Parables and Conflict in the Hebrew Bible examines the intimate relationship between parables and conflict in the Hebrew Bible. Challenging the scholarly consensus, Jeremy Schipper argues that parables do not function as appeals to change their audience's behavior. Nor do they serve to diffuse tensions in regards to the various conflicts in which their audiences are involved. Rather, the parables function to help create, intensify, and justify judgments and hostile actions against their audiences. In order to examine how the parables accomplish these functions, this book pays particular attention to issues of genre and recent developments in genre theory, shifting the central issues in the interpretation of Hebrew Bible parables.

In a series of exchanges with the Corinthians in the mid-50s AD, Paul continually sought to define the meaning of his message, his body and his letters, at times insisting upon a literal understanding, at others urging the reader to move beyond the words to a deeper sense within. Proposing a fresh approach to early Christian exegesis, Margaret M. Mitchell shows how in the Corinthian letters Paul was fashioning the very principles that later authors would use to interpret all scripture. Originally delivered as The Speaker's Lectures in Biblical Studies at Oxford University, this volume recreates the dynamism of the Pauline letters in their immediate historical context and beyond it in their later use by patristic exegetes. An engagingly written, insightful demonstration of the hermeneutical impact of Paul's Corinthian correspondence on early Christian exegetes, it also illustrates a new way to think about the history of reception of biblical texts.

This book looks in detail at Paul's description of apostles in 1 Corinthians 4 and 9 as divinely appointed administrators (oikonomoi) and considers what this tells us about the nature of his own apostolic authority. John Goodrich investigates the origin of this metaphor in light of ancient regal, municipal and private administration, initially examining the numerous domains in which oikonomoi were appointed in the Graeco-Roman world, before situating the image in the private commercial context of Roman Corinth. Examining the social and structural connotations attached to private commercial administration, Goodrich contemplates what Paul's metaphor indicates about apostleship in general terms as well as how he uses the image to defend his apostolic rights. He also analyses the purpose and limits of Paul's authority - how it is constructed, asserted and contested - by examining when and how Paul uses and refuses to exercise the rights inherent in his position.

This volume was first published as part of the Cambridge Miscellany series in 1935. It was intended to address the demand for portions of the Bible to be printed 'like an ordinary book'. Chapter and verse divisions in the text have been abandoned, but references to them are provided in the page-headings. Although the paragraphing follows that of the Revised Version, the text is that of the Authorised Version of 1611.

This book contains a methodological fundamental-dogmatic study, which frames a comprehensive overview of the Church in the light of reason and faith. The understanding of the Church in the history of Christianity was - and still is - a subject of numerous misunderstandings, either among the believers themselves or those who observe it from the outside. Presenting the post-conciliar approach of the integral ecclesiology, the author puts a stronger emphasis on biblical origins and nature of the Church and on the split between the synagogue and the young community of followers of Jesus Christ. He expands the hallmarks of the Church from the usual four to five (Marianity) and displays a growing communio in practice and in ecclesial self-awareness.

This book explores the meaning and genesis of the Prologue to the Fourth Gospel. It was first published in 1917 although many of the articles that appear were originally printed in the Expositor. The author, J. Rendel Harris (1852-1941) was a biblical scholar and curator of manuscripts and this book will be of value to anyone with an interest in theology and biblical exegesis.

After a flurry of heated debates in the mid-twentieth century over the relationship between faith and history, the dust seems to have settled. The parties have long since dispersed into their separate camps. The positions are entrenched and loyalties are staked out. This New Explorations in Theology volume is a deliberate attempt to kick up the dust again, but this time as a constructive development of what is now being called "apocalyptic theology." Samuel Adams argues that any historiography interested in contributing to theological knowledge must take into consideration, at a methodological level, the reality of God that has invaded history in Jesus Christ. He explores this idea in critical dialogue with the writings of New Testament historian and theologian N. T. Wright, whose work has significantly shaped the current conversation on this problem. The Reality of God and Historical Method is a fresh, bold, and interdisciplinary exploration of the question: How is it possible to say that a particular historical person is the reconciliation of the world? Featuring new monographs with cutting-edge research, New Explorations in Theology provides a platform for constructive, creative work in the areas of systematic, historical, philosophical, biblical, and practical theology.

This paradigm-shifting study is the first book-length investigation into the compositional dates of the New Testament to be published in over forty years. It argues that, with the notable exception of the undisputed Pauline Epistles, most New Testament texts were composed twenty to thirty years earlier than is typically supposed by contemporary biblical scholars. What emerges is a revised view of how quickly early Christians produced what became the seminal texts for their new movement.

The twin sisters Agnes Lewis (1843 1926) and Margaret Gibson (1843 1920) were pioneering biblical scholars who became experts in a number of ancient languages. Travelling widely in the Middle East, they made several significant discoveries, including one of the earliest manuscripts of the Four Gospels in Syriac, a dialect of Aramaic, the language probably spoken by Jesus himself. Their chief discoveries were made in the Monastery of St Catherine on Mount Sinai. This text is a transcription of an Arabic manuscript discovered at the monastery and translated by Margaret Gibson. First published in 1899, the text includes sections of the New Testament as well as a short moral parable, some religious aphorisms and an essay on the nature of God. Illustrated with reproductions of the manuscript pages, this book is a useful text in the study of Arabic Christianity as well as an interesting resource for theological scholars.

In Johannine Social Identity Formation after the Fall of the Jerusalem Temple Christopher Porter reads the Fourth Gospel through the lens of social identity theory as means of reconciling the social dislocation and trauma of the destruction of the Jerusalem temple. Analysing the Fourth Gospel in conversation with other temple-removed texts of Qumran, Philo, and Josephus the gospel's intent to renegotiate cultic life without the temple can be seen. Through this analysis it is argued that the Fourth Gospel primarily functions as an intra-mural Jewish text, attempting to negotiate the formation of a Jesus-follower social identity in direct continuity with earlier Jewish shared social narratives. Finally, this work reviews the Johannine Community as an outcome of the Gospel identity formation.

This textbook on how to read the Gospels well can stand on its own as a guide to reading this New Testament genre as Scripture. It is also ideally suited to serve as a supplemental text to more conventional textbooks that discuss each Gospel systematically. Most textbooks tend to introduce students to historical-critical concerns but may be less adequate for showing how the Gospel narratives, read as Scripture within the canonical framework of the entire New Testament and the whole Bible, yield material for theological reflection and moral edification.
Pennington neither dismisses nor duplicates the results of current historical-critical work on the Gospels as historical sources. Rather, he offers critically aware and hermeneutically intelligent instruction in reading the Gospels in order to hear their witness to Christ in a way that supports Christian application and proclamation.

This book breaks fresh ground in the interpretation of the Apocalypse with an interdisciplinary methodology called aural-performance criticism that assesses how the first-century audience would have heard the Apocalypse. First-century media culture is probed by assessing the dynamics of literacy, orality, aurality, and performance in the Gospels, parts of the Pauline corpus, and also Jewish apocalyptic literature. The audience constructs of informed, minimal, and competent assist the interpreter to apply the methodology. Sound maps and an aural-performance commentary of Revelation 1 and 11 are developed that analyze aural markers, sound style, identity markers, repetition, themes, and the appropriation of the message by the audience. The book concludes by examining the sociological, theological, and communal aspects of aurality and performance and its implications for interpreting the Apocalypse.

The Gospels record that Jesus purported to forgive sins. What significance would such a claim have had for his contemporaries and what would the implications have been for his identity as a first-century popular prophet? Tobias Hagerland answers these questions and more as he investigates the forgiveness of sins in the mission of the historical Jesus. The Gospels are interpreted within the context of first-century Judaism as part of a broader reconstruction of Jesus' career as a healer and prophet, and rhetorical criticism is introduced as a tool for explaining how the gospel tradition about Jesus and forgiveness developed. Hagerland combines detailed exegesis and rigorous methodology with a holistic view of the historical Jesus, evaluating recent scholarship about first-century Jewish prophets and utilizing previously neglected textual evidence to present a thorough investigation of the theology of forgiveness in early Judaism and primitive Christianity.

This tried and true classroom favorite by respected New Testament scholar Gary Burge has been praised for its usefulness. The expanded second edition has been revised throughout to take account of current scholarship and introduces software tools that have become available since the original edition was published. Combining original insight with how-to guidance, this textbook helps students interpret the Gospel of John and apply it in teaching and preaching.

This book deals with the theology of the Church of Smyrna from its foundation up to the Council of Nicaea in 325. The author provides a critical historical evaluation of the documentary sources and certain aspects particularly deserving of discussion. He makes a meticulous study of the history of the city, its gods and institutions, the set-up of the Jewish and Christian communities and the response of the latter to the imperial cult. Finally, he undertakes a detailed analysis both of the reception of the Hebrew Scriptures and the apostolic traditions, as well as examining the gradual historical process of the shaping of orthodoxy and the identity of the community in the light of the organisation of its ecclesial ministries, its sacramental life and the cult of its martyrs.

Origen (c. 186 255 CE) was one of the great thinkers and writers of the third-century Church. His Commentary on John, written between 226 and 229, represents the height of his biblical scholarship. In it, he combated rising Gnostic interpretations of the Johannine gospel that asserted doctrines such as the existence of two gods. Unfortunately, only nine books of the original work are extant. In this 1896 publication, biblical scholar Alan England Brooke (1863 1939) of Cambridge University provides the revised Greek text. Volume 1 includes an introductory discussion of extant manuscripts and text critical matters together with Books 1, 2, 6, 10 and 13. Origen's efforts in this work are an important reminder of the contested role of the Bible in Christian theological debate, and the Commentary will be useful to scholars of both patristic studies and the history of Christian biblical interpretation.

First published in 1938, this book reopened a question generally held to have been settled: the sources from which St John derived the material for his gospel. The accepted view, that he was familiar with the narratives of Mark and Luke and made use of these as sources, Mr Gardner-Smith finds not proved, and he examines the whole gospel afresh in order to test this theory and to find out if there is any evidence that tells against it.

This fascinating commentary was originally published in 1960. It is based on the study of the Gospel of St Mark as a significant piece of early Christian literature. It is an attempt to follow the story and message of the Gospel in all its aspects, connecting it with the Judaism within which it originated, and with the living tradition of the apostolic Church within which it was preserved and disseminated. The discussion follows the text from beginning to end, dividing the narrative into incidents which follow a clear and interesting pattern, in accordance with the chapter-divisions found in the earliest manuscripts. Archbishop Carrington, while taking account of existing scholarship, has an illuminating and individual approach to the Gospel; his treatment of the oral tradition, and of the role of testimonies from the Old Testament, will continue to be of value to those interested in the history of the primitive church.

Origen (c. 186 255 CE) was one of the great thinkers and writers of the third-century Church. His Commentary on John, written between 226 and 229, represents the height of his biblical scholarship. In it, he combated rising Gnostic interpretations of the Johannine gospel that asserted doctrines such as the existence of two gods. Unfortunately, only nine books of the original work are extant. In this 1896 publication, biblical scholar Alan England Brooke (1863 1939) of Cambridge University provides the revised Greek text. Volume 2 includes Books 19, 20, 28 and 32 together with various fragments and two indices. Origen's efforts in this work are an important reminder of the contested role of the Bible in Christian theological debate, and the Commentary will be useful to scholars of both patristic studies and the history of Christian biblical interpretation.

Mark Forman explores the extent to which Paul's concept of 'inheritance' in Romans, and its associated imagery, logic and arguments, served to evoke socio-political expectations that were different to those which prevailed in contemporary Roman imperial discourse. Forman explores how Paul deploys the idea of inheritance in Romans and analyses the sources which inform and overlap with this concept. Coins, literature and architecture are all examined in order to understand the purpose, hopes and expectations of first-century society. This book contributes to recent studies covering Paul and politics by arguing that Paul's concept of inheritance subverts and challenges first-century Roman ideologies.

Originally published in 1886, this volume was created as part of the Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges series. Consummately edited, it contains the original Greek text, together with a long introduction, generous notes, and appendices. This remains a fascinating edition that will be of value to anyone with an interest in the New Testament and its theological interpretation.

For centuries, we thought we knew what happened during Jesus last days. Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday are not only observed by Christians around the world, but are also recognized in calendars and by non-practitioners as commemorating events in the final week of Jesus life. But apparent inconsistencies in the Gospel accounts of this period have continued to puzzle Bible scholars and fuel skeptics. In The Mystery of the Last Supper, Colin Humphreys uses science to reveal the truth about Jesus final days. Reconciling conflicting biblical accounts with scientific evidence, Humphreys proves that the Gospels, correctly interpreted, are in remarkable agreement. He reveals the exact date of the Last Supper in a groundbreaking new timeline of Holy Week.
Colin Humphreys is director of research at the Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy at the University of Cambridge. He is the author of The Miracles of Exodus (2003). He was awarded a knighthood in 2010 for services to Science."

For hundreds of years, we thought we knew what happened during Jesus' last days. Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday are not only observed by Christians around the world, but are also recognized in calendars and by non-practitioners as commemorating the true timeline of events in the life of Christ. But apparent inconsistencies in the gospel accounts of Jesus' final week have puzzled Bible scholars for centuries. In The Mystery of the Last Supper, Colin Humphreys uses science to reveal the truth about Jesus' final days. Reconciling conflicting Gospel accounts and scientific evidence, Humphreys reveals the exact date of the Last Supper in a definitive new timeline of Holy Week.

How does Luke's portrait of the outsider help in exploring the theology and historiography of Acts? Previous studies of the author and his work have concentrated on the speeches given by insiders - members of the early Christian church - but until now the speeches of the outsiders have been marginalised by scholars in the field. Osvaldo Padilla takes an intriguing approach by concentrating on the direct speech of such figures, arguing that the portrayal of outsiders to a religious movement should not be neglected when considering the author's viewpoint. By exploring the place of outsiders in Old Testament and Second Temple literature, then offering comparisons with the depictions found in Acts, Padilla provides an insightful take on the subject that will prove invaluable to scholars and students of biblical and early Christian studies.

The twin sisters Agnes Lewis (1843 1926) and Margaret Gibson (1843 1920) were pioneering biblical scholars who became experts in a number of ancient languages. Travelling widely in the Middle East, they made several significant discoveries, including one of the earliest manuscripts of the four gospels in Syriac, a dialect of Aramaic, the language probably spoken by Jesus himself. Originally published in the Horae Semitica series, this fascicule contains an English translation of the apocryphal acts of the apostles. Originally published in 1904 by Agnes Lewis, the text chronicles the lives, adventures and deaths of important figures like Paul, Thaddeus and James, the brother of Jesus. This fascinating volume features extraordinary tales of peril and persecution - one town's sinful population places a naked prostitute at the town gate to deter the apostles, but the archangel Michael levitates her out of their way - and is of great historical and theological interest.