'Ammar al-Basri (d.c. 850) was the first Christian to write a systematic theology in Arabic, the language of the Muslim rulers of 'Ammar's Middle East. This study of his two works that were only discovered in the 1970's seeks to analyse the way he defends Christian beliefs from criticism by Muslims over the authenticity of the Gospels, the Trinity, the divinity of Christ, the Incarnation, the death of Christ by crucifixion, the resurrection of Christ, and the nature of the afterlife. 'Ammar al-Basri wrote his theology in dialogue with Muslim thinkers of his time and his work offers guidance to Christians in today's world who live in Islamic contexts in how to relate Christian convictions to a Muslim audience.

In 2016, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that Max Brod’s posthumous papers which included a collection of Kafka’s manuscripts be transferred to the National Library of Israel in Jerusalem. If Kafka’s writings may be seen to belong to Jewish national culture and if they may be considered part of Israel’s heritage, then their analysis within a Jewish framework should be both viable and valuable. This volume is dedicated to the research of Franz Kafka’s late narrative “The Burrow� and its autobiographical and theological significance. Research is extended to incorporate many fields of study (architecture, sound studies, philosophy, cultural studies, Jewish studies, literary studies) to illustrate the dynamics at work within the text which reveal the Jewish aspects implicitly thematicized. Examination of the structure created, the nature of sound perceived, the atmosphere experienced and the acts performed by the protagonist serve as the foundation of this analysis and offer new access to Kafka’s work by presenting an interpretive, space-semantic approach. “Der Bau� is presented as a life concept given the task of constituting identity, highlighting the critical link between the literary and biographical Kafka and demonstrating the necessity of understanding the author as a Jewish writer to understand his late narrative. For her outstanding research project, Andrea Newsom Ebarb was awarded the “Forschungsförderpreis der Vereinigung der Freunde der Universität Mainz e.V.� in 2023.

Katie J. Woolstenhulme considers the pertinent questions: Who were 'the matriarchs', and what did the rabbis think about them? Whilst scholarship on the role of women in the Bible and Rabbinic Judaism has increased, the authoritative group of women known as 'the matriarchs' has been neglected. This volume consequently focuses on the role and status of the biblical matriarchs in Genesis Rabbah, the fifth century CE rabbinic commentary on Genesis. Woolstenhulme begins by discussing the nature of midrash and introducing Genesis Rabbah; before exploring the term 'the matriarchs' and its development through early exegetical literature, culminating in the emergence of two definitions of the term in Genesis Rabbah - 'the matriarchs' as the legitimate wives of Israel's patriarchs, and 'the matriarchs' as a reference to Jacob's four wives, who bore Israel's tribal ancestors. She then moves to discuss 'the matriarchal cycle' in Genesis Rabbah with its three stages of barrenness; motherhood; and succession. Finally, Woolstenhulme considers Genesis Rabbah's portrayal of the matriarchs as representatives of the female sex, exploring positive and negative rabbinic attitudes towards women with a focus on piety, prayer, praise, beauty and sexuality, and the matriarchs' exemplification of stereotypical, negative female traits. This volume concludes that for the ancient rabbis, the matriarchs were the historical mothers of Israel, bearing covenant sons, but also the present mothers of Israel, continuing to influence Jewish identity.

The seminal medieval history of the Second Commonwealth period of ancient Jewish history. Sepher Yosippon was written in Hebrew by a medieval historian and noted by modern scholars for its eloquent style. This is the first known chronicle of Jewish history and legend-from Adam to the destruction of the Second Temple-since the canonical histories written by Flavius Josephus in Greek and later translated by Christian scholars into Latin. Sepher Yosippon has been cited and referred to by scholars, poets, and authors as the authentic source for ancient Israel for over a millennium, until overshadowed by the twentiethcentury Hebrew translations of Josephus. It is based on Pseudo Hegesippus's fourth-century anti-Jewish summary of Josephus's Jewish War. However, the anonymous author (a.k.a. Joseph ben Gurion Hacohen) also consulted with the Latin versions of Josephus's works available to him. At the same time, he included a wealth of Second Temple literature as well as Roman and Christian sources. This book contains Steven Bowman's translation of the complete text of David Flusser's standard Hebrew edition of Sepher Yosippon, which includes the later medieval interpolations referring to Jesus. The present English edition also contains the translator's introduction as well as a preface by the fifteenth-century publisher of the book. The anonymous author of this text remains unique for his approach to history, his use of sources, and his almost secular attitude, which challenges the modern picture of medieval Jews living in a religious age. In his influential novel, A Guest for the Night, the Nobel Laureate author Shmuel Yosef Agnon emphasized the importance of Sepher Yosippon as a valuable reading to understand human nature. Bowman's translation of Flusser's notes, as well as his own scholarship, offers a well-wrought story for scholars and students interested in Jewish legend and history in the medieval period, Jewish studies, medieval literature, and folklore studies.

In this warm and personal book, Dr. Phil Parshall looks at what Muslims believe and how this affects their behaviour.

Parshall compares and contrasts Muslim and Christian views on the nature of God, sacred scriptures, worship, sin, and holiness.

The Sixteenth Karmapa, Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, was the first Tibetan Buddhist leader to make extensive teaching tours to the West. His three tours to Europe and North America from 1974 to 1980 led to the global expansion of Tibetan Buddhist schools. This book presents the most in-depth analysis of the Karmapa's contribution to the preservation and transmission of Tibetan Buddhism in exile. It is the first study to combine Tibetan life-writing and biographical materials in English with a thorough examination of the transformation of Tibetan Buddhism in the modern era of globalization. Drawing on a wide range of data from written accounts, collections of photographs, recordings of interviews, and documentaries, the author discusses the life and activity of the Karmapa through the lens of cross-cultural interaction between Buddhism and the West with a particular focus on Asian agency. The study shows that the Karmapa's transmission strategies emphasized continuity with tradition with some openness for adaptation. His traditionalist approach and his success on the global scale challenge the popular assumption that the transmission of Buddhism is primarily a matter of Westernization, which, in turn, calls for a broader view that recognizes its complex and dynamic nature.

The Sunni saint cult and shrine of Ahmad-i Jam has endured for 900 years. The shrine and its Sufi shaykhs secured patronage from Mongols, Kartids, Tamerlane, and Timurids. The cult and shrine-complex started sliding into decline when Iran's shahs took the Shi'i path in 1501, but are today enjoying a renaissance under the (Shi'i) Islamic Republic of Iran. The shrine's eclectic architectural ensemble has been renovated with private and public funds, and expertise from Iran's Cultural Heritage Organization. Two seminaries (madrasa) that teach Sunni curricula to males and females were added. Sunni and Shi'i pilgrims visit to venerate their saint. Jami mystics still practice 'irfan ('gnosticism'). Analyzed are Ahmad-i Jam's biography and hagiography; marketing to sultans of Ahmad as the 'Guardian of Kings'; history and politics of the shrine's catchment area; acquisition of patronage by shrine and shaykhs; Sufi doctrines and practices of Jami mystics, including its Timurid-era Naqshbandi Sufis.

Where did the idea of sin arise from? In this meticulously argued book, David Konstan takes a close look at classical Greek and Roman texts, as well as the Bible and early Judaic and Christian writings, and argues that the fundamental idea of "sin" arose in the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, although this original meaning was obscured in later Jewish and Christian interpretations. Through close philological examination of the words for "sin," in particular the Hebrew hata' and the Greek hamartia, he traces their uses over the centuries in four chapters, and concludes that the common modern definition of sin as a violation of divine law indeed has antecedents in classical Greco-Roman conceptions, but acquired a wholly different sense in the Hebrew Bible and New Testament.