Even though millions of people world-wide read the New Testament—whether from curiosity or religious devotion—very few ask what this collection of books actually is or where it came from, how it came into existence, who decided which books to include, on what grounds, and when.
Before we can define “Judaism” for the purpose of our study of the New Testament, we had best say what we mean by any religion, the genus of which Judaism forms a species (and, we shall argue, with earliest Christianity as a subspecies of that same species of religion). Defining religion comes before defining a particular religion, just as defining a particular religion takes priority over …
This book explores some early works of Christian literature, those devoted to the New Testament in the 200 years or so after the rise of Constantine by Juvencus, Sedulius, and Arator. They have been somewhat neglected in the Anglophone world, at least, though there are notable exceptions among the small number of relevant monographs; it is important, especially in an increasingly interdisciplin…
The Expanded Bible: New Testament reflects the latest scholarship, current English, and the needs of contemporary students of the Bible. This new testament includes a multitude of study aids right in line with the text. Expanded translations and other helps make it possible for you to study the Bible while you read Expanded translations bring out the meaning of words and offer alternatives. …
Luke's Acts of the Apostles is the only documentation available on the birth of Christianity, despite the author's vigorously disputed reliability as a historian. Daniel Marguerat avoids this true/false quagmire by establishing his evaluation of Luke's talent as an historian within the framework of ancient historiography (the rules of ancient historians and narrative criticism). His study portr…
The New Testament book known as The First Letter of Peter describes how Christians should relate to the world. Specifically, it suggests how Christians should define themselves against a powerful and sometimes hostile culture. Written to first-century Christians in Asia Minor who were suffering from religious persecution, this letter brings Biblical and extra-Biblical traditions together to for…
One of the general or catholic epistles near the end of the New Testament, this letter traditionally attributed to the apostle Peter contains important ideas and reveals a fascinating relationship to the surrounding literary world. The book shows what problems Christians faced at the time the epistle was written and how the author addressed them. The commentary discusses the Greek original, wit…
A new commentary for today's world, The Story of God Bible Commentary explains and illuminates each passage of Scripture in light of the Bible's grand story. The first commentary series to do so, SGBC offers a clear and compelling exposition of biblical texts, guiding readers in how to creatively and faithfully live out the Bible in their own contexts. Its story-centric approach is ideal for pa…
An overview of discussions about the nature of New Testament theology, which examines the development, purpose and scope. * Contributions are written by some of the most distinguished writers in the field of New Testament studies. * Looks at the relationship of New Testament theology with other branches of theology.
This book offers new and insightful perspectives on early Christian communities and their cultural environment, through exploration of rituals central to Greco-Roman life.
John Lierman investigates the ways in which the New Testament writings, read within the context of ancient Judaism, envisage the relationship of Moses to Israel and to the Jewish people. His study shows how New Testament material can illuminate aspects of ancient Judaism and at the same time throws fresh light on the importance of the figure of Moses for NT religion and theology, especially Chr…
THE NEW TESTAMENT was written in Koine Greek during the first century AD. From the time of its original revelation, handwritten copies continually were prepared in order tomaintain and preserve that original text into the modern era. All copies made prior to the invention of movable-type printing were made by hand, resulting in various scribal alterations, most of these being of a minor nature.…
Robert Yarbrough, coauthor of the bestselling Encountering the New Testament , offers a historical and theological commentary on the Johannine Epistles in this new addition to the BECNT series. The commentary features the author's detailed interaction with the Greek text, explores the relationship between John's Epistles and Jesus's work and teaching, interacts with recent commentaries, is atte…
In this new addition to the BECNT series, respected New Testament scholar Robert Stein offers a substantive yet highly accessible commentary on the Gospel of Mark. The commentary focuses primarily on the Markan understanding of the Jesus traditions as reflected in this key New Testament book. For each section in Mark, the author analyzes how it fits the immediate and larger context of the Gospe…
Richard Bauckham expounds the theology of the Book of its understanding of God, Christ and the Spirit, the role of the Church in the world, and the hope of the coming of God's universal kingdom. Close attention is paid both to the literary form in which the theology is expressed and to the original context to which the book was addressed. Contrary to many misunderstandings of Revelation, it is …
At first blush it might seem perfectly obvious what "New Testament history" is and what the contents of a book about New Testament history would contain. On closer inspection this is not the case. Are we talking about a history of the New Testament documents themselves, or perhaps a history of the times in which the New Testament books were written? Or are we talking about an ordering and chron…
During Paul's ministry, Corinth was a newly rebuilt, bustling, important city in the Roman Empire. It was a place full of pride, individualism, wealth, and religious pluralism. No wonder its inhabitants held little regard for Paul's message! Sound familiar? Our contemporary culture has much in common with ancient Corinth. The relevance of this book to churches today is astounding. Paul delivers…
In this highly anticipated volume, N. T. Wright focuses directly on the historical Jesus: Who was he? What did he say? And what did he mean by it?Wright begins by showing how the questions posed by Albert Schweitzer a century ago remain central today. Then he sketches a profile of Jesus in terms of his prophetic praxis, his subversive stories, the symbols by which he reordered his world, and th…
A detailed examination of the passages central to the debate about Paul's christology and his view of Jewish Law. From meticulous exegesis makes some striking theological and historical conclusions.
In this volume the preacher moves step by step through the massive reasoning of the Apostle Paul on atonement and justification, yet the detail of the exposition does not stand in the way of a clear view of the whole, and the reader is constantly shown how every section fits in the theme of God's complete plan of salvation.
This volume addresses the most important issues related to the study of New Testament writings. Two respected senior scholars have brought together a team of distinguished specialists to introduce the Jewish, Hellenistic, and Roman backgrounds necessary for understanding the New Testament and the early church. Contributors include renowned scholars such as Lynn H. Cohick, David A. deSilva, Jame…
At the end of each chapter further footnotes have been appended to provide relevant recent bibliographical information. In addition to various articles and books mentioned in these, other titles occur in the General Bibliography. The aim of this information is to provide for those wishing to pursue further studies in the New Testament field. Asterisks have been inserted at the relevant …
This volume addresses the most important issues related to the study of New Testament writings. Two respected senior scholars have brought together a team of distinguished specialists to introduce the Jewish, Hellenistic, and Roman backgrounds necessary for understanding the New Testament and the early church. Contributors include renowned scholars such as Lynn H. Cohick, David A. deSilva, Jame…
The goal of this Theology of the New Testament is a comprehensive presentation of the variety and riches of the New Testament world of thought. Each author and each text of the New Testament focuses on their common center, Jesus Christ—each from their own perspective. It is precisely this plurality of perspectives that opens up new vistas for faith, facilitating a new level of thinking and ac…
Highly respected New Testament scholar Craig Keener is known for his meticulous and comprehensive research. This commentary on Acts, his magnum opus, may be the largest and most thoroughly documented Acts commentary available. Useful not only for the study of Acts but also early Christianity, this work sets Acts in its first-century context. In this volume, the second of four, Keener continues …
This thoroughly revised edition of Bruce M. Metzger's classic work is the most up-to-date manual available for the textual criticism of the New Testament. The Text of the New Testament, Fourth Edition, has been invigorated by the addition of Bart D. Ehrman--author of numerous best-selling books on the New Testament--as a coauthor. This revision brings the discussion of such important matters as…
In this volume Robert Kysar chronicles the history of interpretation of the Fourth Gospel in the twentieth century. His study reveals four distinct critical approaches to understanding the Fourth Gospel―historical, theological, literary, and postmodernist readings. The use of these methods mirrors the history of biblical studies and influences the present state of scholarship.
An expert on New Testament society offers a narrative account full of colorful details that will help readers understand the individuals, events, and social movements that affected the lives of the early Christians.
All too often, argues Ben Witherington, the theology of the New Testament has been divorced from its ethics, leaving as isolated abstractions what are fully integrated, dynamic elements within the New Testament itself. As Witherington stresses, "behavior affects and reinforces or undoes belief." Having completed commentaries on all of the New Testament books, a remarkable feat in itself, Wither…
All too often, argues Ben Witherington, the theology of the New Testament has been divorced from its ethics, leaving as isolated abstractions what are fully integrated, dynamic elements within the New Testament itself. As Witherington stresses, "behavior affects and reinforces or undoes belief." Having completed commentaries on all of the New Testament books, a remarkable feat in itself, Wither…
Outline: The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Nag Hammadi texts, and new Targums has greatly increased scholarly interest in the relationship between the New Testament and first-century Judaism. This critically acclaimed study by Richard Longenecker sheds light on this relationship by exploring the methods the earliest Christians used to interpret the Old Testament. By comparing the first…
Overview: In this book, the author - master teacher, deft exegete, committed churchman, and fully attuned contemporary intellectual - takes up this challenge with extraordinary energy and intelligence. The result is a capstone volume that puts all the pieces together both for students who read it straight through it at their own pace. For all who read it, the book will become a standard refe…
Outline: In appreciation of Carson's lifework, editors Andreas J. Kostenberger and Robert W. Yarbrough have assembled a team of his former students and colleagues to produce this volume of essays on contemporary New Testament studies. This book explores New Testament studies as they relate to special topics and ancillary disciplines, and it surveys the state of New Testament scholarship aroun…
Outline: Many introductions zero in on the historical contexts in which the New Testament literature was written. This introduction goes further - giving attention to the social, cultural, and rhetorical contexts of the New Testament authors and their writings. Few introductions integrate instructions in evegetical and interpretive strategies with the customary considerations of authorship, d…
Outline: Since its original publication in German, the author's two-volume book has influenced an entire generation of biblical scholars and theologians. Daniel Bailey's expoert translation makes this important work available in English for the first time. A concluding essay by Bailey applies the author's approach to specific texts in Romans and 4 Maccabees.
Overview: This comprehensive, controversial book is for everyone who wants to understand and apply the Bible -- and the New Testament in particular -- in a responsible, well-informed, and God-glorifying way. The author is an able guide, walking readers through a carefully field-tested twelve-stage interpretive process that pastors, scholars, teachers, and laypeople can use with benefit. - Move…
Overview: The Series set out to provide a programmatic survey of the individual writings of the New Testament. It aims to remedy the deficiency of available published material which concentrates on the New Testament writer's theological concerns. New Testament specialists here write at greater length than is usually possible in the introductions to commentaries or as part of other New Testame…
Overview: In A.D. 49, Paul traveled to Thessalonica, a major city in northern Greece, to preach the gospel. A small group of manual laborers responded positively to his message, resulting in the formation of a church. After spending less than three monts with his converts, Paul left the city for southern Greece, ending up in Corinth, from where he wrote two letters to the Thessalonians four m…
Overview: The New Testament contains two documents which purport to be letters from one group of people (Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy) to another group of people described as the church of the Thessalonians. "In order to understand these documents as fully possible," writes the author in his introduction, "we need to know something about the partners in this literary character of the documents…
Overview: In this commentary, the editor aims first and foremost to offer a fresh exposition of the text of 1 and 2 Thessalonians. The editor shows the reader what is in the biblical text, what the text meant in the first century, and what it means now. The editor reveals the logic of each argument or narrative before moving on to the details of each verse, and the editor concludes each sect…
Overview: In this bold sequel to Paul the Apostle, celebrated New Testament scholar the author reclaimed the apocalyptic center of Paul's proclamation for the life of contemporary church.
Overview: The essays here - taken from the inaugural conference - consider this Gospel from many angles, addressing a number of key issues that arise from a theological discussion of the text: John's dualism in our pluralist context, historicity and testimony, the treatment of Judaism, Christology, and more.