A great deal has happened in recent decades in the study of the Apocryphal Acts, and the field of apocryphal literature is incredibly broad. A reader looking for a current, general, and concise introduction to the subject will welcome this book. Klauck not only offers an excellent introduction to the topic of the Apocryphal Acts but also a useful resource for understanding the complex relations between these works themselves and to the canonical books. The book discusses both the main apocryphal Acts, such as the Acts of John, Paul, and Peter, and the more recent works, including the Acts of Philip, Bartholomew, and Matthew. For each chapter Klauck offers a explanation of the background and the structure for each of the works presented, and a detailed analysis of the content, and a bibliography all while incorporating the results of the most current international research.

Readers: College, university, and seminary students; New Testament scholars

Klauck's is a uniquely well-informed and comprehensive guide to the world of religion in the Graeco-Roman environment of early Christianity. Drawing on the most up-to-date scholarship, his volume paints a carefully nuanced portrait of the Christians' religious context. Besides describing ordinary domestic and civic religion and popular belief (including astrology, divination and "magic"), there is extended discussion of mystery cults, ruler and emperor cults, the religious dimensions of philosophy, and Gnosticism. An authoritative work, Klauck's will become a new standard for reference and teaching.

In this book Hans-Josef Klauck provides a comprehensive introduction to the apocryphal gospels - the biblical and related writings which do not form part of the accepted canon of Scripture.Klauck classifies the material in various helpful ways: Agrapha (isolated sayings if Jesus), Fragments, Jewish Christian Gospels, Two Gospels of the Egyptians, Infancy Gospels, Gospels about Jesus' Death and Resurrection, Gospels from Nag Hammadi, Conversations with the Risen Jesus, Dialogues of Jesus with No Location, Legends about the Death of Mary, Lost Gospels, the Toledot Jeshu (an anti-gospel) . Each section is accompanied by a carefully related bibliography. This highly readable introduction takes account of all the latest international scholarship on the apocrypha and will be an invaluable resource for all scholars and students in the field.

The projected thirty-volume Encyclopedia of the Bible and Its Reception (EBR) is intended to serve as a comprehensive guide to the current state of knowledge on the background, origins, and development of the canonical texts of the Bible as they were accepted in Judaism and Christianity. Unprecedented in breadth and scope, this encyclopedia also documents the history of the Bible's interpretation and reception across the centuries, not only in Judaism and Christianity, but also in literature, visual art, music, film, and dance, as well as in Islam and other religious traditions and new religious movements. The EBR is also available online. Further information on The Bible and Its Reception ."

Die fA"nfte Auflage des bekannten und verbreiteten MatthAuskommentars von Ulrich Luz stellt eine vollstAndige Neubearbeitung dar. Zwar ist die Grundanlage dieselbe geblieben, doch ist etwa ein Drittel des Textes vAllig neu. Manche Ergebnisse und Thesen wurden im RA"ckblick auf das Ganze vertieft oder zugespitzt. Literary criticism und leserbezogene Exegese wurden stArker berA"cksichtigt.

Der EKK ist das groAe Kommentarwerk aus evangelischer und katholischer Perspektive. Wissenschaftliche GrA"ndlichkeit in Exegese und Wirkungsgeschichte verbindet sich mit der Ausrichtung auf die Praxis der VerkA"ndigung und schafft so Kommentare, die MaAstAbe setzen. Die Subskription der Reihe ist jederzeit mAglich.