An examination of the evidence that the Festival of Weeks was the occasion for the celebration of the renewal of the covenant in the Second Temple period, encompassing chapters on the Hebrew Bible, book of Jubilees, Qumran Scrolls, and the New Testament (Luke-Acts and Ephesians).

Over 15 years in the making, an unprecedented one-volume reference work. Many of today's students and teachers of literature, lacking a familiarity with the Bible, are largely ignorant of how Biblical tradition has influenced and infused English literature through the centuries. An invaluable research tool. Contains nearly 800 encyclopedic articles written by a distinguished international roster of 190 contributors. Three detailed annotated bibliographies. Cross-references throughout.

Charting the theological and cultural potency of Acts across the timespan of Christian history, this work of profound scholarship reveals the full extent of the New Testament book’s religious, artistic, literary, and political influence. Reveals the influence of Acts at key turning points in the history of the Christian church Traces the rich and varied artistic and cultural heritage rooted in Acts, from music to literature Analyzes the political significance of the book as a touchstone in the church’s external relations Provides detailed commentary on the exegesis of Acts down the centuries

In his trailblazing studies of the spirit in Jewish and Christian Antiquity, John R. (Jack) Levison shatters theological and exegetical taxonomies. Should the spirit be understood as breath or Spirit--or both? Is the spirit directed to creation or salvation--or both? Is the spirit a force or an angel--or both? Does the spirit inspire ecstasy or wisdom--or both? When Levison transfers the starting point of pneumatology from the New Testament to the Hebrew Bible, from Christianity to Judaism, questions swell, assumptions detonate, and expectations flourish. Consequently, Levison's studies are considered "impressive and provocative" (Review of Biblical Literature), "delightful, engaging" (Catholic Biblical Quarterly), "compelling, eloquent, sensitive" (Word and World), and "a remarkable read" (Themelios), with "profound ramifications for both Jewish and New Testament Studies" (Journal of Jewish Studies). Now, for the first time, selections of his breathtaking array of studies are available in three accessible volumes. This volume, in which you will discover some of the programmatic studies Levison published on the biblical literature of both testaments, reveals why Reading Religion: A Publication of the American Academy of Religion forecasts that "Levison will continue to be at the center of our most fruitful discussions of pneumatology."

Power from on High offers the first critical survey of scholarship on the subject of Luke's view of the Spirit, assessing the rival theories by means of three criteria: continuity with Luke's background, relationship to other aspects of Luke's theology, and Luke's place in the development of more general New Testament thinking about the Spirit. Turner provides fresh insight on specific Lukan concepts and favored terms (including such phrases as "full of the Holy Spirit" and "baptize with the Holy Spirit") that have been of significance not merely for the discipline of New Testament studies but also for confessional theologies of major streams of Christianity today, and seeks to advance a more coherent understanding of the general shape of Luke's pneumatology than has hitherto been offered.

Early Christian claims to the Holy Spirit arose in a vibrant cultural matrix that included Stoicism, Jewish mysticism, the Dead Sea Scrolls, Greco-Roman medicine, and the perspectives of Plutarch. In a range of articles, this multidisciplinary volume discovers in these texts rich cultural connections related to inspiration and the Holy Spirit. Essential reading for scholars of Judaism and the New Testament, as well as classicists and theologians.

A judge and a retired law professor, co-authors of In His Footsteps: The Early Followers of Jesus, provide in this book a comprehensive study of the Scriptures from Genesis to Revelation with an objective to connect the early Scriptures to the New Testament writings of the first believers and to present conclusive proof that the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ fulfilled scriptural prophecies of a promised Messiah. The book clarifies parts of the Scriptures some find difficult to understand given the many languages and translations through the ages in which the nonetheless timeless and amazing words from the Bible were written and recorded. The book details historical events that led to the development of the books of the New Testament and documents the history of the spread of the gospel from the early church to the present. In also reviewing current events that point to a nearing of the end times and a miraculous return of the Messiah, the last chapter includes a timetable of incidents that have led to the new nation of Israel and the return of the Jewish people to their homeland--additional evidence of the truth and the continuing fulfillment of scriptural prophecies.

In past years the controversy over Luke's concept of the Spirit has centred on the ethical dimension of his pneumatology. Community-Forming Power sets out to address the issue by assessing the Lukan writings in the light of evidence from Second Temple Judaism and in applying speech-act theory to prophetic utterances. Wenk argues that the Spirit's role in prophecy cannot be limited to the content of the prophetic speech, stripping it artificially from the intention behind it. He further argues that the anointed church continues the liberating work of the anointed messiah in embracing the marginalized, and thus is instrumental in 'realizing good news for the poor'.

This second edition of Stevens’s presentation of Acts adds an extensive study of church traditions on Paul’s death and burial. Uncovering of the sarcophagus in the Church of Saint Paul Outside the Walls yielded carbon 14 dated first- or second-century bones. In his characteristically creative way, Stevens offers an insightful proposal on why church traditions on Paul post Acts are so ambiguous and probably always will be, even with this new find. Stevens’s close study of the Acts narrative analyzes Luke’s post-ascension story of Jesus and challenges orthodoxies in the interpretation of Acts and Paul. Luke was the first to envision the future of the Jesus story in the Hellenist movement as this movement realizes the promise of Pentecost in Israel, preeminently epitomized in the mission of Paul, who is Luke’s premier example of the God active, God resisted theme of the speech of Stephen that drives the plot of Acts and illuminates exegesis of Paul’s insistence on going to Jerusalem with its dramatic conclusion in the shipwreck of Paul. Luke ends Acts in Rome as intended—an impressive, compelling, and thoroughly fresh reading of Acts.

Argues that the historical occasion of the great literary epics was an analogous situation for the composition of Luke-Acts.