Jesus and His Contemporaries: Comparative Studies (Arbeiten Zur Geschichte Des Antiken Judentums Und Des Urchristentums, 25) (Hardcover)

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The first part of this book attempts to situate Jesus in his historical and cultural context through comparisons with the prayers, parables, prophecies, and miracles attributed to various Jewish figures of Palestine who are Jesus' near contemporaries. It is concluded that Jesus' teachings and activities do not represent a radical break with the piety and restorative hopes of many of his contemporaries. This conclusion stands in tension with some of the recent Jesus research, especially emanating from the Jesus Seminar, which tends to view Jesus as a Stoic or Cynic philosopher with little interest in the restoration of Israel and the fulfilment of prophecy. The second part of the book explores the aims of Jesus and the factors that led to Jesus' death.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 532 pages
• Publisher: Brill Academic Pub (August 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9004102795
• ISBN-13: 978-9004102798
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 6.8 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #6,902,982 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If only there were 6 stars!, January 10, 2007

By	Dr J (UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jesus and His Contemporaries: Comparative Studies (Arbeiten Zur Geschichte Des Antiken Judentums Und Des Urchristentums, Bd. 25.) (Paperback)

This work is a truly eye-opening study, looking at the First-Century religious context in Palestine as key to understanding the historical Jesus. Evans includes much analysis of the Dead Sea Scrolls, especially the newly-published materials, and considers vital Rabbinical traditions. Though it's a very scholarly work by a world expert in the area, the text is surprisingly accessible, and the intelligent non-expert will benefit from it greatly. If you're presently persuaded by Jesus Seminar scholars and the like, I recommend you balance up by reading this. I cannot recommend this highly enough.