Christians claim the Bible is the Word of God, that it is the final authority in all matters relating to Christian faith and practice, and that it is absolutely reliable in all that it teaches. But to put such confidence in the Bible requires that we have the correct books in the Bible. But do we? Why are the 66 books in the Bible in the Bible, and why were other books that could have been included not included? This subject is very important and complicated, so complicated it takes three volumes to fully cover it. Volume One studied the books included in the Old Testament (OT) and considered other books that could have been included but were not. This Volume Two will cover the books included in the New Testament (NT). Volume Three will then consider the writings of the Apostolic Fathers, some of which were considered for inclusion in the NT, along with other writings, orthodox and Gnostic, that many wonder why they are not included in the NT. In this second volume, each of the 27 books included in the NT will be reviewed in detail. Who wrote them and when, their theology, and other pertinent background information will be discussed to explain why they were included in the NT. Arguments against the traditional viewpoints on these books will be addressed.

Jewish Bible Translations is the first book to examine Jewish Bible translations from the third century BCE to our day. It is an overdue corrective of an important story that has been regularly omitted or downgraded in other histories of Bible translation. Examining a wide range of translations over twenty-four centuries, Leonard Greenspoon delves into the historical, cultural, linguistic, and religious contexts of versions in eleven languages: Arabic, Aramaic, English, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Russian, Spanish, and Yiddish. He profiles many Jewish translators, among them Buber, Hirsch, Kaplan, Leeser, Luzzatto, Mendelssohn, Orlinsky, and Saadiah Gaon, framing their aspirations within the Jewish and larger milieus in which they worked. Greenspoon differentiates their principles, styles, and techniques—for example, their choice to emphasize either literal reflections of the Hebrew or distinctive elements of the vernacular language—and their underlying rationales. As he highlights distinctive features of Jewish Bible translations, he offers new insights regarding their shared characteristics and their limits. Additionally, Greenspoon shows how profoundly Jewish translators and interpreters influenced the style and diction of the King James Bible. Accessible and authoritative for all from beginners to scholars, Jewish Bible Translations enables readers to make their own informed evaluations of individual translations and to holistically assess Bible translation within Judaism.

The Dictionary of Early Judaism is the first reference work devoted exclusively to Second Temple Judaism (fourth century b.c.e. through second century c.e.). The first section of this substantive and incredible work contains thirteen major essays that attempt to synthesize major aspects of Judaism in the period between Alexander and Hadrian. The second — and significantly longer — section offers 520 entries arranged alphabetically. Many of these entries have cross-references and all have select bibliographies. Equal attention is given to literary and nonliterary (i.e. archaeological and epigraphic) evidence and New Testament writings are included as evidence for Judaism in the first century c.e. Several entries also give pertinent information on the Hebrew Bible. The Dictionary of Early Judaism is intended to not only meet the needs of scholars and students — at which it succeeds admirably — but also to provide accessible information for the general reader. It is ecumenical and international in character, bringing together nearly 270 authors from as many as twenty countries and including Jews, Christians, and scholars of no religious affiliation.

"... a book which asks and answers a new, interesting question, using a rich range of biblical and humanistic methodologies." -- Journal of Biblical Literature This book examines a literary form within the Bible that has slipped through the cracks of modern scholarship: the mixing of song and story in biblical narrative. Journeying from ancient Egyptian battle accounts to Aramaic wisdom texts to early retellings of biblical tales in the Dead Sea Scrolls, Jewish-Hellenistic literature, and rabbinic midrash, Steven Weitzman follows the history of this form from its origins as a congeries of different literary behaviors to its emergence as a self-conscious literary convention.

We live in a liminal time. The anthropologist Victor Turner describes liminality as a time of severe disorientation for individuals and societies that lies between one stage of life and another. All the former signposts that provided people with an identity are in a state of upheaval as they transit between these stages. This book uses the lifelong personal and professional experiences of the author to analyse how Catholics experience liminality today and dealt with it yesterday. It provides the reader with an historical case study of frightening experiences, both in teaching what to expect during such a time and what to assume when it ends.