Jesus in His Jewish Context [Paperback]

Geza Vermes (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2003

In this stimulating work, one of the most renowned scholars of ancient Judaism explores how Jesus’ proclamation of the kingdom and the earliest Jesus movement fit into the Jewish world of Judea and Galilee. In this revised edition of an earlier work, Vermes includes five new chapters.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Lucidly written, Vermes's newest work is addressed to all readers interested in ancient religions, history, and culture. A renowned scholar of ancient Judaism, he explores how Jesus and his followers fit into the Jewish world of Judea and Galilee. Vermes includes five new chapters in this revised edition that will not fail to stimulate discussion. With his sharp historical sense and unrivaled knowledge of anicent Judaism, Vermes opens new windows on Jesus, the Gospels, and earliest Christianity.

About the Author

Geza Vermes is Emeritus Fellow of the British Academy, and Emeritus Professor of Jewish Studies and Fellow of Wolfson College, Oxford University. He has been an international leader in the field of Dead Sea Scrolls research for more than forty years, as recounted in his Providential Accidents: An Autobiography (1998).

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Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: Augsburg Fortress Publishers (June 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0800636236
• ISBN-13: 978-0800636234
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #877,995 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

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37 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Was Jesus just a Galilean Hasid?, October 11, 2005

By 

Adrian Jones (Bangkok) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Jesus in His Jewish Context (Paperback)

This edition adds some chapters to Geza Vermes' (1983) Jesus and the World of Judaism. Most of the essays date back to the 70s and 80s. The Qumran related ones are more recent (1996, 1999) and the reflection in the final chapter is taken from Vermes' autobiography, published in 1998.

Vermes is now mainstream, though it appears that thirty years ago this was not the case. He argues for an historical approach, in contrast to what he calls a theological approach. Whereas the latter would focus on Jesus in his New testament context and regard the rest of what was happening in the intertestamental years as background, Vermes takes the opposite view. It is more historically valid and enlightening, in his view, to begin with what we know of the temporal and spatial setting and work back to the representation of Jesus in the synoptic gospels. From that point we can excavate what we think represents actual speech and events in the life of Jesus and what is constructed by the evangelists (ie the synoptics, not John, which Vermes believes has almost no historical validity at all).

I have said that I believe that Vermes is now mainstream - not necessarily that all his conclusions are accepted by the scholarly community, but that a more historically deductive approach is now common. By historical deduction I refer to the process of discovery proceeding from the general historical context to the particular events and characters to be discovered. My belief is not based on expertise, and is open to challenge from those who know better. However, I recently completed a course in biblical studies at a Catholic university that used extensively recent scholarship that did exactly what Vermes was arguing for in the 70s and 80s, ie placed gospel-based interpretations firmly in the context of the time and place of their writing and of the broader contemporary Jewish world. I would think it difficult for New Testament scholars now writing for a wider community to begin with a theological position and then proceed simply to find justification for it.

Vermes writes well and with a degree of passion. There is a degree of polemicism in his style. His wit and pleasure in pith have got him into trouble with sober scholars who have taken him to task for insufficient deference to method or unsubtle summative statements. This book begins with a self-defence from criticism by John Meier arising from a Vermes attempt to be humorous. At another time he argues that people misrepresent him for understanding statements such as "Jesus was a Galilean Hasid" (p. 10) as implying that that's all he was, but it's not an unreasonable inference when considered in the light of Vermes' argument as a whole. On other occasions, Vermes does make the explicit point that he thinks Jesus was in fact a Galilean Hasid, like Honi and Hanina ben Dosa, but much more as well (though still within the parameters of Hasidism).

I have found the three books I've read by Vermes on Jesus enlightening and very readable. They have helped me greatly to understand Jesus in his Jewish context without in any way lessening my faith in the value of Jesus' mission and its subsequent development in the mission of the Church. I believe Vermes would see this as a reasonable outcome of his message to the reader.

Unfortunately, my Fortress Press paperback copy ordered through Amazon fell apart almost immediately. I've not come across such a poorly bound book in many years. I hope it was a one-off, as I know Fortress Press is a quality publisher. I have let them know.

4.0 out of 5 stars Early Christianity in a Jewish matrix., February 4, 2011

By 

G. Adams (Germany) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Jesus in His Jewish Context (Paperback)

Vermes is one of the foremost experts on the Jewish world that produced Jesus. This book is a good summary of much of his research into the language and the customs of Judaism and early Christianity during the intertestamental period. Fully annotated for the scholar, it still allows an informative reading by the interested layperson.