Ancient texts for New Testament studies : a guide to the background literature / Craig A. Evans.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Evans, Craig A. (Craig Alan), 1952-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Bible. New Testament--Study and teaching.

Bible.

Bible. New Testament.

Literature, Ancient--History and criticism.

Literature, Ancient.

Intertextuality in the Bible--Study and teaching.

Intertextuality in the Bible.

Literature, Ancient--Bibliography.

Genre:

Bibliographies.

Physical Description:

xxxvi, 539 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Peabody, Mass. : Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., [2005]

Summary:

One of the most challenging hurdles facing the New Testament interpreter is that of becoming familiar with the countless relevant Greco-Roman, Jewish, and pagan primary sources. Scholars and students alike must have a fundamental grasp of the content, provenance, and place in NT interpretation of a host of ancient documents, from The Paraphrase of Shem to Pesiqta Rabbati.

Unfortunately, achieving even an elementary facility with this literature has in the past depended on either years of experience or a photographic memory. With this book, Craig A. Evans pulls together the essentials of date, language, text and translations, and general bibliography for this vast literature. He also evaluates the material's relevance for interpreting the NT. Six appendixes, including a list of quotations from the ancient texts used, alluded to, or parallel to passages found in the NT, and a comparison of Jesus' parables with those of the rabbis, are designed to further save the interpreter hours of precious time.

This greatly expanded, enhanced, and revised reworking of Evans' earlier Noncanonical Writings and New Testament Interpretation (Hendrickson, 1992) will be a frequently used resource in the library of any New Testament student or scholar.

Contents:

An Overview of the Writings 1

The Value 3

The Method 6

1 The Old Testament Apocrypha 9

2 The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha 26

3 The Dead Sea Scrolls 76

Discoveries in the Judaean Desert (DJDJ/DJD) 83

Identity of the Scrolls Community 86

Summaries of Qumran Documents 89

Summaries of Masada Documents 136

Summaries of Murabba `at Documents 138

Summaries of Nahal Hever Documents 138

Summaries of Nahal Se' elim (Wadi Seiyal) Documents 139

Summaries of Wadi Sdeir Documents 139

Summaries of Nahal Mishmar Documents 140

Summaries of Khirbet Mird Documents 140

Summaries of Wadi Ed-Daliyeh Documents 141

Summaries of Cairo Genizah Documents 141

Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha 142

Pesharim: Qumran's Commentaries on Scripture 146

Targumim 149

4 Versions of the Old Testament 155

5 Philo and Josephus 167

Philo 168

Philo and the New Testament 170

General Bibliography for Philo 172

Josephus 173

Josephus and the New Testament 175

Versions of Josephus's Writings 180

6 The Targums 185

7 Rabbinic Literature 216

Summaries of Talmudic Literature 220

Summaries of Tannaic Midrashic Literature 231

Summaries of Amoraic Midrashic Literature 238

Later Midrashim 245

Medieval Commentators 245

8 The New Testament Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha 256

Studies 263

9 Early Church Fathers 268

10 Gnostic Writings 278

Coptic Gnostic Library: Text, Translation, and Commentary 280

Studies 284

Mandaean Materials 285

11 Other Writings 287

Greco-Roman Authors 287

Greco-Roman Authors on Jesus and Early Christianity 298

Corpus Hermeticum 300

Samaritan Writings 303

Papyri, Inscriptions, Coins, and Ostraca 306

12 Examples of New Testament Exegesis 329

The Nazareth Sermon 329

The Parable of the Talents 330

The Parable of the Wicked Vineyard Tenants 333

"I Said, 'You Are Gods'" 334

"The Word Is Near You" 335

Ascending and Descending with a Shout 337

Paul and the First Adam 338

1 Canons of Scripture that Include the Apocrypha 341

2 Quotations, Allusions, and Parallels to the New Testament 342

3 Parallels between New Testament Gospels and Pseudepigraphal Gospels 410

4 Jesus' Parables and the Parables of the Rabbis 418

5 Jesus and Jewish Miracle Stories 424

Honi ha-Me'aggel 424

Abba Hilkiah, Grandson of Honi 425

Hanin ha-Nehba 425

Hanina ben Dosa 425

Eleazar the Exorcist 427

Phineas ben Yair 429

An Anonymous Hasid 429

Later Traditions about Famous Rabbis 429

General Bibliography 430

6 Messianic Claimants of the First and Second Centuries 431

Biblical and Historical Precedents 431

Messianic Kings 433

Messianic Prophets 439

Messianic Priests 442

Later Messianic Claimants 442.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

ISBN:

1565634098

OCLC:

61352939