Kategoria BISAC: Religion >> Biblical Studies - History & Culture

Persepolis and Jerusalem reconsiders Iranian influence upon Jewish apocalyptic, and offers grounds upon which such study may proceed. After describing the history of scholarship on the question of Iranian influence and on Jewish apocalyptic, Jason M. Silverman reformulates the methodology for understanding apocalyptic and influence. Two chapters set the discussion firmly in the Achaemenid Empire, describing the sources for Iranian religion, the issues involved in attempting a historical reconstruction, the methodology by which one can date the various texts and ideas, and the...

Decisive Meals discusses various aspects of meal traditions and their relevance in terms of boundaries between different groups in the context of first century Judaism and the early Christ-movement.

The contributors discuss different communities at different times and places - under the same focus of common meals: The postexilic community in Judaea, the Pauline communities in Asia Minor, as well as in the Roman dominated city of Caesarea and the Hellenistic Jewish community and the emerging rabbinical community - each time a community is affected through the sharing of meals, but...

In The Meaning of the Bible: What the Jewish Scriptures and Christian Old Testament Can Teach Us, preeminent biblical scholars Douglas A. Knight and Amy-Jill Levine deliver a broad and engaging introduction to the Old Testament--also known as the Tanakh or Hebrew Bible--offering a wealth of compelling historical background and context for the sacred literature that is at the heart of Judaism and Christianity. John Shelby Spong, author of Re-Claiming the Bible for a Non-Religious World writes, "Levine and Knight have combined to write a book on the Bible that is as...

Francois Bovon and Christopher Matthews utilize manuscript evidence gathered within the last half-century to provide a new translation of the apocryphal "Acts of Philip." Discovered by Bovon in 1974 at the Xenophontos monastery in Greece, the manuscript is widely known as one of the most unabridged copies of the "Acts" yet discovered. Bovon and Matthews' new translation incorporates this witness to the Greek text, which sheds new light on the history of earliest Christianity."

Combining the insights of many leading New Testament scholars writing on the use of social identity theory this new reference work provides a comprehensive handbook to the construction of social identity in the New Testament. Part one examines key methodological issues and the ways in which scholars have viewed and studied social identity, including different theoretical approaches, and core areas or topics which may be used in the study of social identity, such as food, social memory, and ancient media culture.

Part two presents worked examples and in-depth textual studies covering...

These essays explore new methods and overlooked traditionsthat appear to shed light on how the founders of the Christian movementunderstood the older sacred tradition and sought new and creative ways to letit speak to their own times.

Gurtner discusses the Matthean version of the temptation narrative. Chandlerinvestigates the exhortation to 'love your neighbour as yourself' from Lev.19.18b. Talbot re-examines Jesus' offer of rest in Mt. 11.28-30. Myers exploresthe ways Matthew's appeal to Isa. 42.1-4 in Mt. 12.17-21 affects thecharacterization of Jesus in his...

Leading New Testament scholar Warren Carter has a record of providing student-friendly texts. This introduction offers a "big picture" focus and is logically and memorably organized around seven events, which Carter uses as launching pads to discuss larger cultural...

Myers addresses John's use of Moses traditions in his characterization of Jesus. Stewart examines the Johannine use of Ps. 82 by merging a broader contextual examination with an analysis of formal logic. Moyise discusses Paul's quotations adn explores their relevance for the scholarly consensus. Lincicum studies Paul's letters and the Temple Scroll and compares their exegetical practice with references to Deuteronomy. Wells discusses the topic of divine and human agency in Pauline theology and soteriology. Luckensmeyer investigates how Paul wove words, phrases, and themes from Obadiah into...

It is sometimes difficult for today's African-American women to remember how important they are to God. The noise of day-to-day tasks and to-dos combined the with the undeniable struggles that face African-American women each day can make it easy to forget that Jesus treated the women of the New Testament with respect and spiritual equality, and how frequently God used women to carry out His purpose.

Through the examples of powerful women in the Bible She Speaks helps African-American women find relevance, purpose, and identity in the Word of God. Each chapter offers a...

How did Israel become a people? Is the biblical story accurate? In what sense, if any, is the biblical story true? Are the origins of these ancient people lost in myth or is there hope to discovering who they were and how they lived? These questions divide students and scholars alike.

While many believe the "Conquest" is only a fable, this book will present a different view. Using biblical materials and the new archaeological data, this title tells how the ancient Israelites settled in Canaan and became the people of Israel.

The stakes for understanding the history of ancient...