Philip F. Esler

"Son of Man", vol. 1

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“Richard Bauckham’s volume on ‘Son of Man’ traditions in early Jewish literature is a masterpiece of exegetical inquiry. Bauckham digs deeply into a rich array of texts that interpret Daniel 7:13 (amplified by other scriptural passages) as referring to a human (not divine) figure who has previously lived on earth and whom God is preserving in heaven for an important future role. With a commanding grip on the details and a striking ability to discriminate between them, Bauckham generates innovative, often compelling solutions to issue after issue in each text, with his explanation of the Parables of Enoch being particularly remarkable. Central to this book is the nuanced and authoritative account of the different ways in which the individual texts interact with scriptural passages having a messianic dimension. The volume represents a decisive new beginning for scholarship on the Jewish ‘Son of Man’ and necessitates close examination by anyone interested in this subject.”

A Marginal Scribe

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“"Duling offers penetrating understandings of important dimensions of Matthew . . .”

Beware the Evil Eye Volume 3

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“Few phenomena so sharply differentiate the world of the Bible from the cultures of North America and northern Europe as belief in the Evil Eye that was prevalent everywhere. In this, the third volume of his long-awaited and magisterial treatment of the subject, John Elliott, in a project without scholarly precedent, illuminates the many Old and New Testament texts where Evil Eye belief appears. This book is destined to become a classic of biblical scholarship.”

By What Authority?

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“In this volume, Jerome Neyrey asks a big, new question of Luke 1–4: How does the evangelist present Jesus as authorized to speak in public, as he later does throughout the gospel? Neyrey’s answer integrates modern communication theory, ancient rhetoric, and a strong grasp on ancient Mediterranean culture, and is expressed in the elegant style typical of all his work. This is a significant contribution to Lucan research.”

Discovering John

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“This volume provides a feast of ideas on John’s Gospel from the latter career of John Ashton, a colossus of international Johannine scholarship. Particularly remarkable for its detailed and moving autobiographical account of his fifty-year engagement with the Fourth Gospel, its essays amplify and develop the insights, and exhibit the exegetical sensitivity, of Ashton’s magisterial Understanding the Fourth Gospel. Every serious student of John’s Gospel should read this book and absorb its wisdom.”

Emerging Leadership in the Pauline Mission

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

Foreword

(wrote the foreword)

Food Justice and Hospitality in Luke-Acts

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

Foreword

(wrote the foreword)

Galatians

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“In Galatians Peter Oakes combines a deep grasp of the ancient social context, a close familiarity with the exegetical issues, and an insightful identification of contemporary theological questions that are impacted and provoked by this potent Pauline letter. He couples this with a succinct style and an elegant delivery to produce an ideal vade mecum on this text.”

Jesus and Paul before Christianity

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“"In this volume, written for the general reader but also suitable for biblical specialists, George Shillington throws welcome new light on the subject of Jesus and Paul and their respective roles in the rise of Christianity. By setting each of them in their different and, here, finely profiled contexts, Shillington explains how Paul's work made sense in relation to Jesus without postulating fragile modes of influence. He also scuppers any notion that either of them was 'Christian' or invented 'Christianity.' The book interacts with a wide range of the best contemporary scholarship, including recent work by Jewish researchers on Paul, and exhibits an equable temper throughout. It deserves a wide readership.”

Jesus, Debt, and the Lord's Prayer

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“While the Lord's Prayer is foundational for Christian belief and identity, no other scholar has done more in recent decades than Douglas Oakman to explore its original meaning in the context of Jesus's life and ministry. With Oakman's incisive and wide-ranging understanding of the first-century Palestinian world, that meaning comes to life in this volume as the inspiring and hope-filled expression of someone deeply and compassionately invested in the plight of the poor. . . . Oakman brings the Lord's Prayer to life for our world.”

Orientation to the History of Roman Judaea

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“This magisterial work advocates a humanistic approach to historical enquiry as the meticulous exploration of sources in all their emic particularity, while generously acknowledging the value of social-scientific investigation. In particular, it overwhelmingly confirms that ancient Ioudaioi were members of an ethnic group, not adherents of a religion ('Judaism'), whereas Christ-groups represented an asymmetrical identity, as in voluntary associations. Since this perspective revolutionizes how we interpret Judean and Christ-movement texts historically, Steve Mason's book is now indispensable reading.”

Reading 1 Corinthians

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“By applying social identity theory from social psychology, Brian Tucker brilliantly re-situates and re-interprets all of the major questions raised by 1 Corinthians. While interacting with the best recent scholarship, the book is written succinctly and with a limpid style admirably attuned to the general audience at whom it is aimed. The astute discussion questions posed after each section show how easily within a social identity perspective Paul’s ideas can be brought into fruitful dialogue with contemporary issues. If you only have time for one book on 1 Corinthians, choose this one.”

The Ancient Mediterranean Social World

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“This book is a triumphant demonstration of how major social-scientific models used in biblical interpretation have the closest of connections with ancient Mediterranean culture, of how the etic embraces the emic. Across a range of critical issues—such as economy, kinship, patronage, honor and shame, collectivism, gossip, space, gender, ritual, purity, and the evil eye—the contributors uncover a mother lode of primary evidence from Judean, Greek, and Latin texts, inscriptions, and papyri. It represents a unique and indispensable resource for understanding the ancient social contexts in relation to which we must interpret the biblical texts for their historical meaning.”

The Construction of Exodus Identity in Ancient Israel

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“In this book, Linda Stargel employs the social identity approach to provide a startlingly new and significant way to interpret the exodus tradition in both Exodus itself and in its numerous retellings in the Hebrew Bible. That she has been able to explain a constitutive mythos of Israelite identity, which is so embedded in the experience and collective memory of Israel, in such a fresh way, is a tribute both to her exegetical insights and to the power of the method.”

The Radical Jesus, the Bible, and the Great Transformation

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“The Radical Jesus distills the profound wisdom of Doug Oakman’s career-long engagement with the Bible, the Jesus tradition in particular. It integrates his unique grasp of the material, especially economic, dimensions of the biblical context, his penetrating social-scientific insights, his meticulous engagement with textual detail, and the overall framework of Lutheran Christianity that he embodies to an exemplary degree. For understanding what Jesus meant and what he still means, this book merits our closest attention.”