Jesus, the New Testament, and Christian Origins

Book excerpt: An introduction to the New Testament in its historical context, with an overview of interpretative approaches and exegetical exercises In this up-to-date introduction to the New Testament, twenty-two leading biblical scholars guide the reader through the New Testament’s historical background, key ideas, and textual content. Seminarians and anyone else interested in a deep understanding of Christian Scripture will do well to begin with this thorough volume that covers everything from the historical Jesus to the emergence of early Christianity. The contributors stress the importance of Christianity’s emergence within and from Second Temple Judaism. Unique to this book is a special focus on interpretative methods, with several illustrative examples included in the final chapter of various types of scriptural exegesis on select New Testament passages. Readers are guided through the hermeneutical considerations of a historical text-oriented reading, a historical-analogical reading, a rhetorical-epistolary reading, argumentation analysis, feminist analysis, postcolonial analysis, and narrative criticism, among others. These practical, hands-on applications enable students to move from an abstract understanding of the New Testament to a ready ability to make meaning from Scripture.