C.H.Dodd, "Hilaskesthai" and His Critics

Abstract

Jeremias prefaces his magisterial study on the parables with a tribute to the equally great contribution made by C.H.Dodd. Jeremias remarks that it is inconcievable that future studies will go back behind Dodd; his work, in other words, is the turning point of parable studies, the place of departure for all subsequent investigations. The same is true of Dodd's essay on exilaskomai. At first reading he appears to have said the last word on this debate; the years have not endorsed that first impression. If it has not proved definitive, it remains, however, true, that it is impossible to go back bahind Dodd's study. It may not be final, but it is the point of departure for any present-day study.