und erläutert (Munich: Kösel, 1984), p. 124, ‘Zwei [=Mischzitate] sind unbewußt
durch einen Gedächtnisfehler beim freien Zitieren entstanden. Barn 6, 6…’.
12. R. A. Kraft, ‘The Epistle of Barnabas: Its Quotations and their Sources’
(Ph.D. diss., Harvard University, 1961), p. 111.
1
 1. What Is a Composite Citation? 7

derive from a collection of texts made for Hellenistic Jewish instruction,

the ¿nal line of the composite citation in Barn. 6.6 is particularly
striking.
According to Barn. 6.6, those who belong to a synagogue ‘cast lots for
my clothing’. This usage disagrees with the New Testament gospels,
which attribute the ful¿llment of Ps. 21.19 LXX to actions undertaken by
Romans, not by Jews (cf. Mt. 27.35; Mk 15.24; Lk. 23.34; Jn 19.24).
Thus, this composite citation—or at least the ¿nal line—is likely an
addition by the author of Barnabas. In the context of Barn. 6.6, the
composite citation employs the negative imagery of the righteous
person’s enemies from these psalms and applies this to the Jews. In this
regard, the citation coheres with the anti-Jewish agenda evident
elsewhere in Barnabas.13

3. Prior Studies on Composite Citations

There are only a few short studies that explore composite citations in any
detail.14 Edwin Hatch’s essay ‘On Composite Quotations from the
Septuagint’ appeared in 1889 and considered examples from Clement of
Rome, Barnabas, and Justin Martyr.15 Not much later, Franklin Johnson’s
essay ‘Composite Quotations’ appeared in his 1895 monograph on
Quotations of the New Testament from the Old.16 Unlike Hatch’s study,
Johnson presented a wider range of examples, including selections from
Cicero, Lucian, Maximus Tyrius, Philo, Plato, Plutarch, and Xenophon.
Unfortunately, Johnson’s study did little more than simply catalogue
citations that he deemed to be composite. He provided virtually no
meaningful discussion of any of his examples and his list is incomplete
for several of the authors that he selected. JindĜich Mánek’s 1970 article

13. See esp. W. Horbury, ‘Jewish–Christian Relations in Barnabas and Justin

Martyr’, in J. D. G. Dunn (ed.), Jews and Christians: The Parting of the Ways, A.D.
70 to 135 (WUNT, 66; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1992), pp. 315–46; Hvalvik,
Scripture and Covenant, pp. 140–41.
14. In addition to those mentioned below, see the section on ‘Verschmelzung
und Verkettung zweier oder mehrerer alttestam. Sprüche’, in H. Vollmer, Die Alt-
testamentlichen Citate bei Paulus textkritisch und biblischtheologisch gewürdigt
nebst einem Anhang über das Verhältnis des Apostels zu Philo (Freiburg: Mohr
Siebeck, 1895), pp. 35–46.
15. E. Hatch, ‘On Composite Quotations from the Septuagint’, in Essays in
Biblical Greek (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1889), pp. 203–14.
16. F. Johnson, The Quotations of the New Testament from the Old Considered
in the Light of General Literature (Philadelphia: American Baptist Publication
Society, 1896).
1
8 Composite Citations in Antiquity

considered ‘Composite Quotations in the New Testament and their

Purpose’. Speci¿cally, Mánek surveyed examples from the New Testa-
ment and suggested that composite citations are adduced in order to
make proofs in accordance with the rule of Deut. 19.15.17 Additionally,
studies by Dietrich-Alex Koch and Christopher Stanley have each
examined composite citations in the Pauline literature in the context of
wider discussions of Paul’s citations from the Jewish scriptures.18
In this survey of previous studies on composite citations, the following
areas will be considered brieÀy: (1) the need of de¿nitional clarity in
previous studies; (2) the study of the phenomenon of composite citations
as a distinctly Jewish citation technique; (3) the assumption that com-
posite citations are almost always derived from testimonia or extract
collections; (4) the assumption that composite citations are the result of
memory errors; and (5) the function of composite citations. Because
Hatch, Johnson, and Mánek provided the most extensive treatments of
composite citations, they are primarily referenced. However, several
other key works are mentioned when the points under consideration
warrant it.

a. Need for De¿nitional Clarity

Prior studies on composite citations, while limited, have been lacking in
terms of de¿nitional clarity. Take, for instance, Johnson’s study, which
provided only the following brief statement: ‘New Testament writers
sometimes present in the form of a single passage an assemblage of
phrases or sentences drawn from different sources’.19 No attention is paid
to the possible difference between condensing/abridging techniques and
composite citations and no mention is made about attribution to a single
author or source. Equally vague is Hatch’s discussion, which only states
that a ‘common feature’ of composite citations is that they ‘are intro-
duced by the same formulae which are used for quotations of single
passages’.20 These studies provide very little discussion of the mechanics
of citation and, as such, leave various questions unaddressed.

17. J. Mánek, ‘Composite Quotations in the New Testament and their Purpose’,
Communio Viatorum 13 (1970), pp. 181–88 (186–87).
18. Koch, Die Schrift, pp. 172–86; Stanley, Language of Scripture, esp. pp. 256,
258–59.
19. Johnson, Quotations, p. 92.
20. Hatch, ‘Composite Quotations’, p. 213; cf. D. Instone-Brewer, Techniques
and Assumptions in Jewish Exegesis before 70 CE (TSAJ, 30; Tübingen: Mohr
Siebeck, 1992), pp. 22–23, who brieÀy discusses amalgamation as ‘the merging of
more than one text without any indication that they come from different portions of
Scripture’.
1
 1. What Is a Composite Citation? 9

Koch’s study distinguished between examples where ‘part of a word

of scripture has been reshaped using a different scripture’ (Mischzitaten)
and examples where ‘two (or more) texts of scripture are merged
together, but are not pushed into each other’ (Zitatkombinationen).21
Likewise, Stanley’s study, which built upon Koch’s work in many ways,
distinguished between combined and conÀated passages by stating that
‘in the former, the individual verses stand on a relatively equal footing
and retain a measure of their original independence; in the latter, one
verse is clearly dominant and the other subordinate’.22 Both Koch’s and
Stanley’s studies represent de¿nitional improvement on composite
citations. However, there is room for further re¿ning of a de¿nition in
light of a consideration of more examples from antiquity. See the issues
raised in the ‘working de¿nition’ given above for further information.

b. Are Composite Citations a Uniquely Jewish or Christian Practice?

While both Hatch and Johnson recognized that composite citations occur
more widely in antiquity than simply the New Testament, this general
observation has been overlooked by many subsequent interpreters. For
instance, Mánek’s study did not consider any wider uses of composite
citations and he argued that such citations emerged because ‘the New
Testament Christians shared Jewish conceptions’.23
Interestingly, E. Earle Ellis argued inversely, appealing to a dearth of
evidence from Jewish sources:
Combined quotations of two or more texts appear frequently in a variety
of forms: a chain of passages (Rom 15,9-12), a commentary pattern (John
12,38-40; Rom 9–11) and composite or merged citations (Rom 3,10-18;
2Cor 6,16-18). With the exception of the last type these patterns were
commonly employed in Judaism.24

21. Koch, Die Schrift, p. 160, ‘bei denen ein Teil eines Schriftwortes unter
Verwendung einer anderen Schriftstelle umgeformt worden ist’; p. 172, ‘zwei (oder
mehrere) Schriftworte unmittelbar zusammengefügt, jedoch nicht ineinander-
geschoben sind’.
22. Stanley, Language of Scripture, pp. 258–59.
23. Mánek, ‘Composite Quotations’, p. 186.
24. E. E. Ellis, Prophecy and Hermeneutic in Early Christianity (WUNT, 18;
Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1978), p. 150 (emphasis added); cf. Instone-Brewer,
Techniques and Assumptions, pp. 68 and 160, who adduces only one possible
example of textual amalgamation that may date earlier than 70 CE (i.e., Sipre Num.
42 = Isa. 45.7 + Amos 4.13[?]). Accordingly, this rare technique receives virtually
no discussion at all by Instone-Brewer.
1
10 Composite Citations in Antiquity

Despite Ellis’ point that composite or merged citations are not common
in Jewish texts, he provides virtually no discussion of the practice in
other sources from antiquity, leaving his readers with the tantalizing
suggestion that ‘for the source of his [i.e., Paul’s] frequently used
merged quotations one must look elsewhere’.25
It is demonstrably the case that composite citations are found in early
Jewish texts. However, as Hatch, Johnson and, several of the studies in
this volume show, it is not a uniquely Jewish or Christian practice.
Indeed, while not ignoring this early Jewish context, there is also much
to be gained by examining composite citations in larger compass within
antiquity.

c. Composite Citations as Derived from Testimonia/Extract Lists

The presence of shared composite citations in a range of ancient sources
has suggested to some that these citations are the result of combinations
made from testimonia sources or collected extracts. In other words, the
physical medium of a list of citations, removed from its/their original
context(s), is thought to explain the phenomenon of composite citations.
Hatch argued that such a hypothesis best explained the presence of
composite citations in the New Testament, especially examples where
the same combination of sources occurs in multiple authors (e.g., the
pastiche of psalms in Rom. 3.10-18 and Justin, Dial. 27.2-3).26 Such
examples serve to Àag up an important methodological issue: demon-
stration that two documents are dependent upon a third, shared source
rather than upon each other.
Additionally, it is possible that sometimes the assignment of a com-
posite citation to another source is adduced as a way of absolving the
quoting author. This is sometimes the case within New Testament
studies, particularly by those with convictions about the inspiration of its
authors. Johnson’s study on composite citations presupposes this very
issue.27 The relegation of a composite citation to a third party provides a
convenient side-step in the event that the fusing of texts is perceived as
an error.

25. E. E. Ellis, Paul’s Use of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans,
1957), pp. 49–51.
26. Hatch, ‘Composite Quotations’, pp. 203–4.
27. Johnson, Quotations, p. 93, stated that ‘censure of a general kind has been
passed on all these quotations, simply because they are composite’.
1
 1. What Is a Composite Citation? 11

d. Composite Citations as Errors of Memory

Basing his ¿ndings upon assumptions of greater textual stability, Emil
Kautzsch argued that Paul’s ‘mixed’ or ‘composite’ citations provide
evidence that Paul cited from memory and, further, that such citations
became mixed in his memory.28 Much has changed in our understanding
of the textual situation in the ¿rst century CE since the time of Kautzsch.
The discovery and eventual publication of the Dead Sea Scrolls has
dramatically altered our perception of the ¿xedness of the biblical text,
including Septuagintal texts that appear similar to New Testament
citations. Moreover, the papyrological discoveries of the twentieth
century have also enhanced our understanding of the textual diversity of
the time. Even twenty years after Kautzsch published his study, Hatch
concluded very differently: ‘the existence of a discrepancy between [a
citation] and the existing MSS points not to an inaccuracy on the part of
the writer but to a variation in the current text’.29 Signi¿cant for present
purposes, Hatch dismissed the idea that the New Testament’s composite
citations are ‘misquotations’ by appealing to an author’s broader citation
techniques:
The view that they are mere misquotations in which the several writers
have, through defect of memory, blended several passages into one is
rendered improbable by the whole character of the quotations which they
make from the Old Testament.30

Likewise, several recent interpreters have shifted from referring to

memory errors as the basis of composite citations and, instead, have
emphasized the literary artistry of New Testament authors, ¿nding the
notion of adapted or combined citations as the result of memory error to
be less than satisfactory in explaining literary links between the revised
citation and its new literary context.31 Among these writers, Jonathan

28. E. Kautzsch, De Veteris Testamenti locis a Paulo Apostolo Allegatis

(Leipzig: Metzger & Wittig, 1869), p. 10, esp. pp. 80–82, 86–87, 217.
29. Hatch, ‘Composite Quotations’, p. 204.
30. Hatch, ‘Composite Quotations’, pp. 203–4 (emphasis added). Followed by
J. R. Harris, Testimonies (2 vols.; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1916–
20), p. 1:2.
31. See Mánek, ‘Composite Quotations’, p. 186; Stanley, Language of Scripture,
p. 256; cf. idem, ‘The Social Environment of “Free” Biblical Quotations in the
New Testament’, in C. A. Evans and J. A. Sanders (eds.), Early Christian Interpre-
tation of the Scriptures of Israel: Investigations and Proposals (Shef¿eld: Shef¿eld
Academic, 1997), pp. 18–27 (26); J. D. H. Norton, Contours in the Text: Textual
Variation in the Writings of Paul, Josephus and the Ya‫ۊ‬ad (LNTS, 430; London:
T&T Clark International, 2011), pp. 1–38.
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12 Composite Citations in Antiquity

Norton has critiqued scholars who sharply distinguish between memory

citation and citation via consultation of texts. He argues that rote mem-
orization of texts cannot be so easily differentiated within Paul’s oral
exegetical environment.32 What is needed is a wider understanding of
how memory and textuality both functioned in antiquity to inÀuence
citation practice more broadly and composite citations speci¿cally.

e. The Function of Composite Citations

Both Mánek and Johnson have provided explanations concerning the
function of composite citations. For example, Johnson wrote that,
An examination of these passages [i.e., texts with composite citations]
will show that where the quotation is intended for proof, it is always
composed of fragments which originally related to the subject of the
argument; and all of them except one or two are brought forward as
proofs.33

According to Johnson, composite citations reÀect the creative efforts of

an author to bring together texts that focus on a common theme. While
Johnson’s argument is neither endorsed nor denied here in this introduc-
tion, it provides a counter-perspective to the memory error explanation
above and it provides a benchmark to consider in other examples of
composite citations.
Also emphasizing the logical function, Mánek argued that composite
citations were presented in accordance with Deut. 19.15: two or three
witnesses are necessary to prove a case. While a provocative suggestion,
this explanation is not convincing. Not only can such proofs be made
without the use of a composite technique, but the merging of multiple
texts into a single citation produces not two or three witnesses but one.
Stanley’s comments on composite citations also emphasize this point:
multiple verses are adduced in support of a single proposition. However,
the individual verses ‘have been melded together into a tightly knit,
coherent unit with its own internal logic and carefully balanced rhetorical
structure’.34

***

32. Norton, Contours in the Text, pp. 25–28; cf. W. V. Harris, Ancient Literacy
(Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1989), pp. 31–33; J. P. Small, Wax
Tablets of the Mind: Cognitive Studies of Memory and Literacy in Classical
Antiquity (London: Routledge, 1997), pp. 3–9.
33. Johnson, Quotations, p. 92.
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34. Stanley, Language of Scripture, p. 258.
 1. What Is a Composite Citation? 13

In light of the preceding discussion, we are left with a set of questions to

address in future studies on composite citations: In what ways can a
de¿nition of composite citations be re¿ned? What does a wider consid-
eration of composite citations have to offer New Testament scholarship?
How do an author’s sources contribute to a consideration of composite
citations? Is it possible to distinguish unintentional conÀations of texts
from intentional merging of texts that share common themes and/or
terms?35 Finally, how do composite citations function within an author’s
composition?

4. An Outline of this Volume

The studies in this volume examine composite citations across a range of
authors in antiquity. In addition to studies on speci¿c authors or speci¿c
corpora, a few of the authors reÀect more broadly on issues of educa-
tion in antiquity and testimonia as they relate to composite citations.
Additionally, the contributors to this volume will seek to speci¿cally
address the following issues:
1. the question of whether the quoting author created the composite
text or found it already constructed as such;
2. the question of the rhetorical and/or literary impact of the
quotation in its present textual location, as opposed to simply
unpacking how the author appears to be interpreting the source
text; and,
3. the question of whether the intended audiences would have
recognized and ‘reverse engineered’ the composite citation in
question and, as a result, engaged with the original context of
each of the component parts.
Each of these questions is complex and enriching. Moreover, these
questions are largely ignored by New Testament interpreters when
handling passages that contain composite citations. By providing a more
extensive account of composite citations in antiquity within the context
of these focused issues, this volume hopes to provide a more historically
grounded and informed discussion of composite citations.

35. See esp. H. A. G. Houghton, ‘“Flattening” in Latin Biblical Citations’, in

Studia Patristica: Papers Presented at the Fifteenth International Conference on
Patristic Studies Held in Oxford 2008 (Leuven: Peeters, 2010), pp. 271–76, who
describes features that are typical of memory citation.
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14 Composite Citations in Antiquity

While the following studies do not speci¿cally aim to address any

New Testament examples of composite citations, we intend for this
volume to serve as something of a methodological base for future studies
on composite citations within the New Testament. We hope that this
volume will aid such a study by providing a wider perspective that is
informed by actual uses of composite citations by other ancient authors.
Nevertheless, these studies should not be perceived as merely a means
to an end. The contributors are each experts in their respective ¿elds and
we hope that the studies in this volume will also be useful and interesting
to scholars who have wider interests. A survey of the contents of this
volume follows.
The second chapter in this volume, ‘Greek Education and Composite
Citations of Homer’, provides a wide-ranging investigation of composite
citations in ancient Greek authors. In the ¿rst section Sean Adams draws
on authors ranging from Plato to Lucian and identi¿es three ways that
composite citations were used by ancient writers: summarizing citations,
customized citations for argument, and literary styling. In the latter half
of his work Adams explores Homeric school texts and scholia for
composite features and argues that the practice of forming composite
texts is not limited to literary works, but can be to seen in non-literary
texts as well.
In a chapter exploring Plutarch’s citation practices, Seth Ehorn
discusses numerous composite citations from the Moralia and the Lives.
The study begins with a brief consideration of Plutarch’s wider compo-
sitional techniques and sources, which are determined to be relevant to a
study of Plutarch’s composite citations. Close textual study shows that
Plutarch has likely inherited, mistakenly produced, and intentionally
generated composite citations. In each instance a decision must be made
based upon various factors. One of the striking features, however, is that
Plutarch’s composite citations are, in all but one instance, found in his
Moralia. It is concluded that the circumstances for writing these essays
were more conducive to the fusing of texts to improve Plutarch’s
arguments.
In the fourth chapter Margaret Williams investigates the citation
practice of elite Roman letters writers (e.g., Cicero, Seneca the Younger,
Pliny). Beginning by situating these writers into their ancient, social
context, Williams rightfully highlights the function of letters in elite
society and the form that literary citations typically take. Williams shows
that explicit citations (let alone composite citations) are rare in these
works. There is one exception to this practice (Ad Fam. 13.15), a
political apologia by Cicero in which he cites a number of authors and
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 1. What Is a Composite Citation? 15

creates a composite citation from Homer’s Odyssey. Overall, Williams

concludes that these elite male authors used literature to underline their
shared cultural interests and strengthen the bonds that existed between
them.
The ¿fth chapter is an investigation of Philo’s citation technique by
James Royse. One of the main focuses of his work is highlighting the
fact that a correct understanding of Philo’s citations requires an
appreciation of the distinction between the presentation of a modern text
(with such devices as quotation marks and ellipsis points) and the form
of Philo’s original writings. Also important for Royse is an under-
standing of Philo’s citation technique and the way that Philo brings texts
together. A proper understanding of Philo’s handling of texts will allow
one to determine what is a genuine composite citation and what is not.
Jonathan Norton is the author of Chapter 6, which looks at the way the
author of the Admonition of the Damascus Document constructed
composite citations. After evaluating the way that Scripture is excerpted
in this section, Norton looks at the thematic uses of Scripture and the
unity of the Damascus Document. Following an in-depth discussion of
the text’s composite citations, the study concludes with Norton reÀecting
on the exegetical and social contexts of the work; how the work
compares to similar works and how the presumed author ¿ts within his
ancient Jewish context.
Next, in Chapter 7, Sean Adams and Seth Ehorn evaluate the com-
posite citations in the Septuagint Apocrypha, speci¿cally focusing on
four examples (4 Macc. 18.18-19; 1 Esd. 1.55; 2 Macc. 2.11; and Bar.
2.28-35). These works display a diverse range of Scripture use and
methods of creating and borrowing citations. This reinforces the under-
standing that the Apocrypha is a grouping of diverse texts. Nevertheless,
there are some similarities that suggest that these authors might have had
a similar view of Scripture and how it might be used in support of
speci¿c arguments.
In Chapter 8 Garrick Allen examines composite citations in three
Jewish pseudepigraphic works: the Letter of Aristeas, Jubilees, and the
Temple Scroll. He argues that the reuse of the Jewish scriptures in these
pseudepigraphic works serves to emphasize the perceived unity of
scriptural legal judgments in the face of apparent discord. The fusing
of like traditions occurred because of both linguistic and thematic
similarities. However, the paucity of examples of composite citations (as
de¿ned by this volume) leads Allen to conclude that implicit presen-
tations of scriptural reuse are the more usual form of re-presentation.

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16 Composite Citations in Antiquity

In Chapter 9 Philippe Bobichon examines Justin Martyr’s extant

writings and citation practices. Bobichon argues that composite features
comprise a majority of the apologist’s biblical argumentation. These
composite features, including composite citations, are sometimes derived
from sources and sometimes are the result of Justin’s own textual
composition. In the latter case, Justin’s deviations from known wording
at times amount to textual ‘hi-jacking’ (particularly in the Apology). By
contrast, the composite features in Justin’s Dialogue mirror the com-
position itself: the merging of multiple scriptural sources into a single,
literary feature enhances Justin’s composition and underscores his view
of the harmony of the Scriptures.
Martin Albl’s contribution to this volume focuses on the phenomena
of composite citations and the testimonia hypothesis. After a survey of
the testimonia hypothesis, Albl considers two case studies of overlapping
composite citations in early Christian literature (e.g., Barnabas, Clement,
Irenaeus) that largely agree with each other rather than known LXX
versions. For this common core of citations, Albl concludes that these
authors share a Àexible, written source that was probably produced by
Christians for apologetic purposes. This Àexible source and its new
theological context allowed for creative combinations of citations that
were, apparently, still considered to be scriptural by the quoting authors.
One notable lacuna is a separate chapter on the composite citations in
the Apostolic Fathers, especially focusing on 1 Clement and the Epistle
of Barnabas. However, we have selected Barn. 6.6 as an example to
illustrate our de¿nition of a composite citation earlier in this intro-
duction. Moreover, Martin Albl’s chapter on the testimonia hypothesis
overlaps with this corpus, including examples from Barnabas. Therefore,
we opted to forego a full chapter on the Apostolic Fathers and to include
another signi¿cant author from the second century: Justin Martyr. This
provides not only a likely terminus a quem for all of the New Testament
documents, but it also allows for the examination of how Justin takes on
Christian traditional material, including his biblical citations.
The studies in this volume are followed by a response from Christopher
Stanley. Stanley’s essay provides a summary reÀection on the previous
essays, drawing together the key implications of the studies. Signi¿-
cantly, Stanley also reÀects on the import of these studies for New
Testament interpreters—that is, the essay is both retrospective and
prospective. We hope that the insights identi¿ed by Stanley will be
useful for a planned second volume on the New Testament’s composite
citations, which is also scheduled to be published by T&T Clark/Blooms-
bury in the LNTS series in the near future.
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