The Apostle Paul expected the vast majority of the recipients of his letters to hear, not read, them. He structured his compositions for the ear rather than the eye. Pauline audiences would hear clues to meaning and structure because they had learned to communicate in a world where those clues were essential to understanding. Recognizable structures and patterns were essential for listeners to organize what they heard, to follow, to predict and to remember the flow of communication. Oral Biblical Criticism examines Paul's Epistle to the Philippians in light of recent study of oral principles of composition and interpretation.

In The Branches of the Gospel of John, Keefer presents a new paradigm for understanding the role of history of interpretation in New Testament studies, with a focus on the Gospel of John. Drawing largely from the work of Hans Robert Jauss, he presents history of interpretation as a means to understand both the text and the historical reader. Jauss's concept of Rezeptionsasthetik helps the New Testament scholar to reflect upon both text and history in a new light. John is an exemplary work to investigate along these lines because no other canonical book was as provocative in the early church. John was used extensively by Valentinians but also by the best-known opponent of Valentinus, Irenaeus. Later, major figures such as Origen, Augustine, and John Chrysostom worked through this gospel, chapter by chapter, to produce either commentaries (Origen) or sets of homilies (Augustine and Chrysostom). What emerges in The Branches of the Gospel of John is a realization that these early interpreters prove fruitful for both textual and historical study of the Fourth Gospel. With regard to history, early interpreters of John provide data points for understanding John in second- and third-century contexts. Although these early interpretations do not explain the origins of John's gospel, they nevertheless provide us with evidence of the Fourth Gospel's historical role in the construction of the early church. With regard to literary and textual issues, the present book demonstrates that these early readings of John can open up fresh avenues of interpretation for contemporary readers.

Rhetoric ad Social Justice in Isaiah applies a literary methodology to the book of Isaiah in order critically to explore the nature and sources of the social justice encoded in the world created by the text. After a close reading of Isaiah 1: 16, 17, Gray establishes grounds for a trajectory to Isaiah 58, preparatory to examining if it offers a deepening of the concept of social justice in the Isaianic corpus. Gray raises the issue of divine reliability to assess the impact on the theme of social justice of the rhetoric of universal punishment by the divine/prophetic voice. He evaluates the ways the stark Isaianic dichotomy between reliance on God and anything of human origin is affected by trust in God being destabilized: if trust in God is demonstrated to be difficult on account of legitimate doubts about divine justice, then the way is opened for retaining an active human role in the search for justice. Gray demonstrates the ways that social justice attains primacy in Isaiah, the ways that humanity if given a role in pursuing social justice, and the ways that Isaiah 58 impinges upon the idea of social justice within the book as a whole.

The various versions of the Infancy Gospels illustrate how stories about the Virgin and Child lend themselves to be told and retold - much like the stories in the canonical Gospels. This first translation of the full text of the Armenian Gospel of the Infancy, itself derived from a sixth-century Syriac text that no longer exists, provides two variants of the famous narrative and several recensions or ancient editions. Stories about Jesus, many of them unique to this gospel, are included to show how he exercised his sovereign and divine will even as a child. This edition also contains three early Armenian versions of the Protevangelium of James, which with other ancient sources dependent on it (like the Infancy Gospel of Thomas and the Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew) constitute the basic tradition in the formation of the later Infancy Gospels. These writings are our earliest sources about the parents of the Virgin Mary (Joachim and Anne) and her miraculous birth. They also form the basis for the dogma of her Immaculate Conception and perpetual virginity after the birth of Jesus, and lay the ground for certain of the Marian feasts celebrated since the fourth century. Terian's engaging introduction and annotation of the texts place this rare document clearly in its cultural and historical context and provide extensive references to the surrounding textual tradition. These extraordinary stories will appeal to all with an interest in the early church.

The Gospel of Mary, the only known Gospel that is named after a woman, has aroused new interest in the figure of Mary Magdalene and the beginnings of Christianity. What were her impact and her message? What became of her and her ideas? This book examines the Gospel of Mary to discover what it reveals about Mary Magdalene and to determine the origin of its portrayal. It proposes a new perspective on matter and nature in the Gospel of Mary, suggesting that it is not to be categorized as a Gnostic writing. Furthermore, the study argues that Mary's teaching in the Gospel of Mary is more closely related to the writings of Philo, the letters of Paul and the Gospel of John than to the Nag Hammadi Codices. As such, the Gospel of Mary and its portrayal of Mary Magdalene cannot be seen as evidence of a specific Gnostic esteem for Mary Magdalene, but rather demonstrates the esteem of believers belonging to a broader Christian context. portrayals of Mary Magdalene in the New Testament, analyses their concepts of discipleship and their views on women, and investigates its historical 'reality'. Esther de Boer concludes that the portrayal of Mary Magdalene in the Gospel of Mary is close to that in the Gospel of John, and investigates the possibility that she is concealed in the grammatically male Johannine disciple loved by Jesus. Volume 260 of the Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplements

This new commentary is organized around a distinctive discourse analysis of the small prophetic book of Haggai, and an appreciation of its tightly crafted narrative. Identifying six discrete oracles from the prophet Haggai, Meadowcroft structures his analysis of the narrative around those six oracles. Thematically, the centre of Haggai's prophecy is the role of the temple within the life of the people of God. The desolation of the temple is bound up with the desolation of the land and the desolation of the people on the land. Rebuilding the temple will be the means to break the cycle of desolation. But things are more complex than that. Rebuilding the temple must happen within the fraught imperial context; and rebuilding the temple will foreground a tension between institutional life and the life of the Spirit. Contextualizing Haggai in today's world, Meadowcroft offers an extensive prolegomenon on reading Haggai as scripture. In it he hears a challenge to the Church in the West and a call to rediscover humanity's priestly role in the temple of an environment under threat of desolation.

The conversations in this collection open by challenging ideas that have become standard and subjecting them to critical re-examination. The central thread of all these essays is a reflection on the processes of reading and theologizing. Many focus on the relation of Paul to the energetic and complex Judaism of the 1st century, and one reads the Gospel of John in this light. Others highlight eschatology. Among the contributors to this volume are David E. Aune, Jouette Bassler, Daniel Boyarin, Neil Elliott, Victor Paul Furnish, Lloyd Gaston, Steven J. Kraftchick, Robert C. Morgan, J. Andrew Overman, Mark Reasoner, Peter Richardson, and Robin Scroggs. Juanita Garciagodoy and David H. Hopper offer appreciations of Calvin Roetzel as a teacher and colleague.

The Bible and Western culture is a burgeoning area of interest in recent scholarship, but comparatively little has been written on the Bible and music. Leneman's is a groundbreaking work, making some pioneering forays across an important interdisciplinary divide. The Performed Bible is an in-depth study of the librettos and music of 12 operas and oratorios on the story of Ruth from the last two centuries, establishing the potential of music, as a kind of midrash, for transforming a Bible text, its narrative and its characterization. The book includes detailed analyses of musical segments, the author being a cantor and professional musician in whose Jewish tradition biblical texts are chanted, not read. This fresh and insightful work will no doubt prove attractive to biblical scholars, to musicians and to music lovers generally.

Employing a formalistic analysis set within a broad tradition-history context, this analysis investigates the relationship between Passion story and Gospel story in Mark. Broadhead looks especially at the narrative morphology and narrative syntax of individual stories, their relation to the Passion account, and their interaction with the larger world of the narrative. He reveals in Mark 14-16 a carefully-crafted text which is intimately linked to the larger Gospel story. This is particularly true of the strategies of characterization and of the christological portrait they support. This book invites reconsideration of basic questions about Mark: its nature and purpose; the role of the community behind it; assumptions about authorial intention; patterns of development for the Gospel tradition; and the form and function of the Gospel genre.

1 Cor 8.1-11.1 is concerned with the subject of idolatry in first-century Christianity and ancient Judaism. Jews and Christians differ over what constitutes idolatry, and even within ancient Judaism and early Christianity there was no consensus. In this book, a set of definitions are created, which are applied to the examination of the various relevant Diaspora Jewish literature, inscriptions and papyri, and finally, the NT passage. This examination reveals different attitudes adopted by different Jews towards idolatry, which serve as parallels to the three positions in 1 Cor 8.1-11.1, 'the strong', 'the weak', and Paul. The resolution of the issue of idolatry lies in the question of who determines what is idolatrous and what constitutes proper Christian behaviour. This is accomplished through a comparison and contrast between leadership structures within Diaspora Jewish assemblies and the Corinthian church. Almost all the definitions of idolatry set up are operative in Paul, whose way of resolving the issue of idolatry is by appeal to biblical history. By insisting on his authority, as the founding apostle and father of the Corinthian church, Paul can issue the injunction to the 'strong' to flee from idolatry because idolatrous behaviour would incur the wrath of God and lead to God's punishment, which is the loss of one's eschatological salvation. For the Diaspora Jews, the 'final court of appeal' was the law; but for the Corinthian church, the authority Paul sets up is Christ, the gospel, salvation, and Paul himself as the founding apostle.

This book focuses on the interpretation of Malachi 2:10-16, which censures the lax marital practice of its contemporaries. In particular, Hugenberger investigates Malachi's identification of marriage as a "covenant" in response to recent scholarly challenges to this identification.
Taking the issues raised by Malachi as his point of departure, Hugenberger examines the nature of covenant and oath (including "verba solemnia and oath-signs), and, in light of these findings, explores the theory of marriage implied elsewhere in the Old Testament. Included in this investigation are an analysis of the concentric literary structure of Malachi and a study of the Old Testament's ethical perspectives on divorce, polygamy, and sexual fidelity.
An extensive bibliography and indices complete the book.

The letters of 2 Peter and Jude form a robust pair, with their distinctive overlap in theme and wording. These letters are sometimes overlooked, yet their message for today's church is powerfully relevant. Both their writers aim to expose false guides who bewitch young believers. In response, they set before the churches bedrock conditions of survival, providing inspiring and always practical guidance on Christian growth. Without a maturing knowledge of God, churches (then as now) would be destabilised by destructive and heretical teaching.

Almost all scholars have viewed the book of Jubilees as the work of a single author, applying to the book methods of analysis determined primarily by its literary genre, Rewritten Bible. This study suggests a new approach, in light of numerous contradictions between the rewritten stories on the one hand, and the juxtaposed legal passages and chronological framework on the other. It is suggested here that the editor of Jubilees adopted extant reworked sources, and added his own legal and chronological framework. This proposed literary-critical method is highly significant for the study of the book's worldview, as is demonstrated by the analysis of passages in Jubilees that relate to the origins of evil and of law in the world.

In its twelfth volume this text examines a number of Patristic texts and early Christian documents from a feminist perspective."The Feminist Companion to Patristic Literature" is the twelfth volume in the "Feminist Companion to the Bible and Early Christian Literature" series. Presenting cutting-edge studies by both established scholars and new voices from diverse cultures and contexts, the series not only displays the range of feminist readings, but also offers essential readings for all students of the New Testament and early Christian literature.This volume examines a number of Patristic texts and early Christian documents from a feminist perspective including "Clement of Rome", "Clement of Alexandria", the "Christian Martyr" and the "Gospel of Thomas". The contributors include: Barbara Bowe, Jorunn Jacobsen Buckley, Denise Buell, Virginia Burrus, Elizabeth Castelli, Elizabeth Clark, Kathy Gaca, Robin Jensen, Ross S Kraemer, Carolyn Osiek, Carolyn Osiek, and Theresa Shaw. It is suitable for libraries; academics; postgraduates and upper level undergraduates.

Eusebius of Caesarea (d. 339) is our major historical witness to the triumph of Christianity in the early fourth century. His commentary on the Book of Isaiah has only been available to modern scholars since 1975. The present book, the first comprehensive study, examines how Eusebius interpreted Isaiah in the context of Constantine's conversion.

In its twelfth volume this text examines a number of Patristic texts and early Christian documents from a feminist perspective."The Feminist Companion to Patristic Literature" is the twelfth volume in the "Feminist Companion to the Bible and Early Christian Literature" series. Presenting cutting-edge studies by both established scholars and new voices from diverse cultures and contexts, the series not only displays the range of feminist readings, but also offers essential readings for all students of the New Testament and early Christian literature.This volume examines a number of Patristic texts and early Christian documents from a feminist perspective including "Clement of Rome", "Clement of Alexandria", the "Christian Martyr" and the "Gospel of Thomas". The contributors include: Barbara Bowe, Jorunn Jacobsen Buckley, Denise Buell, Virginia Burrus, Elizabeth Castelli, Elizabeth Clark, Kathy Gaca, Robin Jensen, Ross S Kraemer, Carolyn Osiek, Carolyn Osiek, and Theresa Shaw. This book is suitable for libraries; academics; postgraduates and upper level undergraduates.

Advent is a season almost forgotten by the secular world. With new toys and electronics available, why should we focus on this time of anticipation? Most everyone cannot wait for Christmas morning to arrive, but is it for the right reason? Sarah A. Reinhard designed "Welcome Baby Jesus" for you and your family to capture some of what's intended by the liturgical season of Advent. Each day has a Scripture quote from the Sunday gospel readings, a brief reflection, and an action to complete. With each passing Sunday, your Advent Wreath will grow brighter, your family's faith will grow stronger, and the true meaning of this season will be discovered.

Green argues that the Beatitudes in Matthew's version are a carefully constructed poem, exhibiting a number of the characteristics of Hebrew poetry as we know it from the Old Testament; but as certain of these, such as rhyme and alliteration, cannot survive translation, what we have here is an original composition in Greek. This is shown to be no isolated phenomenon in the gospel; a series of texts found at specially significant points in it disclose similar characteristics. The findings cut across conventional source attributions and reveal the creative hand of the evangelist. By studying the individual beatitudes in their relation to each other as revealed by the formal structure, fresh light is thrown upon their meaning and their background in the scriptures of the Old Testament.>

This volume aims to compare the author of Matthew's Gospel with a selection of contemporary Christian authors and/or texts. Recent Matthean scholarship has highlighted the distinctiveness of this early Christian writer by emphasising his clear Jewish perspective in addition to his Christian affiliation. He can accurately be perceived as both Jewish and Christian because he holds that Christian commitment demands both observance of the Mosaic Law and faith in Jesus as the Messiah. But if Matthew is distinctively Jewish and Christian, how does he compare with other early Christian writers? Much of the New Testament literature was composed by Paul himself or by his later followers, and these Christians held the view that the Mosaic Law no longer had relevance in the light of the Christ event. Other New Testament texts that are not Pauline, e.g. the Gospel of John and the letter to the Hebrews, appear to agree with Paul on this point. Consequently, Matthew stands apart from other texts in the canon with the possible exception of the letter of James. The volume will therefore establish the distinctiveness of Matthew by comparing his theological perspective with his major sources, Mark and Q, and with the two remaining Gospels, the Pauline epistles, the letter to the Hebrews and the epistle of James. The comparison of Matthew with non-canonical texts, the Didache and the letters of Ignatius of Antioch, is important because much work has been done in these areas recently. Given Matthew's distinctive portrayal of Jesus, a comparison of Matthew and the historical Jesus is also demanded in the context of this volume.

"Ezekiel and the Leaders of Israel" explores the attitudes expressed in the Book of Ezekiel towards the various different leadership groups within Judean society: the monarchy, the priests and Levites, the prophets, and the lay leadership (including "zeq?nim, rim" and other ruling classes). The thesis is advanced that there is a coherent and connected attitude taken toward these leadership groups throughout the book: those singled out for the most reproach in Ezekiel's critique of the past are marginalized in his plan for the future, while those who escape blame are assigned positions of honour. It is not simply a matter of tinkering with the status of a single group in society, but rather a radical and complete restructuring, designed to avoid repetition of the sins of the past.

Using Ricoeur's theories of narrative and identity, and their ethical implications, this book offers a multi-disciplinary Asian reading of Moses' reverse migration in Exodus 4: 18-26, in light of the liminal experience of global economic migration. The work demonstrates the productivity of Ricoeur's threefold movement of prefiguration, configuration, and refiguration for OT studies and contemporary realities. By bringing together the world of an ancient text, a nuanced reading of the text's narrative movement and its history of interpretation, and the bittersweet realities of Filipino overseas workers, this creative study charts the way for an OT hermeneutic that opens up possibilities for the formation of a reader's narrative and ethical identity.