In this book, Madison N. Pierce analyzes the use of prosopological exegesis by the author of Hebrews in almost every major quotation of Scripture. She shows that the author uses Scripture in a consistent way that develops his characterization of God - Father, Son, and Spirit - and that results in a triune portrait of God in Hebrews. Offering a detailed reading of several passages, she also demonstrates how the author's portrayal of God is consistent with later theological developments. Pierce's method replaces atomistic approaches and allows readers to see a clear pattern of usage across the entire epistle. It offers researchers a tool for examining quotations of New Testament Scripture and will be of particular interest to those working in the field of trinitarian theology.

Alan Kirk argues that memory theory, in its social, cultural, and cognitive dimensions, is able to provide a comprehensive account of the origins and history of the Jesus tradition, one capable of displacing the moribund form-critical model. He shows that memory research gives new leverage on a range of classic problems in gospels, historical Jesus, and Christian origins scholarship. This volume brings together 12 essays published between 2001 and 2016, newly revised for this edition and organized under the rubrics of: 'Memory and the Formation of the Jesus Tradition'; 'Memory and Manuscript'; 'Memory and Historical Jesus Research'; and 'Memory in 2nd Century Gospel Writing'. The introductory essay, written for this volume, argues that the old form critical model, in marginalizing memory, abandoned the one factor actually capable of accounting for the origins of the gospel tradition, its manifestation in oral and written media, and its historical trajectory.

Jesus the Jew is the primary signifier of Christianity's indebtedness to Judaism. This connection is both historical and continuous. In this book, Barbara Meyer shows how Christian memory, as largely intertwined with Jewish memory, provides a framework to examine the theological dimensions of historical Jesus research. She explores the topics that are central to the Jewishness of Jesus, such as the Christian relationship to law, and otherness as a Christological category. Through the lenses of the otherness of the Jewish Jesus for contemporary Christians, she also discusses circumcision, natality, vulnerability, and suffering in dialogue with thinkers seldom drawn into Jewish-Christian discourse, notably Hannah Arendt, Julia Kristeva, Martha Nussbaum and Adi Ophir. Meyer demonstrates how the memory of Jesus' Jewishness is a key to reconfiguring contemporary challenges to Christian thought, such as particularity and otherness, law and ethics after the Shoah, human responsibility, and divine vulnerability.

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.

Although Roman centurions appear at crucial stages in the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles, the significance of the centurion's office for the development of Luke's story has not been adequately researched. To fill in that void, this study engages the relevant Greco-Roman and Jewish sources that reflect on the image of the Roman military and applies the findings to the analysis of the role of the Roman centurion in the narrative of Luke-Acts. It argues that contemporary evidence reveals a common perception of the Roman centurion as a principal representative of the Roman imperial power, and that Luke-Acts employs centurions in the role of prototypical Gentile believers in anticipation of the Christian mission to the Empire. Chapter 1 outlines the current state of the question. Chapter 2 surveys the background data, including the place of the centurion in the Roman military organization, the role of the Roman army as the basis of the ruling power, the army's function in the life of the civilian community, Luke's military terminology, and the Roman military regiments in Luke-Acts. Chapter 3 reviews Greco-Roman writings, including Polybius, Julius Caesar, Sallust, Livy, Velleius Paterculus, Tacitus, Appian, Cornelius Nepos, Plutarch, Suetonius, Plautus, Cicero, Virgil, Horace, Petronius, Quintilian, Epictetus, Juvenal, Fronto, Apuleius, as well as non-literary evidence. Chapter 4 engages the Jewish witnesses, including 1 Maccabees, the Dead Sea Scrolls, Jewish pseudepigrapha, Philo, Josephus, Talmudic sources, and non-literary sources. Chapter 5 examines the relevant accounts of Luke-Acts, focusing on Luke 7:1-10 and Acts 10:1-11:18. The Conclusion reviews the findings of the study and summarizes the results.

The Cross of Christ: Foundational Islamic Perspectives takes an in-depth look at all of the medieval Muslim scholars considered to have affirmed Jesus' crucifixion. Each chapter provides the important historical and intellectual context for the commentators. As well, critical new translations of key texts are provided, offering important access to vital documents and schools of thought. The author argues that, rather than affirming the historicity of the crucifixion, the Isma'ilis tend to assume its historicity, in order to advance important Isma'ili doctrines. The author also contends that the commentators who explored ways to affirm the crucifixion, nonetheless made extensive use of traditional substitution legends that deny the crucifixion. In order to orient the reader, the book starts by introducing the reader to the Jesus of the Qur'an. It then compares him to the Jesus of the New Testament and the Jesus of extra canonical literature. Upon this Qur'anic skeleton, the author layers a myriad of details found in seventeen works of classic Islamic literature, so that a truly unique, authentic and authoritative Jesus of Islam emerges.

Believers in the early church scattered across the Roman Empire were facing the threat of increased persecution. Peter, the most outspoken of the disciples and leader among the apostles, wrote two practical and encouraging letters to strengthen the hearts of these followers of Christ. Pastor John MacArthur will take you through these two letters, passage by passage, so that you can better understand Peter's words of hope and wisdom and how to live victoriously in the midst of life-threatening trials. In the first letter, Peter reminds believers of the many blessings available to them because of their persecution. In the second letter, he warns them to discern and defeat the false teachers who were invading their churches and teaching them dangerous and deceptive doctrines. Peter's letters of encouragement and warning are just as important for believers today as they were during the first century. -ABOUT THE SERIES- The MacArthur Bible Study series is designed to help you study the Word of God with guidance from widely respected pastor and author John MacArthur. Each guide provides intriguing examinations of the whole of Scripture by examining its parts and incorporates: Extensive, but straight-forward commentary on the text. Detailed observations on overriding themes, timelines, history, and context. Word and phrase studies to help you unlock the broader meaning and apply it to your life. Probing, interactive questions with plenty of space to write down your response and thoughts.

In this book, Katie Marcar examines how 1 Peter draws together metaphors of family, ethnicity, temple, and priesthood to describe Christian identity. She examines the precedents for these metaphors in Second Temple Judaism and early Christianity in order to highlight the originality, creativity and theological depth of the text. She then explores how these metaphors are combined and developed in 1 Peter to create complex, narratival metaphors which reframe believers' understanding of themselves, their community, and their world. Integrating insights on ethnicity and race in the ancient and modern world, as well as insights from metaphor studies, Marcar examines why it is important for Christians to think of themselves as one family and ethnic group. Marcar concludes by distilling the metaphors of divine regeneration down to their underlying systematic metaphors.

In this commentary, Ruth Anne Reese offers a multi-disciplinary study of 1 Peter that builds on contemporary scholarship and research methods. She explores the relationship of the letter to the Old Testament, as reflected in the themes of exodus, exile, suffering, and glory. Integrating sociological analysis, she offers insights into the social situation of the letter's audience that have grown out of post-colonial and empire criticism. Reese also explores the themes of majority-minority relationships, non-retaliation, and ethical living. Her study reveals a more subversive character to 1 Peter than is often posited. Written in an accessible style, Reese's commentary provides overviews of important scholarly questions and points readers to a range of potential answers to those questions. It also features a 'Closer Look' section on a significant topic in each passage, as well as 'Bridging the Horizon' sections that connect the ancient context of 1 Peter with the contemporary world.

In this commentary, Ruth Anne Reese offers a multi-disciplinary study of 1 Peter that builds on contemporary scholarship and research methods. She explores the relationship of the letter to the Old Testament, as reflected in the themes of exodus, exile, suffering, and glory. Integrating sociological analysis, she offers insights into the social situation of the letter's audience that have grown out of post-colonial and empire criticism. Reese also explores the themes of majority-minority relationships, non-retaliation, and ethical living. Her study reveals a more subversive character to 1 Peter than is often posited. Written in an accessible style, Reese's commentary provides overviews of important scholarly questions and points readers to a range of potential answers to those questions. It also features a 'Closer Look' section on a significant topic in each passage, as well as 'Bridging the Horizon' sections that connect the ancient context of 1 Peter with the contemporary world.

The Word Biblical Commentary delivers the best in biblical scholarship, from the leading scholars of our day who share a commitment to Scripture as divine revelation. This series emphasizes a thorough analysis of textual, linguistic, structural, and theological evidence. The result is judicious and balanced insight into the meanings of the text in the framework of biblical theology. These widely acclaimed commentaries serve as exceptional resources for the professional theologian and instructor, the seminary or university student, the working minister, and everyone concerned with building theological understanding from a solid base of biblical scholarship. Overview of Commentary Organization Introduction-covers issues pertaining to the whole book, including context, date, authorship, composition, interpretive issues, purpose, and theology. Each section of the commentary includes: Pericope Bibliography-a helpful resource containing the most important works that pertain to each particular pericope. Translation-the author's own translation of the biblical text, reflecting the end result of exegesis and attending to Hebrew and Greek idiomatic usage of words, phrases, and tenses, yet in reasonably good English. Notes-the author's notes to the translation that address any textual variants, grammatical forms, syntactical constructions, basic meanings of words, and problems of translation. Form/Structure/Setting-a discussion of redaction, genre, sources, and tradition as they concern the origin of the pericope, its canonical form, and its relation to the biblical and extra-biblical contexts in order to illuminate the structure and character of the pericope. Rhetorical or compositional features important to understanding the passage are also introduced here. Comment-verse-by-verse interpretation of the text and dialogue with other interpreters, engaging with current opinion and scholarly research. Explanation-brings together all the results of the discussion in previous sections to expose the meaning and intention of the text at several levels: (1) within the context of the book itself; (2) its meaning in the OT or NT; (3) its place in the entire canon; (4) theological relevance to broader OT or NT issues. General Bibliography-occurring at the end of each volume, this extensive bibliographycontains all sources used anywhere in the commentary.

In this commentary, David deSilva approaches Ephesians as Paul's contribution to the ongoing work of forming his converts' individual and collective identity in Christ through the celebration of God's activity (past, ongoing, and future) on behalf of all who had responded in trust and faithfulness toward Jesus throughout the eastern Roman empire. He explores how Paul's first-century audiences in Roman Asia would have understood and responded to his message, particularly his promotion of the attitudes, pursuits, and practices that would constitute an appropriate response of gratitude for so costly a deliverance and so magnificent a destiny. deSilva's discussion is richly grounded in the Jewish and Greco-Roman contexts that both informed Paul as he composed and his audiences as they engaged his message. He is also attentive to points of relevance to the modern contexts of today's readers who continue to wrestle with Paul's vision for Christian discipleship and human community.

In this commentary, David deSilva approaches Ephesians as Paul's contribution to the ongoing work of forming his converts' individual and collective identity in Christ through the celebration of God's activity (past, ongoing, and future) on behalf of all who had responded in trust and faithfulness toward Jesus throughout the eastern Roman empire. He explores how Paul's first-century audiences in Roman Asia would have understood and responded to his message, particularly his promotion of the attitudes, pursuits, and practices that would constitute an appropriate response of gratitude for so costly a deliverance and so magnificent a destiny. deSilva's discussion is richly grounded in the Jewish and Greco-Roman contexts that both informed Paul as he composed and his audiences as they engaged his message. He is also attentive to points of relevance to the modern contexts of today's readers who continue to wrestle with Paul's vision for Christian discipleship and human community.

Jesus before Pentecost studies the history of Jesus' ministry from William P. Atkinson's Pentecostal perspective. This perspective affects both his method and the book's content. In terms of method, Atkinson puts forward a strong argument for looking carefully at John's Gospel, as well as the synoptic gospels, as a reliable historical source for Jesus' life. In terms of content, his main areas of study follow key Pentecostal interests, summed up in the "foursquare" Pentecostal rubric of Jesus as Saviour, Healer, Baptiser in the Spirit, and Soon-Coming King. The picture that emerges offers fresh insights into Jesus' life: notably, the symbolic meaning Jesus invested in the feeding of the five thousand; the effect that Jesus' approach to healing the sick had on Him; the involvement of God's Spirit in His life and in the lives of those around Him; and, lastly, His enigmatic predictions of his future coming. Overall, the study is both academically rigorous and warmly engaging. It will appeal to anyone who is interested in Jesus, regardless of whether or not they are associated with the Pentecostal tradition.

Represents the first attempt to map aspects of the long history of the Bible and biblical studies in India for a global audience of scholars and students.

Christians have always turned to the Sermon on the Mount for inspiration. In Life Can Begin Again, Helmut Thielicke, himself one of the great preachers of the twentieth century, comes to grips with what is often seen as a collection of lovely but impossible ideals. Thielicke makes it clear that the Sermon on the Mount can never be understood if, even for a moment, we forget the person of the Preacher of the Sermon. For without the person and work of Jesus Christ the marvellous words of the Beatitudes and the injunctions that follow them are the most radical and devastating distillation of God's claims that can be conceived - they leave us in utter hopeless dismay. Only through Christ can these words of the law become the glorious Gospel that promises a new life. Once again, as in his other best-selling works How the World Began and The Prayer that Spans the World, Thielicke brings profoundly biblical religion alive for modern readers.

Paul and Religion demonstrates the continuing and contemporary relevance of the most important, and most controversial, figure of early Christianity. Paul Gooch interrogates the Pauline writings for their meaning as well as implications for religion as an entire form of life, a stance on the world expressed in distinctive practices. Bringing a philosophical approach to this topic, he connects Paul's ideas to lived experience. In a conversational style, Gooch explores Paul's experience of grace and his dismissal of distinctive markers of religious identity in favour of love as binding together a community. Contrary to common expectations, he finds within Paul's letters material for conversations about issues in our day, such as gender and sexuality. From his close reading of the Letters, Gooch argues that the Pauline religious form of life is not identical with institutional Christianity. Indeed, his conclusions may be welcome to those who belong to other faiths.

Paul and Religion demonstrates the continuing and contemporary relevance of the most important, and most controversial, figure of early Christianity. Paul Gooch interrogates the Pauline writings for their meaning as well as implications for religion as an entire form of life, a stance on the world expressed in distinctive practices. Bringing a philosophical approach to this topic, he connects Paul's ideas to lived experience. In a conversational style, Gooch explores Paul's experience of grace and his dismissal of distinctive markers of religious identity in favour of love as binding together a community. Contrary to common expectations, he finds within Paul's letters material for conversations about issues in our day, such as gender and sexuality. From his close reading of the Letters, Gooch argues that the Pauline religious form of life is not identical with institutional Christianity. Indeed, his conclusions may be welcome to those who belong to other faiths.

Any student of the New Testament must be conscious of the competing expectations in ancient Jewish thought of what and who the Messiah would be. In King and Messiah, Aage Bentzen offers a fascinating glimpse into this topic, which preoccupied the most eminent Scandinavian biblical scholars of the mid-twentieth century. Beginning with the Messiah described in many of the Psalms, representing a demythologised form of the Oriental concept of kingship, Bentzen proceeds to the eschatological Messiah of Isaiah and Micah. He next discusses the later, prophetic-Messianic Moses Redivivus of Deutero-Isaiah, reaching the final stage of Old Testament Messianic thought in the description of the Son of Man in Daniel 7, which carries the eschatologising process still further. Bentzen shows how all of these Old Testament types are synthesised in the Christology of the New Testament - Jesus is the new Adam, the present Messiah, the suffering Prophet, the new Moses and the future Divine King - and yet simultaneously superseded. The Christian myth adds its own adornment to the complex question of Jesus identity.

Before the early Christian evangelists were Gospel writers, they were Gospel readers. Their composition process was more complex than simply compiling existing traditions about Jesus, then ordering them into a narrative frame. Rather, these writers were engaged in a creative and dynamic act of theological reception. 'Gospel reading' refers to this innovative and often artistic use of source materials -- from Israel's Scriptures to pre-existing narratives of Jesus-- to produce updated, expanded, or even alternative renditions. This volume explores that process. The common thread running through each chapter is the conviction that the early Christian practice of writing 'gospel' and the 'Gospels' was one of the most hermeneutically creative exercises in ancient literary culture, one that was prompted by the perceived theological significance of Jesus. The contributors seek to demonstrate the intricate dynamics of this controversial figure's theological and textual reception through foundational essays on specific texts and themes.

The Word Biblical Commentary delivers the best in biblical scholarship, from the leading scholars of our day who share a commitment to Scripture as divine revelation. This series emphasizes a thorough analysis of textual, linguistic, structural, and theological evidence. The result is judicious and balanced insight into the meanings of the text in the framework of biblical theology. These widely acclaimed commentaries serve as exceptional resources for the professional theologian and instructor, the seminary or university student, the working minister, and everyone concerned with building theological understanding from a solid base of biblical scholarship. Overview of Commentary Organization Introduction-covers issues pertaining to the whole book, including context, date, authorship, composition, interpretive issues, purpose, and theology. Each section of the commentary includes: Pericope Bibliography-a helpful resource containing the most important works that pertain to each particular pericope. Translation-the author's own translation of the biblical text, reflecting the end result of exegesis and attending to Hebrew and Greek idiomatic usage of words, phrases, and tenses, yet in reasonably good English. Notes-the author's notes to the translation that address any textual variants, grammatical forms, syntactical constructions, basic meanings of words, and problems of translation. Form/Structure/Setting-a discussion of redaction, genre, sources, and tradition as they concern the origin of the pericope, its canonical form, and its relation to the biblical and extra-biblical contexts in order to illuminate the structure and character of the pericope. Rhetorical or compositional features important to understanding the passage are also introduced here. Comment-verse-by-verse interpretation of the text and dialogue with other interpreters, engaging with current opinion and scholarly research. Explanation-brings together all the results of the discussion in previous sections to expose the meaning and intention of the text at several levels: (1) within the context of the book itself; (2) its meaning in the OT or NT; (3) its place in the entire canon; (4) theological relevance to broader OT or NT issues. General Bibliography-occurring at the end of each volume, this extensive bibliographycontains all sources used anywhere in the commentary.

What terms did early Christians use for outsiders? How did they refer to non-members? In this book-length investigation of these questions, Paul Trebilco explores the outsider designations that the early Christians used in the New Testament. He examines a range of terms, including unbelievers, 'outsiders', sinners, Gentiles, Jews, among others. Drawing on insights from social identity theory, sociolinguistics, and the sociology of deviance, he investigates the usage and development of these terms across the New Testament, and also examines how these outsider designations function in boundary construction across several texts. Trebilco's analysis leads to new conclusions about the identity and character of the early Christian movement, the range of relations between early Christians and outsiders, and the theology of particular New Testament authors.

'1-3 John' treats the three letters of John as a unified epistolary package. Taking a thorough and scholarly approach, John Paul Heil proposes two important contributions to the study of 1-3 John. First, he presents new comprehensive chiastic structures for each of the three letters of John based on concrete linguistic evidence in the text. These chiastic structures serve as the guide to a better understanding of for whom John's epistles were meant, and why they were written. Secondly, it treats these letters from the point of view of their worship context and themes. Not only were 1-3 John intended to be performed orally as part of liturgical worship, but together these three letters plead with their audience to engage in a distinctive kind of ethical worship. The three letters of John are most concerned with giving their audience the experience of living eternally by the worship that consists of loving God and one another.