About the Author

Tom Holmén, Th.D. (1999), Åbo Akademi University, is Adjunct Professor of New Testament Exegetics at Helsinki University and Åbo Akademi University. He is the editor of Jesus in Continuum (inter alia) and author of several other studies on the life and teachings of the historical Jesus.
Stanley E. Porter, Ph.D. (1988) in Biblical Studies and Linguistics, University of Sheffield, is Professor of New Testament, and President and Dean, at McMaster Divinity College in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. He is the author and editor of over sixty-five volumes on a range of subjects in New Testament and related fields.

Reviews

'This magnificent collection will be invaluable to scholars in history, biblical studies, theology, and literary theory/practice. [...] devoted research scholars and academic libraries will greatly benefit from the discussion of issues in the interpretation of early Christianity that have preoccupied scholars for some 300 years. [...] In this handbook, leading experts rigorously examine the history of this research, both implying and offering prospects for future research. These contributors' excellent, original essays are inclusive, international, and diverse.
Summing up: Highly recomended. Upper-level undergraduates and above; general readers'

L.J. Alderink, Concordia College, Choice, October 2011

'...kann allgemein gesagt werden, dass die Beiträge von hoher Qualität sind, dass sie auf viele Jahre hinweg ein großartiges Bild der gegenwärtigen Jesusforschung bleiben werden und auch neue Wege des Nachdenkens über den historischen Jesus eröffnen. Die Bände eröffnen ein faszinierendes Bild vergangener und gegenwärtiger
Forschung. Immer wieder trifft man auf kleinere oder größere Juwelen; [...] Den Hg.n ist zu gratulieren, ein solches Werk nicht nur geplant, sondern auch in dieser Weise durchgeführt zu haben. Dazu gehören auch Details wie das enorm informative Vorwort, das in allen vier Bänden abgedruckt ist oder die Durchnummerierung der Seiten über
die vier Bände hinweg. Diese Ausgabe ist also rundum zu empfehlen und sei nicht nur Studenten des historischen Jesus ans Herz gelegt, sondern auch solchen antiker Literatur und Geschichte.'
Boris Repschinski SJ, Zeitschrift für katholische Theologie 4-2012

"Various collections of Jesus research exist, each useful on its own level; this is the now most monumental and thorough, and many of its studies will be definitive. Probably no other work brings together the work of so many leading scholars on the topic in one place. The breadth of perspectives and approaches is also helpful; I do not believe that any of the major perspectives will feel left out. The overall effect averages out to the mainstream of sober historical Jesus research, including keeping Jesus in his first-century Jewish context. Such a wide collection of scholarship has the effect of representing the mainstream of scholarship, while a number of leading scholars also press new methodological boundaries in ways that appear to be fruitful. Clearly academic interest in historical Jesus scholarship is alive and well; the present version of it is also quite thoughtful and increasingly methodologically sophisticated. Especially at a time when many publishers are trimming back scholarship, scholars can be grateful to Brill for having published such a monumental work."

Craig Keener, Palmer Theological Seminary

The Handbook for the Study of the Historical Jesus is a fascinating work on the development of the study of the historical Jesus. HSHJ’s distinctiveness is the variety of topics it covers related to the historical Jesus and the profundity of each article. The mixture of depth and breadth is unparalleled by other resources.'

Garrett Trott, Corban University, Theological Librarianship. January 2012

'[...]il faut convenir que l’on a affaire à une somme qui respecte pleinement la diversité des approches que souhaitaient honorer les Éd. Ils sont parvenus à mettre à disposition de la communauté scientifique à la fois un outil de travail de la plus grande utilité sur le plan méthodologique et une mine de renseignements.'

Ch. Grappe, REVUE D’HISTOIRE ET DE PHILOSOPHIE RELIGIEUSES 2012, Tome 92 n° 3