This book contains a collection of 13 essays from leading scholars on the relationship between passionate emotions and moral advancement in Greek and Roman thought.

Recognising that emotions played a key role in whether individuals lived happily, ancient philosophers extensively discussed the nature of "the passions," showing how those who managed their emotions properly would lead better, more moral lives.

The contributions are preceded by an introdution to the subject by John Fitzgerald. Writers discussed include the Cynics, the Neopythagorians, Aristotle and Ovid; the discussion encompasses philosophy, literature and religion.

Recent work on the ancient economy has tended to concentrate on market exchange, but other forces also caused goods to change hands. Such nonmarket transfers ranged from small private gifts to the wholesale confiscation of cities, lands, and their peoples. The papers presented in this volume examine aspects of this extramercantile economy, particularly benefaction and the role of associations, as well as their impact on the market economy. This volume brings together ancient historians, New Testament scholars, and classicists to assess critically the New Institutional Economics framework. Combining theoretical approaches with detailed investigations of particular regions and topics, its chapters examine Greek economic thought, the benefits of membership in private associations, and the economic role of civic euergetism from classical Athens to the municipalities of Roman Spain. The Extramercantile Economies of Greek and Roman Cities will be of use to those interested in the economic context of ancient religions, the role of associations in the economy, theoretical approaches to the study of the ancient economy, labor and politics in the ancient city, as well as how Greek philosophers, from Xenophon to Philodemus, developed ethical ideas about economic behavior.

Recent work on the ancient economy has tended to concentrate on market exchange, but other forces also caused goods to change hands. Such nonmarket transfers ranged from small private gifts to the wholesale confiscation of cities, lands, and their peoples. The papers presented in this volume examine aspects of this extramercantile economy, particularly benefaction and the role of associations, as well as their impact on the market economy. This volume brings together ancient historians, New Testament scholars, and classicists to assess critically the New Institutional Economics framework. Combining theoretical approaches with detailed investigations of particular regions and topics, its chapters examine Greek economic thought, the benefits of membership in private associations, and the economic role of civic euergetism from classical Athens to the municipalities of Roman Spain. The Extramercantile Economies of Greek and Roman Cities will be of use to those interested in the economic context of ancient religions, the role of associations in the economy, theoretical approaches to the study of the ancient economy, labor and politics in the ancient city, as well as how Greek philosophers, from Xenophon to Philodemus, developed ethical ideas about economic behavior.

This book contains a collection of 13 essays from leading scholars on the relationship between passionate emotions and moral advancement in Greek and Roman thought. Recognising that emotions played a key role in whether individuals lived happily, ancient philosophers extensively discussed the nature of "the passions", showing how those who managed their emotions properly would lead better, more moral lives. The contributions are preceded by an introdution to the subject by John Fitzgerald. Writers discussed include the Cynics, the Neopythagorians, Aristotle and Ovid; the discussion encompasses philosophy, literature and religion.

This thoroughly revised and expanded edition includes an entirely new introduction to Paul and the central issues surrounding his writings, as well as several newly included sections of writings from Paul's time to the present, among them "Annotated Text: Pseudo-Pauline Writings"; "The Apocryphal Paul: Some Early Christian Traditions and Legends," with writings by Jerome, Clement of Alexandria, Ambrosiaster, and others; "The Martyrdom of Paul"; "Paul and His Pagan Critics;" "Valentinus and the Gnostic Paul,"with writings by Theodotus and Elaine Pagels; "Paul and the Christian Martyrs"; "A Sampler of Patristic Interpretations"; "The Second Century Paul"; "Reading Romans," with writings from Origen, Theodoret of Cyrus, Paul W. Meyer, Stanley Stowers, Ernst Kasemann, and others; and "A Sampler of Modern Approaches to Paul and His Letters," with writings by Elisabeth Schussler Fiorenza, Abraham J. Malherbe, Peter Lampe, Margaret M. Mitchell, and Dale B. Martin. A helpful Epilogue-"The Christian Proteus," by Wayne A. Meeks-a Selected Bibliography, and an Index are also included.

From the second century to the present, 2 Corinthians offers its riches grudgingly, if at all; and even then it demands only the most careful and attentive inquiries.

The "Abingdon New Testament Commentaries" series provides compact, critical commentaries on the writings of the New Testament. These commentaries are written with special attention to the needs and interests of theological students, but they will also be useful for students in upper-level college or university settings, as well as for pastors and other religious leaders. In addition to providing basic information about the New Testament texts and insights into their meanings, these commentaries are intended to exemplify the tasks and procedures of careful, critical biblical exegesis.
"2 Corinthians is a treasure hidden in a thorny thicket. It is so rich, so full of theological insight, so packed with hope and possibility, so aware of dark human tendencies and human vulnerability, and so radical in its reevaluation of what is true and real." From the Introduction

This volume contains 28 essays in honor of Abraham J. Malherbe, whose work has been especially influential in exploring modes of cultural interaction between early Jews and Christians and their Graeco-Roman neighbours. Following an introductory essay on the problems inherent to such comparative studies in the history of New Testament scholarship, the essays are grouped into five topic areas: Graphos - semantics and writing, Ethos - ethics and moral characterization, Logos - rhetoric and literary expression, Ethnos - self-definition and acculturation, and Nomos - law and normative values. Some key examples are studies dealing with The Greek Idea of "Divine Nature" and its relation to the "Divine Man" tradition; Compilation of Letters in Cicero's collection; Radical Altruism in Paul; Greek Ideas of Concord and Cosmic Harmony in 1 Clement; The Rhetorical Use of Friendship Motifs in Galatians in comparison with Second Sophistic Orators; Wills and Testaments in Graeco-Roman perspective.

Paperback edition is available from the Society of Biblical Literature (www.sbl-site.org)