Oscar E. Jiménez. <i>Metaphors in the Narrative of Ephesians 2:11–22</i>

Jiménez likens his project to a drama, a heuristic framework he uses to describe and develop his thesis. Chapters 1 and 2 function as the introduction and “stage directions” for the rest of the drama. Over against previous work on Eph 2, Jiménez employs a cognitive narrative approach and argues that “a narrative structure is present in Eph 2:11–22,” that “the metaphors therein structure the text’s narrative,” and that “the ultimate goal of the narrative and the metaphors embedded within it is to influence the readers” (p. 12). These three arguments give rise to the book’s aim, which is to understand how the metaphors in Eph 2:11–22 fit within its narrative and to establish a reasonable and describable approximation of what the audience (the first readers) would have understood.Chapter 2 introduces two important theoretical frameworks for Jiménez’s study. First, he explains how narratives and metaphors are “tools for thinking” (p. 20). Drawing from the work of Barbara Dancygier, he proposes that “while metaphors elaborate and articulate particular points in a narrative, a narrative provides meaningful connections between apparently unrelated metaphors” (p. 21). Secondly, he introduces the cognitive linguistic framework for reading and understanding metaphor and metonymy that will undergird much of his exegesis. Scholars working on biblical metaphors or metonymies have much to profit from this second section. Overall, these theoretical foundations are essential for Jiménez’s broader argument, which understands Eph 2:11–22 as a metaphorical narrative, a drama.The bulk of the rest of the book consists of three chapters, each presenting an “act” in the drama of Eph 2:11–22. Chapter 3 begins with a grammatical analysis of vv. 11–13, which constitute Act I, “From Outsiders to Insiders.” Jiménez is attentive to the grammar, syntax, and literary background of the text and notes the three major metaphors employed to convey the theme of transformation in the text: Israel is a container, Christ is a container, and an emotional relationship is a distance between two entities (p. 52). These metaphors are the means by which the author of Ephesians (Jiménez neither affirms nor denies Pauline authorship) seeks to reframe his audience’s understanding of their identity as gentiles who, though not part of Israel, are now “in Christ” (2:13). Jiménez concludes that in this act, the author of Ephesians presents the “before” and “after” of his audience in fundamentally spatial terms—where they were/are—and highlights the benefits of now being in the “Christ container.”Eph 2:14–18 forms Act II and the focus of chapter 4. Here, the writer of Ephesians explains how the audience should understand themselves as a people vis-à-vis Judaism—as a new creation and a new humanity (2:15). The first scene (vv. 14–16) explains how the audience crossed through the boundary that separated those who were “far” from those who were “near” (v. 13). Jiménez further explains how the metaphor “Christ is peace” is an important narrative anchor, a kind of “place-holder” that may activate new narrative spaces and allow them to remain active, “but the spaces are elaborated gradually as the text unfolds” (p. 91). “Christ is peace” is a central metaphor developed side by side with “hostility is a physical structure” and “physical distance is relational distance.” In scene 2 (vv. 17–18), the author shows how the work of Christ enables the new humanity to arise out of two different ethnic/spatial positions (“far” and “near”) to a new position (“in Christ”), and how they now have access to the Father.Jiménez’s last exegetical chapter covers Act III (Eph 2:19–22). Whereas 2:14–18 focused on the reality of the audience’s new identity, vv. 19–22 elaborate on the nature of that new identity. Jiménez identifies three semantic frames the author evokes (via metaphors) as he presents the audience’s new realm (what Jiménez calls “God’s territory”): Nation (v. 19), Household (v. 19), and Temple (v. 21). Each of these are conceptual containers in which the author of Ephesians wants his audience to see themselves. In this way, the author presents what Christ has done for them in terms of taking them on a journey from the outside (where they were strangers and aliens), to the inside, into God’s territory, the nation of God’s people, his household, and his temple. Furthermore, “not only is the audience taken on a tour through different locations, but also their perception changes by visiting and inhabiting these places” (p. 134). Finally, the epilogue summarizes the contributions in the book and offers avenues for future research.As is the case with some volumes in the LBS series, Jiménez’s work aims to apply insights from cognitive linguistics to the biblical exegesis. As such, the book provides a methodological and exegetical contribution to the task of interpreting Eph 2:11–22. Jiménez offers many important insights into how the audience would have received the text and explains how the metaphorical narrative of the text shaped their new identity as those who were once far off but have now been brought near.