Scholars of early Christian and Jewish literature have for many years focused on interpreting texts in their hypothetical original forms and contexts, while largely overlooking important aspects of the surviving manuscript evidence and the culture that produced it.
The Shepherd of Hermas is a Greek visionary text written in Rome during the 2nd century CE with the aim to exhort men to change life and repent for their sins, taking advantage of the last chance given by the Lord before world's end.
This book employs cognitive linguistics to determine the foundational elements of the ancient Israelites' concept of teaching as reflected in the text of the Hebrew Bible and Ben Sira.
The volume contains eight original studies, each of which focuses on a different chapter or central passage in Daniel and offers a new interpretation or reading of the passage in question.
Jewish anthropological beliefs during the Hellenistic-Roman period are an important but previously neglected area of biblical exegesis and Jewish studies.
This volume brings together an international group of scholars on Mark and Paul, respectively, who reopen the question whether Paul was a direct influence on Mark.
Early Christian claims to the Holy Spirit arose in a vibrant cultural matrix that included Stoicism, Jewish mysticism, the Dead Sea Scrolls, Greco-Roman medicine, and the perspectives of Plutarch.
In comparison to Mark and Luke, the First Gospel contains a striking preponderance of economic language in passages dealing with sin, righteousness, and divine recompense.
As the first comparative study of Colossians and 1 Peter, the book fills a lacuna by exploring each author's understanding of the new existence and the means to righteous living.
The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls more than sixty years ago has revealed a wealth of literary compositions which rework the Hebrew Bible in various ways.
Professor Maurice Gilbert SJ is widely acknowledged as one of the leading authorities on biblical wisdom literature, in particular the Book of Ben Sira and the Wisdom of Solomon, on which he has produced many publications.
Sworn Enemies explains how the book of Ezekiel uses formulaic language from the exodus origin tradition - especially YHWH's oath - to craft an identity for the Judahite exiles.