Library of New Testament Studies Latest Titles

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Continuum Highlights New Titles in the Library of New Testament Studies Series

2011 IPG Independent Publisher of the Year and Academic & Professional Publisher of the Year

Contours in the Text: Textual Variation in the Writings of Paul, Josephus and the Yahad Jonathan D. H. Norton Norton-Piliavsky places Paul's work within the context of ancient Jewish literary practice, bridging the gap between textual criticism and social history in contemporary discussions. The author argues that studies of ancient Jewish exegesis draw on two distinct analytical modes: the text-critical and the socio-historical. He then shows that the two are usually joined together in discussions of ancient Jewish literature arguing that as a result of this, commentators often allow the text-critical approach to guide their efforts to understand historical questions. Published: February 2011 | Hardback: £60.00 Fourth Gospel in First-Century Media Culture Edited by Anthony Le Donne and Tom Thatcher Werner Kelber's The Oral and the Written Gospel substantially challenged predominant paradigms for understanding early Jesus traditions and the formation of written Gospels. Since that publication, a more precise and complex picture of first-century media culture has emerged. Yet while issues of orality, aurality, performance, and mnemonics are now well voiced in Synoptic Studies, Johannine scholars remain largely unaware of such issues and their implications. The highly respected contributors to this book seek to fill this lacuna by exploring various applications of orality, literacy, memory, and performance theories to the Johannine Literature in hopes of opening new avenues for future discussion. Published: February 2011 | Hardback: £65.00 Abuse, Power and Fearful Obedience: Reconsidering 1 Peter's Commands to Wives Jennifer G. Bird Bird analyzes the construction of wives' subjectivity in 1 Peter, working primarily with that is referred to as the Haustafel (household code) section and engaging feminist critical questions, postcolonial theory, and materialist theory in her analysis. Bird examines the two crucial labels for understanding Petrine Christian identity - 'aliens and refugees' and 'royal priesthood and holy nation' - and finds them to stand in stark contract with the commands and identity given to the wives in the Haustafel section. Similarly, the command to 'honour the Emperor', which immediately precedes the Haustafel, engenders a rich discussion of the text's socio-political implications. Published: July 2011 | Hardback: £65.00 Prayer and Vindication in Luke — Acts: The Theme of Prayer within the Context of the Legitimating and Edifying Objective of the Lukan Narrative Geir O. Holmas Holmas asserts that the distribution of strategically-placed prayer notices and prayers throughout Luke-Acts serves a twofold purpose. First, it is integral to Luke's project of authenticating the Jesus-movement as accredited by Israel's God. Holmas shows that Luke presents a consistent pattern of divine affirmation and redemption attending the tenacious prayers of the faithful ones throughout every major phase of his narrative — in turn demonstrating continuity with the pious Israel of the past. Secondly, most importantly the 'ultimate' purpose of Luke 's emphasis on prayer is didactical. In Luke's gospel Jesus summons his disciples (and implicitly his readers) to confident and persistent prayer before the Eschaton, assuring them of God's readiness to answer their entreaties. Published: March 2011 | Hardback: £70.00 Paul as Missionary: Identity, Activity, Theology, and Practice Edited by Trevor J. Burke and Brian S. Rosner Paul as Missionary: Identity, Activity, Theology and Practice takes the view that before anything else Paul must first and foremost be identified as a 'missionary'. Using the entire Pauline corpus the contributors to this volume assess what Paul's correspondence can tell us about how he perceived his role and identity. The work comprises four parts: in section one, Paul's identity as priest, eschatological herald, and missionary-pastor are explored while in part two topics such as the apostle's activity among pagans, his suffering, and Paul 's 'missionary message' to the church at Rome are considered. Section three comprises essays on the Spirit as the governing dynamic, the glory of God as the apostle's missionary goal, and the importance of Paul's Christology in shaping his mission to the Gentiles. Finally, part four addresses Paul's missionary praxis, including his support of his missionary enterprise. Published: March 2011 | Hardback: £70.00 The Danielic Eschatological Hour in the Johannine Literature Stefanos Mihalios Stefanos Mihalios examines the uses of the 'hour' in the writings of John and demonstrates the contribution of Danielic eschatology to John's understanding of this concept. Mihalios begins by tracing the notion of an eschatological time in the Old Testament within expressions such as 'in that time ' and 'time of distress,' which also appear in the book of Daniel and relate to the eschatological hour found in Daniel. Mihalios finds that even within the Jewish tradition there exists an anticipation of the fulfillment of the Danielic eschatological time, since the eschatological hour appears in the Jewish literature within contexts that allude to the Danielic end-time events. Mihalios moves on to examines the Johannine eschatological expressions and themes that have their source in Daniel, finding evidence of clear allusions whenever the word 'hour' arises. Published: March 2011 | Hardback: £65.00 'Who is this son of man?': The Latest Scholarship on a Puzzling Expression of the Historical Jesus Edited by Larry W. Hurtado and Paul L. Owen This book is the first ever collection of scholarly essays in English devoted specifically to the theme of the expression 'son of man'. It describes the major competing theories which have addressed questions such as: What is the original Aramaic expression which lies behind the Greek phrase, and what was its original connotation? How do the gospel writers use the expression 'son of man'? Is it a Christological title, pregnant with meaning, much like the titles son of God, Christ/Messiah, and son of David? Is it used as a way of designating Jesus as a human being of unique redemptive significance? Or does it rather originate in a nuanced use (obscured in Greek translation) of an Aramaic expression used in place of the first person pronoun, as an indefinite pronoun, or for generic statements about human beings? Published: March 2011 | Hardback: £70.00 Dialogue Not Dogma: Many Voices in the Gospel of Luke Raj Nadella Lukan scholars offer varying responses to the issue of divergent viewpoints in the gospel regarding the identity of Jesus, wealth, women, and the emphasis on doing vis-á-vis hearing. Many forms of criticism attempt to explain or harmonize these apparent contradictions. Conversely, Raj Nadella argues that there is no dominant viewpoint in Luke and that the divergence in viewpoints is a unique literary feature to be celebrated rather than a problem to be solved. Nadella interprets selected Lukan passages in light of Bakhtinian concepts such as dialogism, loophole, and exotopy to show that the disparate perspectives, and interplay between them, display Luke's superior literary skills rather than his inability to produce a coherent work. Published: March 2011 | Hardback: £60.00 Paul's Use of the Old Testament in Romans 9.10-18: An Intertextual and Theological Exegesis Brian J. Abasciano Abasciano builds upon his previous LNTS volume, Paul's Use of the Old Testament in Romans 9.1-9, continuing the project begun in that volume and its intertextual methodology. This method incorporates into a thorough traditional exegesis a comprehensive analysis of Paul's use of Scripture against the background of interpretive traditions surrounding the texts alluded to, with great emphasis placed on analyzing the original contexts of Paul's citations and allusions. Such an intertextual exegesis is conducted in Romans 9:10-18 with an awareness of the broader unit of chapters 9-11 especially, and also the epistle as a whole. Conclusions for the meaning of these passages and their theological significance are drawn. Published: April 2011 | Hardback: £60.00 Conversion of the Nations in Revelation Allan J. McNicol Allan McNicol examines the longstanding tension between the author of Revelation's description of the destruction of unrepentant nations early in the book in contrast with their final experience of salvation in Rev 21.24-26. McNicol examines how the author of Revelation interprets and re-fashions both scripture and the myths of the age in order to lay out his vision of redemption — leading to his ultimate conclusion that human political power (Rome) will crumble before the influence of the crucified Jesus. Through careful attention to references to the 'pilgrimage to the Gentiles' in prophetic literature, McNicol is able to draw valuable conclusions as to how the core tension examined may be resolved. Published: April 2011 | Hardback: £60.00 Back to top