In this text-critical, literary, and theological investigation of Paul's interpretation of Isaiah in Romans, it is argued that Paul's citations and allusions evince sustained and careful attention to significant portions of Isaiah, in concert with other scriptural voices. Through a radical rereading of Isaiah, Paul appropriates these prophetic oracles as prefigurations of his own mission to Gentiles while simultaneously appealing to Isaiah as a witness to God's continuing fidelity to Israel. The book examines each of Paul's citations and allusions to Isaiah, situating them both within the milieu of early Jewish interpretive practices and within the context of Paul's unfolding argument in Romans. This volume contributes to the current debate about early Christian interpretation of scripture by tracing the complex and dynamic interrelationship in Paul's letter of Scripture, theology, and mission. This publication has also been published in paperback, please click here for details.

The monograph analyses eucharistic texts on the basis of the social practices which generated them. Six stages of ideology are identified. Jesus himself practised fellowship at meals as celebrations of Israel's purity (stage 1), and later insisted that a pure meal was a better sacrifice than an offering in the Temple (stage 2). The circle of Peter made such meals into covenantal celebrations; Jesus became a new Moses (stage 3). In order to militate against the full participation of non-Jews, the circle of James invented the full identifications with Passover (stage 4). Paul resisted any such limitations (stage 5). The Synoptic tradition accepted the Jacobean chronology, but joined Paul in developing the Hellenistic theme of Jesus as heroic martyr, and in explaining eucharist as a means of effecting solidarity with Jesus (stage 5). The Johannine ideologies transformed the idiom of eucharist by making Jesus into the paschal lamb which is consumed (stage 6). A conclusion relates the practices identified to the sources behind the Gospels; and shows how practice is key to the meanings of eucharistic texts.

A study of the figurative material in Matthew's gospel throws fresh light on the role of the Matthean parables and on the circumstances which led to the creation of Matthew's gospel.

"Produced within the framework of a consultation ... at the Ecumenical Institute, Bossey, Switzerland from 12-17 September 1975."

It is widely believed that the early Christians copied their texts themselves without a great deal of expertise, and that some copyists introduced changes to support their theological beliefs. In this volume, however, Alan Mugridge examines all of the extant Greek papyri bearing Christian literature up to the end of the 4th century, as well as several comparative groups of papyri, and concludes that, on the whole, Christian texts, like most literary texts in the Roman world, were copied by trained scribes. Professional Christian scribes probably became more common after the time of Constantine, but this study suggests that in the early centuries the copyists of Christian texts in Greek were normally trained scribes, Christian or not, who reproduced those texts as part of their trade and, while they made mistakes, copied them as accurately as any other texts they were called upon to copy.

One of the focal issues surrounding contemporary studies of Hebrews concerns the book's elusive structure. This volume presents an examination of previous proposals and a fresh attempt at unlocking Hebrews' organizational principles. The first part of the volume critically assesses past efforts at outlining Hebrews. Following a history of investigation, the various approaches to the structure of Hebrews are categorized and evaluated for both strengths and weaknesses. Methodologies considered include thematic analysis, literary analysis, rhetorical analysis, and linguistic analysis. Part two of the volume offers a texts-linguistic analysis of Hebrews, utilizing both modern linguistic theory and insight into ancient oratorical conventions. This book presents advances in text-linguistic analysis and a compelling proposal concerning the structure of Hebrews.