James H. Charlesworth

Loren L. Johns

An international group of scholars who met in Jerusalem in 1992 examined and compared the traditions that describe the historical figures Hillel (a prominent first century B.C.E. Rabbinic teacher) and Jesus (early first century C.E.). The fascinating results of the study are compiled in this magnificent work of interest to clergy, professors, students, libraries and general readers alike.

Comparative Studies of Two Major Religious Leaders

Hillel and Jesus

New Light from Exciting Archaeological Discoveries

Jesus Within Judaism

The New Testament provides abundant evidence that Jesus frequented the temple; according to Acts, so did his followers after his death. But the Gospels also depict Jesus in conflict with temple authorities, and questions about his attitude to the temple swirl around what the Gospels label false accusations from his opponents and around the dramatic but inconsistent accounts of Jesus "cleansing" the temple. Jesus' attitude toward the temple is at the center of current historical Jesus research, yet those discussions are often not current with the latest archaeological and related findings regarding the temple and its history, architecture, liturgy, and function. James H. Charlesworth here gathers essays from world-renowned archaeologists and biblical scholars to address the current state of knowledge regarding the temple and to consider anew vital questions about its significance for Jesus, for his followers, and for New Testament readers today--Back cover.

Textual and Archaeological Explorations

Jesus and Temple

Lee Martin McDonald

Over the past four decades, many scholars have focused on the expanding collection of alleged "extra-canonical" documents that were deemed inspired by God in numerous early Jewish and Christian groups. Eventually, these texts ceased to have an authoritative role in Judaism and Christianity and were branded "extra-canonical." Now, these documents, once considered sacred, are recognized as fundamental in understanding antiquity, and the development of the canon. Many scholars are now according an authority to some of these texts This volume draws attention to these ancient religious texts, especially the so-called "non-canonical" texts, by focusing on how they were used or functioned in early societies. The contributors also warn us about the assumed barriers between "canon" and "extra-canon," "texts" and "traditions," and they suggest that we should be careful with labels such as "Jewish" and "Christian." The contributors also indicate, intermittently or implicitly, the importance of combining disciplines that had been isolated, especially the study of texts, the exploration of the canonical process, and the relevance of sociology in studying ancient groups.

The Function of 'Canonical' and 'Non-Canonical' Religious Texts

Jewish and Christian Scriptures

The recovery of 800 documents in the eleven caves on the northwest shores of the Dead Sea is one of the most sensational archeological discoveries in the Holy Land to date. These three volumes, the very best of critical scholarship, demonstrate in detail how the scrolls have revolutionized our knowledge of the text of the Bible, the character of Second Temple Judaism, and the Jewish beginnings of Christianity.

The Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls: The scrolls and Christian origins

Offered for the first time, here is a complete concordance that cites most of the documents and fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Based on the best editions of previously published sectarian Dead Sea Scrolls, theGraphic Concordanceis a Hebrew and Aramaic concordance of 223 texts and approximately 3,500 fragments, containing more than 59,000 individual entries. No single concordance cites all of the documents and fragments now included in this concordance. The Princeton Dead Sea Scrolls Project provides a major landmark in general access to these documents. It is the first serious attempt to provide accurate transcriptions and translations with critical commentary to all the nonbiblical scrolls found at Qumran. These are important reference books for specialized studies in biblical fields.

Graphic concordance to the Dead Sea scrolls

George Zervos

A Preliminary Report on the Manuscripts

The New Discoveries in St. Catherine's Monastery

Key second-temple texts with introductions and notes by an international team of scholars--now available in affordable softcover bindings. The writers of the Bible lived in a world filled with many writings. Some of these documents are lost forever, but many have been preserved. Part of these extant sources are the Pseudepigrapha. This collection of Jewish and Christian writings shed light on early Judaism and Christianity and their doctrines. This landmark set includes all 65 Pseudepigraphical documents from the intertestamental period that reveal the ongoing development of Judaism and the roots from which the Christian religion took its beliefs. A scholarly authority on each text contributes a translation, introduction, and critical notes for each text. Volume 1 features apocalyptic literature and testaments. Volume 2 includes expansions of the "Old Testament" legends, wisdom, and philosophical literature; prayers, psalms, and odes; and fragments of lost Judeo-Hellenistic Works. Contributors include E. Isaac, B.M. Metzger, J.R. Mueller, S.E. Robinson, D.J. Harrington, G.T. Zervos, and many others. Of enormous value to scholars and students, religious professionals and interested laypeople. Part of Anchor Yale Reference Library.

The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha

Petr Pokorny

This collection from the first Princeton-Prague Symposium on the Historical Jesus gathers twelve papers from international scholars evaluating the state of Jesus Research, seeking to represent and comprehend Jesus of Nazareth within his historical Jewish setting in Galilee and Jerusalem. / Each internationally renowned scholar examines different aspects of Jesus? life and thought both in his historical and geographical setting and also within his religious and cultural context. They then suggest what, therefore, we may learn from Jesus? teachings. In the process, readers are also made aware of the Palestinian Jesus Movement before 70 ce when Jerusalem was burned by Roman soldiers directed by a future emperor. / Jesus Research is a comprehensive collection from the luminaries in this area of research and provides a focus to the issues currently confronted by seeking to re-create Jesus in his world.

An International Perspective

Jesus Research

In 1980 archaeologists unearthed a tomb near Jerusalem that contained a family's ossuaries inscribed with some familiar New Testament names, including Mary, Joseph, and Jesus. In 2007 the Discovery Channel produced and broadcast a documentary called The Lost Tomb of Jesus, raising interest — and controversy -- among the public and specialists alike. Could this actually be the tomb of Jesus and his family? In January of 2008 a group of internationally renowned scholars from a broad range of disciplines met in Jerusalem to discuss that very question. Covering the archaeological facts about the discovery, Jewish burial customs during the late Second Temple period, first-century inscriptions, the Talpiot tomb, the James ossuary, the Holy Sepulcher, and more,this volume presents their expert perspectives on a much-publicized topic. Contributors:Mordechai AviamWolfgang E. KrumbeinJames H. CharlesworthAndré LemaireClaude Cohen-MatlofskyLee Martin McDonaldApril D. DeConickCharles PellegrinoCasey D. ElledgeStephen PfannMark ElliottPetr PokornýHoward R. FeldmanJonathan J. PriceJoseph A. FitzmyerChristopher A. RollstonCamil FuchsAmnon RosenfeldShimon GibsonJane SchabergRachel HachliliAndrew V. SillsEldad KeynanMark SpigelmanKevin KiltyJames D. TaborAmos KlonerKonstantinos Th. Zarras Watch an interview with James H. Charlesworth below:

Exploring Ancient Jewish Tombs Near Jerusalem's Walls

The Tomb of Jesus and His Family?

Michael A. Daise

Five foremost scholars reflect on the Wisdom traditions in Second Temple Judaism and earliest Christianity

Reflections on Wisdom Traditions in Judaism and Early Christianity

Light in a Spotless Mirror

Archaeology still has many things to reveal about the life and world of Jesus of Nazareth. To touch a two-thousand-year-old pot held by a Jew who lived in a small village frequented by Jesus can bring us closer to understanding those who were touched by Jesus.Jesus and Archaeology contains the revised and edited lectures that leading archaeologists and biblical scholars presented at a gathering in Jerusalem to celebrate the new millennium. Many contributors came directly from their excavations in places like Bethsaida, Capernaum, Nazareth, and Jerusalem to share their discoveries and insights, focusing on the question In what ways do new archaeological discoveries clarify the world, life, and thought of Jesus from Nazareth? Readers of Jesus and Archaeology will gain many new insights into the life and times of this fascinating Galilean J ew.Contributors: Paul N. AndersonRami AravDan BahatRichard A. BateyAvraham BiranBrian J. CapperJames H. CharlesworthBruce ChiltonJames D. G. DunnJ. K. ElliottEsther EshelCraig A. EvansSean FreyneYizhar HirschfeldWilliam KlassenJohn S. KloppenborgAchim LichtenbergerFrédéric MannsJohn PainterMichele Piccirillo, O.F.M.Bargil Pixner, O.S.B.Emile PuechJohn ReumannPeter RichardsonHenry W. M. RietzDaniel R. SchwartzBenedict Thomas Viviano, O.P.Urban C. von WahldeJohn W. WelchJürgen ZangenbergJoseph E. Zias

Jesus and Archaeology

This volume of The Dead Sea Scrolls includes the Rule of the Community and other related documents. The Princeton Dead Sea Scrolls Project provides a major landmark in general access to these documents. It is the first serious attempt to provide accurate transcriptions and translations with critical commentary to all the nonbiblical scrolls found at Qumran. These are important reference books for specialized studies in biblical fields.

Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek Texts with English Translations

The Dead Sea Scrolls

Jews and most Christians know about only 150 “Psalms of David”; they were collected in the Davidic Psalter of the (Masoretic) Hebrew Bible or Old Testament. Since about 200 BCE, the Greek translation of the Davidic Psalter contained 151 Psalms of David. Thanks to research on the Qumran Psalms Scroll and the early Syriac Bible, most scholars know about 155 Psalms of David, and they were included in the well-known Old Testament Pseudepigrapha as “Non-Masoretic Psalms.” Virtually unknown to biblical scholars is Psalm 156. It is preserved in a medieval copy found in the Cairo Genizah, as are other major early Jewish compositions, notably the Damascus Document and the Testament of Levi. Psalm 156 is extensive and almost as long as Psalm 119. It preserves visions attributed to David. The work opens new windows for looking into the creative world of Second Temple Judaism.

With Images of MS RNL Antonin 798

Has Psalm 156 Been Found?

James H. Charlesworth begins from a burgeoning point of scholarly consensus: More and more scholars are coming to recognize that the Fourth Gospel is more historically complex than previously thought. Charlesworth outlines two historical horizons within John. On the one hand, there is the Jewish background to the text (complete with the evangelist's knowledge of Palestinian geography and Jewish customs) which Charlesworth perceives as offering a window into pre-70 Palestinian Judaism. On the other hand, the gospel also reflects a post-70 world in which non-believing Jews, with more unity, begin to part definitely with those who identified Jesus as the Messiah. Split into four sections, this volume first examines the origins of the Fourth Gospel, its evolution in several editions, and its setting in Judea and Galilee. Charlesworth then looks specifically at the figure of Jesus and issues of history. He proceeds to consider this Gospel alongside earlier and contemporaneous Jewish literature, most notably the Dead Sea Scrolls. Finally, the volume engages with John's symbolism and language, looking closely at key aspects in which John differs from the Synoptic Gospels, and raising such provocative questions as whether or not it is possible that Jesus married Mary Magdalene. From one of the New Testament's most noted scholars, this book allows deeper understanding of the ways in which the Gospel of John is a vital resource for understanding both the origin of Christianity and Jesus' position in history.

The Genius in the New Testament

Jesus as Mirrored in John

Jews and most Christians know about only 150 "Psalms of David"; they were collected in the Davidic Psalter of the (Masoretic) Hebrew Bible or Old Testament. Since about 200 BCE, the Greek translation of the Davidic Psalter contained 151 Psalms of David. Thanks to research on the Qumran Psalms Scroll and the early Syriac Bible, most scholars know about 155 Psalms of David, and they were included in the well-known Old Testament Pseudepigrapha as "Non-Masoretic Psalms." Virtually unknown to biblical scholars is Psalm 156. It is preserved in a medieval copy found in the Cairo Genizah, as are other major early Jewish compositions, notably the Damascus Document and the Testament of Levi. Psalm 156 is extensive and almost as long as Psalm 119. It preserves visions attributed to David. The work opens new windows for looking into the creative world of Second Temple Judaism.

Henry W. L. Rietz

Lidija Novakovic

Casey D. Elledge

Pesharim, Other Commentaries, and Related Documents

The pesharim were a series of early Jewish commentaries on the Hebrew Bible composed at Qumran between 100 and 40 BC. As this study reveals, they are a truly complex and intriguing source for the early Qumran community and its beliefs. Charlesworth's study revolves around the central issue of whether any reliable historical information can be obtained from the pesharim and, if so, what it reveals. Placed within the context of Hellenistic and Jewish historiography, and Biblical literature, this is a specialised study within Dead Sea Scroll scholarship.

Chaos Or Consensus?

The Pesharim and Qumran History

This volume of The Dead Sea Scrolls includes Pesharim and other related commentaries and documents. The Princeton Dead Sea Scrolls Project provides a major landmark in general access to these documents. It is the first serious attempt to provide accurate transcriptions and translations with critical commentary to all the nonbiblical scrolls found at Qumran. These are important reference books for specialized studies in biblical fields.

The Dead Sea Scrolls, Volume 6B

J. B. F. Miller

The Princeton Theological Seminary Dead Sea Scrolls Project is providing the first critical edition of all the Dead Sea Scrolls which are not copies of books in the Hebrew Bible (the so-called Old Testament) in 10 projected volumes along with 2 concordances. The format of the series is unique; each manuscript is presented with Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek text on the left page with facing English translation on the right. The series intends to be a standard reference work; thus, only probable reconstructions are made and the English translations are as literal as possible avoiding idiomatic renderings. Where a document is witnessed by more than one manuscript, each manuscript is presented separately, often with a critical apparatus. Critical notes help the reader to understand the text, variants, philological subtleties, and the translation. An introduction with selected bibliography precedes each document. The documents are prepared by an international team of over forty scholars with the editor and his assistants providing consistency, especially with regard to the consistent translation of technical terms and use of signs and sigla.Volume 3 contains improved readings of Damascus Document Fragments, Some Works of the Torah, and Related Documents . The Damascus Document Fragments and Some Works of the Torah are two of the most important texts for understanding the origins and early history of the Qumran Community. Those documents, along with the other legal texts which are also included in this volume, also provide some of the earliest sources for understanding the development of Jewish halakah.Survey of the Princeton Theological Seminary DSS Project: Graphic Concordance to the Dead Sea Scrolls. Tubingen/Louisville 1991 The Dead Sea Scrolls Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek Texts with English Translations 1: Rule of the Community and Related Documents. 1994 2: Damascus Document, War Scroll, and Related Documents. 1995 3: Damascus Document Fragments, Some Works of the Torah, and Related Documents. 2005 4A: Pseudepigraphic and Non-Masoretic Psalms and Prayers. 1997 4B: Angelic Liturgy: Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice. 1999 5: Thanksgiving Hymns and Related Documents 6A: The Targum on Job, Parabiblical and Related Documents 6B: Pesharim, Other Commentaries, and Related Documents. 2001 7: Temple Scroll and Related Documents 8: Genesis Apocryphon, New Jerusalem, and Related Documents 9: Copper Scroll, Greek Fragments, and Miscellanea10: Biblical Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha

James H. Charlesworth

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