Paul Rhodes Eddy - The Historical Jesus: Five Views

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 ChristHistoricity. I. Levine, Amy-Jill, 1956II. Allison, Dale C. III. Crossan, John Dominic. IV. Series.

BT303.2.H4845 2004

232.9'08dc22 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 worlds 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

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 Queens 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 DAngelo is Associate Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana.

Mark DelCogliano , Graduate Division of Religion, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia.