\"Hellenistic Philosophy\" is a thorough introduction to the three schools of philosophy which dominated the Hellenistic era: Stoicism, Epicureanism and Scepticism. It traces the main developments in Greek Philosophy during the period which runs from the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C. to the end of the Roman Republic 31 B.C.

Hellenistic Philosophy. Stoics, Epicureans, Sceptics

THE INFLUENCE AND USE OF DANIEL IN THE SYNOPTIC GOSPELS

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The Influence and Use of Daniel in the Synoptic Gospels

Introduction: a critical time in the study of Roman artistic imitation 1. Decorum and tradition: the beginnings of a theoretical apparatus 2. Decorum and patron: the functions of art 3. The marginalization of innovation: Kopienkritik and the construct of the free copy 4. The strategy of eclecticism 5. Phantasia: the artist's vision as model.

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The Aesthetics of Emulation in the Visual Arts of Ancient Rome

The Acts of the Apostles: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary, by Joseph A. Fitzmyer. AB 31. New York/London: Doubleday, 1998. Pp. xxxiv + 830. $45.00. This volume completes Joseph Fitzmyer's commentary on the Lukan writings in the Anchor Bible series. It follows his commentary on the Gospel of Luke by thirteen years (The Gospel according to Luke [AB 28, 28A;1981, 1985]). In between these works Fitzmyer employed his broad knowledge and impressive skill in other tasks, including the Romans commentary in the same series. In the preface Fitzmyer explains that, unlike in the Luke commentary, the editors would not permit expansion of the Acts commentary to two volumes. This decision required some curtailment of Fitzmyer's discussion. There is, nevertheless, much fine scholarship in this thick volume. The volume first presents Fitzmyer's translation of Acts, followed by an introduction of more than a hundred pages and an extensive general bibliography. The rest of the book moves through Acts by presenting a segment of translation, followed by a general "Comment," then "Notes" on the verses of the text and a bibliography on the text segment. The amount of bibliography is one value of the volume. There is one unusual feature to the translation in the commentary. It is followed by translations of the variants in the Western text, even though these variants will not play a large role in Fitzmyer's comments. There are no excursuses. The extensive introduction and the special attention that Fitzmyer gives certain topics in the notes make up for this lack. The introduction includes discussion of the "Sources of Acts." Fitzmyer believes that there were Palestinian, Antiochene, and Pauline sources. He gives little defense of this hypothesis except to refer to "Benoit's analysis" (p. 83). The introduction also discusses form-critical analysis of Acts. Fitzmyer attempts to continue into Acts the form criticism previously applied to Luke. This aspect of the commentary is not very productive. Too many of the passages are simply classified as "narratives," which in itself is not very illuminating. "The Lukan Story of Paul" receives extensive discussion in the introduction. Here Fitzmyer is concerned with the differences between Acts and the Pauline letters. For his views on Lukan theology, Fitzmyer refers to the introduction of his Luke commentary. There are many short but valuable comments on historical matters and items of vocabulary. For instance, Fitzmyer gives special attention to the use of ekklesia in Acts (p. 325) and to Hellenistai (pp. 347-48), synagoge (pp. 356-57), Antioch (pp. 475-76), Epicureans and Stoics (pp. 604-5), and Artemis (pp. 657-58). The commentary is useful in many particulars. Fitzmyer, however, is not interested only in particulars but also in broad theological issues and in the major purpose or purposes behind a writing. Here, however, he perpetuates some positions that have been called in question and that, in my opinion, should be rejected. For instance, Fitzmyer accepts the identification of "the end of the earth" in Acts 1:8 with Rome (pp. 56, 206-7), an identification which suggests that the missionary command has been substantially realized with Paul's arrival in Rome. …

The Acts of the Apostles: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary

In this classic work, renowned rationalist and scholar of religion Ernest Renan is the first biographer of Jesus to present him as entirely human. Renan describes Jesus as a popular religious leader and self-proclaimed Messiah who increasingly advocated the overthrow of Roman rule and the establishment of a theocracy. To support his apocalyptic vision, Renan's Jesus was not above using trickery and deception, as in the raising of Lazarus. The impression left by Jesus on his disciples was so profound that they began to proclaim his Resurrection and presence among them shortly after his death. Even conceding Christ's historicity, it is still seriously debated by modern biblical scholars whether a reliable life of Jesus can be gleaned from the gospels. For this very reason, the questions raised by Renan a century ago about the facts surrounding Jesus' life and the authorship of the gospels are still far from settled. "The Life of Jesus" has provoked both controversy and praise since its publication in 1863.

耶稣的故事 = The life of Jesus

First published in 2002, this book offers an authoritative and accessible introduction to the New Testament and early Christian literature for all students of the Bible and the origins of Christianity. Delbert Burkett focuses on the New Testament, but also looks at a wealth of non-biblical writing to examine the history, religion and literature of Christianity in the years from 30 CE to 150 CE. The book is organized systematically with questions for in-class discussion and written assignments, step-by-step reading guides on individual works, special box features, charts, maps and numerous illustrations designed to facilitate student use. An appendix containing translations of primary texts allows instant access to the writings outside the canon. For this new edition, Burkett has reorganized and rewritten many chapters, and has also incorporated revisions throughout the text, bringing it up to date with current scholarship. This volume is designed for use as the primary textbook for one and two-semester courses on the New Testament and Early Christianity.

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An introduction to the New Testament and the origins of Christianity

The Son of Man Debate: A History and Evaluation, by Delbert Burkett. SNTSMS 107. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999. Pp. xiv + 176. $54.95. Given the current lack of concord regarding the meaning and origin of the NT's term "the Son of Man," Burkett has given us just what we need at the moment--not one more book promoting yet another thesis or resurrecting an old idea but a comprehensive survey of what everyone has had to say. Earlier surveys were produced by Wessel Scholten (1809), Heinrich Appel (1896), and Mogens Miller (1984). Now Burkett's book, which covers "the main lines of the debate from work from the patristic period to 1996" (p. 3), offers us the best, the most up-to-date, and most comprehensive review of the various views and disputations about the mysterious "Son of Man." Chapter 1 examines the so-called genealogical understanding, according to which "..." identifies Jesus as someone's son--the son of a human (so Ignatius, Bede, Theophylact), the son of Mary (so Tertullian and many in the Middle Ages), the son of Joseph (so Pseudo-Justin, Christoph August Heumann), the son of Adam (so Athanasius, Erasmus, Calvin, John Lightfoot, John Bowman), or the son of a Gnostic aeon or god (so various Gnostic ancient writings). Burkett faults all of these suggestions in part because they interpret the Greek without recognizing that it is based upon a Semitic expression. Chapter 2 reviews those who argued, after the rebirth of Semitic studies after the Reformation, that t't In or whatever Semitic expression Jesus used referred to his humanity without reference to a particular parent (Joseph, Mary, etc.). Some, such as Zwingli, took "the Son of Man" to refer to Jesus' human nature. But Martin Bucer, Heinrich Bullinger, and many after them thought it carried the connotation of lowliness. Still others, including Friedrich Schleiermacher and Augustus Tholuck, thought that "the Son of man" emphasized Jesus' status as a human being different from all other human beings-the preeminent human or ideal human. According to Burkett, this approach, which was popular in the nineteenth century, appeared only occasionally in the twentieth century. His evaluation of this fact is straightforward: "Ultimately the interpretation of `Son of Man' as an expression of Jesus' humanity failed because it made the title superfluous: Jesus had no need to emphasize his simple humanity, since it would have been apparent to all" (p. 20). Chapter 3 looks at the apocalyptic and messianic "Son of Man," which has played such an important role in the modern debate. Burkett documents a tendency to interpret the phrase either in terms of Dan 7 or in terms of the Similitudes of 1 Enoch. He says that although this interpretation prevailed until the 1960s, two questions were never resolved. First, to whom did the title refer on Jesus' lips? Second, which "Son of Man" sayings should be regarded as authentic? The fourth chapter takes up the first question and reviews the main answers-"the Son of man" was a titular (perhaps proleptic) self-designation (Johannes Weiss, Rudolf Otto) or the name for a corporate entity (T. W. Manson, C. F. D. Moule) or a messiah other than Jesus (David Friedrich Strauss, Julius Wellhausen, Rudolf Bultmann). Burkett also includes here the view of William Wrede and Wilhelm Bousset, that the thirdperson speech is a sign that Jesus never used the expression at all. The fifth chapter continues by addressing the question of authenticity. Here Burkett catalogues the opinions and arguments of those who thought only the nonapocalyptic sayings authentic, those who thought only the apocalyptic sayings authentic, those who thought sayings from both groups authentic, and those who thought none of the "Son of man" sayings authentic. Most attention is given to the arguments of Ernst Kasemann, Philipp Vielhauer, and Norman Perrin. After surveying, in chapter 6, "miscellaneous Sons of Men"--examined here are, among other views, the proposal of a connection with Ezekiel's "son of man" and the equation of "the Son of man" with so-called "Primal Man"-Burkett turns in chapter 7 to the debate over the apocalyptic "Son of Man. …

The Son of Man Debate: A History and Evaluation

The son of man debate

The parable of the unrighteous steward encouraged rich individuals outside the Christian community to use their wealth to make friends of Jesus’ poor disciples, specifically by reducing their debts, so that in the eschatological kingdom Jesus’ disciples would receive these benefactors into their eternal dwellings. It had its setting in the efforts of early Palestinian Christians to enlist the financial support of the wealthy. Since many of these did not wish to sell all their possessions and donate the proceeds to the Christian community, this parable suggested an alternative way that the rich could use their wealth to assist the community.

The Parable of the Unrighteous Steward (Luke 16.1-9): A Prudent Use of Mammon

Preface Abbreviations Chapter 1: Introduction to the Problem Chapter 2: Markan Redaction Absent from Matthew and Luke Chapter 3: Matthean Redaction Absent from Mark and Luke Chapter 4: Sources Common to Mark and Matthew Chapter 5: Sources Common to Mark and Luke Chapter 6: Conflation in Mark Chapter 7: Toward a New Theory Chapter 8: Proto-Mark Chapter 9: The A Material Chapter 10: The B Material Chapter 11: The C Material Chapter 12: The Making of Mark Appendix A: Sources of Mark Appendix B: Dual Temporal and Local Expressions Bibliography Index

Delbert Burkett

Papers

An introduction to the New Testament and the origins of Christianity

The Son of Man Debate: A History and Evaluation

The son of man debate

The Parable of the Unrighteous Steward (Luke 16.1-9): A Prudent Use of Mammon

Rethinking the Gospel Sources: From Proto-Mark to Mark