New Testament Manuscripts: Their Texts and Their World comprises twelve essays dealing with manuscripts of the New Testament and/or what we can learn from them today. Starting from different angles the contributors -- distinguished scholars of international reputation -- focus on the fascinating and thrilling stories manuscripts tell, for instance about the times they were produced in or the people who handled them. The multitude of manuscripts used for establishing the critical text of the New Testament is often only perceived as abbreviations in form of single letters or numerals,...

Das Evangelium nach Petrus gehort zu den faszinierendsten apokryphen Texten des 2. Jahrhunderts. Die Arbeiten des vorliegenden Bandes beschaftigen sich mit der Frage nach der Rekonstruktion seines Textes und damit verbundenen philologischen Fragen, nach den moglichen Kontexten seiner Entstehung und nach Intertexten, die fur seine Interpretation bedeutsam werden konnen. Dabei gelingen zum Teil uberraschende, zum Teil kontroverse Einsichten in die Theologie dieses Textes.

After a general introduction Thomas J. Kraus points out the value of assessing original manuscripts for a profound knowledge of early Christianity. This is done with the help of seventeen of his essays previously published in diverse journals or books now translated into English, enlarged by the current status quo of research, and set in a logical sequence.

As the value and importance of the non-canonical Jesus tradition continues to be recognized, there is an ever-increasing need for scholarly introductions to this tradition. This co-edited edition comprises the Greek critical editions, with full translations, of several key gospel fragments including P.Egerton 2, P. Oxy. 840, and P.Oxy. 1224. These fragments, preserved despite the widespread destruction of non-canonical manuscripts, are invaluable primary witnesses of ancient Christianity and the transmission of early Christian texts. Introductions to the fragments discuss dates, origins,...

The book presents diplomatic transcriptions (in Greek) and translations (in German and English) of all the known textual fragments which can be attributed to what is known as the Gospel of Peter and the Apocalypse of Peter or which scholars are discussing as possible elements of these texts. In addition, the documentation of the texts in ancient times is considered, and there is a brief discussion of the philological problems involved. With concordances.

The Book of Revelation is a peculiar text whose special status in early Christianity is manifested by its manuscript attestation, transmission, literary references and discussions among early Church writers. This special status forms the nucleus of these collected essays and is highlighted from various perspectives. Nowadays of course, the Apocalypse has become a treasure trove of famous motifs for artists, composers, poets and novelists. On the other hand, however, it also appears to be something of a bon mot in that its manuscript tradition is rather sparse and highly distinctive. With the...