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Cambridge is proud of its long-standing arrangement with the Society for New Testament Studies to publish its monograph series. The first title was published in 1965; there are now well over one hundred and fifty. Books in the series present specialised research into all aspects of New Testament textual and historical culture, taking a range of approaches. This is widely recognised as the most authoritative and prestigious forum for serious scholarly publication in the area, and series books are highly regarded by biblical scholars the world over.

  • General Editors: Catrin Williams, University of Wales, Trinity Saint David
  • Associate Editors: Brittany Wilson, Duke University, North Carolina, Matthew Thiessen, McMaster University, Ontario

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149 results in Society for New Testament Studies Monograph Series

Page 2 of 8

Jesus and the Temple
  • The Crucifixion in its Jewish Context
  • Simon J. Joseph
  • Published online:
    18 December 2015
    Print publication:
    08 January 2016
  • Most Jesus specialists agree that the Temple incident led directly to Jesus' arrest, but the precise relationship between Jesus and the Temple's administration remains unclear. Jesus and the Temple examines this relationship, exploring the reinterpretation of Torah observance and traditional Temple practices that are widely considered central components of the early Jesus movement. Challenging a growing tendency in contemporary scholarship to assume that the earliest Christians had an almost uniformly positive view of the Temple's sacrificial system, Simon J. Joseph addresses the ambiguous, inconsistent, and contradictory views on sacrifice and the Temple in the New Testament. This volume fills a significant gap in the literature on sacrifice in Jewish Christianity. It introduces a new hypothesis positing Jesus' enactment of a program of radically nonviolent eschatological restoration, an orientation that produced Jesus' conflicts with his contemporaries and inspired the first attributions of sacrificial language to his death.

The Pauline Church and the Corinthian Ekklesia
  • Greco-Roman Associations in Comparative Context
  • Richard Last
  • Published online:
    05 November 2015
    Print publication:
    18 November 2015
  • Moving past earlier descriptions of first-century Christ groups that were based on examining the New Testament in isolation from extant sources produced by analogous cult groups throughout Mediterranean antiquity, this book engages with underexplored epigraphic and papyrological records and situates the behaviour of Paul's Corinthian ekklēsia within broader patterns of behaviour practised by Greco-Roman associations. Richard Last's comparative analysis generates highly original contributions to our understanding of the social history of the Jesus movement: he shows that the Corinthians were a small group who had no fixed meeting place, who depended on financial contributions from all ten members in order to survive, and who attracted recruits by offering social benefits such as crowns and office-holding that made other ancient cult groups successful. This volume provides a much-needed robust alternative to the traditional portrayal of Pauline Christ groups as ecclesiastically egalitarian, devoid of normative honorific practices, and free for the poor.

Paul's Political Strategy in 1 Corinthians 1–4
  • Constitution and Covenant
  • Bradley J. Bitner
  • Published online:
    05 July 2015
    Print publication:
    25 June 2015
  • This volume examines 1 Corinthians 1-4 within first-century politics, demonstrating the significance of Corinth's constitution to the interpretation of Paul's letter. Bradley J. Bitner shows that Paul carefully considered the Roman colonial context of Corinth, which underlay numerous ecclesial conflicts. Roman politics, however, cannot account for the entire shape of Paul's response. Bridging the Hellenism-Judaism divide that has characterised much of Pauline scholarship, Bitner argues that Paul also appropriated Jewish-biblical notions of covenant. Epigraphical and papyrological evidence indicates that his chosen content and manner are best understood with reference to an ecclesial politeia informed by a distinctively Christ-centred political theology. This emerges as a 'politics of thanksgiving' in 1 Corinthians 1:4-9 and as a 'politics of construction' in 3:5-4:5, where Paul redirects gratitude and glory to God in Christ. This innovative account of Paul's political theology offers fresh insight into his pastoral strategy among nascent Gentile-Jewish assemblies.

The Role of Jewish Feasts in John's Gospel
  • Gerry Wheaton
  • Published online:
    05 March 2015
    Print publication:
    26 February 2015
  • In the first three Gospels, Jesus rarely travels to Jerusalem prior to his final week. The Fourth Gospel, however, features Jesus' repeated visits to the city, which occur primarily during major festivals. This volume elucidates the role of the Jewish feasts of Passover, Tabernacles, and Dedication in John's presentation of Jesus. Gerry Wheaton examines the Gospel in relation to pertinent sources from the Second Temple and Rabbinic periods, offering a fresh understanding of how John appropriates the symbolic and traditional backgrounds of these feasts. Wheaton situates his inquiry within the larger question of Judaism in John's Gospel, which many consider to be the most anti-Semitic New Testament text. The findings of this study significantly contribute to the ongoing debate surrounding the alleged anti-Jewish posture of the Gospel as a whole, and it offers new insights that will appeal to scholars of Johannine theology, New Testament studies, and Jewish studies.

Covenant Renewal and the Consecration of the Gentiles in Romans
  • Sarah Whittle
  • Published online:
    18 December 2014
    Print publication:
    04 December 2014
  • In his letter to the Romans, Paul describes the community in Rome as 'holy ones'. This study considers Paul's language in relation to the Old Testament, particularly accounts of the events at Mount Sinai that established the nation of Israel and consecrated its people as God's holy people. Sarah Whittle illustrates how Paul reworks citations from Deuteronomy, Hosea, and Isaiah to incorporate the Gentiles into Israel's covenant-renewal texts. Analysing key passages, she further ties the covenant-making narrative to themes of sacrificed bodies and moral transformation, fulfilment of the Torah, the promises of the fathers, and Paul's priestly ministry. This volume argues that the latter has a climactic function in Paul's letter, overseeing the offering of the Gentiles, who are 'made holy by the holy spirit'. This study will be of interest to scholars of New Testament studies, Pauline theology, and early Christianity.

Faith and the Faithfulness of Jesus in Hebrews
  • Matthew C. Easter
  • Published online:
    05 October 2014
    Print publication:
    27 October 2014
  • This volume is the first to investigate manifestations of faith in the Book of Hebrews across four dimensions: ethical, eschatological, Christological, and ecclesiological. Matthew C. Easter illustrates that two contrasting narrative identities emerge in Hebrews: the author of the epistle proclaims that 'we are not of timidity unto destruction, but of faith unto the preservation of the soul' (Hebrews 10:39). Easter classifies the former as the default human story, which lacks faith and results inevitably in death. The latter represents the story of faith, in which one endures suffering to the point of death and thereby achieves eschatological life. The epitome of faithfulness, Jesus confirms the truth of this conclusion and perfects faith through his resurrection. Humans participate in the story of faith by enduring suffering with the traveling people of God and, in doing so, look forward to being raised with Jesus.

Corinthian Wisdom, Stoic Philosophy, and the Ancient Economy
  • Timothy A. Brookins
  • Published online:
    05 August 2014
    Print publication:
    28 July 2014
  • This work re-examines the divisive wisdom that Paul addresses in 1 Corinthians. Challenging the recent consensus that the Corinthians' wisdom was rooted primarily in the Greco-Roman rhetorical tradition, Timothy A. Brookins offers a revisionary thesis centered on discourse similarities between the perspective of the Corinthian 'wise' and the Stoic system of thought. Brookins argues that several members of the church, after hearing Paul's initial gospel message, construed that message in terms of Stoic philosophy and began promoting a kind of 'Stoic-Christian' perspective that helped to precipitate divisions in the church. Being apprised of their views, Paul then exploited the 'Stoic' discourse of his opponents in order to sustain common discursive ground. In addition to providing a fresh synthesis of the data in 1 Corinthians, Brookins brings in cutting-edge research on the ancient economy as he explores questions related to philosophical education and social status within the church community.

The Hermeneutics of Christological Psalmody in Paul
  • An Intertextual Enquiry
  • Matthew Scott
  • Published online:
    05 June 2014
    Print publication:
    12 May 2014
  • By re-examining the quotation of psalms in Paul, this book offers a fresh interpretation of the New Testament's reception of the Old Testament. Richard Hays's influential Echoes of Scripture in the Letters of Paul astutely identified the rhetorical device of metalepsis, or echo, as central to the study of Pauline hermeneutics. Hays's Paul was in sympathetic dialogue with the voice of Scripture, but Matthew Scott now challenges this assumption with close readings of echoed psalms voiced by David and Christ. Paul's use of metalepsis in Romans and 2 Corinthians reveals him to be a provocative, even polemical, reader who appropriates the words of David for a Christological purpose. Scott also illustrates how Christ succeeds David as the premier psalmist in Paul and considers whether, in doing so, Christ acts as inheritor or iconoclast.

The Eschatology of 1 Peter
  • Considering the Influence of Zechariah 9–14
  • Kelly D. Liebengood
  • Published online:
    05 February 2014
    Print publication:
    13 February 2014
  • The author of 1 Peter regards Christian suffering as a necessary feature of faithful allegiance to Jesus, which precedes the full restoration and vindication of God's people. Much previous research has explored only the cause and nature of suffering; Kelly D. Liebengood now addresses the need for an explanation for the source that has generated this particular understanding. If Jesus truly is God's redemptive agent, come to restore His people, how can Christian suffering be a necessary part of discipleship after his coming, death and resurrection, and what led the author of 1 Peter to such a startling conclusion? Liebengood analyzes the appropriation of shepherds, exodus, and fiery trials imagery and argues that the author of 1 Peter is dependent upon the eschatological programme of Zechariah 9-14 for his theology of Christian suffering. This book will interest those studying the New Testament, Petrine theology and early Christianity.

The Genre of Acts and Collected Biography
  • Sean A. Adams
  • Published online:
    05 October 2013
    Print publication:
    17 October 2013
  • It is widely accepted by New Testament scholars that the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles probably originated as two parts of one work by a single author. In spite of this, the books have been assigned to very different genres: Luke is traditionally viewed as a biography of Jesus, and Acts as a history of the early church. Comparing in detail the structure and content of Acts with the formal features of history, novel, epic and biography, Sean A. Adams challenges this division. Applying both ancient and modern genre theory, he argues that the best genre parallel for the Acts of the Apostles is in fact collected biography. Offering a nuanced and sophisticated understanding of genre theory, along with an insightful argument regarding the composition and purpose of Acts, this book will be of interest to those studying the New Testament, Acts, genre theory and ancient literature.

Paul and the Rhetoric of Reversal in 1 Corinthians
  • The Impact of Paul's Gospel on his Macro-Rhetoric
  • Matthew R. Malcolm
  • Published online:
    05 July 2013
    Print publication:
    25 July 2013
  • The first letter to the Corinthians is one of the most discussed biblical books in New Testament scholarship today. Despite this, there has been no consensus on its arrangement and central theme, in particular why the topic of the resurrection was left until the end of the letter, and what its theological significance would have been to the Corinthian church. Matthew R. Malcolm analyses this rhetoric of 'reversal', examines the unity of the epistle, and addresses key problems behind particular chapters. He argues that while Jewish and Greco-Roman resources contribute significantly to the overall arrangement of the letter, Paul writes as one whose identity and rhetorical resources of structure and imagery have been transformed by his preaching, or kerygma, of Christ. The study will be of interest to students of New Testament studies, Pauline theology and early Christianity.

Riches, Poverty, and the Faithful
  • Perspectives on Wealth in the Second Temple Period and the Apocalypse of John
  • Mark D. Mathews
  • Published online:
    05 February 2013
    Print publication:
    14 February 2013
  • In the book of Revelation, John appeals to the faithful to avoid the temptations of wealth, which he connects with evil and disobedience within secular society. New Testament scholars have traditionally viewed his somewhat radical stance as a reaction to the social injustices and idolatry of the imperial Roman cults of the day. Mark D. Mathews argues that John's rejection of affluence was instead shaped by ideas in the Jewish literature of the Second Temple period which associated the rich with the wicked and viewed the poor as the righteous. Mathews explores how traditions preserved in the Epistle of Enoch and later Enochic texts played a formative role in shaping John's theological perspective. This book will be of interest to those researching poverty and wealth in early Christian communities and the relationship between the traditions preserved in the Dead Sea Scrolls and New Testament.

Affirming the Resurrection of the Incarnate Christ
  • A Reading of 1 John
  • Matthew D. Jensen
  • Published online:
    05 October 2012
    Print publication:
    13 September 2012
  • The first letter of John is commonly understood to contain no reference to Jesus's resurrection. Matthew D. Jensen argues that, far from this being absent from the theology of 1 John, the opening verses contain a key reference to the resurrection which undergirds the rest of the text and is bolstered by other explicit references to the resurrection. The book goes on to suggest that the author and the readers of this epistle understand themselves to be the authentic Israel from which faithless Jews had apostatized when they denied that Jesus was 'the Christ' and left the community. Jensen's interpretation calls for a new understanding of the historical context in which 1 John was written, particularly the question of Jesus' identity from the perspective of his fellow Jews. An innovative and provocative study, of interest to scholars and advanced students of New Testament studies, Johannine theology and Jewish history.

Paul as an Administrator of God in 1 Corinthians
  • John Goodrich
  • Published online:
    05 June 2012
    Print publication:
    10 May 2012
  • This book looks in detail at Paul's description of apostles in 1 Corinthians 4 and 9 as divinely appointed administrators (oikonomoi) and considers what this tells us about the nature of his own apostolic authority. John Goodrich investigates the origin of this metaphor in light of ancient regal, municipal and private administration, initially examining the numerous domains in which oikonomoi were appointed in the Graeco-Roman world, before situating the image in the private commercial context of Roman Corinth. Examining the social and structural connotations attached to private commercial administration, Goodrich contemplates what Paul's metaphor indicates about apostleship in general terms as well as how he uses the image to defend his apostolic rights. He also analyses the purpose and limits of Paul's authority - how it is constructed, asserted and contested - by examining when and how Paul uses and refuses to exercise the rights inherent in his position.

The Composition of the Gospel of Thomas
  • Original Language and Influences
  • Simon Gathercole
  • Published online:
    05 March 2012
    Print publication:
    01 March 2012
  • This book addresses two central questions in current research on the Gospel of Thomas: what was its original language and which early Christian works influenced it? At present, theories of Thomas as a Semitic work abound. Simon Gathercole dismantles these approaches, arguing instead that Thomas is Greek literature and that the matter of Thomas's original language is connected with an even more controverted question: that of the relationship between Thomas and the canonical New Testament. Rather than being independent of Matthew, Mark and Luke (as in most Western Aramaic theories of Thomas) or thoroughly dependent on the four gospels (as in most Syriac approaches), Gathercole develops a newly refined approach to how Thomas is influenced by the Synoptic Gospels. Thomas can be seen to refer to Matthew as a gospel writer, and evidence is discussed showing that Thomas incorporates phraseology distinctive to Luke, while also extending that special Lukan language.

Jesus and the Forgiveness of Sins
  • An Aspect of his Prophetic Mission
  • Tobias Hägerland
  • Published online:
    05 December 2011
    Print publication:
    10 November 2011
  • The Gospels record that Jesus purported to forgive sins. What significance would such a claim have had for his contemporaries and what would the implications have been for his identity as a first-century popular prophet? Tobias Hägerland answers these questions and more as he investigates the forgiveness of sins in the mission of the historical Jesus. The Gospels are interpreted within the context of first-century Judaism as part of a broader reconstruction of Jesus' career as a healer and prophet, and rhetorical criticism is introduced as a tool for explaining how the gospel tradition about Jesus and forgiveness developed. Hägerland combines detailed exegesis and rigorous methodology with a holistic view of the historical Jesus, evaluating recent scholarship about first-century Jewish prophets and utilizing previously neglected textual evidence to present a thorough investigation of the theology of forgiveness in early Judaism and primitive Christianity.

Paul and the Language of Scripture
  • Citation Technique in the Pauline Epistles and Contemporary Literature
  • Christopher D. Stanley
  • Published online:
    05 November 2011
    Print publication:
    10 December 1992
  • Explicit quotations from the Jewish Scriptures play a vital role in several of the apostle Paul's letters to struggling Christian congregations. In most cases the wording of these quotations differs markedly from all known versions of the biblical text. Studies of Paul's use of scripture routinely note the problem and suggest possible solutions, but none to date has made this phenomenon the primary object of investigation. The present study aims to remedy this deficiency with a careful examination of the way Paul and other ancient authors handled the wording of their explicit quotations. In drawing general conclusions, Dr Stanley examines the broader social environment that made 'interpretive renderings' a normal and accepted part of the literary landscape of antiquity.

The Doctrine of Salvation in the First Letter of Peter
  • Martin Williams
  • Published online:
    05 November 2011
    Print publication:
    13 October 2011
  • The prevalence of salvation language in the first letter of Peter has often been acknowledged though rarely investigated in depth. In this book Martin Williams presents an account exploring the concept of salvation in this theologically rich letter. He brings together the disciplines of hermeneutics, New Testament studies, and systematic and historical theology in order to explore the language of salvation which resonates within the text. The book also elaborates on a methodological level the segregation which has arisen between biblical studies and theological studies. In doing this, Williams identifies a basis for how there can be interaction between these two different viewpoints. This book will be a valuable resource for students and scholars interested in the exegesis and theology of 1 Peter, the doctrine of salvation and biblical interpretation.

The Politics of Inheritance in Romans
  • Mark Forman
  • Published online:
    03 May 2011
    Print publication:
    21 April 2011
  • Mark Forman explores the extent to which Paul's concept of 'inheritance' in Romans, and its associated imagery, logic and arguments, served to evoke socio-political expectations that were different to those which prevailed in contemporary Roman imperial discourse. Forman explores how Paul deploys the idea of inheritance in Romans and analyses the sources which inform and overlap with this concept. Coins, literature and architecture are all examined in order to understand the purpose, hopes and expectations of first-century society. This book contributes to recent studies covering Paul and politics by arguing that Paul's concept of inheritance subverts and challenges first-century Roman ideologies.

John as Storyteller
  • Narrative Criticism and the Fourth Gospel
  • Mark W. G. Stibbe
  • Published online:
    03 May 2011
    Print publication:
    05 March 1992
  • In this widely acclaimed study of John's Gospel, Mark W. G. Stibbe shows how the fourth evangelist uses all the tactics of a skilled storyteller to promote his distinctive Christology. Literary and historical methodologies are integrated by the author in his narrative criticism, and a new, holistic approach to the gospel literature is suggested thereby.

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