In this careful study, the unparalleled sayings in Matthew (the 'M' sayings) are investigated as a source of evidence for a reconstruction of the history of the community in which the various traditions were preserved. Using a wide range of criteria, Dr Brooks isolates fourteen 'M' sayings from major concentrations of unparalleled material in Matt. 5.17-6.18 and chs. 10 and 23, supplementing these with four additional sayings. The picture of the traditions that emerges provides the basis for a new hypothesis that reconstructs a three-stage history of the Matthean community, thereby...

Mark has written a remarkable Gospel. Deceptively simple on the surface, its mystery and ambiguity have intrigued and challenged scholar and lay reader alike. Through veiled clues, controlled word usage and carefully contrived ambiguity, Mark embeds profound theological reflections in the stories he tells. The eschatological discourse (Mark 13) is a prime example. Modern scholars have attempted in vain to eliminate the ambiguities of Mark 13. Does Mark expect the End to come very soon? What is the relationship between the Fall of the Temple and the End of the Age? But the evidence...

The author concentrates on Matthew's explicit references and allusions to the prophet Jeremiah, and as a result sheds fresh light upon an important and distinctive theme in Matthew's Gospel. Taking a theme never examined in detail before, and using the varied resources of sociological criticism and Jewish studies, Knowles makes an original and substantial contribution to Matthaean scholarship.

This volume collects the best articles on the Synoptic gospels from the first fifty issues of the Journal for the Study of the New Testament. The range of the volume reflects the breadth of the journal itself. Here the reader will find ground-breaking studies that introduce new critical questions and move into fresh areas of enquiry, surveys of the state of play in this particular topic of New Testament studies, and articles that engage with each other in specific debates. For undergraduates this book offers an invaluable critical introduction to Synoptic Gospel studies. More advanced...

These hymns, the Magnificat, Benedictus and Nunc Dimittis, are a familiar part of Christian liturgy; but their origin is uncertain, their meaning debated and their significance within Luke-Acts often ignored. This monograph argues that they were composed in Hebrew by Jewish-Christian poets, and were incorporated by the evangelist as anticipating certain key themes of his own work.

Many recent studies recognize the feature of reversal in individual narratives in Luke. What contribution do they make to Luke's eschatology, and how do they enable us to define the historical audience of Luke's Gospel? York's study focuses on the numerous sayings, parables, and narratives in Luke that exhibit a double or 'bi-polar' reversal of fortunes. It concludes that this rhetorical form is a fundamental element in Luke's understanding of the death and resurrection of Jesus and the nature of life in the Kingdom inaugurated by Jesus.

Matthew has been described as an 'inclusive story', in which the experiences of the evangelist's post-Easter church are inscribed in the story of Jesus's earthly ministry. This book explores the inclusive nature of the Gospel by means of reader-response literary criticism. Some recent redaction studies of Matthew are reviewed from the perspective of reader-response criticism. Then, in an attempt to understand the interpretative moves readers make, Matthew's story, story-teller and audience are examined.

This book offers a distinctive solution to the interpretative difficulties surrounding Matthew's Missionary Discourse. While the discourse proper lies within a narrative framework designating the setting of its delivery, the outlined mission does not at all points agree with the designated setting. Weaver shifts attention from historical-critical to literary-critical concerns. Rather than focusing on the historical setting(s) of the disciples' mission(s), she analyses the role of Mt. 9.35-11.1 within its literary setting in the Gospel and assesses the impact of this text on the reader of...

An examination of the literary device of narrative asides, including parenthetical remarks addressed directly to the reader which interrupt the logical progression of the story and establish a relationship between the narrator and the narratee. Narrative asides in Luke-Acts are located, categorized according to their function, and examined within their literary context. With this discussion in mind, the book offers a narrative-critical exploration of the relationship of asides to the plot, narrator, and audience of Luke-Acts.

This book seeks to rehabilitate the Q hypothesis as the most satisfactory explanation of the so-called double tradition.