The Historical Jesus in Context is a landmark collection that places the gospel narratives in their full literary, social, and archaeological context. More than twenty-five internationally recognized experts offer new translations and descriptions of a broad range of texts that shed new light on the Jesus of history, including pagan prayers and private inscriptions, miracle tales and martyrdoms, parables and fables, divorce decrees and imperial propaganda. The translated materials--from Christian, Coptic, and Jewish as well as Greek, Roman, and Egyptian texts--extend beyond single phrases to encompass the full context, thus allowing readers to locate Jesus in a broader cultural setting than is usually made available. This book demonstrates that only by knowing the world in which Jesus lived and taught can we fully understand him, his message, and the spread of the Gospel. Gathering in one place material that was previously available only in disparate sources, this formidable book provides innovative insight into matters no less grand than first-century Jewish and Gentile life, the composition of the Gospels, and Jesus himself.

Princeton Readings in Religions vContributors ix
Introduction by Amy-Jill Levine 1


Chapter 1: Archaeological Contributions to the Study of Jesus and the Gospels by Jonathan L. Reed 40
Chapter 2: Josephus on John the Baptist and Other Jewish Prophets of Deliverance by Craig A. Evans 55
Chapter 3: Abba and Father: Imperial Theology in the Contexts of Jesus and the Gospels by Mary Rose D'Angelo 64
Chapter 4: Miraculous Conceptions and Births in Mediterranean Antiquity by Charles H. Talbert 79
Chapter 5: First and Second Enoch: A Cry against Oppression and the Promise of Deliverance by George W. E. Nickelsburg 87


Chapter 6: Jesus and the Dead Sea Scrolls by Peter Flint 110
Chapter 7: The Chreia by David B. Gowler 132
Chapter 8: The Galilean Charismatic and Rabbinic Piety: The Holy Man in the Talmudic Literature by Alan J. Avery-Peck 149
Chapter 9: Miracle Stories: The God Asclepius, the Pythagorean Philosophers, and the Roman Rulers by Wendy Cotter, C.S.J. 166
Chapter 10: The Mithras Liturgy by Marvin Meyer 179


Chapter 11: Apuleius of Madauros by Ian H. Henderson 193
Chapter 12: The Parable in the Hebrew Bible and Rabbinic Literature by Gary G. Porton 206
Chapter 13: The Aesop Tradition by Lawrence M. Wills 222
Chapter 14: Targum, Jesus, and the Gospels by Bruce Chilton 238
Chapter 15: The Psalms of Solomon by Joseph L. Trafton 256


Chapter 16: Moral and Ritual Purity by Jonathan Klawans 266
Chapter 17: Gospel and Talmud by Herbert W. Basser 285
Chapter 18: Philo of Alexandria by Gregory E. Sterling 296
Chapter 19: The Law of Roman Divorce in the Time of Christ
by Thomas A. J. McGinn 309
Chapter 20: Associations in the Ancient World by John S. Kloppenborg 323


Chapter 21: Anointing Traditions by Teresa J. Hornsby 339
Chapter 22: The Passover Haggadah by Calum Carmichael 343
Chapter 23: Joseph and Aseneth: Food as an Identity Marker by Randall D. Chesnutt 357
Chapter 24: The Pliny and Trajan Correspondence by Bradley M. Peper and Mark DelCogliano 366
Chapter 25: Imitations of Greek Epic in the Gospels by Dennis R. MacDonald 372
Chapter 26: Narratives of Noble Death by Robert Doran 385
Chapter 27: Isaiah 53:1-12 (Septuagint) by Ben Witherington III 400
Chapter 28: Thallus on the Crucifixion by Dale C. Allison Jr. 405


Maps 407
Glossary 409
Index of Ancient Works 417
Index of Ancient Persons 435