During the reign of Cyrus the Great, founder of the Achaemenid Empire, the Jews returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. This Second Temple period is characterised by a changing mode of thinking. This volume traces the development of the concept of the covenant during this important era, by discussing relevant texts among the Apocrypha, such as Wisdom of Solomon; the Pseudepigrapha, especially the Dead Sea Scrolls and Jubilees; and the New Testament, such as the Pauline Letters. The authors deal with interesting concepts related to the idea of the covenant, such as law, wisdom, election, grace, the kingdom of God and even the role of food. This is an important piece of work for understanding the notion of the covenant in Judaism and Christianity, useful for theologians and historians, as well as students of the respective disciplines.

The development of the concept of the covenant during the Second Temple period is traced, by discussing relevant texts among the Apocrypha, the Pseudepigrapha - especially the Dead Sea Scrolls - and the New Testament.

This study examines the relationship between time and history in Second Temple literature. Numerous sources from that period express a belief that Jewish history began with an act of covenant formation and proceeded in linear fashion until the exile, an unprecedented event which severed the present from the past. The authors of Ben Sira, Jubilees, the Animal Apocalypse, and 4 Ezra responded to this theological challenge by claiming instead that Jewish history began at creation. Between creation and redemption, history unfolds as a series of static, repeating patterns that simultaneously account for the disappointments of the Second Temple period and confirm the eternal nature of the covenant. As iterations of timeless, cyclical patterns, the difficult post-exilic present and the glorious redemption of the future emerge as familiar, unremarkable, and inevitable historical developments.

This book represents the fruit of a long process of study and reflection, a powerful but subtle synthesis, by one of the most eminent scholars of Second-Temple Judaism. Far from a conventional narrative history, it is organized around themes and seeks to uncover the essence of Hebraic/Jewish religious thinking while confronting the phenomenon of its division into several 'parties' and traditions. Drawing also on recent studies of Christianity as a 'Judaism', Sacchi provides a stimulating perspective on the nature of ancient Oriental and Occidental thought and the intellectual and spiritual heritage of European civilization.

Covenant: A Vital Element of Reformed Theology provides a multi-disciplinary reflection on the theme of the covenant, from historical, biblical-theological and systematic-theological perspectives. The interaction between exegesis and dogmatics in the volume reveals the potential and relevance of this biblical motif. It proves to be vital in building bridges between God’s revelation in the past and the actual question of how to live with him today.

"Chang investigates the articulation of the concepts of priesthood and covenant in late Second Temple period Jewish and Jewish-Christian texts"--

Larry R. Helyer provides an introduction and historical context for the wealth of Jewish literature outside the Hebrew Bible, and he explores the pressures, realities, questions and dreams that nurtured and provoked these written works.