In The Gospel of Matthew and Judaic Traditions, Herbert W. Basser, with the editorial help of Marsha Cohen, utilizes his encyclopaedic knowledge of Judaism to navigate Matthew’s Gospel. This close, original reading explicates Matthew’s use of Jewish concepts and legal traditions that have not been fully understood in the past. Basser highlights Gospel sources that are congruent with a wide swath of extant Jewish writings from various provenances. Matthew affirms Jesus’ end-of-days—the coming of the Kingdom—salvation message: initially meant for Jews, it is the Gentiles who embraced his message and teachings that encouraged their faith and simple trust. Matthew’s literary art manages to preserve the Jewish details in his sources while disclosing an anti-Jewish and pro-Gentile bias.

The most Jewish of gospels in its contents and yet the most anti-Jewish in its polemics, the Gospel of Matthew has been said to mark the emergence of Christianity from Judaism. Anthony J. Saldarini overturns this interpretation by showing us how Matthew, far from proclaiming the replacement of Israel by the Christian church, wrote from within Jewish tradition to a distinctly Jewish audience. Recent research reveals that among both Jews and Christians of the first century many groups believed in Jesus while remaining close to Judaism. Saldarini argues that the author of the Gospel of Matthew belonged to such a group, supporting his claim with an informed reading of Matthew's text and historical context. Matthew emerges as a Jewish teacher competing for the commitment of his people after the catastrophic loss of the Temple in 70 C.E., his polemics aimed not at all Jews but at those who oppose him. Saldarini shows that Matthew's teaching about Jesus fits into first-century Jewish thought, with its tradition of God-sent leaders and heavenly mediators. In Saldarini's account, Matthew's Christian-Jewish community is a Jewish group, albeit one that deviated from the larger Jewish community. Contributing to both New Testament and Judaic studies, this book advances our understanding of how religious groups are formed.

Herbert Basser in The Gospel of Matthew and Judaic Traditions utilizes his mastery of Jewish writings to navigate the agenda of this enigmatic Gospel. He propounds numerous novel suggestions, while Marsha Cohen's editing gives us a highly accessible text.

Highlighting the ideas, subplots and characters that shaped the world of Jesus and the first Christians, Anthony J. Tomasino skillfully retells the story of Judaism before Jesus, from the time of Ezra and Nehemiah to the Herods, and even up to Masada.

This book examines the ways modern Jewish thinkers, writers, and artists appropriated the figure of Jesus as part of the process of creating modern Jewish culture.

A revelatory exploration of the Jewish roots of the Last Supper that seeks to understand exactly what happened at Jesus’ final Passover. “Clear, profound and practical—you do not want to miss this book.”—Dr. Scott Hahn, author of The Lamb’s Supper and The Fourth Cup Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist shines fresh light on the Last Supper by looking at it through Jewish eyes. Using his in-depth knowledge of the Bible and ancient Judaism, Dr. Brant Pitre answers questions such as: What was the Passover like at the time of Jesus? What were the Jewish hopes for the Messiah? What was Jesus’ purpose in instituting the Eucharist during the feast of Passover? And, most important of all, what did Jesus mean when he said, “This is my body… This is my blood”? To answer these questions, Pitre explores ancient Jewish beliefs about the Passover of the Messiah, the miraculous Manna from heaven, and the mysterious Bread of the Presence. As he shows, these three keys—the Passover, the Manna, and the Bread of the Presence—have the power to unlock the original meaning of the Eucharistic words of Jesus. Along the way, Pitre also explains how Jesus united the Last Supper to his death on Good Friday and his Resurrection on Easter Sunday. Inspiring and informative, Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist is a groundbreaking work that is sure to illuminate one of the greatest mysteries of the Christian faith: the mystery of Jesus’ presence in “the breaking of the bread.”

This work is a collection of essays on the Palestinian Judaic background of Mark 5:1-20; Luke 4:16-30; the name Judas 'Iscariot'; Luke 19:41-44; John 8:56-58; Matt 24:28; Luke 17:37; Luke 13:34b, and Matthew 23:37b.