Discover: -How the springs at Hierapolis help us understand why Jesus described the church at Laodicea as 'lukewarm' -The background and circumstances of certificates of divorce in Judaism-How Jewish dietary laws provided a powerful metaphor for God's acceptance of the GentilesBrimming with lavish, full-color photos and graphics, the Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary walks you verse by verse through all the books of the New Testament. It's like slipping on a set of glasses that lets you read the Bible through the eyes of a first-century reader! Discoveries await you that will snap the world of the New Testament into gripping immediacy. Things that seem mystifying, puzzling, or obscure will take on tremendous meaning when you view them in their ancient context. You'll deepen your understanding of the teachings of Jesus. You'll discover the close, sometimes startling interplay between God's kingdom and the practical affairs of the church. Best of all, you'll gain a deepened awareness of the Bible's relevance for your life.Written in a clear, engaging style, this beautiful set provides a new and accessible approach that more technical expository and exegetical commentaries don't offer. It features: -Commentary based on relevant papyri, inscriptions, archaeological discoveries, and studies of Judaism, Roman culture, Hellenism, and other features of the world of the New Testament-Hundreds of full-color photographs, color illustrations, and line drawings-Copious maps, charts, and timelines-Sidebar articles and insights-'Reflections' on the Bible's relevance for 21st-century livingWritten by leading evangelical contributors: Clinton E. Arnold (Ph.D., University of Aberdeen), General EditorS. M. Baugh (Ph.D., University of California, Irvine)Peter H. Davids (Ph.D., University of Manchester)David E. Garland (Ph.D., Southern Baptist Theological Seminary)David W. J. Gill (D.Phil., University of Oxford)George H. Guthrie (Ph.D., Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary)Moyer V. Hubbard (D.Phil., University of Oxford)Andreas J. K stenberger (Ph.D., Trinity Evangelical Divinity School)Ralph P. Martin (Ph.D., University of London, King's College)Douglas J. Moo (Ph.D., University of St. Andrews)Mark L. Strauss (Ph.D., University of Aberdeen)Frank Thielman (Ph.D., Duke University)Jeffrey A. D. Weima (Ph.D., University of Toronto)Michael J. Wilkins (Ph.D., Fuller Theological Seminary)Mark W. Wilson (D.Litt. et Phil., University of South Africa)Julie L. Wu (Ph.D., Fuller Theological Seminary)Robert W. Yarbrough (Ph.D., University of Aberdeen)

1 Enoch was an important and popular text in ancient Judaism, well attested among the manuscripts at Qumran, and a key piece of the puzzle of the development of early Judaism and Christian origins. George W. E. Nickelsburg and James C. VanderKam have now revised their translation in conjunction with their publication of the complete two volumes on 1 Enoch in the Hermeneia commentary series. This is the only English translation of 1 Enoch that takes into consideration all of the textual data now available in the Ethiopic version and the Greek texts, in addition to the Dead Sea Aramaic fragments.

This book introduces the New Testament in two senses: it not only provides basic literary and historical information on each of the twenty-seven writings but also orients readers to the religious, theological, and ethical issues related to the message and meaning of Jesus Christ. The overall goal is to help interested readers of the New Testament become informed, responsible interpreters of these writings and thereby enrich their personal faith and understanding. By giving special emphasis to how the New Testament has helped shape the church's identity and theological outlook throughout the centuries, as well as the role it has played within the broader cultures of both East and West, this introduction also seeks to assist readers in exercising creative, informed leadership within their own communities of faith and in bringing a deeper understanding of early Christianity to their conversations with the wider public. Along with separate chapters devoted to each New Testament writing, there are chapters explaining how this collection of texts emerged as uniquely authoritative witnesses to the church's faith; why they were recognized as canonical whereas other early Christian writings were not; how the four canonical Gospels are related to one another, including a discussion of the Synoptic Problem; how the Jesus tradition--his teachings, stories from his ministry, and the accounts of his suffering, death and resurrection--originated and developed into Gospels written in narrative form; and how the Gospels relate to Jesus Christ as he was and is. Also included is a chapter on the writings of Paul and how they emerged as a collection of authoritative texts for the church. This chapter includes a discussion of ancient letter-writing, special considerations for interpreting the Pauline writings, and Paul's decisive influence within the history of the church and western culture. A distinctive feature of this introduction is its simultaneous publication in two versions. There is a standard, printed version with comprehensive yet detailed coverage of each writing and supplementary chapters on related introductory questions. There is also an expanded CD-ROM version, which gives fuller treatment (and supporting endnotes) to numerous issues introduced in the printed version; provides extensive, annotated bibliographies on each chapter; and includes additional maps, diagrams, charts, and other resources for classroom use and personal study.

This book is the second volume in John Meier's masterful trilogy on the life of Jesus. In it he continues his quest for the answer to the greatest puzzle of modern religious scholarship: Who was Jesus? To answer this Meier imagines the following scenario: "Suppose that a Catholic, a Protestant, a Jew, and an agnostic were locked up in the bowels of the Harvard Divinity School library... and not allowed to emerge until they had hammered out a consensus document on who Jesus of Nazareth was and what he intended...." A Marginal Jew is what Meier thinks that document would reveal. Volume one concluded with Jesus approaching adulthood. Now, in this volume, Meier focuses on the Jesus of our memory and the development of his ministry. To begin, Meier identifies Jesus's mentor, the one person who had the greatest single influence on him, John the Baptist. All of the Baptist's fiery talk about the end of time had a powerful effect on the young Jesus and the formulation of his key symbol of the coming of the "kingdom of God." And, finally, we are given a full investigation of one of the most striking manifestations of Jesus's message: Jesus's practice of exorcisms, hearings, and other miracles. In all, Meier brings to life the story of a man, Jesus, who by his life and teaching gradually made himself marginal even to the marginal society that was first century Palestine.

John Meier's previous volumes in the acclaimed series A Marginal Jew are founded upon the notion that while solid historical information about Jesus is quite limited, people of different faiths can nevertheless arrive at a consensus on fundamental historical facts of his life. In this eagerly anticipated fourth volume in the series, Meier approaches a fresh topic--the teachings of the historical Jesus concerning Mosaic Law and morality--with the same rigor, thoroughness, accuracy, and insightfulness on display in his earlier works.

After correcting misconceptions about Mosaic Law in Jesus' time, this volume addresses the teachings of Jesus on major legal topics like divorce, oaths, the Sabbath, purity rules, and the various love commandments in the Gospels. What emerges from Meier's research is a profile of a complicated first-century Palestinian Jew who, far from seeking to abolish the Law, was deeply engaged in debates about its observance. Only by embracing this portrait of the historical Jesus grappling with questions of the Torah do we avoid the common mistake of constructing Christian moral theology under the guise of studying "Jesus and the Law," the author concludes.