"What is the lesson of that other, newly sprung tree (the cross) in whose bark Mark has carved his Gospel (for this is a book that bleeds)? Is it that Jesus's body, grafted onto the cross, became one with it, and thus became tree, branch, book, and leaf, inscribed with letters of blood, can now at last be read, no longer an indecipherable code but an open codex? And that in its (now) re(a)d(able) ink, lately invisible, the message that was scratched into the fig tree is transcribed: outside the gates, but only just, the summer Son is shining in full strength?"--Stephen D. Moore In this book Stephen D. Moore offers a dazzling new reading of the Gospels of Mark and Luke, applying the poststructuralist techniques of Derrida, Lacan, and Foucault to illuminate these texts in a way that no one has done before. Written with wit and a sensitivity to words--and wordplay--that is reminiscent of Moore's fellow countryman James Joyce, the book is also deeply learned, impressive in its detailed knowledge of previous scholarship as well as in the challenges it presents to that scholarship. Moore argues that whereas the language of the Gospels is concrete, pictorial, and often startling, the language of modern gospel scholarship tends to be propositional and abstract. Calling himself a New Test-what-is-meant scholar, he approaches the Gospels of Mark and Luke as though they were pictograms or dreamwork to decipher and interpret, writing a response that is no less visceral and immediate than the biblical texts themselves.

Paying special attention to chapters 56-66, David Baer analyses the labour that resulted in the Greek Isaiah. He compares the Greek text with extant Hebrew texts and with early biblical versions to show that the translator has approached his craft with homiletical interests in mind. This earliest translator of Isaiah produces a preached text, at the same time modifying his received tradition in theological and nationalistic directions which would reach their full flower in Targumic and Rabbinical literature. In basic agreement with recent work on other portions of the Septuagint, the Greek Isaiah is seen to be an elegant work of Hellenistic literature whose linguistic fluidity expresses the convictions and longings of a deeply Palestinian soul.>

In this challenging new work, Nielsen compares Herodotus with Old Testament historiography as represented by the so-called Deuteronomistic History. He finds in the Old Testament evidence of a tragic form like that encountered in Herodotuss Histories. Nielsen begins by outlining Herodotuss Greek context with its roots in Ionic natural philosophy, the epic tradition and Attic tragedy, and goes on to analyse in some detail the outworking of the Herodotean tragedy. Against that background, the Deuteronomistic History is to be viewed as an ancient Near Eastern historiographic text in the tragic tradition.

Vain Rhetoric explores how Ecclesiastes manipulates various strategies from the arsenal of ambiguity to communicate the strengths and limitations of both private insight and public knowledge. The Book of Ecclesiastes, like many ancient and modern first-person discourses, generates ambivalent responses in its readers. The book's rhetorical strategy produces both acceptance of, and suspicion towards, the major positions argued by the author. 'Vain rhetoric' aptly describes the persuasive and dissuasive properties of the narrator's peculiar characterization. It also describes how the Book of Ecclesiates, with its abundant use of rhetorical questions, constant gapping techniques, and other strategies from the arsenal of ambiguity, is a stunning testimony to the power of the various strategies of indirection to communicate to the reader something of his or her own rhetorical liabilities and limitations, as well as those of the religious community in general.

As against traditional cultic and sociological interpretations of the 'I' Psalms, this original study stresses the 'I' as a literary figure. Yet on the other hand, the historical interest of the traditional models is retained, here with emphasis on 'original' function and intent. There is a common set of central motifs related to the 'I'-figure, most easily discernible when referring to categories of locality. The 'I' is depicted in a sacred landscape of contrasting localities-'Sheol' and 'Temple' connected by the concept of 'Way'. This motif structure deploys an ideological language in which the 'I' figure is an embodiment of a religious paradigm, that attests a process of actualization and integration. The religiosity of these texts is of a mystical character, pointing to some religious practice of intense personal character aimed at experience of a divine reality. No doubt the social location of such experience was among the elite, but some texts hint at a possible 'democratization' of the religious practice they portray.>

For over one hundred years International Critical Commentaries have had a special place among works on the Bible. They bring together all the relevant aids to exegesis - linguistic, textual, archaeological, historical, literary, and theological - to help the reader understand the meaning of the books of the Old and New Testaments. The new commentaries continue this tradition. All new evidence now available is incorporated and new methods of study are applied. The authors are of the highest international standing. No attempt has been made to secure a uniform theological or critical approach to the biblical text: contributors have been invited for their scholarly distinction, not for their adherence to any one school of thought.

Intended to appeal to both Christians and Jews,A Rabbi Looks at Jesus' Parables is an introduction to the teachings of Jesus, and compares the similarities and differences in Jesus' thinking to other Jewish sources from first-century Palestine. Each chapter uncovers hidden messages within each of Jesus' parables, and discusses each parable within its first-century religious and historical context. The book attempts to build bridges of understanding between Christians and Jews by exploring the notion that we share a common history.

Virtue amidst Vice represents an attempt to probe a relatively obscure portion of a relatively obscure New Testament document. 2 Peter reflects a social setting that presents a most daunting pastoral challenge. The danger confronting the Christian community is a lapse in ethical standards and a return-whether by mere forgetfulness or in wholesale apostasy-to the former way of life. 2 Peter's prophetic and paraenetic response borrows from the moral grammar of contemporary moral philosophers in exhorting the readers to recall-and validate through virtuous living-the faith they have received. The theme of the moral life runs throughout 2 Peter, with the various components of the author's literary arsenal subordinated to this thematic development. It is the function of the catalogue of virtues (1.5-7) both to introduce and to anchor the author's call to repel moral scepticism and reinvigorate the moral life.

Through exegetical studies of 1 Corinthians and Galatians, John Lewis shows how Paul synthesises theology and ethics - which interpreters frequently separate - as integrated aspects of Christian thinking and living. This fusion becomes evident in Paul's complex process of theological, moral reasoning that lies beneath the surface of his letters for which we have coined the phrase 'theo-ethical reasoning'. The book also examines how Paul encourages his churches to apply this theo-ethical reasoning in the community practice of spiritual discernment - a dialogical, comparative process of reasoned reflection on behaviour and experience. Through this practice of looking for life, community members are led by the Spirit as they reason together, attempting to associate the manifestations of new life with conduct that faithfully portrays Christ's self-giving pattern. This correlation of conduct with experience grounds Paul's own proclamation of Jesus Christ in word and deed. It also becomes the foundation for believers' faith and hope as they come to know Christ and experience the power of God. Thus, the book concludes that the practice of spiritual discernment by means of theo-ethical reasoning lies at the centre of Paul's religion.

*Uses both a narratological and historical-critical method to read these specific passages of Jeremiah *Demonstrates that the story of Jeremiah and Zedekiah is not the typical god prophet/bad king story found in much of prophetic literature and the Deuteronomic History *Provides an intertextual reading of the passages which connects Jeremiah to other figures in the Old Testament The book offers a narratological and intertextual reading of Jeremiah 37:1-40:6, a text that features the dynamic interaction between the prophet Jeremiah and King Zedekiah in the context of events surrounding the fall of Jerusalem. While there have been many literary studies of biblical texts, there has been little such work on the narratives in the book of Jeremiah. This fact is surprising since the Jeremianic stories are narrated in a lively and sophisticated manner and contain complex characters and vivid dialogue and action, reminiscent of texts in the Primary History which have received much more literary attention. Roncace's book begins to uncover the richness of the prophetic narratives in Jeremiah. The study focuses on issues of characterization and point of view as well as the text's connections with other passages in the book of Jeremiah and those beyond it, particularly the Deuteronomistic History. Roncace argues that the text develops complex images of both Zedekiah and Jeremiah. It is not a story of the good prophet and the bad king; times as chaotic and confusing as the final days of Jerusalem do not call for a black-and-white story. Rather the text invites both sympathy and criticism for Jeremiah and Zedekiah. Jeremiah is the embattled prophet of God; yet at times he appears deceptive and manipulative, more concerned about his own well-being than that of the people, and his message can be ambiguous and in the end is not fully correct. Zedekiah, for his part, appears receptive to Jeremiah's word and protects the prophet from others who would harm him; yet he is too irresolute to take any action to save the city. The ambiguity in the portrayals of both figures is further developed by intertextual connections. Jeremiah can be compared to Moses, the Rabshakeh, Daniel, Joseph, Samuel, Nathan, and Micaiah, while Zedekiah can be compared to the monarchs that correspond to these figures (Pharaoh, Hezekiah, Saul, David, and Ahab).

This work investigates the social dynamics within the Corinthian community and the function of Pauls argumentation in the light of those dynamics. The models of Victor Turner and Mary Douglas, cultural anthropologists, guide the inquiry. Gordon concludes that the conflict in 1 Corinthians 7 arose as the result of two antithetical views of the root metaphor, In Christ all are children of God, no male and female. One group supported a kinship system based on patrilineal marriage and hierarchical community structures. A second group demanded that an egalitarian sibling relationship should order the community. Paul attempts to persuade both factions that their commitment to each other and to him is primary. His arguments encourage each group to reconsider the absoluteness of its stance and to learn to live with ambiguity.

An investigative study into where, how and why Luke interacts with Isaiah. References to Isaiah occur at key points in the narrative, typically introducing the mission of main characters and outlining or summarising the overall plot, suggesting that Luke utilises Isaiah as part of his interpretive framework. The overarching theme drawn from Isaiah appears to be the servant's mission to bring salvation to all people (Isa 49:6). Luke's careful selection and radical interpretation of Isaianic texts highlights surprising aspects of this theme. These include the nature and scope of salvation, the necessary suffering role of the Messiah and its connection with the proclamation of salvation, and the unexpected response to the message by Israel and the nations. Mallen's study rehabilitates the importance of the servant motif for Luke, not in terms of atonement or as a christological title but rather in supplying the job description for Jesus' messianic mission and that of his followers.

Nelson Estrada examines the apostles' transformation of status from followers to leaders in Acts 1-2. He challenges the common view that Acts 1:12-14 is the preparation for the coming of the Spirit in Acts 2, and that the sole purpose of Acts 1:15-26 is to set the number of the aposties at twelve-in line with Jesus' prophecy in Luke 22:30. Instead, Estrada reads Acts 1:12-14 and 1:15-26 as primarily propagandistic in nature. He argues that these pericopes promote the leadership integrity of the apostles by attempting to win the support of the women disciples and Jesus' family and then, through Judas' excommunication, extirpation, and replacement, to win that of the 120 disciples.

This study explores the dynamics of violence within John's Gospel, focusing on the portrayal of the character of Jesus. It offers an understanding of the Johannine Jesus that counters the traditional model of a serene figure who maintains sovereign control over his environment. Establishing the prevalence of material indicating opposition to Jesus, it argues that his experience and perception of victimization are key to his identity. Furthermore, it is suggested that Jesus colludes with his victimizers, raising the issue of who is responsible for his betrayal and death. Drawing on the disciplines of victimology, literary criticism and liberation theology, the work comprises targeted exegesis of substantial portions of the Gospel, revealing the prominence of the theme of violence and raising a number of christological questions.