The Apostle employs the Scriptures more in Romans than in any of his other letters. Scripture, Texts, and Tracings in Romans advances the interpretation of Romans by exploring how the Apostle Paul quoted, alluded to, or "echoed" the Jewish Scriptures. Identification of allusions is at the forefront, as are questions of methodology, the texture of Paul's theology, his understanding of Scripture, and implications for other areas of Pauline studies, such as empire-criticism.

This volume provides a comprehensive survey of the unity and diversity behind biblical conceptions of "God." This is accomplished by respecting the distinctive theology of each canonical book and by placing reflection about God in conversation with major themes of biblical theology--Christology, pneumatology, anthropology. Four essays examine the Old Testament images of God while ten essays address the way in which God is presented in the New Testament. The volume is rounded off with an essay exploring biblical preaching about God.

Scripture, Texts, and Tracings in Galatians and 1 Thessalonians advances the interpretation of these letters by exploring how the Apostle Paul quotes, alludes to or "echoes" the Jewish Scriptures and other ancient materials. Comparative wording is at the forefront, whether in relation to Abraham, Sarah, Hagar, or prophecies and promises from Genesis, Habakkuk, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, the Psalms, or other texts such as Philo. Issues and controversies include such topics as faith (ἐκ πίστεως), the Torah, the Holy Spirit, holiness, suffering, eschatology, allegorical interpretation, identity of the Israel of God, Zion and the return from exile, Roman piety, imperialism, and hidden transcripts.

Much recent scholarship on Paul has searched for implicit narratives behind Paul's scriptural allusions, especially in the wake of Richard B. Hays's ground breaking work on the apostle's appropriation of Scripture. A. Andrew Das reviews six proposals for "grand thematic narratives" behind the logic of Galatians-potentially, six explanations for the fabric of Paul's theology: the covenant (N. T. Wright); the influx of nations to Zion (Terence Donaldson); Isaac's near sacrifice (Scott Hahn, Alan Segal); the Spirit as cloud in the wilderness (William Wilder); the Exodus (James Scott, Sylvia Keesmaat); and the imperial cult (Bruce Winter at al.). Das weighs each of these proposals exegetically and finds them wanting-more examples of what Samuel Sandmel famously labelled "parallelomania" than of sound exegetical method. He turns at last to reflect on the risks of (admittedly alluring) totalizing methods and lifts up a seventh proposal with greater claim to evidence in the text of Galatians: Paul's allusions to Isaiah's servant passages.

Scripture, Texts, and Tracings in 2 Corinthians and Philippians advances the interpretation of 2 Corinthians and Philippians by exploring how the Apostle Paul quotes, alludes to, or "echoes" the Jewish Scriptures. Identification of allusions is at the forefront, as are questions about the Torah, God's righteousness, reconciliation, new creation, new covenant, Christology, lament language, cultic metaphors, canon, rhetoric, and more.

Scholars have long debated the "double character" of Romans. Why did Paul address a long discussion of Jewish themes to a Gentile audience? Das provides a fresh understanding of the identity and attitudes of the Gentile Christians in Rome and of the expulsion of Jews from Rome under the emperor Claudius. His reading offers new insight into Paul's concern for the Jewish roots of the Christ movement.