The Jewish Annotated New Testament Author: Amy-Jill Levine | Language: English | ISBN:
0195297709 | Format: EPUB
The Jewish Annotated New Testament Description
Although major New Testament figures--Jesus and Paul, Peter and James, Jesus' mother Mary and Mary Magdalene--were Jews, living in a culture steeped in Jewish history, beliefs, and practices, there has never been an edition of the New Testament that addresses its Jewish background and the culture from which it grew--until now. In The Jewish Annotated New Testament, eminent experts under the general editorship of Amy-Jill Levine and Marc Z. Brettler put these writings back into the context of their original authors and audiences. And they explain how these writings have affected the relations of Jews and Christians over the past two thousand years.
An international team of scholars introduces and annotates the Gospels, Acts, Letters, and Revelation from Jewish perspectives, in the New Revised Standard Version translation. They show how Jewish practices and writings, particularly the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, influenced the New Testament writers. From this perspective, readers gain new insight into the New Testament's meaning and significance. In addition, thirty essays on historical and religious topics--Divine Beings, Jesus in Jewish thought, Parables and Midrash, Mysticism, Jewish Family Life, Messianic Movements, Dead Sea Scrolls, questions of the New Testament and anti-Judaism, and others--bring the Jewish context of the New Testament to the fore, enabling all readers to see these writings both in their original contexts and in the history of interpretation. For readers unfamiliar with Christian language and customs, there are explanations of such matters as the Eucharist, the significance of baptism, and "original sin."
For non-Jewish readers interested in the Jewish roots of Christianity and for Jewish readers who want a New Testament that neither proselytizes for Christianity nor denigrates Judaism, The Jewish Annotated New Testament is an essential volume that places these writings in a context that will enlighten students, professionals, and general readers.
- Hardcover: 700 pages
- Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 1 edition (November 15, 2011)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0195297709
- ISBN-13: 978-0195297706
- Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.4 inches
- Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
The editors of this volume, both distinguished New Testament scholars, had two key reasons for creating this "Jewish Annotated New Testament." First they wanted Christian readers to learn more about the Judaic origins of Christianity and the context surrounding the life of Jesus. Second, they wanted to introduce Jewish readers to what is unquestionably one of the canonical texts in Western Civilization, whether they believe in it or not. On the whole, this volume does a fairly good job of serving these purposes.
It includes a preface by the two authors and a highly annotated version of The New Testament. Many of the glosses found in the text are geared at linking the ideas and events of the gospels to their background in the history of Judaism. Each of the books of The New Testament is accompanied by a brief introductory essay. There are also a number of shorter essays positioned within each book to help to explain specific passages at greater length. Finally the end of the book contains a number of essays by leading experts on the bible and Jewish history on a broad range of relevant topics including Jesus in modern Jewish thought and Jewish family life during the time of Jesus.
The volume is very informative and does offer explanations for some passages in the New Testament that will be useful for Jews and Christians alike. Although the book is informative, however, it is not as interesting as it should be in some places. In choosing the essays to be included at the end of the volume, the editors seem to have sacrificed depth for breadth. These very short essays read more or less like encyclopedia articles and are not especially thought provoking.
This review addresses the text, but it will make a point of describing how well the volume succeeds as a Kindle book. It gets five stars, in spite of blemishes, because the scholarship is first-rate and the perks one gets from the Kindle platform add enough value that you really get your money's worth. In a way, the only sign that the point of view is "Jewish" is that there is no bias to any Christian theology, such as Catholic, Lutheran, Episcopal, or Pentecostal.
The intention for publishing The Jewish Annotated New Testament, according to its editors, Amy-Jill Levine and Mark Zvi Brettler is to recognize the growing understanding between Jewish and Christian traditions, and to help further that understanding. It may be worth noting that both editors are at the top of their fields. Amy-Jill Levine, a Jewish New Testament scholar, is literally a household name among the faculty and students at my seminary. Mark Zvi Brettler is an Old Testament specialist.
The Translation is the NRSV, the most popular Protestant "Scholarly" translation. Therefore, the best yardstick for evaluating it would be the Harper/Collins Annotated (NRSV) Bible. There is only one other major contemporary study Bible on Kindle, and the problems it has are a lesson that the Bible is a difficult book for a generic e-reader to handle. However, I have found reasons to prefer this over dedicated biblical software such as Bibleworks.
The "active" Table of Contents is good by Kindle standards, easy to reach, and gives you access to each book, essay, and appendix. This is much better than the ESV, but it stops too soon, in that once you come to the beginning of the book, it is tedious to scroll down to reach, for example Romans 8:8. With the ESV, you could enter a book and verse number, and go to that verse.
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