Overview

This study investigates the procedural techniques, significance, and the tangible effects of the laying on of hands in the New Testament. The author investigates the background of the New Testament practice by conducting investigation in the Old Testament and contemporary Judaism and the Graeco-Roman and Near-Eastern literature. The main chapters are exegetical, each discussing a particular use of the laying on of hands in the New Testament: for blessing, healing, reception of the Spirit and ordination. A special attention is given to the inner process of transfer of power through physical contact. It is the author's conclusion that in the New Testament the gesture always signifies transfer of some positive materia: blessing, 'life-force', the Spirit and charismata. In the final section, an attempt is made to gauge the possibility of any uniformity in the significance of the various New Testament uses of the laying on of hands.

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Reviews

John Tipei deals in a careful and historically-sensitive manner with a wide range of evidence for the practice of the laying-on of hands in biblical and post-biblical Jewish literature and in the Graeco-Roman world. Within this framework, he is able toconsider the New Testament material dispassionately and in detail, asking appropriate theological questions about the significance of the practice in Christian tradition, but without seeking to press a particular denominational or party line. I know of no other work that does such a thorough job of laying out the biblical evidence within its historical framework, and I believe it will soon become a standard work of reference.>>--Rev Canon Professor Dr Loveday Alexander, The University of

Author Information

John F. Tipei serves as Associate Professor of Biblical Theology, Rector of the Pentecostal Theological Seminary of Bucharest, Romania, and is an Ordained Bishop with the Church of God, Cleveland, TN. He holds an MDiv degree from the Church of God Theological Seminary in Cleveland, TN and a PhD degree in Biblical Studies from the University of Sheffield, UK.

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