Roger David Aus, Ph.D., is pastor emeritus of the Evangelische Luther-Kirchengemeinde Alt-Reinickendorf in Berlin, Germany. He is the author of eleven other books on the New Testament and a member of the Society of New Testament Studies, the Society of Biblical Literature, and the Wissenschaftliche Gesellschaft für Theologie.

A model of exegetical analysis that places Jesus' feeding of the five thousand, the only miracle reported by all four Gospels, primarily within the historical-literary tradition of Rabbinic Judaism. Otherwise ordinary details of the story come to life when seen alongside a rich array of comparative Jewish texts spanning the Hellenistic and Roman periods. This study especially illuminates how interpretive traditions relating to Elisha influenced early Christian understanding of Jesus.

• Chapter 1 PrefaceChapter 2 IntroductionChapter 3 I. Famine, the Omer, and Barley BreadChapter 4 II. Similarities Between Elisha and aJesus, Especially as Wonder-workersChapter 5 III. Jesus as a Teacher with Disciples, and Elisha as a Teacher with DisciplesChapter 6 IV. DenariiChapter 7 V. Baal-shalishah, Shalishah, and John 6Chapter 8 VI. Jesus' Praying, and Elisha's PrayingChapter 9 VII. Doubling, Garden Beds and Rows, According to Hundreds and Fifties, and GroupsChapter 10 VIII. Eating to Satiety, and Saying Grace After MealsChapter 11 IX. Baskets Full of Left Over PiecesChapter 12 X. 5000 MenChapter 13 XI. Bethsaida as a Possible Site of the Feeding, and the Livia/Julia CultChapter 14 XII. Markan Redaction in 6:30-44, and Johannine Redaction in 6:1-15Chapter 15 XIII. The Markan and the Johannine ContextsChapter 16 XIV. The Semitic Background of the Feeding of the 5000, and Possible Hellenistic ParallelsChapter 17 XV. Major Motifs in the NarrativeChapter 18 XVI. The GenreChapter 19 XVII. The HistoricityChapter 20 XVIII. Two Markan Feeding Narratives, and the Feeding of the 5000 as Part of a Miracle CollectionChapter 21 Sources and Reference WorksChapter 22 Author IndexChapter 23 About the Author