The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown (26 page)

⁷³
See Charlesworth,
Old Testament Pseudepigrapha
; B. N. Fisk, “Rewritten Bible in Pseudepigrapha and Qumran,” in
Dictionary of New Testament Background
, 947–53.

⁷⁴
It is neither possible nor necessary to rehearse the contents of the apocryphal and pseudepigraphical literature here. On the Apocrypha, see the introductions in Metzger,
Annotated Apocrypha
; cf. Evans,
Ancient Texts for New Testament Studies
, chap. 1; D. A. deSilva,
Introducing the Apocrypha: Message, Context, and Significance
(Grand Rapids: Baker, 2002). On the Pseudepigrapha, see the introductions in Charlesworth,
Old Testament Pseudepigrapha
; and Evans,
Ancient Texts for New Testament Studies
, chap. 2. On both, see M. E. Stone, ed.,
Jewish Writings of the Second Temple Period
, CRINT 2 (Assen: Van Gorcum/Philadelphia: Fortress, 1984); G. W. E. Nickelsburg,
Jewish Literature Between the Bible and the Mishnah
(Philadelphia: Fortress, 1981); Schürer,
History of the Jewish People
3.1; deSilva, “Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha”; and the relevant sections in Helyer,
Exploring Jewish Literature
.

⁷⁵
See chap. 1.

⁷⁶
See especially J. C. Trever,
The Dead Sea Scrolls: A Personal Account
(Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1977). Other helpful works include G. Vermes,
The Dead Sea Scrolls: Qumran in Perspective
, rev. ed. (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1977); J. C. VanderKam,
The Dead Sea Scrolls Today
(Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1994); and F. G. Martínez and J. T. Barrera,
The People of the Dead Sea Scrolls: Their Writings, Beliefs and Practices
, trans. W. G. E. Watson (Leiden: Brill, 1995); the selected excerpts in Barrett,
New Testament Background
, chap. 9; and M. O. Wise, “Dead Sea Scrolls: General Introduction,” in
Dictionary of New Testament Background
, 252–66.

⁷⁷
See F. G. Martínez,
The Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition
, 2 vols. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000); J. C. VanderKam,
An Introduction to Early Judaism
(Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000); L. H. Schiffman and J. C. VanderKam, eds.,
Encyclopedia of the Dead Sea Scrolls
, 2 vols. (Oxford: University Press, 2000); J. H. Charlesworth, ed.,
The Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls
, 3 vols. (Waco: Baylor Univ. Press, 2006); R. A. Kugler and E. M. Schuller,
The Dead Sea Scrolls at Fifty
(Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1999); Schürer,
History of the Jewish People
, 380–469; Evans,
Ancient Texts for New Testament Studies
, chap. 3; and relevant entries in
Dictionary of New Testament Background
.

⁷⁸
See History above.

⁷⁹
As mentioned above, Schürer (
Jewish History in the Age of Jesus Christ
, 2:587), for example, suggests that the Jewish high priest Jonathan was the person called the “Wicked Priest” in the Dead Sea Scrolls.

⁸⁰
See R. N. Longenecker,
Biblical Exegesis in the Apostolic Period
, 2d ed. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999), 24–30.

⁸¹
Against erroneous claims in the tabloids and in popular literature such as D. Brown (
The Da Vinci Code
[New York: Doubleday, 2003], 245), who claimed that the Dead Sea Scrolls are among “the earliest Christian records.”

⁸²
See A. J. Köstenberger, “John,” in
Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament
, ed. G. K. Beale and D. A. Carson (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2007), 421, 425–28.

⁸³
See J. Charlesworth, ed.,
John and the Dead Sea Scrolls
(New York: Crossroad, 1990); Kugler and Schuller,
Dead Sea Scrolls at Fifty
; Charlesworth,
Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls
; and the helpful discussion in Evans,
Ancient Texts for New Testament Studies
, 3–6.

⁸⁴
N. C. Croy, “Religion, Personal,” in
Dictionary of New Testament Background
, 926–31, who discussed oracles, dreams, divination, prayer, magic, miracles, healing, superstition, and astrology, among other topics. Compare J. D. Charles, “Pagan Sources in the New Testament,” in
Dictionary of New Testament Background
, 756–63.

⁸⁵
See D. A. deSilva, “Ruler Cult,” in
Dictionary of New Testament Background
, 1026–30.

⁸⁶
See Ferguson,
Backgrounds of Early Christianity
, 35.

⁸⁷
Ibid.

⁸⁸
See the discussion of the emperor cult in chap. 20.

⁸⁹
See Barrett,
New Testament Background
, chap. 6; Ferguson,
Backgrounds of Early Christianity
, 235–82; and M. Meyer, “Mysteries,” in
Dictionary of New Testament Background
, 720–25; cf. A. J. Köstenberger, “The Mystery of Christ and the Church: Head and Body, ‘One Flesh,’”
TrinJ
12 NS (1991): 80–81.

⁹⁰
The selection is from Barrett,
New Testament Background
, 127–29.

⁹¹
See W. Bousset,
Kyrios Christos
, trans. J. E. Steely (Nashville: Abingdon, 1970 [1913]); and R. Reitzenstein,
Hellenistic Mystery-religions
, trans. J. E. Steely (Pittsburgh: Pickwick, 1978 [1910]). Compare the discussion in S. Neill and T. Wright,
The Interpretation of the New Testament 1861–1986
, 2d ed. (Oxford/New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 1988), 165–85; and the sidebar below.

⁹²
See further the discussion of Gnosticism below.

⁹³
See B. W. R. Pearson, “Domestic Religion and Practices,” in
Dictionary of New Testament Background
, 298–302.

⁹⁴
Ibid., 33.

⁹⁵
See Ferguson,
Backgrounds of Early Christianity
, 282–93; Neill and Wright,
Interpretation of the New Testament
, 185–95.

⁹⁶
The classic treatment is E. Yamauchi,
Pre-Christian Gnosticism: A Survey of the Proposed Evidences
, 2d ed. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1983 [1973]). See also id., “Gnosticism,” in
Dictionary of New Testament Background
, 414–18; C. B. Smith,
No Longer Jews: The Search for Christian Origins
(Peabody: Hendrickson, 2004); and Barrett,
New Testament Background
, chap. 5.

⁹⁷
See J. M. Dillon, “Philosophy,” in
Dictionary of New Testament Background
, 793–96.

⁹⁸
See Barrett,
New Testament Background
, 78–81; Ferguson,
Backgrounds of Early Christianity
, 348–56; and N. C. Croy, “Epicureanism,” in
Dictionary of New Testament Background
, 324–27.

⁹⁹
See Barrett,
New Testament Background
, 65–77; Ferguson,
Backgrounds of Early Christianity
, 333–47; and J. C. Thom, “Stoicism,” in
Dictionary of New Testament Background
, 1139–42.

¹⁰⁰
See Barrett,
New Testament Background
, 81–91; Ferguson,
Backgrounds of Early Christianity
, 327–33; and B. Fiore, “Cynicism and Skepticism,” in
Dictionary of New Testament Background
, 242–45.

¹⁰¹
See the discussion of superstition above.

¹⁰²
See the discussion of the proposal of a “Cynic Jesus” in chap. 3.

¹⁰³
For general surveys and additional sources on Judaism, see B. D. Chilton, “Judaism and the New Testament,” 603–61; P. R. Trebilco and C. A. Evans, “Diaspora Judaism,” 281–96, and W. T. Wilson, “Hellenistic Judaism,” 477–82, in
Dictionary of New Testament Background
.

¹⁰⁴
See A. J. Köstenberger and S. R. Swain,
Father, Son and Spirit: The Trinity and John's Gospel
, NSBT 24 (Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2008), chap. 1; C. J. H. Wright,
The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible's Grand Narrative
(Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2006), “Part II: The God of Mission,” especially 71–74 (with further bibliographic references).

¹⁰⁵
See B. Chilton and E. Yamauchi, “Synagogues,” in
Dictionary of New Testament Background
, 1145–53.

¹⁰⁶
See Schürer,
History of the Jewish People
, 2:415–63; Ferguson,
Backgrounds of Early Christianity
, 539–46.

¹⁰⁷
See Schürer,
History of the Jewish People
, 2:237–313; Ferguson,
Backgrounds of Early Christianity
, 527–33; B. Chilton, P. W. Comfort, and M. O. Wise, “Temple, Jewish,” in
Dictionary of New Testament Background
, 1167–83; and A. J. Köstenberger, “John,” in
Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary
, ed. C. A. Arnold (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002), 2:30–31.

¹⁰⁸
See Schürer,
History of the Jewish People
, 2:521–27; B. D. Chilton, “Festivals and Holy Days: Jewish,” 371–78; and S. Westerholm and C. A. Evans, “Sabbath,” 1031–35, both in
Dictionary of New Testament Background
.

¹⁰⁹
See Barrett,
New Testament Background
, chap. 8; and B. D. Chilton, “Rabbis,” in
Dictionary of New Testament Background
, 914–16. Compare H. L. Strack and G. Stemberger,
Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash
, trans. M. Bockmuehl (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1992); and Schürer,
History of the Jewish People
, 2:314–80.

¹¹⁰
See J. Neusner, “Rabbinic Literature: Mishnah and Tosefta,” in
Dictionary of New Testament Background
, 893–97.

¹¹¹
See A. J. Köstenberger (with D. W. Jones),
God, Marriage, and Family: Rebuilding the Biblical Foundation
(Wheaton: Crossway, 2004), chap. 11, especially 228–29.

¹¹²
See Ferguson,
Backgrounds of Early Christianity
, 512–17; S. McKnight, “Proselytism and Godfearers,” in
Dictionary of New Testament Background
, 835–47.

¹¹³
The word
theosebeis
(“God-fearer” or “worshipper of God”) occurs in Acts 10:2, 22, 35; 13:6, 26; the related term
sebomenoi
(“worshipper[s] of God”) is found in Acts 13:43, 50; 16:14; 17:4, 17; 18:7.

¹¹⁴
See Ferguson (
Backgrounds of Early Christianity
, 502–27), who discussed Jewish beliefs in one God; Israel, the chosen people; Torah, tradition, and Scripture; Jewish mysticism; proselytes and God-fearers; messianism; the afterlife; festivals and holy days; and daily devotions. Compare J. Neusner, “Rabbinic Literature: Mishnah and Tosefta,” 893–97; and H. Maccoby, “Rabbinic Literature: Talmud,” 897–902, both in
Dictionary of New Testament Background
.

¹¹⁵
See G. E. Ladd,
A Theology of the New Testament
, rev. ed. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1993), 54–67.

¹¹⁶
See especially W. Horbury,
Jewish Messianism and the Cult of Christ
(London: SCM, 1998); J. H. Charlesworth, ed.,
The Messiah: Developments in Earliest Judaism and Christianity
(Minneapolis: Fortress, 1987); J. Neusner, W. S. Green, and E. Frerichs,
Judaisms and Their Messiahs at the Turn of the Christian Era
(Cambridge: University Press, 1988); S. E. Porter, ed.,
The Messiah in the Old and New Testaments
(Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2007); and C. A. Evans, “Messianism,” in
Dictionary of New Testament Background
, 698–707.

¹¹⁷
See Schürer,
History of the Jewish People
, 2:488–545; Ferguson,
Backgrounds of Early Christianity
, 517–19.

¹¹⁸
See C. Evans and P. W. Flint,
Eschatology, Messianism, and the Dead Sea Scrolls
(Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997); Schürer,
History of the Jewish People
, 2:550–54.

¹¹⁹
See B. Janowski and P. Stuhlmacher, eds.,
The Suffering Servant: Isaiah 53 in Jewish and Christian Sources
, trans. D. P. Bailey (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2004); Schürer,
History of the Jewish People
, 2:547–49.

¹²⁰
See “History” above; cf. S. Mason, “Theologies and Sects, Jewish,” in
Dictionary of New Testament Background
, 1221–30.

¹²¹
Josephus (
Jewish War
2.119–20) referred to the first three of these: “Jewish philosophy, in fact, takes three forms. The followers of the first school are called Pharisees, of the second Sadducees, of the third Essenes.” He also mentioned a fourth philosophy (
Jewish War
2.108;
Ant.
18.23), most likely the Zealots. See Schürer,
History of the Jewish People
, 2:599; Barrett,
New Testament Background
, 158–59; and Ferguson,
Backgrounds of Early Christianity
, 480–502, who also mentioned the Herodians and the Samaritans.

¹²²
See “History” above; cf. Schürer,
History of the Jewish People
, 2:388–403; and S. Mason, “Pharisees,” in
Dictionary of New Testament Background
, 782–87.

¹²³
See G. G. Porton, “Sadducees,” in
Dictionary of New Testament Background
, 1050–52.

¹²⁴
As a result, they are not mentioned in John's Gospel, which most likely was written after AD 70. See chap. 7 below in this volume.

¹²⁵
See Schürer,
History of the Jewish People
, 2:585–95; T. Beall, “Essenes,” in
Dictionary of New Testament Background
, 342–48.

¹²⁶
See the historical survey of the Second Temple period above in this chapter.

¹²⁷
See M. Hengel,
The Zealots
, 2d ed. (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1977); cf. W. J. Heard and C. A. Evans, “Revolutionary Movements, Jewish,” in
Dictionary of New Testament Background
, 936–47, especially 945–46.

¹²⁸
See Heard and Evans, “Revolutionary Movements,” 944–45.

¹²⁹
See the discussion above.

¹³⁰
See especially Schürer,
History of the Jewish People
, 2:199–226; Ferguson,
Backgrounds of Early Christianity
, 533–36; and G. H. Twelftree, “Sanhedrin,” in
Dictionary of New Testament Background
, 1061–65. The name “Sanhedrin” is from
synēdrion
, “assembly.”