Table of Contents

Maps, Time Lines, and Diagrams; Preface; Acknowledgments; Notes on Suggestions for Further Reading; Credits; Master Time Line; 1. WHAT IS THE NEW TESTAMENT? THE EARLY CHRISTIANS AND THEIR LITERATURE; The Diversity of Early Christianity; The New Testament Canon of Scripture; Implications for Our Study; Excursus: Some Additional Reflections: The Historian and the Believer; 2. THE WORLD OF EARLY CHRISTIAN TRADITIONS; The Problem of Beginnings; One Remarkable Life; The Environment of the New Testament: Religions in the Greco-Roman World; 3. THE JEWISH CONTEXT OF JESUS AND HIS FOLLOWERS; Judaism as a Greco-Roman Religion; Political Crises in Palestine and Their Ramifications; The Formation of Jewish Sects; 4. THE TRADITIONS OF JESUS IN THEIR GRECO-ROMAN CONTEXT; Oral Traditions behind the Gospels; Excursus: Some Additional Reflections: The Authors of the Gospels; 5. THE CHRISTIAN GOSPELS: A LITERARY AND HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION; The Question of Genre; Biography as a Greco-Roman Genre; The Gospels as Ancient Biographies; 6. JESUS, THE SUFFERING SON OF GOD: THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK; The Beginning of the Gospel: Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God Who Fulfills Scripture; Jesus the Authoritative Son of God; Jesus the Opposed Son of God; Jesus the Misunderstood Son of God; Jesus the Acknowledged Son of God; Jesus the Suffering Son of God; Jesus the Crucified Son of God; BOX 6.7 THE CHARGE OF BLASPHEMY ACCORDING TO MARK; Jesus the Vindicated Son of God; CONCLUSION: MARK AND HIS READERS; 7. THE SYNOPTIC PROBLEM AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE FOR INTERPRETATION; Methods for Studying the Gospels; The Synoptic Problem; The Methodological Significance of the Four-Source Hypothesis; 8. JESUS, THE JEWISH MESSIAH: THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW; The Importance of Beginnings: Jesus the Jewish Messiah in Fulfillment of the Jewish Scriptures; Jesus and His Forerunner from Matthew's Perspective; The Portrayal of Jesus in Matthew: The Sermon on the Mount as a Springboard; Jesus and the Jewish Cultic Practices Prescribed by the Law; Jesus Rejected by the Jewish Leaders; Matthew and His Readers; 9. JESUS, THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD: THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE; The Comparative Method and the Gospel of Luke; A Comparative Overview of the Gospel; The Preface to Luke's Gospel; Luke's Birth Narrative in Comparative Perspective; From Jew to Gentile: Luke's Portrayal of Jesus the Rejected Prophet; Luke's Distinctive Emphases throughout His Gospel; Conclusion: Luke in Comparative Perspective; 10. LUKE'S SECOND VOLUME: THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES; The Genre of Acts and Its Significance; The Thematic Approach to Acts; From Gospel to Acts: The Opening Transition; Themes in the Speeches in Acts; Excursus: The Author of Luke-Acts and His Audience; Conclusion: The Author and His Themes in Context; 11. JESUS, THE MAN SENT FROM HEAVEN: THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JOHN; The Gospel of John from a Literary-Historical Perspective; The Gospel of John from a Thematic Perspective; The Gospel of John from a Comparative Perspective; The Gospel of John from a Redactional Perspective; The Socio-Historical Method; The Gospel of John from a Socio-Historical Perspective; The Author of the Fourth Gospel; 12. FROM JOHN'S JESUS TO THE GNOSTIC CHRIST: THE JOHANNINE EPISTLES AND BEYOND; The Questions of Genre and Author; The New Testament Epistolary Literature and the Contextual Method; The Johannine Epistles from a Contextual Perspective; Reflections on the Contextual Method; Beyond the Johannine Community: The Rise of Christian Gnosticism; Gnostics and the Johannine Community; 13. JESUS FROM DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES: OTHER GOSPELS IN EARLY CHRISTIANITY; Narrative Gospels; Box 13.1 The Gospel of the Ebionites and Early Gospel Harmonies; Sayings Gospels; Box 13.3 The Older Sayings of the Gospel of Thomas; Infancy Gospels; Passion Gospels; Conclusion: The Other Gospels; 14. THE HISTORICAL JESUS: SOURCES, PROBLEMS, AND METHODS; Problems with Sources; Non-Christian Sources; Christian Sources; Using Our Sources: Some of the Basic Rules of Thumb; Specific Criteria and Their Rationale; Conclusion: Reconstructing the Life of Jesus; 15. EXCURSUS: THE HISTORIAN AND THE PROBLEM OF MIRACLE; Miracles in the Modern World and in Antiquity; The Historian and Historical Method; 16. JESUS IN CONTEXT; Popular Modes of Resistance to Oppression; An Ideology of Resistance; Jesus in His Apocalyptic Context; 17. JESUS, THE APOCALYPTIC PROPHET; The Apocalyptic Deeds of Jesus; The Apocalyptic Death of Jesus; 18. FROM JESUS TO THE GOSPELS; The Beginning of Christianity; Jesus' Resurrection from an Apocalyptic Perspective; Jesus' Death, according to the Scriptures; The Emergence of Different Understandings of Jesus; 19. PAUL THE APOSTLE: THE MAN AND HIS MISSION; The Study of Paul: Methodological Difficulties; The Life of Paul; 20. PAUL AND HIS APOSTOLIC MISSION: 1 THESSALONIANS AS A TEST CASE; The Founding of the Church in Thessalonica; The Beginnings of the Thessalonian Church: A Socio-Historical Perspective; The Church at Thessalonica after Paul's Departure; Conclusion: Paul the Apostle; 21. PAUL AND THE CRISES OF HIS CHURCHES: 1 AND 2 CORINTHIANS, GALATIANS, PHILIPPIANS, AND PHILEMON; 1 Corinthians; 2 Corinthians; Galatians; Philippians; Philemon; 22. THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO PAUL: THE LETTER TO THE ROMANS; The Occasion and Purpose of the Letter; The Theme of the Epistle; Pauline Models for Salvation; The Flow of Paul's Argument; Conclusion: Paul and the Romans; 23. DOES THE TRADITION MISCARRY? PAUL IN RELATION TO JESUS, JAMES, THECLA, AND THEUDAS; Paul in Relation to What Came Before; Paul in Relation to What Came After; Conclusion: Pauline Christianities; 24. IN THE WAKE OF THE APOSTLE: THE DEUTERO-PAULINE AND PASTORAL EPISTLES; Pseudonymity in the Ancient World; The Deutero-Pauline Epistles; The Pastoral Epistles; The Historical Situation and Authorship of the Pastoral Epistles; Conclusion: The Post-Pauline Pastoral Epistles; 25. FROM PAUL'S FEMALE COLLEAGUES TO THE PASTOR'S INTIMIDATED WOMEN: THE OPPRESSION OF WOMEN IN EARLY CHRISTIANITY; Women in Paul's Churches; Women Associated with Jesus; Paul's Understanding of Women in the Church; Women in the Aftermath of Paul; Ancient Ideologies of Gender; Gender Ideology and the Pauline Churches; 26. CHRISTIANS AND JEWS: HEBREWS, BARNABAS, AND LATER ANTI-JEWISH LITERATURE; Early Christian Self-Definition; Continuity and Superiority: The Epistle to the Hebrews; Discontinuity and Supremacy: The Epistle of Barnabas; Box 26.6 The Epistle of Barnabas; Conclusion: The Rise of Christian Anti-Judaism; 27. CHRISTIANS AND PAGANS: 1 PETER, THE LETTERS OF IGNATIUS, THE MARTYRDOM OF POLYCARP, AND LATER APOLOGETIC LITERATURE; The Persecution of the Early Christians; Christians in a Hostile World: The Letter of 1 Peter; Christians Sentenced to Death: The Letters of Ignatius; Christians before the Tribunal: The Martyrdom of Polycarp; Christians on the Defense: The Later Apologetic Literature; 28. CHRISTIANS AND CHRISTIANS: JAMES, THE DIDACHE, POLYCARP, 1 CLEMENT, JUDE, AND 2 PETER; The Epistle of James; The Didache; Polycarp's Letter to the Philippians; Jude; 2 Peter; Conclusion: Conflicts within the Early Christian Communities; 29. CHRISTIANS AND THE COSMOS: THE REVELATION OF JOHN, THE SHEPHERD OF HERMAS, AND THE APOCALYPSE OF PETER; Introduction: The End of the World and the Revelation of John; The Content and Structure of the Book of Revelation; The Book of Revelation from a Historical Perspective; Apocalyptic Worldviews and Apocalypse Genre; The Revelation of John in Historical Context; The Shepherd of Hermas; Box 29.6 The Shepherd of Hermas and the Muratorian Canon; The Apocalypse of Peter; 30. EPILOGUE: DO WE HAVE THE ORIGINAL NEW TESTAMENT?; The Manuscripts of the New Testament; Kinds of Changes in Our Manuscript; Criteria for Establishing the Original Text; Conclusion: The Original Text of the New Testament

Reviews

"Quite simply excellent; this text has become the standard text for introductory New Testament courses. Ehrman's prose is fluid, sophisticated, and engaging. At the same time that he presents material accurately, he avoids unnecessarily technical vocabulary and writes in a way that engages undergraduate readers."--Jeremy Schott, University of North Carolina at Charlotte