Did the Bible only take its definitive form after Alexander conquered the Near East, after the Hellenisation of the Samaritans and Jews, and after the founding of the great library of Alexandria? The Bible and Hellenism takes up one of the most pressing and controversial questions of Bible Studies today: the influence of classical literature on the writing and formation of the Bible. Bringing together a wide range of international scholars, The Bible and Hellenism explores the striking parallels between biblical and earlier Greek literature and examines the methodological issues raised by such comparative study. The book argues that the oral traditions of historical memory are not the key factor in the creation of biblical narrative. It demonstrates that Greek texts – from such authors as Homer, Hesiod, Herodotus and Plato – must be considered amongst the most important sources for the Bible.

While the first American edition of this book, published more than a decade ago, was a revised translation of the German book, Einführung in das Neue Testament, this second edition of the first volume of the Introduction to the New Testament is no longer dependent upon a previously published German work. The author hopes that for the student of the New Testament it is a useful introduction into the many complex aspects of the political, cultural, and religious developments that characterized the world in which early Christianity arose and by which the New Testament and other early Christian writings were shaped.

A collection of fifteen essays, most of them published previously. Ch. 6 (pp. 109-118), "Jews and Christians in Antioch at the End of the Fourth Century" [appeared in "Christian-Jewish Relations through the Centuries" (2000)], contrasts the vitriolic anti-Jewish polemics of John Chrysostom in regard to Judaizing with the attitude of the "Apostolic Constitutions" (material on ecclesiastical law). The latter, instead of denigrating the Jews, borrowed from them aspects of Judaism that local Christians found attractive. Ch. 12 (pp. 207-221), "Who Was Apion?" [unpublished], focuses on Apion's "scholarship" and writing, i.e. activities other than his anti-Jewish polemics. However, notes that Apion's self-proclaimed originality included his invention of the libel of Jewish cannibalism.

This book is a collection of essays that explore the variety of ways in which Jews in Israel responded to and appropriated Greek culture. In various ways the contributors provide corroborating evidence of the influence of Greek culture in Judea and Galilee, from before the Maccabean revolt on into the rabbinic period. At the same time, they probe the limits of that influence, the persistence of Semitic languages and thought patterns, and especially the exclusiveness of Jewish religion.

Presents a collection of 26 articles, with an introduction on "The Influence of Hellenism on Jews in Palestine in the Hellenistic Period.".

This collection of essays seeks to demonstrate that many biblical authors deliberately used Classical and Hellenistic Greek texts for inspiration when crafting many of the narratives in the Primary History. Through detailed analysis of the text, Gnuse contends that there are numerous examples of clear influence from late classical and Hellenistic literature. Deconstructing the biblical and Greek works in parallel, he argues that there are too many similarities in basic theme, meaning, and detail, for them to be accounted for by coincidence or shared ancient tropes. Using this evidence, he suggests that although much of the text may originate from the Persian period, large parts of its final form likely date from the Hellenistic era. With the help of an original introduction and final chapter, Gnuse pulls his essays together into a coherent collection for the first time. The resultant volume offers a valuable resource for anyone working on the dating of the Hebrew Bible, as well as those working on Hellenism in the ancient Levant more broadly.

The book exhibits the dynamics of Jewish culture from Alexandrian exegesis to the Talmud in the framework of literary revolutions. These revolutions followed the crisis of tradition and the appearance of 'mass society' in Late Antiquity.

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