This work is a collection of essays on the Palestinian Judaic background of Mark 5:1-20; Luke 4:16-30; the name Judas 'Iscariot'; Luke 19:41-44; John 8:56-58; Matt 24:28; Luke 17:37; Luke 13:34b, and Matthew 23:37b.

Matthew 1-2 and the Virginal Conception examines early Palestinian and Hellenistic Jewish accounts of the birth of Israel's first redeemer, Moses. The author shows how these accounts provide the background of Mary's "virginal conception" of Jesus, Israel's final redeemer, in Matthew 1-2.

In contrast to common opinion, Roger David Aus explores the positive aspects of the Apostle Paul's use of the image of 'triumphing' in Second Corinthians 2:14. Through detailed analysis of both Greco-Roman and Judaic texts, this exciting new work completely revises recent interpretations of this decisive passage. Aus illuminates it with expert precision and identifies the roots of imagery such as the 'triumphal procession in Christ, ' 'fragrance of the knowledge of him, ' and the 'aroma of Christ.' The origin of these and other images in verses 14-17 is found in both the Roman custom of a...

These five essays deal with the influence of Judaic haggadah or lore, especially in the form of "creative historiography" or "imaginative dramatization," on four enigmatic passages in the Gospels, and one in Acts. They point to their deeper theological truths and negate the alternatives of true or false, historical or non-historical, usually applied to the narratives.