The essays in the present volume celebrate the work of Margaret M. Mitchell (University of Chicago) by engaging, extending, and challenging her ground-breaking research in three areas: (1) the letters of Paul the Apostle, both authentic and pseudepigraphic; (2) the emergence and rapid development of early Christian literary culture over the first few centuries of the cult's existence; and (3) Late Antique interpretive practices and perspectives, particularly among patristic readers of the scriptures.

Receptions of Paul during the First Two Centuries: Exploration of the Jewish Matrix of Early Christianity examines the historical context of Paul and the way Paul’s Jewish heritage was received. Contributors take into consideration the aftermath of the Jewish War and its impact on the development of the Jesus movement and early Christian-Jewish relations in the following period. The chapters come to the conclusion that after the Jewish War, the reception of the authentic Paul was transformed more and more into the tradition about Paul, based and established by the second and third generations of Jesus-believing Gentiles, which perceived Paul as a convert from what is labeled “Judaism� (Ἰουδαϊσμός) to the complete opposite of it, “Christianity� (Χ�ιστιανισμός).

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.

The Book of Revelation presents the reader with a frightening narrative world in which the people of God are tormented, threatened, and sometimes killed by various agents of Satan. Throughout the work, the Apocalyse points to Rome as the predominant demonic agent. Scholars have traditionally thought that Revelation was written in order to encourage believers to stand fast in the face of the Roman persecutation of the early Church. More recently, however, it has been argued that no such crisis existed at the time the book was written. In this study, Paul Duff offers a different viewpoint on the origin of the Book of Revelation is a rhetorically sophisticated response to an internal leadership crisis within the churches. In support of this argument Duff marshals evidence from the social and economic context of the time, and from literary and rhetorical analyses of the text. The result is a work that substantially advances the implication of the current consensus and sheds new light on this influential yet enigmatic text.

When Jesus of Nazareth began proclaiming the kingdom of God early in the first century, he likely had no intention of starting a new religion, especially one that included former pagans. Yet a new religion did eventually develop-one that not only included non-Jews but was soon dominated by them. How did this happen? Jesus Followers in the Roman Empire by Paul Duff offers an accessible and informed account of Christian origins, beginning with the teaching of Jesus and moving to the end of the first century. Duff's narrative shows how the rural Jewish movement led by Jesus developed into a largely non-Jewish phenomenon permeating urban centers of the Roman Empire. Paying special attention to social, cultural, and religious contexts-as well as to early Christian ideas about idolatry, marriage, family, slavery, and ethnicity-Jesus Followers in the Roman Empire will help readers cultivate a deeper understanding of the identity, beliefs, and practices of early Christ-believers.