Using the method of critical intertextual research, this book analyses the phenomena of hypertextuality and ethopoeia in the New Testament writings against the background of the Second Temple literature, the historical Jesus, and the historical Paul. The work demonstrates that all twenty post-Pauline writings including the Gospels, like some of Paul's letters, are only loosely related to history. On the other hand, the New Testament writings constitute a logically consistent network of intertextual-rhetorical relationships which have to be properly investigated and interpreted. Only analyses of this kind enable us to understand the internal logic of the New Testament as a whole and the true meaning of its individual works.

The Talmud chronicles the early development of rabbinic Judaism through the writings and commentaries of the rabbis whose teachings form its foundation. However, this key religious text is expansive, consisting of 63 books containing extensive discussions and interpretations of the Mishnah accumulated over several centuries. Sifting through the huge number of names mentioned in the Talmud to find information about one figure can be tedious and time-consuming, and most reference guides either provide only brief, unhelpful entries on every rabbi, including minor figures, or are so extensive that they can be more intimidating than the original text. In Essential Figures in the Talmud, Dr. Ronald L. Eisenberg explains the importance of the more than 250 figures who are most vital to an understanding and appreciation of Talmudic texts. This valuable reference guide consists of short biographies illustrating the significance of these figures while explaining their points of view with numerous quotations from rabbinic literature. Taking material from the vast expanse of the Talmud and Midrash, this book demonstrates the broad interests of the rabbis whose writings are the foundation of rabbinic Judaism. Both religious studies and rabbinical students and casual readers of the Talmud will benefit from the comprehensive entries on the most-frequently discussed rabbis and will gain valuable insights from this reader-friendly text. Complete in a single volume, this guide strikes a satisfying balance between the sparse, uninformative books and comprehensive but overly complex references that are currently the only places for inquisitive Talmud readers to turn. For any reader who wishes to gain a better understanding of Talmudic literature, Eisenberg's text is just as "essential" as the figures listed within.

How can one believe in a God of love amid all the evil and suffering found in the world? How does one do theology 'after Auschwitz', while vast numbers of people still have to endure violent oppression every day? This book seeks to address such questions from a standpoint informed by life in Africa, which in the face of extraordinary difficulties bears witness to Gospel hope by demonstrating forgiveness in action and promoting reconciliation. The work unfolds in two parts. In the first part, a description of the misery that characterises much of life in Africa in the recent past opens up to a theological consideration of the underlying causes and of God's response to them. In the second part, the joy which is so characteristic of life in Africa even in places of immense suffering sets the scene for detailed reflections on liturgy, memory, forgiveness and hope.

This book challenges the dominant scholarly notion that the Qur' n must be interpreted through the medieval commentaries shaped by the biography of the prophet Muhammad, arguing instead that the text is best read in light of Christian and Jewish scripture. The Qur' n, in its use of allusions, depends on the Biblical knowledge of its audience. However, medieval Muslim commentators, working in a context of religious rivalry, developed stories that separate Qur' n and Bible, which this book brings back together.

In a series of studies involving the devil, Adam, Abraham, Jonah, Mary, and Muhammad among others, Reynolds shows how modern translators of the Qur' n have followed medieval Muslim commentary and demonstrates how an appreciation of the Qur' n's Biblical subtext uncovers the richness of the Qur' n's discourse. Presenting unique interpretations of 13 different sections of the Qur' n based on studies of earlier Jewish and Christian literature, the author substantially re-evaluates Muslim exegetical literature. Thus The Qur' n and Its Biblical Subtext, a work based on a profound regard for the Qur' n's literary structure and rhetorical strategy, poses a substantial challenge to the standard scholarship of Qur' nic Studies. With an approach that bridges early Christian history and Islamic origins, the book will appeal not only to students of the Qur'an but of the Bible, religious studies and Islamic history.

Is post-modern society devoid of sacramentality or a sense of the sacred? This question is central to the challenges posed by revolutionary post-modern sensibilities that tend to render the rites for the celebration of the sacraments obsolete and irrelevant. To address this issue, the author applies the post-modern emphasis on plurality and radical particularity to the communal dimension of traditional societies exemplified in the worldview of the Igbo people of Southeast Nigeria to shed light on the liturgical celebration of reconciliation in the Church today. The contention is that the sacraments are multi-vocal symbols that cannot command the same meaning in different contexts. In this connection, this book provides a clear notion of the theological foundation, principle and framework of the sacrament of reconciliation and offers a practical guide for its authentic liturgical celebration in a plural context. Its argument is that all are being summoned to interpersonal encounter through dialogue, or a relationship founded on mutual recognition and respect for difference. On this basis, the book proposes possible reconciliation rites drawn from the Igbo communal existence that have the capacity to accommodate people with other faith perspectives in a common liturgical celebration of the sacrament of reconciliation.

Tabari's Tafsir or "Comprehensive Exposition of the Interpretation of the Verses of the Qur'an" is one of the great monuments of classical Arabic and Islamic scholarship which, over a millennium, has been a fundamental reference work for scholars engaged in the tradition of Quranic commentary and exegesis. This two-volume translation focuses on thirty selected verses and Suras, or Chapters, associated with special merits and blessings and also includes Tabari's own introduction to the Tafsir. Volume I contains: Tabari's introduction; The Opening; the Throne Verse and the final three verses from The Cow (2:255 & 284-286); The Family of Imran (3:7 & 18); Repentance (9:38-40 & 128-129); the story of Moses and Khadir from The Cave (18:60-82); the Verse of Light from The Light (24:35-42); Prostration; Ya' Sin. Volume II contains: The Companies (39:53-55); The Smoke; The Beneficent; The Inevitable Occasion; Iron; The Gathering (59:18-24); Sovereignty; The Resurrection; The Most High; The Sun; The Night; The Earthquake; The Chargers; Rivalry; The Disbelievers; Aid; Sincerity; Daybreak; People.

The Bahir is one of the oldest and most important of all classical Kabbalah texts. Until the publication of the Zohar, the Bahir was the most influential and widely quoted primary source of Kabbalistic teachings. The Bahir is quoted in every major book on Kabbalah, the earliest being the Raavad's commentary on Sefer Yetzirah, and it is cited numerous times by Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman (Ramban) in his commentary on the Torah. It is also quoted many times in the Zohar. It was first published around 1176 by the Provence school of Kabbalists; the first printed edition appeared in Amsterdam in 1651. The name Bahir is derived from the first verse quoted in the text (Job 37:21), "And now they do not see light, it is brilliant (Bahir) in the skies." It is also called the "Midrash of Rabbi Nehuniah ben HaKana," particularly by the Ramban. The reason might be that Rabbi Nehuniah's name is at the very beginning of the book, but most Kabbalists actually attribute the Bahir to him and his school. Some consider it the oldest kabbalistic text ever written. Although the Bahir is a fairly small book, some 12,000 words in all, it was very highly esteemed among those who probed its mysteries. Rabbi Judah Chayit, a prominent fifteenth-century Kabbalist, writes, "Make this book a crown for your head." Much of the text is very difficult to understand, and Rabbi Moshe Cordevero (1522-1570), head of the Safed school of Kabbalah, says, "The words of this text are bright (Bahir) and sparkling, but their brilliance can blind the eye." One of the most important concepts revealed in the Bahir is that of the Ten Sefirot, and careful analysis of these discussions yields much of what will be found in later kabbalistic works, as well as their relation to anthropomorphism and the reason for the commandments. Also included is a discussion of reincarnation, or Gilgul, an interpretation of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, the Thirty-two Paths of Wisdom, and the concept of Tzimtzum, the s

The poetry emanating from the bhakti tradition of devotional love in India has been both a religious expression and a form of resistance to hierarchies of caste, gender, and colonialism. Some scholars have read this art form through the lens of resistance and reform, but others have responded that imposing an interpretive framework on these poems fails to appreciate their authentic expressions of devotion. This book argues that these declarations of love and piety can simultaneously represent efforts towards emancipation at the spiritual, political, and social level. This book, through a close study of Nalini (1911), a Malayalam lyric poem, as well as other poems, authored by Mahakavi Kumaran Asan (1873-1924), a low-caste Kerala poet, demonstrates how Asan employed a theme of love among humans during the modern period in Kerala that was grounded in the native South Indian bhakti understanding of love of the deity. Asan believed that personal religious freedom comes from devotion to the deity, and that love for humans must emanate from love of the deity. In showing how devotional religious expression also served as a resistance movement, this study provides new perspective on an understudied area of the colonial period. Bringing to light an under-explored medium, in both religious and artistic terms, this book will be of great interest to scholars of religious studies, Hindu studies, and religion and literature, as well as academics with an interest in Indian culture.

In the Pauline literature of the New Testament, the characteristics of the Spirit and Christian life are described through the use of metaphor. An interpreter of Paul must understand his metaphors in order to arrive at a complete understanding of the Pauline pneumatological perspective. Thus, The Pauline Metaphors of the Holy Spirit examines how the Pauline Spirit metaphors express the intangible Spirit's tangible presence in the life of the Christian. Rhetoricians prior to and contemporary with Paul discussed the appropriate usage of metaphor. Aristotle's thoughts provided the foundation from which these rhetoricians framed their arguments. In this context, The Pauline Metaphors surveys the use of metaphor in the Greco-Roman world during the NT period and also studies modern approaches to metaphor. The modern linguistic theories of substitution, comparison, and verbal opposition are offered as representative examples, as well as the conceptual theories of interaction, cognitive-linguistic, and the approach of Zoltan Koevecses. In examining these metaphors, it is important to understand their systematic and coherent attributes. These can be divided into structural, orientational, and ontological characteristics, which are rooted in the conceptual approach of metaphor asserted by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson. This book evaluates these characteristics against each of the Pauline Spirit-metaphors.

The most important debate in Islamic origins is that of the reliability of the lists of transmitters (isnads) that are said to guarantee the authenticity of the materials to which they are attached. Many scholars have come to the conclusion that most traditions (hadiths), which claim to preserve the words and deeds of Muhammad and early Muslim scholars, are spurious. Other scholars defend hadiths and their isnads, arguing for an early continuous written transmission of these materials. The first purpose of this study is to summarize and critique the major positions on the issue of the authenticity of hadiths in general and exegetical hadiths in particular. The second purpose is to devise a means of evaluating isnads that does not rely on circular arguments and to use it to determine if the hadiths in the Tafsir of al-Tabari, attributed to Ibn 'Abbas, are genuine.

Relating the Muslim understanding of Moses in the Qur'an to the Epic of Gilgamesh, Alexander Romances, Aramaic Targums, Rabbinic Bible exegesis, and folklore from the ancient and medieval Mediterranean, this book shows how Muslim scholars authorize and identify themselves through allusions to the Bible and Jewish tradition. Exegesis of Qur'an 18:60-82 shows how Muslim exegetes engage Biblical theology through interpretation of the ancient Israelites, their prophets, and their Torah. This Muslim use of a scripture shared with Jews and Christians suggests fresh perspectives for the history of religions, Biblical studies, cultural studies, and Jewish-Arabic studies.

4Q Pesher Nahum, long considered one of the most important Qumran texts for understanding the historical context of the Dead Sea Scrolls, is the focus of this critical study. The author presents new readings and undertakes extensive analysis and reconstruction of broken text. Areas of focus include text-critical implications for the biblical text of Nahum, scribal practices, and formal and composition patterns common throughout the Qumran Pmesharim. One of the contraversial aspects of the study is a challenge to accepted thought; that the mysterious "Lion of Wrath" figure of the text has nothing to do with the Hasmonaean king Alexander Jannaeus. Rather, this study argues that Pesher Nahum portrays a coming conquest from the "Kittim", and the "Lion of Wrath" is to be understood within well-known biblical motifs of a Nebuchadnezzar-like foreign invader coming to deliver the wrath of God upon a sinful Israel.

Qur'anic exegesis has become the battleground of political Islam and theological conflict among various Muslim schools of thought. Using comparative and contrastive methodology, examples from the Qur'an are investigated in the light of various theological views to delineate the birth, development and growth of Qur'anic exegesis.

The political status quo, in the past and at present, has impinged upon Qur'anic exegesis more than on any other discipline in Islamic studies. This book illustrates the dichotomy between mainstream and non-mainstream Islam, showing how Qur'anic exegesis reflects the subtle dogmatic differences and political cleavages in Islamic thought. Chapters explore in depth the intrusive views of the compilers of early exegesis manuscripts, the scepticism among Western scholars about the authenticity of early Muslim works of exegesis and of prophetic tradition, and the role of exegesis as a tool to reaffirm the Qur'an as a canon.

Written to appeal to those with comparative exegetical interests as well as those focused on Islamic studies in general, this book will be an important reference for research students, scholars, and students of Islamic Studies, Theology, Religious studies and Middle Eastern Studies.

An Ecofeminist Perspective on Ash Wednesday and Lent develops a conversation between classical historical Lenten practices and contemporary Christian ecofeminism. Building on David Tracy's definition of a religious classic, it includes a historical examination of the development of Lent and the Ash Wednesday rites beginning from wellsprings in the early church traditions of penance, catechumenal preparation, and asceticism through medieval and reformation expressions of the rite to their twentieth-century Episcopal iteration in the 1979 Book of Common Prayer. In the discussion of ecofeminism, women's death experiences and current ecofeminist writings are used to develop an ecofeminist hermeneutic of mortality.

The Old Testament as Authoritative Scripture in the Early Churches of the East represents the latest scholarly research in the field of Old Testament as Scripture in Eastern Christianity. Its twelve articles focus on the use of the Old Testament in the earliest Christian communities in the East. The collection explores the authoritative role of the Old Testament in the churches of the East and its impact on the church's doctrine, liturgy, canon law, and spirituality.

In From Spinoza to Levinas, Ze'ev Levy discusses the pivotal ideas of the most influential Jewish thinkers in modern times including Spinoza, Mendelssohn, and Levinas. Levy accounts for the political foundation of the philosophies of Spinoza and Mendelssohn and the role of hermeneutics in the writings of Spinoza and Maimonides. He traces the history of modern philosophical and biblical hermeneutics and considers issues pertaining to death and dying in light of traditional Jewish and contemporary concepts of the body and soul. Finally, Levy focuses on the thought of Emmanuel Levinas, arguably one of the most important Jewish philosophers in the second half of the twentieth century. By articulating and responding to contemporary ethical and political challenges and dilemmas, Levy succeeds in contributing to the rich legacy of Jewish thought.

The Shepherd-Flock Motif in the Miletus Discourse (Acts 20:17-38) Against Its Historical Background provides a comprehensive survey of the use of the shepherd-flock motif in the ancient world for the readers of the New Testament. This review of Ancient Near Eastern, Jewish, Greco-Roman, and Christian sources is guided by a motific approach that integrates the concept of metaphor, Semantics, and the comparative method. A chief concern of this study is to apply this knowledge to the study of Luke-Acts, especially the Miletus Discourse (Acts 20:17-38). The shepherd-flock motif appears to be central in this speech and helps to integrate other motifs and themes in this discourse, such as the kingship motif. The Shepherd-Flock Motif in the Miletus Discourse (Acts 20:17-38) Against Its Historical Background is indispensable to the study of motifs in the New Testament and contributes meaningfully to the scholarly research on Luke-Acts.

The Sanskrit Mahabharata is one of the most important texts to emerge from the Indian cultural tradition. At almost 75,000 verses it is the longest poem in the world, and throughout Indian history it has been hugely influential in shaping gender and social norms. In the context of ancient India, it is the definitive cultural narrative in the construction of masculine, feminine and alternative gender roles.

This book brings together many of the most respected scholars in the field of Mahabharata studies, as well as some of its most promising young scholars. By focusing specifically on gender constructions, some of the most innovative aspects of the Mahabharata are highlighted. Whilst taking account of feminist scholarship, the contributors see the Mahabharata as providing an opportunity to frame discussion of gender in literature not just in terms of the socio-historical roles of men and women. Instead they analyze the text in terms of the wider poetic and philosophical possibilities thrown up by the semiotics of gendering. Consequently, the book bridges a gap in text-critical methodology between the traditional philological approach and more recent trends in gender and literary theory.

Gender and Narrative in the Mahabharata will be appreciated by readers interested in South Asian studies, Hinduism, religious studies and gender studies.

The Story of Creation in the Qur'an is an exposition of the Qur'anic verses relating to the nature of physical phenomena, including the origins of the universe, the nature of light, matter, space and time, and the evolution of biological and sentient beings.

In this book Shaykh Fadhlalla Haeri demonstrates that the verses in the Qur'an relating to the outer physical phenomena are not separate from inner phenomena and states, but in fact reflect them. The Qur'an gives us a unified view of existence drawing us from multiplicity to unity, in order to live appropriately from a unified foundation in a world of multiplicity. This is missing from other books, which only focus on matching outer phenomena to scientific discovery without inner reflection.

The Story of Creation in the Qur'an relates outer patterns and symbols to inner experiences and metaphors bringing out the Gnostic elements not just the prescriptive and phenomenal descriptions.

Buddhist Manuscript Cultures explores how religious and cultural practices in premodern Asia were shaped by literary and artistic traditions as well as by Buddhist material culture. This study of Buddhist texts focuses on the significance of their material forms rather than their doctrinal contents, and examines how and why they were made.

Collectively, the book offers cross-cultural and comparative insights into the transmission of Buddhist knowledge and the use of texts and images as ritual objects in the artistic and aesthetic traditions of Buddhist cultures. Drawing on case studies from India, Gandhara, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Mongolia, China and Nepal, the chapters included investigate the range of interests and values associated with producing and using written texts, and the roles manuscripts and images play in the transmission of Buddhist texts and in fostering devotion among Buddhist communities.

Contributions are by reputed scholars in Buddhist Studies and represent diverse disciplinary approaches from religious studies, art history, anthropology, and history. This book will be of interest to scholars and students working in these fields.

From early times, Daoist writers claimed to receive scriptures via revelation from heavenly beings. In numerous cases, these writings were composed over the course of many nights and by different mediums. New revelations were often hastily appended, and the resulting unevenness gave rise to the impression that Daoist texts often appear slapdash and contain contradictions. A Library of Clouds focuses on the rewriting of Daoist scriptures in the Upper Clarity (Shangqing) lineage in fourth? and fifth?century China. Scholarship on Upper Clarity Daoism has been dominated by attempts to uncover "original" or "authentic" texts, which has resulted in the neglect of later scriptures- including the work fully translated and annotated here, the Scripture of the Immaculate Numen, one of the Three Wonders (sanqi) and among the most prized Daoist texts in medieval China. The scripture's lack of a coherent structure and its different authorial voices have led many to see it not as a unified work but the creation of different editors who shaped and reshaped it over time. A Library of Clouds constructs new ways of understanding the complex authorship of texts like the Scripture of the Immaculate Numen and their place in early medieval Daoism. It stresses their significance in understanding the ways in which manuscripts were written, received, and distributed in early medieval China. By situating the scripture within its immediate hagiographic and ritual contexts, it suggests that this kind of revelatory literature is best understood as a pastiche of ideas, a process of weaving together previously circulating notions and beliefs into a new scriptural fabric.

For hundreds of years, scholars have debated the meaning of Jesus' central theological term, the 'kingdom of God'. Most of the argument has focused on its assumed eschatological connotations and Jesus' adherence or deviation from these ideas. Within the North American context, the debate is dominated by the work of Norman Perrin, whose classification of the kingdom of God as a myth-evoking symbol remains one of the fundamental assumptions of scholarship. According to Perrin, Jesus' understanding of the kingdom of God is founded upon the myth of God acting as king on behalf of Israel as described in the Hebrew Bible. Moving Beyond Symbol and Myth challenges Perrin's classification, and advocates the reclassification of the kingdom of God as metaphor. Drawing upon insights from the cognitive theory of metaphor, this study examines all the occurrences of the 'God is king' metaphor within the literary context of the Hebrew Bible. Based on this review, it is proposed that the 'God is king' metaphor functions as a true metaphor with a range of expressions and meanings. It is employed within a variety of texts and conveys images of God as the covenantal sovereign of Israel; God as the eternal suzerain of the world, and God as the king of the disadvantaged. The interaction of the semantic fields of divinity and human kingship evoke a range of metaphoric expressions that are utilized throughout the history of the Hebrew Bible in response to differing socio-historical contexts and within a range of rhetorical strategies. It is this diversity inherent in the 'God is king' metaphor that is the foundation for the diversified expressions of the kingdom of God associated with the historical Jesus and early Christianity.