Synopses & Reviews
"Provocative and readable...A remarkable achievement."Jaroslav Pelikan, Yale Univ.
"No one in our generation is more broadly and deeply prepared than Sanders to tackle the daunting array of problems confronting the historical Jesus. This book will become the standard against which future reconstruction of the historical Jesus of Nazareth will be compared."David Dungan, Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville.
"For Professor Sanders, Jesus is a well-authenticated figure about whom we know a surprisingly large amount. He is particularly succesful in unraveling the complex business of New Testament chronology. He then takes us step by step through Jesus' career, pausing to look in detail at the more notable problems, such as the miracles, Jesus' followers, his opponents, his last week in Jerusalem, his trial, execution and the Resurrection. I shall keep this valuable book handy on my shelves, and use its expertise and logic to confute irrtating sceptics." Paul Johnson in the Sunday Telegraph
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 292-[314]) and indexes.
About the Author
After receiving two baccalaureates in his native Texas,
E. P. Sanders pursued graduate studies in Gottingen, Jerusalem, Oxford and New York, culminating in a Th.D. from Union Theological Seminary. He joined the Faculty at McMaster University, Ontario, in 1966. In 1984 he was elected Dean Ireland's Professor of Exegesis in the University of Oxford and a Fellow of Queen's College. He moved to Duke University, North Carolina, as Arts and Sciences Professor of Religion in 1990. He has held visiting professorships and lectureships at Trinity College, Dublin, and Cambridge University.
His field of special interest is Judaism and Christianity in the Graeco-Roman world. Paul and Palestinian Judaism (1977) won national book awards and Jesus and Judaism won the Grawemeyer Award in Religion and was chosen as one of the most significant works of religious history in the 1980s by the Sunday Correspondent. Other publications include The Tendencies of the Synoptic Tradition (1969), Paul, the Law, and the Jewish People (1983), Studying the Synoptic Gospels (with Margaret Davies, 1989), Jewish Law from Jesus to the Mishnah (1990), Paul: Past Master (1991) and Judaism: Practice and Belief 63 BCE–66 CE (1992).
In recent years E.P. Sanders has received further degrees: Doctor of Letters from the University of Oxford and Doctor of Theology (honoris causa) from the University of Helsinki. He is a fellow of the British Academy.
Table of Contents
Map of Palestine in the Time of Jesus
List of Abbreviations
Chronological Table
Preface
1. Introduction
2. An Outline of Jesus' Life
3. Political Setting
4. Judaism as a Religion
5. External Sources
6. The Problems of the Primary Sources
7. Two Contexts
8. The Setting and Method of Jesus' Ministry
9. The Beginning of Jesus' Ministry
10. Miracles
11. The Coming of the Kingdom
12. The Kingdom: Israel, Gentiles and Individuals
13. The Kingdom: Reversal of Values and Ethical Perfectionism
14. Contention and Opposition in Galilee
15. Jesus' View of His Role in God's Plan
16. Jesus' Last Week
17. Epilogue: The Resurrection
Appendix I: Chronology
Appendix II: Jesus' Disciples
Notes
Index of Passages
Index of Names and Subjects