In 2 Maccabees 1-7, Seth Ehorn provides a foundational analysis of the Greek text of 2 Maccabees. The analysis is distinguished by the detailed yet comprehensive attention paid to the text. Ehorn's analysis is a convenient pedagogical and reference tool that explains the form and syntax of the biblical text, offers guidance for deciding between competing semantic analyses, engages important text-critical debates, and addresses questions relating to the Greek text that are frequently overlooked by standard commentaries. Beyond serving as a succinct and accessible analytic key, 2 Maccabees 1-7 also reflects recent advances in scholarship on Greek grammar and linguistics and is informed by current discussions within Septuagint studies. These handbooks prove themselves indispensable tools for anyone committed to a deep reading of the Greek text of the Septuagint. --David A. deSilva, Trustees' Distinguished Professor of New Testament and Greek, Ashland Theological Seminary

The Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation of Jewish sacred writings) is of great importance in the history of both Judaism and Christianity. The first translation of the books of the Hebrew Bible (plus additions) into the common language of the ancient Mediterranean world made the Jewish scriptures accessible to many outside Judaism. Not only did the Septuagint become Holy Writ to Greek speaking Jews but it was also the Bible of the early Christian communities: the scripture they cited and the textual foundation of the early Christian movement. Translated from Hebrew (and Aramaic) originals in the two centuries before Jesus, the Septuagint provides important information about the history of the text of the Bible. For centuries, scholars have looked to the Septuagint for information about the nature of the text and of how passages and specific words were understood. For students of the Bible, the New Testament in particular, the study of the Septuagint's influence is a vital part of the history of interpretation. But until now, the Septuagint has not been available to English readers in a modern and accurate translation. The New English Translation of the Septuagint fills this gap.

The earliest Christians believed Jesus was an ancient celestial being who put on a bodysuit of flesh, died at the hands of dark forces, and then rose from the dead and ascended back into the heavens. But the writing we have today from that first generation of Christians never says where they thought he landed, where he lived, or where he died. The idea that Jesus toured Galilee and visited Jerusalem arose only a lifetime later, in unsourced legends written in a foreign land and language. Many sources repeat those legends, but none corroborate them. Why? What exactly was the original belief about Jesus, and how did this belief change over time? In Jesus from Outer Space, noted philosopher and historian Richard Carrier summarizes for a popular audience the scholarly research on these and related questions, revealing in turn how modern attempts to conceal, misrepresent, or avoid the actual evidence calls into question the entire field of Jesus studies--and present-day beliefs about how Christianity began.

"Examines the origins, language, textual history, and reception of the Greek Old Testament"--

Offering a provocative glimpse into a world dominated by traditional rules of etiquette and inhabited by demons, dragon-gods, and spirits, this volume presents a wealth of information illuminating the ideas and beliefs that governed the daily lives of Chinese people long before the revolutions of the 20th century. Engrossing and informative, the book will appeal not only to lovers of folklore but to everyone interested in Chinese art, culture or philosophy. 32 b&w illustrations.

Dongbin Choi offers a philological and thematic analysis on the scriptural language in the book of 1 Maccabees, a text that is written with a linguistic technique that utilizes earlier Jewish texts in order to promote the religiopolitical agendas of its author. Choi engages in the dialogue between the traditional view that treats 1 Maccabees as a religious writing, and the radical view that considers it as political propaganda. Choi suggests that the author of 1 Maccabees deploys scriptural language in such a nuanced way that he both promotes the legitimacy of the Hasmonean rule in Judea under John Hyrcanus I, and shows his appreciation of conservative Jewish sensitivity toward their traditions relating to Deuteronomic covenant, biblical judges, and Jewish messianism. By discussing past scholarly literature on the use and function of Scripture in 1 Maccabees, analyzing various literary, political, and cultural aspects that influenced the creation of the text, and finally exploring philological and conceptual parallels between Scripture and 1 Maccabees and the use of Scripture in the eulogies of the Hasmoneans, Choi has created a singular reinterpretation of both text and author.

"An emerging field of study that explores the Hispanic minority in the United States, Latino Studies is enriched by an interdisciplinary perspective. Historians, sociologists, anthropologists, political scientists, demographers, linguists, as well as religion, ethnicity, and culture scholars, among others, bring a varied, multifaceted approach to the understanding of a people whose roots are all over the Americas and whose permanent home is north of the Rio Grande. Oxford Bibliographies in Latino Studies offers an authoritative, trustworthy, and up-to-date intellectual map to this ever-changing discipline."--Editorial page.