These five essays deal with the influence of Judaic haggadah or lore, especially in the form of "creative historiography" or "imaginative dramatization," on four enigmatic passages in the Gospels, and one in Acts. They point to their deeper theological truths and negate the alternatives of true or false, historical or non-historical, usually applied to the narratives.

This study uses early Jewish sources to analyze the significance of Day of Atonement and High Priest imagery in the narrative of Simon Peter's threefold denial of Jesus. It then describes the influence of other early Jewish sources on Jesus' commissioning his main disciple Simon Peter as his own successor in John 21:15-19. Aus relates this event to Moses' commissioning his main disciple Joshua as his successor.

How could the Apostle Paul maintain in his first letter to the Christians in Corinth that all their ancestors were baptized into Moses at the Red Sea / exodus event (10:2), and how could he tolerate some of them having themselves baptized again on behalf of the dead (15:29)? Answers to these puzzling questions can be found in early Jewish sources now located both in Greek and Hebrew, all here translated.

The story of Jesus feeding the five thousand is found in all four Gospels, and is told in two of them twice. Roger David Aus primarily explores the many facets of early Palestinian Judaism which inform the story, especially in regard to the miracle-worker Elisha. He describes four major motifs in the narrative, as well as the Markan and Johannine redaction. In addition, he analyzes the account's Semitic background, genre and historicity, and its part in a miracle collection.

A widespread early Palestinian Jewish saying was 'As the first redeemer of Israel, so the last redeemer of Israel': as Moses, so the Messiah. This was the major reason why the death, burial, and translation of Moses to heaven in primarily Palestinian early Jewish tradition greatly influenced the descriptions of numerous accounts in the Gospels. The most significant examples of this are Jesus' burial by Joseph of Arimathea in Mark 15:42-46, and the narrative of the empty tomb in 16:1-8. Striking new insights into the background and significance of these episodes are gained here through an analysis of early Jewish materials.

In contrast to common opinion, Roger David Aus explores the positive aspects of the Apostle Paul's use of the image of 'triumphing' in Second Corinthians 2:14. Through detailed analysis of both Greco-Roman and Judaic texts, this exciting new work completely revises recent interpretations of this decisive passage. Aus illuminates it with expert precision and identifies the roots of imagery such as the 'triumphal procession in Christ,' 'fragrance of the knowledge of him,' and the 'aroma of Christ.' The origin of these and other images in verses 14-17 is found in both the Roman custom of a victorious general's leading a triumphal procession through the city of Rome, and in Judaic interpretation of the famous rebellion of Numbers 17:6-15 (English 16:41-50). With great skill, Aus demonstrates here how the Hellenistic Jewish Christian Paul masterfully combines imagery from both Greco-Roman and Judaic sources.

Matthew 1-2 and the Virginal Conception examines early Palestinian and Hellenistic Jewish accounts of the birth of Israel's first redeemer, Moses. The author shows how these accounts provide the background of Mary's "virginal conception" of Jesus, Israel's final redeemer, in Matthew 1-2.

This work is a collection of essays on the Palestinian Judaic background of Mark 5:1-20; Luke 4:16-30; the name Judas 'Iscariot'; Luke 19:41-44; John 8:56-58; Matt 24:28; Luke 17:37; Luke 13:34b, and Matthew 23:37b.