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Odell-Scott argues that for Paul, no one may boast that they are selected by God, and no one has the authority to rule as God's representative.

Social memory research has complicated the relationship between past and present because it is a relationship which finds expression in memorial acts such as storytelling and text-production. This book shows how social memory research has complicated the relationship between past and present in New Testament studies.

Examines the Lukan themes of unity and disunity against ancient Greco-Roman and Jewish social and political discourses on concord and discord to better understand the context in which Luke highlights the themes of unity and disunity.

Case Frame analysis distinguishes the words of a language into two categories, predicators and non-predicators, and provides procedures for describing the lexical requirements that predicators impose on the words that complete their meaning. This study adapts the method of Case Frame analysis for the investigation of the New Testament.

In "1 Thessalonians 4:15", the Apostle Paul appeals to a 'word of the Lord' to provide authority for his eschatological encouragement. This book investigates the well-known exegetical problem of identifying the referent of the phrase 'Word of the Lord' in "1 Thessalonians 4:15".

Creates a set of definitions, which are applied to the examination of the relevant Diaspora Jewish literature, inscriptions and papyri, and the NT passage. This examination reveals different attitudes adopted by different Jews towards idolatry, serving as parallels to the three positions in 1 Cor 8.1-11.1, 'the strong', 'the weak', and Paul.

Virtually all scholars agree that apocalyptic and millenarianism formed at least part of the matrix of the culture in first-century Jewish Palestine, but there is a sharp disagreement concerning the extent to which Jesus shared apocalyptic and millenarian beliefs. Although there has been a great deal written defending or opposing an ''apocalyptic Jesus'', almost nothing has been said on the questions of what, from the standpoint of modern historiography of Jesus, is at stake in the issue of whether or not he was an apocalypticist or a millenarian prophet, and what is at stake in arguing that his alleged apocalypticism is a central and defining characteristic, rather than an incidental feature. Much has been said on the kind of Jew Jesus was, but almost nothing is said on why the category of Judaism has become so central to historical Jesus debates. These questions have less to do with the quantity and character of the available ancient evidence than they do with the ways in which the modern critic assembles evidence into a coherent picture, and the ideological and theological subtexts of historical Jesus scholarship. Scholars of Christian origins have been rather slow to inquire into the ideological location of their own work as scholars, but it is this question that is crucial in achieving a critical self-awareness of the larger entailments of historical scholarship on Jesus and the early Jesus movement. This volume begins the inquiry into the ideological location of modern historical Jesus scholarship.JSHJ, JSNTS275

The portrait of the Samaritan mission in Acts 8:4-25 is the climax of various Lukan episodes involving the Samaritans. This work shows that the function of this portrait makes better sense in light of the historical context of the Samaritans up to and including the New Testament period, and of Luke's special interest in the Samaritans.

Matthew's gospel begins and ends with the Jewish-Gentile debate, and at the heart of both the issue and the gospel is the story of the Canaanite woman. It is a story that reveals tension between Jews and proselytes in Matthew's community.

The argument of this book is two-fold: the target of the argument of Colossians is a Judaism dismissive of the Gentile Colossian Christians and the recognition of that fact casts new light on the moral material of the letter and its integration into the argument of the epistle as a whole.

In The Unity of the Corinthian Correspondence, David Hall argues that 1 and 2 Corinthians are closely related. In both letters, Paul faces the same opponents, referring to them in the same disguised, indirect way in both 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians 1-9 before confronting them directly in 2 Corinthians 10-13.

A comparison of the message of Acts transmitted by Codez Bezae with that of the Alexandrian text, represented by Codex Vaticanus. For each section of Acts, this work provides a translation of the Bezan and Alexandrian manuscripts, followed by a critical apparatus and, a commentary that explores the differences in the message of the two texts.

The Acts of the Apostles and Philostratus' "Life of Apollonius", come from different faiths, but show similar cultural scripts at play. Investigating the social interactions in the two narrative worlds shows how legitimate miracle-workers were distinguished from illegitimate magicians.

Aims to re-examine Paul within contemporary Jewish debate on the topic of divine grace and its relation to human agency, attuned to the significant theological issues he raises without imposing upon him the frameworks developed in later Christian thought.

This new collection celebrates the distinguished contribution of William S. Campbell to a renewed understanding of Paul''s theologizing and its influence on the shaping of early Christian identity. The essays are clustered around two closely related topics: Paul''s theologizing, and the way it influenced Christian identity within the context of Roman Empire. The essays consider the continued relevance of previous identities in Christ'', the importance of the context of the Roman Empire, and the significance of the Jewishness of Paul and the Pauline movement in the shaping of identity. The political context is discussed by Neil Elliott, Ekkehard Stegemann, Daniel Patte, and Ian Rock whilst the Jewish roots of Paul and the Christ-movement are addressed in essays by Robert Jewett, Mark Nanos, Calvin Roetzel, and Kathy Ehrensperger. Paul''s specific influence in shaping the identity of the early Christ-movement is the concern of essays by Robert Brawley, Jerry Sumney, Kar Yong Lim, and J. Brian Tucker. Finally, methodological reflection on Paul''s theologizing within Pauline studies is the concern of essays by Terrence Donaldson and Magnus Zetterholm.

In Matthew 5:38-42, Jesus overrides the Old Testament teaching of ''an eye for eye and a tooth for a tooth'' - the Lex Talionis law - and commands his disciples to turn the other cheek. James Davis asks how Jesus'' teaching in this instance relates to the Old Testament talionic commands, how it relates to New Testament era Judaism and what Jesus required from his disciples and the church.Based on the Old Testament texts such as Leviticus 24, Exodus 22 and Deuteronomy 19, a strong case can be made that the Lex Talionis law was understood to have a literal application there are several texts that text of Leviticus 24 provides the strongest case that a literal and judicial application. However, by the second century AD and later, Jewish rabbinic leadership was essentially unified that the OT did not require a literal talion, but that financial penalties could be substituted in court matters. Yet there is evidence from Philo, Rabbi Eliezer and Josephus that in the first century AD the application of literal talion in judicial matters was a major and viable Jewish viewpoint at the time of Jesus. Jesus instruction represents a different perspective from the OT lex talionis texts and also, possibly, from the Judaism of his time. Jesus commands the general principle of not retaliation against the evil person and intended this teaching to be concretely applied, as borne out in his own life. JSNTS

Refutes the argument put forward by some biblical scholars that Paul, in his sexual ethics, is in partial agreement with a thought in the Graeco-Roman world that condemns sexual desire and advocates the elimination of such desire from marital sex.

Early Christology must focus on not simply 'historical' but also theological ideas found in contemporary Jewish thought and practice. In this book, a range of distinguished contributors considers the context and formation of early Jewish and Christian devotion to God alone - the emergence of 'monotheism'.