Israel's God and Rebecca's Children

David B. Capes is Associate Dean of Biblical & Theological Studies and Professor of New Testament at Wheaton College. His books include Old Testament Yahweh Texts in Paul's Christology (Mohr Siebeck, 1992), The Footsteps of Jesus in the Holy Land (Steimatsky, 1999), The Last Eyewitness: The Final Week (Thomas Nelson, 2006), and Rediscovering Paul: An Introduction to His World, Letters and Theology (InterVarsity, 2007). He serves as the senior theological review editor for THE VOICE, a joint project of Thomas Nelson and Ecclesia Bible Society. Since the early 1990s he has been active in interfaith dialogue in Houston and co-hosts a radio show called ""A Show of Faith"" on TALK RADIO 950 KPRC Houston.April D. DeConick is the Isla Carroll and Percy E. Turner Professor of Biblical Studies in the Department of Religious Studies at Rice University (Houston, Texas). She specializes in early Christian history and theology, noncanonical Gospels, and gnostic and mystical traditions. Her books include Seek to See Him: Ascent and Vision Mysticism in the Gospel of Thomas (1996); Voices of the Mystics: Early Christian Discourse in the Gospels of John and Thomas and Other Ancient Christian Literature (Sheffield Academic, 2001); Recovering the Original Gospel of Thomas: A History of the Gospel and Its Growth (T. & T. Clark, 2005); and The Original Gospel of Thomas in Translation, with Commentary and New English Translation of the Complete Gospel (T. & T. Clark, 2006). She has also edited the collection of papers, Paradise Now: Essays on Early Jewish and Christian Mysticism (SBL, 2006).Helen K. Bond studied at the Universities of St Andrews, Durham and Tübingen. She is Senior Lecturer in New Testament Language, Literature and Theology at the University of Edinburgh, where she has taught since 2000. She is interested in the historical, political and social background to the gospels, particularly the passion narratives, and the life (and execution) of Jesus of Nazareth. Her publications include Pontius Pilate in History and Interpretation (SNTSMS 100; Cambridge University Press, 1998) and Caiaphas: Friend of Rome and Judge of Jesus? (Westminster John Knox, 2004).Troy A. Miller is Dean and Assistant Professor of Bible & Theology in the School of Bible & Theology at Crichton College (Memphis, TN). He holds a PhD in New Testament Language, Literature, and Theology from the University of Edinburgh and specializes in late Second Temple Judaism, Paul, and early Christian identity formation. His thesis is entitled The Emergence of the Concept of Heresy in Early Christianity and he serves as a theological review editor for THE VOICE project (Thomas Nelson).

Methodologically sophisticated, engagingly written, and imaginatively provocative, this splendid volume advances the study of Early Judaism, Christian origins, and Jewish/Christian relations. --Amy-Jill Levine, Vanderbilt University Divinity School

• IntroductionLarry Hurtado, Alan F. SegalPART ONE: RECONCEPTUALIZING CHRISTOLOGY AND COMMUNITY1 How We Talk About Christology Matters, April DeConick2 Mandatory Retirement: Ideas in the Study of Christian Origins Whose Time Has Come to Go, Paula Fredriksen3 The ""Most High"" God and the Nature of Early Jewish Monotheism, Richard Bauckham4 ""How on Earth Did Jesus Become a God?"": A Reply, Adela Yarbro Collins5 Resurrection and Christology: Are They Related?, Pheme Perkins6 Are Early New Testament Manuscripts Truly Abundant?, Eldon Jay EppPART TWO: STUDIES IN CHRISTOLOGY7 Prophetic Identity and Conflict in the Historic Ministry of Jesus, Maurice Casey8 Pauline Exegesis and the Incarnate Christ, David B. Capes9 Christophany as a Sign of ""the End"", Carey C. Newman10 When Did the Understanding of Jesus' Death as an Atoning Sacrifice First Emerge?, James D. G. Dunn11 Discarding the Seamless Robe: The High Priesthood of Jesus in John's Gospel, Helen K. Bond12 Remembering and Revelation: The Historic and Glorified Jesus in the Gospel of John, Larry W. Hurtado13 Jesus: ""The One Who Sees God"", Marianne Meye Thompson14 The Lamb (Not the Man) on the Divine Throne, Charles GieschenPART THREE: STUDIES IN COMMUNITY15 The Promise of the Spirit of Life in the Book of Ezekiel, John R. Levison16 Sadducees, Zadokites, and the Wisdom of Ben Sira, Jonathan Klawans17 On the Changing Significance of the Sacred, Rachel Elior18 Vespasian, Nerva, Jesus and Fiscus Judaicus, Paul Foster19 Paul's Religious Experience in the Eyes of Jewish Scholars, Alan F. Segal20 Liturgy and Communal Identity: Hellenistic Synagogal Prayer 5 and the Character of Early Syrian Christianity, Troy Miller21 Anger, Reconcilliation, and Friendship in Matthew 5:21-26, John T. FitzgeraldList of Contributors