Bücher veröffentlicht von Fortress Academic

In this book, Chad Venters argues that Psalm 80 (Psalm 79 LXX) is an important source for the composition of Matthew 25:31-46 and provides a religio-political background for understanding the devastation facing Israel at the hands of the Romans.

In this book, Wayne Baxter explores and unpacks the Shepherd Christology in the Gospel of Matthew. By examining Matthews shepherd motif against the backdrop of the metaphors appropriation in the biblical tradition, in the writings of Second Temple Judaism, and in the New Testament, Baxters analysis reveals important convergences and divergences between Matthew and these three groups of authors. One the one hand, the Evangelists shepherd motif closely echoes that of the Jewish Scriptures; on the other hand, at points Matthews motif aligns with the tropes usage by Christ-believers over and against its deployment by Second Temple Jewish authors. Sometimes he agrees with the Second Temple writers over and against Christ-believers, and at other times he stands alone, deviating from both Second Temple Jews and Christ-believers. Baxter argues that the reason for these convergences and divergences is Matthews high Shepherd Christology: In Jesus the messianic Shepherd, YHWH has personally returned in a dramatic way to shepherd his people, Israel.

Death and rebirth was of vital importance to early Christians in late antiquity. In late antiquity, death was all encompassing. Mortality rates were high, plague and disease in urban areas struck at will, and one lived on the knife's edge regarding one's health. Religion filled a crucial role in this environment, offering an option for those who sought cure and comfort. Following death, the inhumed were memorialized, providing solace to family members through sculpture, painting, and epigraphy. This book offers a sustained interdisciplinary treatment of death and rebirth, a theme that early Christians (and scholars) found important. By analysing the theme of death and rebirth through various lenses, the contributors deepen our understanding of the early Christian funerary and liturgical practices as well as their engagement with other groups in the Empire.