Early Christology must focus not simply on "historical" but also on theological ideas found in contemporary Jewish thought and practice. In this book, a range of distinguished contributors considers the context and formation of early Jewish and Christian devotion to God alone-the emergence of "monotheism." The idea of monotheism is critically examined from various perspectives, including the history of ideas, Graeco-Roman religions, early Jewish mediator figures, scripture exegesis, and the history of its use as a theological category.

The studies explore different ways of conceiving...

In what sense does Matthew's Gospel reflect the colonial situation in which the community found itself after the fall of Jerusalem and the subsequent humiliation of Jews across the Roman Empire? To what extent was Matthew seeking to oppose Rome's claims to authority and sovereignty over the whole world, to set up alternative systems of power and society, to forge new senses of identity? If Matthew's community felt itself to be living on the margins of society, where did it see the centre as lying? In Judaism or in Rome? And how did Matthew's approach to such problems compare with that of Jews...