Die Reihe Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft (BZNW) ist eine der ältesten und renommiertesten internationalen Buchreihen zur neutestamentlichen Wissenschaft. Seit 1923 publiziert sie wegweisende Forschungsarbeiten zum frühen Christentum und angrenzenden Themengebieten. Die Reihe ist historisch-kritisch verankert und steht neuen methodischen Ansätzen, die unser Verständnis des Neuen Testaments befördern, gleichfalls offen gegenüber.

This collection of 16 articles represents a selection of the papers delivered in the course of a seminar (1995-1996) at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton and its concluding joint symposium held at the Institute and Princeton University. Wide-ranging in scope, the volume covers messianic expectations from biblical times up to modern and contemporaneous adaptations, whereby the focus lies on the messianic concept within Judaism: diversity and variety of messianic expectations in antiquity; messianic movements at the time of the Crusades and around the fifth millennium (1240); the 'Pseudo'-Messiah Sabbatai Avi in the early modern period; the philosophers Hermann Cohen, Franz Rosenzweig and Walter Benjamin with respect to their thinking about messianism as well as the Lubavitch movement. Also included are investigations on pagan Graeco-Roman writings and messianic strands in the medieval and baroque Christian context. The section on the modern period contains contributions dealing with the Ahmaddiyya movement in India, messianic currents in the socio-political culture of the Weimar Republic as well as certain messianic aspects in the very recent so-called Branch Davidian community in Waco, Texas. The broad spectrum of stimulating analyses provides a fresh re-evaluation of an apparently timeless phenomenon.

John's Gospel has traditionally been regarded as the least apocalyptic document in the New Testament. This exciting new collection redresses the balance by exploring the ways in which the apocalyptic literature of Second Temple Judaism has contributed to the theology and outlook of John's Gospel. Given that John, like the Jewish apocalyptic texts, is primarily concerned with the theme of revelation, the contributors examine how apocalyptic ideas can help to explain the Johannine portrayal of Jesus as the messenger sent from heaven to reveal the divine mysteries, as well as the Gospel's presentation of the activity of the Spirit, its understanding of evil, and the intended effects of this 'apocalypse in reverse' on its readers and hearers. The highly distinguished contributors include, John Ashton, Christopher Rowland, April DeConick, Judith Lieu and Jorg Frey.

The present volume discusses the earliest Christian views on eschatological opponents and their backgrounds in contemporary Judaism. It treats the rich variety of early Christian speculations on the subject and shows that, within this variety, a continuity with Jewish speculations is to be discerned. Part One of this book treats the early Christian passages of the period up to Irenaeus that contain speculations on the coming of an eschatological opponent. Part Two offers a survey of Jewish expectations that formed the basis for the Christian speculations discussed. After the General Conclusion the book finishes with an extensive Bibliography and an Index. The book is of interest to any student of early Christian eschatology and the continuity between early Christianity and contemporary Judaism.

This new addition to the Holy Cross Studies in Patristic Theology and History series explores early Christian views on apocalyptic themes.

A leading biblical scholar shows that the New Testament texts cannot be understood without careful attention to their Judaic and Second Temple roots.

A history of Anti-christ doctrines in the United States.

First Published in 2014. This book describes the developing application of retributive principles in historical narratives before Christ. It assesses degrees of concern in the first history-writers of the world's most widespread monotheistic tradition to discern divine justice in human affairs.

Jewish historiography tends to stress the religious, cultural, and political aspects of the past. By contrast the “economy” has been pushed to the margins of the Jewish discourse and scholarship since the end of the Second World War. This volume takes a fresh look at Jews and the economy, arguing that a broader, cultural approach is needed to understand the central importance of the economy. The very dynamics of economy and its ability to function depend on the ability of individuals to interact, and on the shared values and norms that are fostered within ethnic communities. Thus this volume sheds new light on the interrelationship between religion, ethnicity, culture, and the economy, revealing the potential of an “economic turn” in the study of history.

James R. Harrison investigates the collision between Paul's eschatological gospel and the Julio-Claudian conception of rule. The ruler's propaganda, with its claim about the 'eternal rule' of the imperial house over its subjects, embodied in idolatry of power that conflicted with Paul's proclamation of the reign of the risen Son of God over his world. This ideological conflict is examined in 1 and 2 Thessalonians and in Romans, exploring how Paul's eschatology intersected with the imperial cult in the Greek East and in the Latin West. A wide selection of evidence - literary, documentary, numismatic, iconographic, archeological - unveils the 'symbolic universe' of the Julio-Claudian rulers. This construction of social and cosmic reality stood at odds with the eschatological denouement of world history, which, in Paul's view, culminated in the arrival of God's new creation upon Christ's return as Lord of all. Paul exalted the Body of Christ over Nero's 'body of state', transferring to the risen and ascended Jesus many of the ruler's titles and to the Body of Christ many of the ruler's functions. Thus, for Paul, Christ's reign challenged the values of Roman society and transformed its hierarchical social relations through the Spirit.