The Historical Jesus in Context

by Levine, Amy-Jill; Allison, Dale C., Jr.; Crossan, John Dominic; Levine, A. J.

• ISBN13: 9780691009926
• ISBN10: 0691009929
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-10-16
• Publisher: Princeton Univ Pr

Summary

The Historical Jesus in Contextis a landmark collection that places the gospel narratives in their full literary, social, and archaeological context. More than twenty-five internationally recognized experts offer new translations and descriptions of a broad range of texts that shed new light on the Jesus of history, including pagan prayers and private inscriptions, miracle tales and martyrdoms, parables and fables, divorce decrees and imperial propaganda. The translated materials--from Christian, Coptic, and Jewish as well as Greek, Roman, and Egyptian texts--extend beyond single phrases to encompass the full context, thus allowing readers to locate Jesus in a broader cultural setting than is usually made available. This book demonstrates that only by knowing the world in which Jesus lived and taught can we fully understand him, his message, and the spread of the Gospel. Gathering in one place material that was previously available only in disparate sources, this formidable book provides innovative insight into matters no less grand than first-century Jewish and Gentile life, the composition of the Gospels, and Jesus himself.

Author Biography

Amy-Jill Levine is E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Professor of New Testament Studies at the Divinity School and Graduate Department of Religion of Vanderbilt University. Dale C. Allison Jr. is Errett M. Grable Professor of New Testament Exegesis and Early Christianity at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. John Dominic Crossan is Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies at DePaul University.

Table of Contents

Princeton Readings in Religions	v
Contributors	ix
Acknowledgments	xi
Introduction
Amy Jill Levine	1	(39)
1. Archaeological Contributions to the Study of Jesus and the Gospels
Jonathan L. Reed	40	(15)
2. Josephus on John the Baptist and Other Jewish Prophets of Deliverance
Craig A. Evans	55	(9)
3. Abba and Father: Imperial Theology in the Contexts of Jesus and the Gospels
Mary Rose D'Angelo	64	(15)
4. Miraculous Conceptions and Births in Mediterranean Antiquity
Charles H. Talbert	79	(8)
5. First and Second Enoch: A Cry against Oppression and the Promise of Deliverance
George W.E. Nichelsburg	87	(23)
6. Jesus and the Dead Sea Scrolls
Peter Flint	110	(22)
7. The Chreia
David B. Gowler	132	(17)
8. The Galilean Charismatic and Rabbinic Piety: The Holy Man in the Talmudic Literature
Alan J. Avery-Peck	149	(17)
9. Miracle Stories: The God Asclepius, the Pythagorean Philosophers, and the Roman Rulers
Wendy Cotter, C.S.J.	166	(13)
10. The Mithras Liturgy
Marvin Meyer	179	(14)
11. Apuleius of Madauros
Ian H. Henderson	193	(13)
12. The Parable in the Hebrew Bible and Rabbinic Literature
Gary G. Porton	206	(16)
13. The Aesop Tradition
Lawrence M. Wills	222	(16)
14. Targum, Jesus, and the Gospels
Bruce Chilton	238	(18)
15. The Psalms of Solomon
Joseph L. Trafton	256	(10)
16. Moral and Ritual Purity
Jonathan Klawans	266	(19)
17. Gospel and Talmud
Herbert W Basser	285	(11)
18. Philo of Alexandria
Gregory E. Sterling	296	(13)
19. The Law of Roman Divorce in the Time of Christ
Thomas A.J. McGinn	309	(14)
20. Associations in the Ancient World
John S. Kloppenborg	323	(16)
21. Anointing Traditions
Teresa J. Hornsby	339	(4)
22. The Passover Haggadah
Calum Carmichael	343	(14)
23. Joseph and Aseneth: Food as an Identity Marker
Randall D. Chesnutt	357	(9)
24. The Pliny and Trajan Correspondence
Bradley M. Peper and Mark DelCogliano	366	(6)
25. Imitations of Greek Epic in the Gospels
Dennis R. MacDonald	372	(13)
26. Narratives of Noble Death
Robert Doran	385	(15)
27. Isaiah 53:1-12 (Septuagint)
Ben Witherington III	400	(5)
28. Thallus on the Crucifixion
Dale C. Allison Jr	405	(2)
Maps	407	(2)
Glossary	409	(8)
Index of Ancient Works	417	(18)
Index of Ancient Persons	435