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This book surveys the social values of the Roman world with a special focus on stratification and honour-seeking. The Roman colony at Philippi is used to demonstrate how entrenched those values were in Philippian society. The books of Acts and Philippians are also examined in view of these social values.

Mark Forman explores the extent to which Paul's concept of 'inheritance' in Romans, and its associated imagery, logic and arguments, served to evoke socio-political expectations that were different to those which prevailed in contemporary Roman imperial discourse. Forman explores how Paul deploys the idea of inheritance in Romans and analyses the sources which inform and overlap with this concept. Coins, literature and architecture are all examined in order to understand the purpose, hopes and expectations of first-century society. This book contributes to recent studies covering Paul and politics by arguing that Paul's concept of inheritance subverts and challenges first-century Roman ideologies.

The prevalence of salvation language in the first letter of Peter has often been acknowledged though rarely investigated in depth. In this book Martin Williams presents an account exploring the concept of salvation in this theologically rich letter. He brings together the disciplines of hermeneutics, New Testament studies, and systematic and historical theology in order to explore the language of salvation which resonates within the text. The book also elaborates on a methodological level the segregation which has arisen between biblical studies and theological studies. In doing this, Williams identifies a basis for how there can be interaction between these two different viewpoints. This book will be a valuable resource for students and scholars interested in the exegesis and theology of 1 Peter, the doctrine of salvation and biblical interpretation.

The book of Acts contains a strong geographical component. Yet readings of Acts typically ignore or marginalise geography's contribution to the construction of the narrative's theology. In this book Matthew Sleeman argues that Jesus' ascension into heaven is foundational for establishing the 'spatiality' of Acts, showing that the narrative's understanding of place and space is shaped decisively by Christ's heavenly location. Drawing on recent advances in geographical theory, Sleeman offers a 'spatial' interpretation that expands our vision of how space and place inform the theological impulses of Acts. Presenting a complement to conventional 'temporal' readings of Acts, he sheds new light on the theology of the book, and suggests new ways of reading not only Acts but also other New Testament texts. Sleeman's work combines innovative biblical scholarship with accessible and informative geographical analysis, and is suitable for those with research and teaching interests in human geography or biblical studies.

The Gospels record that Jesus purported to forgive sins. What significance would such a claim have had for his contemporaries and what would the implications have been for his identity as a first-century popular prophet? Tobias Hagerland answers these questions and more as he investigates the forgiveness of sins in the mission of the historical Jesus. The Gospels are interpreted within the context of first-century Judaism as part of a broader reconstruction of Jesus' career as a healer and prophet, and rhetorical criticism is introduced as a tool for explaining how the gospel tradition about Jesus and forgiveness developed. Hagerland combines detailed exegesis and rigorous methodology with a holistic view of the historical Jesus, evaluating recent scholarship about first-century Jewish prophets and utilizing previously neglected textual evidence to present a thorough investigation of the theology of forgiveness in early Judaism and primitive Christianity.

The Gospel of Thomas is the most well-known and controversial extra-canonical gospel, much discussed in scholarly, student and popular circles. This book answers important questions about the origins of this gospel, exploring whether it was written in Aramaic or if it was influenced by the canonical gospels.

In the first three Gospels, Jesus rarely travels to Jerusalem prior to his final week. The Fourth Gospel, however, features Jesus' repeated visits to the city, which occur primarily during major festivals. This volume elucidates the role of the Jewish feasts of Passover, Tabernacles, and Dedication in John's presentation of Jesus. Gerry Wheaton examines the Gospel in relation to pertinent sources from the Second Temple and Rabbinic periods, offering a fresh understanding of how John appropriates the symbolic and traditional backgrounds of these feasts. Wheaton situates his inquiry within the larger question of Judaism in John's Gospel, which many consider to be the most anti-Semitic New Testament text. The findings of this study significantly contribute to the ongoing debate surrounding the alleged anti-Jewish posture of the Gospel as a whole, and it offers new insights that will appeal to scholars of Johannine theology, New Testament studies, and Jewish studies.

Adams applies ancient and modern genre theory to provide an insightful reading of the composition and purpose of the Acts of the Apostles, and to propose that it is a work of collected biography, rather than history. This nuanced study will interest those studying the New Testament and ancient literature.

Interprets the often overlooked metaphor of apostles as divinely appointed administrators (oikonomoi) and assesses the complicated and multifaceted nature of authority in Paul. This study will appeal to academic researchers and graduate students of New Testament studies, Pauline theology and those interested in the Graeco-Roman context of early Christianity.

1 John is commonly understood to contain no reference to Jesus's resurrection. Jensen refutes this in a stimulating and original reading of the whole letter, which will be of use to scholars and advanced students of New Testament studies, Johannine theology and Jewish history.

Biblical scholars have widely discussed 1 Corinthians, but there has been no consensus on its arrangement and central theme. Malcolm analyses Paul's rhetoric of 'reversal' - why he leaves the topic of the resurrection until the end of the letter. For students of New Testament studies, Pauline theology and early Christianity.

This work re-examines the divisive wisdom in 1 Corinthians on the basis of consistent discourse similarities between the views of the Corinthians and the Stoic system of thought. Brookins argues that access to philosophical training moved the church's wealthier members to conflate Paul's message with Stoicism, resulting in disturbances within the church.

Offers fresh insights regarding 1 Peter's theology of Christian suffering, and the way in which Zechariah, through its influence on the author of 1 Peter, has shaped the early Church's understanding of Christian discipleship. An essential resource for those studying the New Testament, Petrine theology and early Christianity.

A provocative study of Paul's use of metalepsis, or echo, that considers the psalms quoted by David and Christ in Romans and 2 Corinthians. Matthew Scott offers a fresh interpretation of the New Testament's reception of the Old Testament that will appeal to scholars of both.

This volume is the first to investigate manifestations of faith in the Book of Hebrews across four dimensions: ethical, eschatological, Christological, and ecclesiological. The author of Hebrews presents faith as enduring suffering until death, after which there is life. Jesus embodies this story of faith, and humans participate in it as his followers.

This volume examines 1 Corinthians 1-4 within first-century politics, demonstrating the significance of Corinth's constitution to the interpretation of Paul's letter. Bradley J. Bitner shows that Paul carefully considered the Roman colonial context of Corinth, which underlay numerous ecclesial conflicts. Roman politics, however, cannot account for the entire shape of Paul's response. Bridging the Hellenism-Judaism divide that has characterised much of Pauline scholarship, Bitner argues that Paul also appropriated Jewish-biblical notions of covenant. Epigraphical and papyrological evidence indicates that his chosen content and manner are best understood with reference to an ecclesial politeia informed by a distinctively Christ-centred political theology. This emerges as a 'politics of thanksgiving' in 1 Corinthians 1:4-9 and as a 'politics of construction' in 3:5-4:5, where Paul redirects gratitude and glory to God in Christ. This innovative account of Paul's political theology offers fresh insight into his pastoral strategy among nascent Gentile-Jewish assemblies.

This volume is the first English-language monograph to examine Paul's Corinthian church in relation to contemporary cult groups from Mediterranean antiquity. Richard Last employs a new comparative methodology for research on the earliest Christian churches, generating highly original theses on their financial practices and leadership organisation that challenge traditional portrayals.

This volume investigates the cultural, political, economic, and religious conflicts that led to the historical Jesus' arrest, trial, and execution. It introduces a new hypothesis positing Jesus' enactment of a program of radically nonviolent eschatological restoration, an orientation that ultimately inspired the first attributions of sacrificial language to his death.

This book offers a new approach to the death of Jesus in Matthew by introducing the central concept of 'innocent blood' and the Jewish paradigm of purity and pollution. It will be of interest to all who work in Matthew, New Testament, and/or Judaic studies.

This book is aimed at biblical and classical scholars. It resolves one of the most striking questions about the Book of Revelation: what is its literary genre? John chooses a literary form, similar to that of the short story, allowing him to use time-space coordinates flexibly, to dramatize the text and to take his time in describing his visions.

Designed for scholars and other advanced students of the Bible and classical rhetorical theory, Inventing Hebrews proposes that the 'disjointed' form of arrangement, a template ubiquitous in antiquity but little discussed in modern biblical studies, holds the key to the longstanding question of Hebrews' structure and purpose.

This book is about the exposition of Christ's atoning work in the Epistle to the Hebrews. It is for New Testament scholars, theologians, and advanced students of theology and biblical studies. The book examines Jesus' atoning death on the cross and his self-offering in heaven, at his ascension.

For decades, scholars have examined the Gospel of John from historical, literary, and theological angles. Mark Blumhofer offers an interpretation of the Gospel that draws together these various strands in ways that will advance the understanding of John among scholars, pastors, and other readers of the Gospel.

This book is intended for scholars and students of the New Testament and early Christianity, and highlights the significance of an early gospel-like text that has been neglected owing to the inadequacy of previous translations. A new translation is provided, and links with other early Christian literature are explored.

This book is for those who are interested in ancient messianism and Christology. It interrogates how early Jewish authors used traditions about David and his descendants to characterize their messiahs, and then applies this set of criteria to the Gospel of Mark.

This volume examines how 1 Peter draws together metaphors of family, ethnicity, temple, and priesthood to describe Christian identity. Christian believers spiritually begotten, raised, and socialized into a new Christian identity.

This book focuses on the 'Gospel of Mary' in the context of a broader analysis of early Christian dialogue gospels - a popular literary genre used to present Jesus as conversing with select disciples and answering a series of questions on life, death and the cosmos at the conclusion of his earthly career. Jesus' teachings in these texts can vary greatly, from affirming the resurrection of the flesh to denying it completely. This book highlights the diversity of perspective within this genre, bringing together New Testament, 'gnostic' and (proto-)orthodox texts. Yet each text is based on the premise that it contains new or clarified teaching from the risen or glorified Lord, often in the form of a final revelation concerned with the disciples' eschatological salvation. This book offers a fresh and in-depth analysis of the 'Gospel of Mary' in the context of the dialogue gospel genre, concentrating on the narrative frame, the eschatological teachings, and the relationship between the two.

For the author of the fourth Gospel, there is neither a Christless church nor a churchless Christ. Though John's Gospel has been widely understood as ambivalent toward the idea of 'church', Andrew Byers argues that ecclesiology is as central a Johannine concern as Christology. Rather than focusing on the community behind the text, John's Gospel directs attention to the vision of community prescribed within the text, which is presented as a 'narrative ecclesiology' by which the concept of 'church' gradually unfolds throughout the Gospel's sequence. The theme of oneness functions within this script and draws on the theological language of the Shema, a centerpiece of early Jewish theology and social identity. To be 'one' with this 'one God' and his 'one Shepherd' involves the believers' corporate participation within the divine family. Such participation requires an ontological transformation that warrants an ecclesial identity expressed by the bold assertion found in Jesus' citation of Psalm 82: 'you are gods'.

The idea of pre-existence has a long history in early Jewish and Biblical traditions. Professor Hamerton-Kelly studies the various forms the idea takes in these traditions as they emerge in the New Testament. He pays special attention to the themes of Wisdom and the Son of Man, with detailed references to the relevant texts and sources. His conclusions are that there are two basic types of the idea of pre-existence in the New Testament - which he calls 'protological' and 'eschatological' respectively - and two entities which were chiefly understood in terms of these types - namely, Christ and the Church. This unusual book illuminates the process by which the early Church blended its Greek and Jewish heritages by analysing some of the conceptual patterns in the New Testament which anticipated that process. It will be of interest to New Testament scholars and historians of doctrine.