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Dr Lincoln sees three main factors contributing to the Pauline picture of heaven: Paul's Jewish conceptual background and knowledge of Old Testament and other traditions about heaven; the effect on that inherited background of Paul's encounter with the risen Saviour and his later visions and revelations of the heavenly Christ; and his apostolic task in moulding the thought and practice of the converts in the churches for which he felt responsible, countering what lie considered to be distorted views or false options. The author analyses passages in Paul's letters where the concept of heaven plays a significant role, and discusses the relation of the concept to the background of his thought, his views of history, of the cosmos, of the destiny of humanity, and of the nature of Christian existence. As a uniquely full treatment of a neglected aspect of Paul's thought this monograph makes an important and contemporarily relevant contribution to New Testament studies.

The concept of perfection is central to the Epistle to the Hebrews but what is the precise meaning to be attached to the perfecting of Christ and the perfecting of Christians? Is teleioun to be understood in a cultic or ethical sense, or with reference to glorification; or is it employed in a formal sense so that the meaning has to be determined solely from the context? A thorough survey of the background literature suggests to Dr Peterson that it is only the context and, in particular, the object of the verb which can decide its sense on any specific occasion, and it is this method he pursues.

It has for long been generally assumed that the relationship between our canonical texts of the Gospels of Mark and Matthew is to be explained in terms of direct literary dependence, either of Matthew on Mark, or of Mark on Matthew. Professor Rist questions this assumption vigourously, and argues that it leads to contradictory and paradoxical conclusions. He replaces the theory of literary dependence with the thesis that Matthew and Mark grew up independently on the basis of a common oral tradition, and supports his view by detailed examination of a large number of parallel passages. The clarity and cogency of the author's argument is in the best tradition of this important series of monographs. In the context of the current resurgence of interest in the Synoptic problem, it will be welcomed by all concerned with the study of the New Testament.

This addition to the well-known series of theological monographs deals with the use of the Greek work traditionally translated 'body' but recently as 'person', especially in certain parts of the writings of Paul. Theologians have argued that the translation as 'person' defines man as an indivisible whole and as a complex of relationships rather than an organization of substances. Against the trends of modern biblical theology, Dr Gundry seeks to show that soma always refers to the individual physical body and that it should be defined in substantive categories. Consequently, the theological importance of the body as individual physical substance is insured for life in this world and in the next. Neither antagonism between body and spirit nor the possible independence of full personhood from physical existence characterizes biblical anthropology.

There has recently been strong support for the hypothesis that, contrary to the formerly accepted view that Mark's gospel was the first to be written, Mark was in fact the last synoptic gospel to appear. This book is a detailed examination of the arguments used to support this view, which constitutes a revival of that put forward by J. J. Griesbach at the end of the eighteenth century. Since Markan priority and the Two-Document hypothesis have been basic presuppositions for much modern gospel study, all attempts to question them must be taken very seriously. Dr Tuckett does this by investigating the redactional activity each hypothesis presupposes, and by then asking which source theory provides the most rational and consistent account of the redactional process.

This historical study is concerned with the adoption by Christianity of Jewish prerogatives and attributes, and in particular with its assumption of the name 'Israel'. Dr Richardson's claim is that this was not a simple development, as it is usually conceived to be, but one which took place over a long period. The equation between the Church and the 'true Israel' does not occur, Dr Richardson argues, until the mid-second century in the works of Justin Martyr. The book is concerned mainly with an exegetical study of the New Testament passages relevant to the argument, concentrating on the Pauline epistles. There are other sections on the attitude of Jesus himself towards Israel, on post-Pauline developments, on political factors and on the early Fathers to A.D. I6o. The book ends with a synthesis of conclusions, and there are appendixes on the Sects of Judaism, Paul's Use of Laos and the Apology of Aristides. This comprehensive analysis of a vital problem in the early Church's life and witness has many important implications for a theology of the Church.

In this widely acclaimed study of John's Gospel, Mark W. G. Stibbe shows how the fourth evangelist uses all the tactics of a skilled storyteller to promote his distinctive Christology. Literary and historical methodologies are integrated by the author in his narrative criticism, and a new, holistic approach to the gospel literature is suggested thereby.

"In this book, Matthew Pawlak offers the first treatment of sarcasm in New Testament studies. He provides an extensive analysis of sarcastic passages across the undisputed letters of Paul, showing where Paul is sarcastic, and how his sarcasm affects our understanding of his rhetoric and relationships with the Early Christian congregations in Galatia, Rome, and Corinth. Pawlak's identification of sarcasm is supported by a dataset of 400 examples drawn from a broad range of ancient texts, including major case studies on Septuagint Job, the prophets, and Lucian of Samosata. These data enable the determination of the typical linguistic signals of sarcasm in ancient Greek, as well as its rhetorical functions. Pawlak also addresses several ongoing discussions in Pauline scholarship. His volume advances our understanding of the abrupt opening of Galatians, diatribe and Paul's hypothetical interlocutor in Romans, the "Corinthian slogans" of First Corinthians, and the "fool's speech" found within Second Corinthians 10-13"--

"The first full-scale study of David traditions in the Gospel of Matthew's story of Jesus death. Matthew's messiah does not kill the Romans as many expected, but rather is killed by them. Nevertheless, Matthew cleverly attempts to show that Jesus suffered like David, and is thus the messiah despite his shameful execution"--