Customer Reviews

Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah - Enhanced Version

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When you are tired of the endless controversies in current Biblical scholarship, when you're worn down from the specialist studies of language in this or that gospel, or the cynical books that claim to expose this and that redaction, when you want merely to exist in a rich, vital, eloquent literary world, securely based in scholarship itself, in which Second Temple Jerusalem comes to life, in which you can see Nazareth as if you were there, in which you can feel the pulse of the commerce and communications, and pilgrim crowds of the time of Christ -- then pick up this book. Dip into it by subject or time period. And you'll love it. Of course it was written by a believing man with a great generous soul. But it's thoroughly documented, and has immense and timeless insight to offer on many subjects. For some, it might be a rich corrective to the mini-series, and movies about Jesus which portray his surroundings as so meager and primitive, with no sense of the grandeur of the Holy City, and the complexity and variety of the village life that Jesus might have known. Jesus didn't live in the Stone Age as motion pictures and documentaries would have one believe. He lived in the busy world of Augustus and Tiberius Caesar. And this book embraces that period with vast wisdom and knowledge. It is outdated, yes. But the period in which it was written (late 1800's) is no doubt partly responsible for it's profound simplicty and overwhelming charm. Happy reading.

While somewhat outdated, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah remains a magnificent reference to the historical and cultural setting to the days of Jesus of Nazareth. Although written some 70 years prior to the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, Edersheim's great work still offers highly valuable information and insight on the Gospels and related events. One of the more striking features of the book is the appendix list of 400+ Old Testament passages which were tagged by the ancient rabbis as being messianically applied. An absolute must for anyone who wish to study the Jewish expectations of the Messiah surrounding the days when the Nazarene Carpentar walked the Earth. Place this vintage masterpiece in your library, and you will find yourself going back to it time and time again.

This classic work is a goldmine of information about the context of the Gospels. Many of the events and sayings in Jesus's become even clearer when we understand the widespread Rabbinic teachings of His day. Edersheim's insight into the famous "Thou art Peter" is most interesting -- yes, Jesus was speaking Hebrew but he DID mean to distinguish petros and petra, because these names had also been incorporated into Hebrew and Aramaic. It's also very important to see how Jewish writers interpreted Messianic prophecies to see that the NT writers were following accepted procedure.

For something more modern, I recommend Dr Arnold Fruchtenbaum's books, especially Messianic Christology.

Alfred Edersheim's heritage as a Messianic Jew gives the description of Jewish culture in "The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah" an authenticity that a non-Jew would be hard-pressed to duplicate. The culture of Israel during the Roman occupation comes alive in Edersheim's writing in a way that goes beyond scholastic study by blending his own Jewish heritage, archeological fact, and keen spiritual insight. Any serious student of the Gospels or the Epistles would benefit from the insight of Mr. Edersheim because so much of the imagery in the account of Jesus is steeped in the culture of Israel as it progressed from Abraham to Herod. Used as a reference, "The Life and Times" is indexed according to verses and events and gives Bible studies the context for the illustrations of Jesus. Read as a book, Edersheim is ponderous, however, a contiguous reading would give a person a consistent Hebrew framework which the New Testament fit into 2000 years ago. "The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah" has become a fixture in my library which, second to the Bible, is now a standard starting point in my study of Jesus, the Messiah.

I was given a copy of the above referenced book as a birthday gift in 1990. I began reading it in 1992 and completed it within 3 months. I picked up the book again in 1998 and have read it, in its entirety, at least once a year since then. I truly consider myself more then a casual reader of this magnificent work! That being said, my review...

For the believing Christian, this is a must read. For the skeptic, consider yourself remiss to overlook this book and for the Non-believer, this work will renovate your thinking. Edersheim has put together a true masterpiece herein. His depth of research on the subject matter is totally comprehensive. A commitment of 7 years, in almost complete solitude, was made to the writing of this book by he and his daughter.

Literally thousands of footnotes, drawn from nearly every major Jewish writing of the time, are listed on the pages of this book indicating the intense discipline and scholarly effort enforced by the writer. An impression of truth and trustworthiness almost overwhelms readers as they have literally noted in conversation with me as I have passed this book along to many friends and acquaintances.

This book is a bon-a-fide "best effort" to set before it's readers the daily foot steps of Jesus of Nazareth so that His words and works may bring us to an understanding of Jesus The Messiah that will blaze with a brightness that will light every other understanding.

Finally, to put oneself to the task of completing this book is an undertaking. However, as noted by Edersheim himself, we are called to look upon Jesus with intent and resolve before we will see him as the "God-Man". ( St. John 6:40)

In Bible school I had to use this book as a resource in writing several papers. Since then I have added it to my personal library. The book is excellent in exploring the cultural setting of the life of Jesus. Valuable insights have been gained as to what Jesus was referring to when he taught. This book is a definite must for refrence.

Fantastic reference book by Edersheim. May be a dificult read for some, but it is a well documented work of research for any Bible student.

While a little outdated now, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah remains as both an excellent and massive reference work to the historical setting to the time of Jesus of Nazareth. Written some 70 years prior to the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, Alfred Edersheim's great work still offers highly valuable-and detailed-information on the Gospel and related events. One of the more striking features of this book is the appendix section which gives a list of 400+ Old Testament passages which were tagged by the ancient rabbis as messianically applied. An absolute must for any who wish to study the Jewish expectations of the coming of Messiah surrounding the days when the Carpentar from Nazareth walked the Earth. Place Edersheim's great work in your library, and you will find yourself going back to it time and time again.

this is the best book i have ever read on jesus other than the bible. this man was very knowledgeable about his subject. he was also very familiar with his subject [jesus] as you will see when you read this book. no christian should be without this book in his library.

The edition of "The Life and Times of Jesus Christ the Messiah" that I am reviewing is the third edition printed in 1995. It is a burgundy hard cover with gold lettering. This may be the most thorough,comprehensive book about the land and times of Jesus. It covers religious thought and politics of the day. What the Messianic expectations were. This is a very detailed and well-documented chronicle of the Messiah's life. The Appendices in the back of the book are the best I have read. Mr.Edersheim also covers such topics as: Pseudigraphic Writings-Enoch,Jubilees,Apocalypse of Baruch are some. Rabbinic views,theology,and literature. Lists of the Maccabees,Family of Herod,and Roman govt leaders. The Law in Messianic times. Jewish Angelology and demonology.The Jewish history of exorcisms was interesting. The Fall of Angels. Some very helpful tools also found in the back of this book are the Subject Index,Scripture Index,and maps. I have read "the Complete Works of Josephus". This book is much better in my opinion! It covers a lot more ground and would make a great reference tool.