The essays gathered here provide a panoramic view of current thinking on biblical texts that play important roles in contemporary struggles for social justice - either as inspiration or impediment. Here, from the hands of an ecumenical array of leading biblical scholars, are fresh and compelling resources for thinking biblically about what justice is and what it demands. Individual essays treat key debates, themes, and texts, locating each within its historical and cultural settings while also linking them to the most pressing justice concerns of the twenty-first century. The volume aims to challenge academic and ecclesiastical complacency and highlight key avenues for future scholarship and action.

Study Hebrews in its Second Temple Context Following the proven model established in Reading Romans in Context, Reading Mark in Context, and Reading Revelation in Context, this book brings together a series of accessible essays that compare and contrast the theology and hermeneutical practices of the book of Hebrews with various early Jewish literature. Going beyond an introduction that merely surveys historical events and theological themes, this textbook examines individual passages in Second Temple Jewish literature in order to illuminate the ideas and emphases of Hebrews' varied discourses. Following the rhetorical progression of Hebrews, each chapter in this textbook: pairs a major unit of Hebrews with one or more sections of a thematically related Jewish text introduces and explores the historical and theological nuances of the comparative text shows how the ideas in the comparative text illuminate those expressed in Hebrews In addition to the focused comparison provided in the essays, Reading Hebrews in Context offers other student-friendly features that help them engage broader discussions, including an introductory chapter that familiarizes students with the world and texts of Second Temple Judaism and a glossary of important terms. The end of each chapter contains a list of other thematically-relevant Second Temple Jewish texts recommended for further study and a focused bibliography pointing students to critical editions and higher-level discussions in scholarly literature they might use to undertake their own comparative studies.

The essays gathered here provide a panoramic view of current thinking on biblical texts that play important roles in contemporary struggles for social justice - either as inspiration or impediment. Here, from the hands of an ecumenical array of leading biblical scholars, are fresh and compelling resources for thinking biblically about what justice is and what it demands. Individual essays treat key debates, themes, and texts, locating each within its historical and cultural settings while also linking them to the most pressing justice concerns of the twenty-first century. The volume aims to challenge academic and ecclesiastical complacency and highlight key avenues for future scholarship and action.

A thoroughly revised edition of The HarperCollins Study Bible, one of the leading study bibles used in undergraduate and graduate courses, the first study bible offering the full text of the New Revised Standard Version--Updated Edition. Written by and supported by the largest and most respected academic association of Bible scholars, The Society of Biblical Literature, The SBL Study Bible is the landmark general reference Bible that offers the full text of the New Revised Standard Version. Now, this completely revised edition reflects the changes in the updated NRSV, incorporating: The latest scholarship and findings New diagrams, charts, and maps covering all the key time periods and regions of biblical events Comprehensive, accessible introductions to every book of the Bible with commentary and notes on each page Hundreds of new articles, charts, and images explaining key words, concepts, people, historical events, and historical context.

Professor Adela Yarbro Collins brings to bear on the text of the first Gospel the latest historical-critical perspectives, providing a full treatment of such controversial issues as the relationship of canonical Mark to the "Secret Gospel of Mark" and the text of the Gospel, including its longer endings. She situates the Gospel, with its enigmatic portrait of the misunderstood Messiah, in the context of Jewish and Greco-Roman literature of the first century. Her comments draw on her profound knowledge of apocalyptic literature as well as on the traditions of popular biography in the Greco-Roman world to illuminate the overall literary form of the Gospel. The commentary also introduces an impressive store of data on the language and style of Mark, illustrated from papyrological and epigraphical sources. Collins is in constructive dialogue with the wide range of scholarship on Mark that has been produced in the twentieth century. Her work will be foundational for Markan scholarship in the first half of the twenty-first century.

When modern European missionaries arrived in India in the eighteenth century, they were astonished to discover Christian communities that traced their origins back to Thomas. How and when did Christianity spread eastwards? The earliest answer can be found in the pages of The Acts of Thomas. It begins, At that time all of us, the apostles, were in Jerusalem. . . . We divided the regions of the world so that each of us would . . . go to the nation to which the Lord had sent him. India fell to the lot of Judas Thomas, who is also called Didymus; but he did not want to go, claiming that he was unable to travel at all because of his weak constitution. The Acts of Thomas is one of five surviving apocryphal acts-along with Andrew, John, Peter, and Paul-that recount the adventures of the apostles as they carried the Christian message to the far reaches of their world. The well-known "Hymn of the Pearl," widely regarded as an allegory of the soul on its journey, from God and back to God, is found in its pages. This volume features a complete fresh translation of the Greek text an introduction, setting TheActs of Thomas in its literary and historical context and evaluating the manuscript tradition notes identifying important differences between the ancient Greek and Syriac versions cross-references within and between the various individual episodes or "acts" an extensive index of quotations of parallels (quotations, allusions, thematic similarities) in canonical and non-canonical writings, including the Coptic Gnostic Nag Hammadi Library a bibliography of primary and secondary sources

Eighty-one years after America witnessed the Scopes trial over the teaching of evolution in public schools, the debate between science and religion continues. In this book, scholars from a variety of disciplines - sociology, history, science, and theology - provide new insights into the contemporary dialogue as well as some perspective suggestions for delineating the responsibilities of both the scientific and religious spheres. Why does the tension between science and religion continue? How have those tensions changed during the past one hundred years? How have those tensions impacted the public debate about so-called 'intelligent design' as a scientific alternative to evolution? With wit and wisdom, the authors address the conflict from its philosophical roots to its manifestations within American culture. In doing so, they take an important step toward creating a society that reconciles scientific inquiry with the human spirit. This book, which marks the one hundredth anniversary of "The Terry Lecture Series", offers a unique perspective for anyone interested in the debate between science and religion in America.

Six acclaimed scholars-including a biologist, a sociologist, a historian, a philosopher, and a physicist-examine the evolution debate. Eighty-one years after America witnessed the Scopes trial over the teaching of evolution in public schools, the debate between science and religion continues. In this book scholars from a variety of disciplines-sociology, history, science, and theology-provide new insights into the contemporary dialogue as well as some perspective suggestions for delineating the responsibilities of both the scientific and religious spheres. Why does the tension between science and religion continue? How have those tensions changed during the past one hundred years? How have those tensions impacted the public debate about so-called "intelligent design" as a scientific alternative to evolution? With wit and wisdom the authors address the conflict from its philosophical roots to its manifestations within American culture. In doing so, they take an important step toward creating a society that reconciles scientific inquiry with the human spirit. This book, which marks the one hundredth anniversary of The Terry Lecture Series, offers a unique perspective for anyone interested in the debate between science and religion in America.

The Psalms, initially shaped by the experience of the people of Israel, expressed the hopes and fears, the yearnings for and devotion to God, of two religious traditions, each diverse in time and space. To study the Psalms, therefore, it is necessary to move beyond their initial cultural context and to see how they were appropriated by and contributed to the religious lives of Jews and Christians across the centuries. These essays provide that complex diachronic perspective. They represent a spectrum of disciplines, including biblical studies, liturgical studies, musicology, art history, theology, and literature. The result is a richly textured appreciation of the way the Psalms have functioned in these communities of conviction for more than two thousand years.
Paperback edition is available from the Society of Biblical Literature (www.sbl-site.org)