An expansive compilation of New Testament apocrypha in English translation, featuring fascinating but heretofore unpublished texts. New Testament Apocrypha, vol. 3, continues to unearth the vast diversity of Christian Scripture outside of the traditional canon. This new collection encompasses a broad range of languages—Greek, Church Slavic, Old English, Coptic, and more—and spans centuries, from the formation of the canonical New Testament to the high Middle Ages. The selections here represent some of the least studied apocryphal texts, many of which have not previously received an English translation or a critical edition. Notable newly edited and translated selections include The Martyrdom of Zechariah, The Decapitation of John the Forerunner, The Birth of John, The Revelation about the Lord’s Prayer, and The Dialogue of Mary and Christ on the Departure of the Soul. Each text is accompanied by a robust introduction, bibliography, and notes. Scholars of apocrypha, Scripture, and hagiography from a breadth of disciplines will find this an indispensable reference for their research and teaching. Contributors: Carson Bay, Mark Glen Bilby, Rick Brannan, Christian H. Bull, Slavomir Čéplö, Alexander D’Alisera, J. Gregory Given, Nathan J. Hardy, Brandon W. Hawk, Stephen C. E. Hopkins, Alexander Kocar, Brent Landau, Jacob A. Lollar, Christine Luckritz Marquis, Ivan Miroshnikov, Tobias Nicklas, Samuel Osborn, Stephen Pelle, Bradley Rice, Julia A. Snyder, Janet E. Spittler, James Toma, Péter Tóth, Sarah Veale, J. Edward Walters, Charles D. Wright, Lorne R. Zelyck

A compilation of apocryphal Christian texts, many translated into English for the first time, with comprehensive introductions. This second volume of New Testament Apocrypha continues the work of the first by making available to English readers more apocryphal texts. Twenty-nine texts are featured, including The Adoration of the Magi and The Life of Mary Magdalene, each carefully introduced, copiously annotated, and translated into English by eminent scholars. These fascinating texts provide insights into the beliefs, expressions, and practices of a range of Christian communities from the early centuries through late antiquity and into the medieval period.

Compilation of little-known and never-before-published apocryphal Christian texts in English translation This anthology of ancient nonbiblical Christian literature presents informed introductions to and readable translations of a wide range of little-known apocryphal texts, most of which have never before been translated into any modern language. An introduction to the volume as a whole addresses the most significant features of the writings included and contextualizes them within the contemporary study of the Christian Apocrypha. The body of the book comprises thirty texts that have been carefully introduced, copiously annotated, and translated into English by eminent scholars. With dates of composition ranging from the second century CE to early in the second millennium, these fascinating texts provide a more complete picture of Christian thought and expression than canonical texts alone can offer.

A stunning work of scholarship, the Norton Critical Edition of The English Bible, King James Version, is the most accessible edition available. In celebration of the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible, these long-awaited volumes bring together succinct introductions to each biblical book, detailed explanatory annotations, and a wealth of contextual and critical materials. Archaic words are explained, textual problems are lucidly discussed, and stylistic features of the original texts are highlighted. For the New Testament and the Apocrypha, the introductions and annotations by Austin Busch and Gerald Hammond provide necessary historical and cultural background, while illuminating the complexity of the original texts. Supporting materials are divided into five sections. “Historical Contexts” excerpts Greek, Roman, and Jewish sources, such as Josephus, Philo, Tacitus, Pliny, and the Dead Sea Scrolls. Selections from Papias, Marcion, and Valentinus, among others, provide insight into the diversity of early Christianity. “Exegesis” explores classic New Testament commentary from Origen and Augustine to Strauss, Nietzsche, Wrede, and Schweitzer, who focus on the Gospels’ vexing relationship to history. Essays by contemporary scholars and critics complete the section by exemplifying a range of interdisciplinary approaches to New Testament literature. The New Testament’s powerful language and images have inspired some of the finest poems in the English language. This volume collects a wide selection of lyric poems, hymns and spirituals, and epics, from the Dream of the Rood to works by Countee Cullen, Elizabeth Bishop, and Anthony Hecht. Case studies designed to stimulate classroom discussion trace the development of Pontius Pilate as a character in post-biblical literature, follow the centuries-long exegetical debate about Romans 7, and survey competing hermeneutical approaches to Revelation. A final section samples fifteen translations of 1 Corinthians 13, from Wycliffe to contemporary versions.

Accessible account of how the Bible has been preserved and transmitted to today's generation. Now includes chapters on the Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate.

The Blackwell Companion to the New Testament is a detailedintroduction to the New Testament, written by more than 40 scholarsfrom a variety of Christian denominations. Treats the 27 books and letters of the New Testamentsystematically, beginning with a review of current issues andconcluding with an annotated bibliography Considers the historical, social and cultural contexts in whichthe New Testament was produced, exploring relevant linguistic andtextual issues An international contributor list of over 40 scholars representwide field expertise and a variety of Christian denominations Distinctive features include a unified treatment of Lukethrough Acts, articles on the canonical Gospels, and a discussionof the apocryphal New Testament

This volume is a collection of scholarly studies honoring Prof.Dr. David. E. Aune on his 65th birthday. Its title, The New Testament and Early Christian Literature in Greco-Roman Context: Studies in Honor of David E. Aune, reflects Prof. Aune's academic training, interests, and extensive publications. The volume's studies investigate a range of topics within the Pauline correspondence, Gospels, Apocalypse of John, and other early Christian writings with insights drawn from Greco-Roman culture and Hellenistic Judaism. Thus, the studies make use of Greco-Roman literature, rhetoric, magic, medicine, moral philosophy, iconography, archaeology, religious cults, and social conventions while also utilizing social-historical, social-scientific, literary-critical, and rhetorical-critical methodologies, thereby adding an interdisciplinary dimension to the volume. These groundbreaking studies have been written by prominent international scholars and are published here for the first time.

Beginning in the twelfth century, clergy and laity alike started wondering with intensity about the historical and developmental details of Jesus' early life. Was the Christ Child like other children, whose characteristics and capabilities depended on their age? Was he sweet and tender, or formidable and powerful? Not finding sufficient information in the Gospels, which are almost completely silent about Jesus' childhood, medieval Christians turned to centuries-old apocryphal texts for answers. In The Quest for the Christ Child in the Later Middle Ages, Mary Dzon demonstrates how these apocryphal legends fostered a vibrant and creative medieval piety. Popular tales about the Christ Child entertained the laity and at the same time were reviled by some members of the intellectual elite of the church. In either case, such legends, so persistent, left their mark on theological, devotional, and literary texts. The Cistercian abbot Aelred of Rievaulx urged his monastic readers to imitate the Christ Child's development through spiritual growth; Francis of Assisi encouraged his followers to emulate the Christ Child's poverty and rusticity; Thomas Aquinas, for his part, believed that apocryphal stories about the Christ Child would encourage youths to be presumptuous, while Birgitta of Sweden provided pious alternatives in her many Marian revelations. Through close readings of such writings, Dzon explores the continued transmission and appeal of apocryphal legends throughout the Middle Ages and demonstrates the significant impact that the Christ Child had in shaping the medieval religious imagination.

This third volume of The Cambridge History of Judaism focuses on the early Roman period.

A careful study of Christian origins and detailed analysis of all the canonical, apocryphal and Gnostic Gospels in which Mary Magdalene appears. Considered the first apostle of Christianity by early Christians, the author explains why the patriarchs of the early church found it necessary, instead, to reinvent Mary as a wanton woman, rather than Jesus' most favored disciple.