C.H. Turner pioneered the study of the language and style of Mark's Gospel in a series of articles in the 1920s entitled "Notes on Marcan usage." All but one appeared in the Journal of Theological Studies -- one further "Note" is published now for the first time. It is Turner's articles, reprinted with editorial additions, that form the backbone of the present book. Comparable articles by those who have followed in C.H. Turner's footsteps (G.D. Kilpatrick, J.K. Elliott, N. Turner) are also included. Some of these are published for the first time. These studies into the language, style...

New Directions in Biblical Theology contains the papers of an international conference on Biblical Theology which was organized by the Faculty of Theology of Aarhus University on the occasion of its 50th anniversary. The papers delivered at the conference address a number of fundamental issues evolving from the recently revived debate on Biblical Theology. The first group of contributions deals with essential topics such as the biblical concept of revelation, and the interpretation of the Old Testament as presented by the apostle Paul, by the evangelists Matthew, Mark and John, and by...

The primary focus of this study is the question of the extent and impact of Old Testament traditions in Ephesians. A close examination of the range of quotations, allusions and echoes found in the epistle shows that the Old Testament influence was greater and more deliberate than has hitherto been assumed.
The main part of the book is a thorough exegetical study of various aspects of the question, ranging from identification of the relevant Old Testament texts to an examination of the ways in which they are appropriated and applied in the New Testament context. A number of implications...

This volume analyzes the "Q materials" in the light of compositional conventions of ancient instructional genres. The author begins by assessing literary-critical approaches to Q which began with Harnack and have culminated in the work of Kloppenborg, Sato, and others. Next he articulates a theory of genre analysis drawn from text-linguistics, literary criticism, and rhetorical criticism. An array of ancient paraenetic texts is used to generate genre-critical models, in turn applied comprehensively to the double tradition materials. The results are used to critically assess recent...

These studies focus on personal eschatology in the Jewish and early Christian apocalypses. The apocalyptic tradition from its Jewish origins until the early middle ages is studied as a continuous literary tradition, in which both continuity of motifs and important changes in understanding of life after death can be charted.
As well as better known apocalypses, major and often pioneering attention is given to those neglected apocalypses which portray human destiny after death in detail, such as the Apocalypse of Peter, the Apocalypse of the
Seven Heavens, the later apocalypses of Ezra,...

This collection of frequently cited articles and chapters published from 1962 to 2004 provides perspective on the history and development of New Testament textual criticism, with descriptions and critique of the major text-critical theories and methods. Specific manuscripts and text-types, such as the Codex Bezae and the D-text are discussed, as well as issues such as anti-Judaic tendencies, the ascension narratives, and the relationship of text and canon. Many of the essays from the last fifteen years emphasize the earliest period and papyrus manuscripts, particularly those found at...

This volume contains a collection of essays in honour of Bernard C. Lategan, a renowned specialist on the modern reception of the New Testament. Besides offering anayses of Lategan's own contribution to New Testament scholarship, the essays present and discuss interpretations of the New Testament from antiquity through contemporary critical scholarship. Topics covered include hermeneutical issues of historical Jesus research, intertextuality in antiquity, the interpretation of the New Testament in Africa, and the New Testament as literature. The collection thus provides a representative...

Astutely reading the writings of early Christianity as part of the lively conversation of the Graeco-Roman world, Robert M. Grant helped reshape the study of the New Testament and early Christianity for scholars in the United States and Europe. Reading Religions in the Ancient World honors his work with sixteen essays by his colleagues and students, arranged under the headings of Classical Studies, New Testament Studies and Patristic Studies. These essays reflect and extend the research interests of the honoree; signal the breadth and depth of Professor Grant's own scholarly interests...

A much-overlooked aspect of the Gospel of Matthew is the theme of heaven and earth. Rather than being a reverential circumlocution for God, 'heaven' in Matthew is part of a highly developed discourse of heaven and earth language. Matthew's idiolectic way of using heaven language consists of four aspects: 1) a distinction in meaning between singular and plural forms of ouranos; 2) frequent use of the heaven and earth word pair; 3) regular reference to the Father in heaven; and 4) the recurrent use of the Matthean expression, kingdom of heaven. This book examines the historical...

This volume investigates the early, second-century reception of the Fourth Gospel. This is an era when its fortunes are surrounded by silence and mystery. It was assumed, until quite recently, that Gnostic and other so-called heterodox groups were the first ones to appreciate this gospel, and hence the mainstream Christians avoided using it until Irenaeus rescued it for the church. Lately, this view has been challenged by several scholars for several reasons. The contributions in this volume, written by leading specialists in their respective fields, offer an approachable, fresh,...