The Historical Jesus: Five Views

404 Pages·2009·3.05 MB·English

by  Paul Rhodes Eddy

THE HISTORICAL JESUS IN CONTEXT
PRINCETON READINGS IN RELIGIONS
_________
Donald S. Lopez, Jr., Editor
TITLES IN THE SERIES
_________
Religions of India in Practice edited by Donald S. Lopez, Jr.
Buddhism in Practice edited by Donald S. Lopez, Jr.
Religions of China in Practice edited by Donald S. Lopez. Jr.
Religions of Tibet in Practice edited by Donald S Lopez. Jr.
Religions of Japan in Practice edited by George J. Tanabe, Jr.
Asian Religions in Practice: An Introduction edited by Donald S. Lopez, Jr.
Religions of Late Antiquity in Practice edited by Richard Valantasis
Tantra in Practice edited by David Gordon White
Judaism in Practice edited by Lawrence Fine
Religions of the United States in Practice: Volumes 1 and 2 edited by Colleen McDannell
Religions of Asia in Practice: An Anthology edited by Donald S. Lopez, Jr.
The Historical Jesus in Context edited by Amy-Jill Levine, Dale C. Allison. Jr., and John Dominic Crossan

Copyright © 2006 by Princeton University Press
Published by Princeton University Press, 41 William Street, Princeton, New Jersey 08540
In the United Kingdom: Princeton University Press, 3 Market Place, Woodstock, Oxfordshire OX20 1SY
Requests for permission to reproduce material from this work should be sent to Permissions, Princeton
University Press.
All Rights Reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
The historical Jesus in context / A.J. Levine, Dale C. Allison, Jr., and John Dominic Crossan, editors.
p. cm. —(Princeton readings in religions)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-691-00991-9 (hardcover : alk. paper)—ISBN-13: 978-0-691-00992-6 (pbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-691-00991-0 (hardcover : alk. paper)—ISBN-10: 0-691-00992-9 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Jesus Christ—Historicity. I. Levine, Amy-Jill, 1956–II. Allison, Dale C. III. Crossan, John Dominic. IV.
Series.
BT303.2.H4845 2004
232.9'08—dc22 2006012027
British Library Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available
This book has been composed in Berkeley
Printed on acid-free paper. ∞
pup.princeton.edu
Printed in the United States of America
1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2
PRINCETON READINGS IN RELIGIONS
———

Princeton Readings in Religions is a series of anthologies on the religions of the world, representing the
significant advances that have been made in the study of religions in the last thirty years. The sourcebooks
used by previous generations of students, whether for Judaism and Christianity or for the religions of Asia
and the Middle East, placed a heavy emphasis on “canonical works.” Princeton Readings in Religions
provides a different configuration of texts in an attempt better to represent the range of religious practices,
placing particular emphasis on the ways in which texts have been used in diverse contexts. The volumes in
the series therefore include ritual manuals, hagiographical and autobiographical works, popular
commentaries, and folktales, as well as some ethnographic material. Many works are drawn from
vernacular sources. The readings in the series are new in two senses. First, very few of the works contained
in the volumes have ever been made available in an anthology before; in the case of the volumes on Asia,
few have even been translated into a Western language. Second, the readings are new in the sense that each
volume provides new ways to read and understand the religions of the world, breaking down the sometimes
misleading stereotypes inherited from the past in an effort to provide both more expansive and more
focused perspectives on the richness and diversity of religious expressions. The series is designed for use by
a wide range of readers, with key terms translated and technical notes omitted. Each volume also contains a
substantial introduction by a distinguished scholar in which the histories of the traditions are outlined and
the significance of each of the works is explored.
The Historical Jesus in Context is the twelfth volume in the series. It has been designed, organized, and
edited by renowned New Testament scholars Amy-Jill Levine, Dale Allison, and John Dominic Crossan.
The twenty-nine contributors include many of the world’s leading scholars of biblical studies, Jewish
studies, and classical studies. Each scholar has provided a translation of a key work or set of works,
including inscriptions, myths, miracle stories, parables, and liturgical texts, which together provide a rich
background for the understanding both of the enigmatic figure of Jesus and of the earliest stories told about
him. Each chapter begins with a substantial introduction in which the contributor discusses the history and
influence of the work or genre, identifying points of particular difficulty or interest. Amy-Jill Levine opens
the book with a general introduction to the study of Jesus in his historical and cultural context.
The volumes Zen in Practice and Islam in South Asia in Practice are forthcoming in the series.
Donald S. Lopez Jr.
Series Editor
CONTENTS
———

Princeton Readings in Religions v
Contributors ix
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction · Amy-Jill Levine 1
1. Archaeological Contributions to the Study of Jesus and the 40
Gospels · Jonathan L. Reed
2. Josephus on John the Baptist and Other Jewish Prophets of 55
Deliverance · Craig A. Evans
3. Abba and Father: Imperial Theology in the Contexts of Jesus and 64
the Gospels · Mary Rose D’Angelo
4. Miraculous Conceptions and Births in Mediterranean Antiquity · 79
Charles H. Talbert
5. First and Second Enoch: A Cry against Oppression and the 87
Promise of Deliverance · George W. E. Nickelsburg
6. Jesus and the Dead Sea Scrolls · Peter Flint 110
7. The Chreia · David B. Gowler 132
8. The Galilean Charismatic and Rabbinic Piety: The Holy Man in 149
the Talmudic Literature · Alan J. Avery-Peck
9. Miracle Stories: The God Asclepius, the Pythagorean 166
Philosophers, and the Roman Rulers · Wendy Cotter, C.S.J.
10. The Mithras Liturgy · Marvin Meyer 179
11. Apuleius of Madauros · Ian H. Henderson 193
12. The Parable in the Hebrew Bible and Rabbinic Literature · Gary 206
G. Porton
13. The Aesop Tradition · Lawrence M. Wills 222
14. Targum, Jesus, and the Gospels · Bruce Chilton 238
15. The Psalms of Solomon · Joseph L. Trafton 256
16. Moral and Ritual Purity · Jonathan Klawans 266
17. Gospel and Talmud · Herbert W. Basser 285
18. Philo of Alexandria · Gregory E. Sterling 296
19. The Law of Roman Divorce in the Time of Christ · Thomas A. J. 309
McGinn
20. Associations in the Ancient World · John S. Kloppenborg 323
21. Anointing Traditions · Teresa J. Hornsby 339
22. The Passover Haggadah · Calum Carmichael 343
23. Joseph and Aseneth: Food as an Identity Marker · Randall D. 357
Chesnutt
24. The Pliny and Trajan Correspondence · Bradley M. Peper and 366
Mark DelCogliano
25. Imitations of Greek Epic in the Gospels · Dennis R. MacDonald 372
26. Narratives of Noble Death · Robert Doran 385
27. Isaiah 53:1–12 (Septuagint) · Ben Witherington III 400
28. Thallus on the Crucifixion · Dale C. Allison Jr. 405
Maps 407
Glossary 409
Index of Ancient Works 417
Index of Ancient Persons 419
CONTRIBUTORS
———

Dale C. Allison Jr. is Errett M. Grable Professor of New Testament Exegesis and Early Christianity
at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Alan J. Avery-Peck is Kraft-Hiatt Professor in Judaic Studies and Chair, Department of Religious
Studies, at the College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, Massachusetts.
Herbert W. Basser is Professor of Religious Studies at Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario,
Canada.
Calum Carmichael is Professor of Biblical Studies and Comparative Literature in the Religious
Studies Program at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York.
Randall D. Chesnutt is William S. Banowsky Chair of Religion at Pepperdine University, Malibu,
California.
Bruce Chilton is Bernard Iddings Bell Professor of Religion at Bard College, Annandale-on-
Hudson, New York.
Wendy Cotter, C.S.J., is Associate Professor of Theology at Loyola University Chicago, Chicago,
Illinois.
John Dominic Crossan is Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies at DePaul University, Chicago,
Illinois.
Mary Rose D’Angelo is Associate Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame, Notre
Dame, Indiana.
Mark DelCogliano, Graduate Division of Religion, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia.
Robert Doran is the Samuel Williston Professor of Greek and Hebrew in the Department of
Religion at Amherst College, Amherst, Massachusetts.
Craig A. Evans is Payzant Distinguished Professor of New Testament at Acadia Divinity College,
Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Peter Flint is Canada Research Chair in Dead Sea Scrolls at Trinity Western University, Langley,
British Columbia, Canada.
David B. Gowler is Pierce Professor of Religion at Oxford College, Emory University, Atlanta,
Georgia.
Ian H. Henderson is Associate Professor of New Testament at McGill University, Montreal,
Quebec, Canada.
Teresa J. Hornsby is Associate Professor of Religion and Director of the Women and Gender
Studies Program at Drury University, Springfield, Missouri.
Jonathan Klawans is Associate Professor of Religion at Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts.
John S. Kloppenborg is Professor of Religion at the University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario,
Canada.
Amy-Jill Levine is E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Professor of New Testament Studies at the
Divinity School and Graduate Department of Religion, Vanderbilt University, Nashville,
Tennessee.
Dennis R. MacDonald is Professor of New Testament and Christian Origins and Director of the
Institute for Antiquity and Christianity at Claremont Graduate University, Claremont School of
Theology, Claremont, California.
Thomas A. J. McGinn is Professor of Classical Studies at Vanderbilt University, Nashville,
Tennessee.
Marvin Meyer is Griset Professor of Bible and Christian Studies at Chapman University, Orange,
California.
George W. E. Nickelsburg is Emeritus Professor of Religion at the University of Iowa, Iowa City,
Iowa.
Bradley M. Peper, Graduate Department of Religion, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee.
Gary G. Porton is Charles and Sarah Droby Professor of Talmudic Studies and Judaism at the
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois.
Jonathan L. Reed is Professor of Religion at the University of La Verne, La Verne, California.
Gregory E. Sterling is Senior Associate Dean of the Faculty for the College of Arts and Letters and
Professor of New Testament and Christian Origins at the University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame,
Indiana.
Charles H. Talbert is Distinguished Professor of Religion at Baylor University, Waco, Texas.
Joseph L. Trafton is Distinguished University Professor of Religious Studies at Western Kentucky
University, Bowling Green, Kentucky.
Lawrence M. Wills is Ethelbert Talbot Professor of Biblical Studies at Episcopal Divinity School,
Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Ben Witherington III is Professor of New Testament Interpretation at Asbury Theological
Seminary, Wilmore, Kentucky.