In this fundamental and at times provocative study, Walker demonstrates that Paul's letters contain later, non-Pauline additions or interpolations and that such interpolations can sometimes be identified with relative confidence. He begins by establishing that interpolations are to be assumed simply on a priori grounds, that direct text-critical evidence is not essential for their recognition, that the burden of proof in their identification is lighter than most have assumed, and that specific evidence for interpolation is often available.Successive chapters then argue that 1 Cor. 11.3-16,...

This book is a study of the Johannine Christian response to the fall of the Jerusalem Temple in 70 ce. A crucial text in this investigation is Jn 2.13-22 and its context, which provide a lens through which other texts in John are viewed. Kerr's examination of the Temple festivals of Passover, Tabernacles, Dedication suggests that in Jesus fulfils and replaces these, while in the case of the Sabbath he effects a transformation. The overall conclusion is that the Johannine Jesus replaces and fulfils the Jerusalem Temple.

Scholarly literature on Jesus has often attempted to relate his miracles to their Jewish context, but that context has not been surveyed in its own right. This volume fills that gap by examining both the ideas on miracle in Second Temple literature (including Josephus, Philo, the Dead Sea Scrolls, Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha) and the evidence for contemporary Jewish miracle workers. The penultimate chapter explores insights from cultural anthropology to round out the picture obtained from the literary evidence, and the study concludes that Jesus is distinctive as a miracle-worker in his...

This feminist approach to the Gospel of John explores the issue of the role of women in the Johannine Christian community. The author first examines in detail the relationship between the Jewish figure of Wisdom, known by the Greek name Sophia, and the Jesus of the Fourth Gospel. Secondly, he investigates what effect the use of a female figure as a basis for christological reflection have on the way in which women were portrayed in the Gospel. The deliberate choice of the feminine name Sophia caused problems for the writer of the Fourth Gospel in seeking to identify the exclusively female...

The author of Hebrews is not preoccupied with the concepts of the Hellenistic philosophers but with the ideas of the ancient world is frequently conveyed by the notion of 'sacred space', which the worshipper wishes to approach in order to gain access to the deity. Standing as he does within the religious tradition of Judaism, the author of Hebrews inherited notions of sacred space whereby it was identified with the land, Jerusalem, Zion and the sanctuary. He shares priestly concern, so Isaacs argues, to guard the sacred, to protect it from the profane, and to regulate the means whereby the...

Goulder and the Gospels is the first comprehensive response to the radical challenge Michael Goulder has posed for New Testament scholarship. Goulder dispenses with all hypothetical sources-Q, M and L and postulates highly creative evangelists who write in the light of the liturgy. In this penetrating critique, Goodacre provides a critical overview of Goulder's work, focusing on several key areas, the vocabulary of Q, the language of the Minor Agreements, the creativity of Luke and the lectionary theory. He does not simply assess the plausibility of Goulder's ideas but also develops new...

This book, the first comprehensive study of persecution in Luke-Acts from a literary and theological perspective, argues that the author uses the theme of persecution in pursuit of his theological agenda. It brings to the surface six theological functions of the persecution theme, which has an important paraenetic and especially apologetic role for Luke's persecuted community. The persecution Luke's readers suffer is evidence that they are legitimate recipients of God's salvific blessings.

This is the third in a series of conference papers on rhetorical criticism. Held in July 1995 in London, the conference included participants from the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and the Republic of South Africa. Part I is concerned with the past, present and future of rhetorical analysis; Parts II, III and IV are concerned with rhetorical analysis of scriptural texts; and Part V provides a conclusion reflecting on a number of questions raised in Part I. Most of the participants would characterize themselves as advocates of rhetorical criticism;...

This book explores the ways in which early Christian writers and communities, from late antiquity through the New Testament period, interpreted the scriptures of Israel, as they sought to understand Jesus and the Gospel in relation to God's revelation and past acts in history. These essays represent work on the growing edge of studies of the relationship of the Old Testament to the New Testament. The contents, authored by both veteran and younger scholars, treat methods and canons, Jesus and the Gospels, and Acts and the Epistles.