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Product Description

Prominent scholars in the fields of Archaeology, New Testament Studies, and the Dead Sea Scrolls have come together in The World of Jesus and the Early Church to focus on early Jewish and Christian communities of faith and their impact on the collections of texts that were their scriptures (and would become, in due time, part of their various canons).

Professors, students, and pastors who are interested in how these communities lived—how they developed, what they believed, and how they regarded and preserved the written documents that were their scripture—will be interested in this comprehensive volume drawn from presentations made to key conferences on the subject. This book’s emphasis on a variety of communities of faith (not just Christian) and their early (and critical) influence on the development of religious canonical materials sets it apart from others on New Testament-period culture.

List of Authors and Articles

Introduction
• Craig A. Evans

Part One: Identity in Jewish and Christian Communities of Faith
• John J. Collins—The Site of Qumran and the Sectarian Communities in the Dead Sea Scrolls
• Torleif Elgvin—From the Earthly to the Heavenly Temple: Lines from the Bible and Qumran to Hebrews and Revelation
• Dorothy M. Peters—The Scrolls and the Scriptures on the Margins: Remembered in Canon and Forgotten in Caves
• Mark A. Chancey—Disputed Issues in the Study of Cities, Villages, and the Economy in Jesus’ Galilee
• Margaret Y. MacDonald—Children in House Churches in Light of New Research on Families in the Roman World • Craig A. Evans—The Family Buried Together Stays Together: On the Burial of the Executed in Family Tombs
• Shimon Gibson—The Trial of Jesus at the Jerusalem Praetorium: New Archaeological Evidence

Part Two: Interpreting the Scriptures in Jewish and Christian Communities
• George J. Brooke—The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Interpretation of Scripture
• Keith Bodner—Excavating Ideas: The Qumran Scrolls of Samuel
• Stephen J. Andrews—The Oldest Attested Hebrew Scriptures and the Khirbet Qeiyafa Inscription
• James A. Sanders—Biblia Hebraica Quinta
• Larry W. Hurtado—What do Earliest Christian Manuscripts Tell Us about their Readers?
• Paul Foster—Bold Claims, Wishful Thinking, and Lessons about Dating Manuscripts from Papyrus Egerton 2

Reviews

"After Evans's six-page introduction, this volume presents seven essays on identity in Jewish and Christian communities of faith: J. J. Collins on the site of Qumran and the sectarian communities in the Dead Sea scrolls; T. Elgvin on from the earthly to the heavenly temple—lines from the Bible and Qumran to Hebrews and Revelation; D. M. Peters on the scrolls and the Scriptures on the margins—remembered in canons or forgotten in caves; M. A. Chancey on disputed issues in the study of cities, villages, and the economy in Jesus' Galilee; M. Y. MacDonald on children in house churches in light of new research on families in the Roman world; Evans on the family buried together stays together—on the burial of the executed in family tombs; and S. Gibson on the trial of Jesus at the Jerusalem praetorium—new archaeological evidence. Then there are six papers on interpreting the Scriptures in Jewish and Christian communities: G. 1. Brooke on the Dead Sea scrolls and the interpretation of Scripture; K. Bodner on excavating ideas- the Qumran scrolls of Samuel; S. J. Andrews on the oldest attested Hebrew Scriptures and the Khirbet Qeiyafa inscription; J. A. Sanders on Biblia Hebraica Quinta; L. Hurtado on what the earliest Christian manuscripts tell us about their readers; and P. Foster on bold claims, wishfhl thinking, and lessons about dating manuscripts from Papyrus Egerton 2."
—New Testament Abstracts

“This volume explores recent understanding of the way in which the early Jewish and Christian communities of faith functioned and how they defined themselves, as well as how they interpreted their scriptures. The collected essays encompass archaeological, sociological, economic, ritual, and textual discoveries; shed light on these communities of faith; and draw out implications for both the academy and the church today. John Collins, Margaret Y. MacDonald, Larry Hurtado, and James A. Sanders are among the 13 contributors.”
—Interpretation

“The World of Jesus and the Early Church edited by Craig Evans is a collection of essays from several conferences and symposia in the United States and Canada. The book is divided into two parts. The first part is labelled ‘Identity in Jewish and Christian Communities of Faith’ and includes essays on historical or archaeological themes such as John J Collins' essay on the site of Qumran and the identity of the Qumran community and Margaret Y MacDonald's essay on children in early house churches. The second part is labelled ‘Interpreting the Scriptures in Jewish and Christian Communities’ and includes essays on biblical interpretation such as Keith Bodner's essay on the interpretative quality of 4QSama.

“The contributions to this collection are all excellent work by some leading scholars. . . . There is much insight that can be gained from these pages.”
—Theological Book Review

Editor Bio

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