What is an 'echo' of Scripture? How can we detect echoes of the Old Testament in Paul, and how does their detection facilitate interpretation of the Pauline text? These are questions addressed by this collection of essays from the SBL programme unit Scripture in Early Judaism and Christianity. The first part of the book reports its vigorous 1990 discussion of Richard Hays's 'Echoes of Scripture in the Letters of Paul', including contributions by Craig Evans, James Sanders, William Scott Green and Christiaan Beker, as well as a response by R.B. Hays. The second part of the book studies specific passages where reference is made to the Old Testament explicitly or allusively. The contributors here are James Sanders, Linda Belleville, Carol Stockhausen, James Scott, Nancy Calvert and Stephen Brown.

A comprehensive examination of the Chronicles by Curtis and Madsen, including critical discussions on historical and religious value, variations of the text and the genealogy and history of David, Solomon and Judah.

The anthropological approach to the expulsion of the foreign women from the post-exilic community argues that it was the result of a witch-hunt. Its comparative approach notes that the community responded to its weak social boundaries in the same fashion as societies with similar social weaknesses. This book argues that the post-exilic community's decision to expel the foreign women in its midst was the direct result of the community's inability to enforce a common morality among its members. This anthropological approach to the expulsion shows how other societies with weak social moralities tend to react with witch-hunts, and it suggests that the expulsion in Ezra 9-10 was precisely such an activity. It concludes with an examination of the political and economic forces that could have eroded the social morality of the community.

'[W]hen they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost (phantasma), and cried out; for they all saw him, and were terrified' (Mark 6:49, RSV). There is a growing awareness among biblical scholars and others of the potential value of modern and postmodern fantasy theory for the study of biblical texts. Following theorists such as Roland Barthes, Tzvetan Todorov, and Gilles Deleuze (among others), we understand the fantastic as the deconstruction of literary realism. The fantastic arises from the text's resistance to understanding; the "meaning" of the fantastic text is not its reference to the primary world of consensus reality but rather a fundamental undecidability of reference. The fantastic is also a point at which ancient and contemporary texts (including books, movies, and TV shows) resonate with one another, sometimes in surprising ways, and this resonance plays a large part in my argument. Mark and its afterlives "translate" one another, in the sense that Walter Benjamin speaks of the tangential point at which the original text and its translation touch one another, not a transfer of understood meaning but rather a point at which what Benjamin called "pure language" becomes apparent. Mark has always been the most "difficult" of the canonical gospels, the one that requires the greatest amount of hermeneutical gymnastics from its commentators. Its beginning in media res, its disconcerting ending at 16:8, its multiple endings, the "messianic secret," Jesus's tensions with his disciples and family - these are just some of the more obvious of the and many troublesome features that distinguish Mark from the other biblical gospels. If there had not been two other gospels (Matthew and Luke) that were clearly similar to Mark but also much more attractive to Christian belief, it seems likely that Mark, like the gospels of Thomas and Peter, would not have been accepted into the canon. Reading Mark as fantasy does not "solve" any of these problems, but it does place them in a very different context, one in which they are no longer "problems," but in which there are different problems. A fantastical reading of the gospel of Mark is not the only correct understanding of this text, but rather one possibility that may have considerable appeal and value in the contemporary world. This fantastic reading is a "reading from the outside," inspired by the parable "theory" of Isaiah 6:9-10 and Mark 4:11-12: "for those outside everything is in parables; so that they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand." Reading from the outside counters a widespread belief that only those within the faith community can properly understand the scriptures. It is the "stupid" reading of those who do not share institutionalized understandings passed down through catechisms and creeds, i.e., through the dominant ideology of the churches.

"Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching?proclaiming?and healing every disease and every sickness among the people." (Mt 4:23) Few today doubt that Jesus was viewed by many of his contemporaries as a miracle worker. And many scholars today would agree that Jesus was a healer and an exorcist. But what does this mean? Was Jesus simply a master at relieving psychological distress, a healer of psychosomatic illness, a purveyor of paranormal therapy? What distinguished Jesus from other miracle workers of the ancient world? And what should we make then of his stilling the storm, his walking on the sea, his feeding of the five thousand? In this study of the miracles of Jesus, Graham Twelftree extensively examines the miracles within each Gospel narrative. He evaluates Jesus' own understanding of the miracles, weighs the historical reliability of the miracle stories, and considers the question of miracles and the modern mind. This book maps and explores the borderlands between the affirmations of faith and the conclusions of historical method. Are some miracles simply more open to historical verification than others? With the historical study of Jesus once again capturing the attention of the media and the public, this timely book courageously steps forward to investigate the hard questions. Jesus the Miracle Worker is a comprehensive and textbook study of the miracles of Jesus, written by a recognized expert in the historical investigation of the exorcisms of Jesus.

The first comprehensive study of Scottish religious imperialism in the Middle East highly topical in the light of parallels with American religious imperialism in the region has interdisciplinary importance and appeal Attempting to Bring the Gospel Home portrays the Scottish missions to Palestine carried out by Presbyterian churches. These missions had as their stated aim the conversion of Jews to Protestantism, but also attempted to 'convert' other Christians and Muslims. Marten discusses the missions to Damascus, Aleppo, Tiberias, Safad, Hebron and Jaffa, and locates the missionaries in their religious, social, national and imperial contexts. He describes the three main methods of the missionaries' work - confrontation, education and medicine - as well as the ways in which these were communicated to the supporting constituency in Scotland. Michael Marten was formerly a graduate student in the Department of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Edinburgh, and now teaches at SOAS.

David Janzen argues that the Book of Chronicles is a document with a political message as well as a theological one and moreover, that the book's politics explain its theology. The author of Chronicles was part of a 4th century B.C.E. group within the post-exilic Judean community that hoped to see the Davidides restored to power, and he or she composed this work to promote a restoration of this house to the position of a client monarchy within the Persian Empire. Once this is understood as the political motivation for the work's composition, the reasons behind the Chronicler's particular alterations to source material and emphasis of certain issues becomes clear. The doctrine of immediate retribution, the role of 'all Israel' at important junctures in Judah's past, the promotion of Levitical status and authority, the virtual joint reign of David and Solomon, and the decision to begin the narrative with Saul's death can all be explained as ways in which the Chronicler tries to assure the 4th century assembly that a change in local government to Davidic client rule would benefit them. It is not necessary to argue that Chronicles is either pro-Davidic or pro-Levitical; it is both, and the attention Chronicles pays to the Levites is done in the service of winning over a group within the temple personnel to the pro-Davidic cause, just as many of its other features were designed to appeal to other interest groups within the assembly.

This title demonstrates that the Qumran document "The Rule of the Community", provides linguistic clues which illuminate our understanding of the "Fourth Gospel". This work sets out to demonstrate that the sectarian Qumran document "The Rule of the Community", provides linguistic clues which illuminate our understanding of how the author of the "Fourth Gospel" used truth terminology and expected it to be understood. It establishes that there are significant linguistic similarities shared by these two corpora. While these may be attributed to a development of the common tradition shared by both, as well as the influence ideology, the semantic continuity with the Rule of the Community makes it likely that the author of the "Fourth Gospel" was familiar with the mode of thought represented in the linguistic matrix of the Qumran literature and that he followed this in articulating his ideas in certain parts of his Gospel. This series focuses on early Jewish and Christian texts and their formative contexts; it also includes sourcebooks that help clarify the ancient world.

Deuteronomy 32:47 says the Pentateuch should not be 'an empty matter.' This new anthology from Beth Kissileff fills Genesis with meaning, gathering intellectuals and thinkers who use their professional knowledge to illuminate the Biblical text. These writers use insights from psychology, law, political science, literature, and other scholarly fields, to create an original constellation of modern Biblical readings, and receptions of Genesis: A scientist of appetite on Eve's eating behavior; law professors on contracts in Genesis, and on collective punishment; an anthropologist on the nature of human strife in the Cain and Abel story; political scientists on the nature of Biblical games, Abraham's resistance, and collective action. The highly distinguished contributors include Alan Dershowitz and Ruth Westheimer, the novelists Rebecca Newberger Goldstein and Dara Horn, critics Ilan Stavans and Sander Gilman, historian Russell Jacoby, poets Alicia Suskin Ostriker and Jacqueline Osherow, and food writer Joan Nathan.

This critically acclaimed series provides fresh and authoritative treatments of important aspects of Old Testament study through commentaries and general surveys. The authors are scholars of international standing.

This detailed exegetical study of Gal 3.28c in the light of 3.14-29 and 4.21-31 shows not only how integral this verse is to chapters 3 and 4 of the letter, but also that it is the key to understanding Paul's theological argument of promise in Galatians. Paul's use of the story of Abraham in 3.14-29 and of Sarah in 4.21-31 in light of God's promise to the patriarch and the matriarch in Genesis 17 have implications displays the joint role of Abraham and Sarah in bringing about the promise, and underscores the unity of the believers in Christ. In light of this, Uzukwu examines important aspects of the history of the interpretation of Gal 3.28c. Uzukwu sheds light on the link between Gal 3:28 and the three expressions of gratitude found in Greek writings. Links are also revealed to the three blessings of gratitude that appear at the beginning of the Jewish cycle of morning prayers, Gen 1.27c (in the Septuagint), and the alleged pre-Pauline baptismal formula. She goes further to demonstrate how 3.28c is related to the unity of Galatians 3-4, focusing on the theme of the promise as the text discusses the effect of the Christ event in bringing about the fulfillment of that promise.

We are living in exciting times, where God is stirring His daughters to step up and grasp hold of His Kingdom purposes, daring to apply His truth to their lives at new levels. In so doing, they are influencing others to do the same - and the Kingdom is rapidly growing stronger as a result. Patricia Talbott is one of these women at the forefront, and her book will be a powerful tool to help release this great potential. Cherie Minton, Co-Founder, Hope Force International I have known Patricia for 20 years, and from the time I met her I knew she was a woman of purpose and destiny. She is also a woman of discernment, wisdom, courage, prayer, determination, obedience, faith and commitment For women of all ages this is a wonderful book containing Biblical truth, with application. Patricia has found such treasures in these women's lives, treasures that can be become part of our lives today. She has already incorporated many of these values in her own life, so she writes with authority. I highly recommend this book for individual and group study, for processing and for reflection. Donna Ruth Jordan, YWAM Associates

Matthew's Gospel is a witness to conflicting interests. The leaders of Israel are part of the so-called 'retainer class', who pursue their own interests by promoting the interests of the Roman rulers. Jesus (and the Matthaean community), on the contrary, acts on behalf of the marginalized in society. Jesus challenges the underlying values of the leaders who, contrary to what is expected, do not forgive and act mercifully. The leaders try to resolve the conflict negatively by labelling Jesus as possessed by the devil. At the same time, the conflict spirals onward: the Matthaean community is called to act in the interests of the marginalized. It is Vledder's special contribution to Matthaean study that he brings to light the underlying dynamics of this conflict in a stimulating sociological study.