Samuel Byrskog

Jesus Remembered

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“In this study one of the most prolific New Testament scholars of today presents an impressive new approach to the old 'quest for the historical Jesus.' James Dunn's central thesis that a hermeneutically informed dialogue with the ancient texts will legitimate an account of the impact of Jesus as it was remembered by his earliest followers convincingly places the oral character of the Jesus tradition at the very center of attention. The book should not only help scholarship to free itself from the prevailing literary paradigm, but also promote a healthy balance between positivistic optimism and postmodern relativism in the search for the so-called historical Jesus.”

Luke among the Ancient Historians

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“Peters makes a crucial distinction between Greek historians writing about contemporary events and those writing about noncontemporary events and places the author of Luke-Acts conclusively among the former. This distinction shows that the author does not rely only on isolated written accounts but primarily on autopsy, traveling, and inquiring eyewitnesses. Peters thus perceptively challenges some modes of form criticism and redaction criticism, pointing to Luke-Acts as an independent source for historical reconstruction.”

Oral Performance and the Veil of Text

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“Ben F. van Veen presents a thorough challenge to all textually trained scholars to fully embrace the different mindset of the New Testament authors. Employing a vast range of previous studies of orality, van Veen points to new avenues on how to study the New Testament and suggests ways to understand how Paul and other authors structured their thoughts in various forms of textual argumentation. Here scholarship will find help to transform oral theory to analytical interpretation.”

Reading Mark’s Gospel as a Text from Collective Memory

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“In this book Professor Huebenthal demonstrates her exceptional theoretical awareness and brings scholarship a significant step forward by challenging the bewildering outburst of memory studies to develop a more precise terminology and ideology of memory. In her own way, she paves the way for liberating contemporary memory studies from its occupation with the historical Jesus and opens up new possibilities for grasping the significance of what it meant to commemorate narratively the image of Jesus from the past. Needless to say, this study raises crucial hermeneutical issues concerning how to understand the presence of the past in early Christianity.”

The Oral Gospel Tradition

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“Dunn is no doubt one of the most influential New Testament scholars of our time. These collected essays of his build up an impressive view of the oral Gospel tradition. Reading them one after the other in a single volume reveals the broader corollaries of Dunn’s famous call for the altering of the default setting and makes evident its background in his lifelong research going back to his early interest in the Holy Spirit and Christian prophecy.”