Product Description

Recipient of a Christianity Today 1993 Critics Choice Award! Third Place Winner of Christianity Today's Book of the Year list award! The Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels is unique among reference books on the Bible, the first volume of its kind since James Hastings published his Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels in 1909. In the more than eight decades since Hastings our understanding of Jesus, the Evangelists and their world has grown remarkably. New interpretive methods have illumined the text, the ever-changing profile of modern culture has put new questions to the Gospels, and our understanding of the Judaism of Jesus' day has advanced in ways that could not have been predicted in Hasting's day. But for many readers of the Gospels the new outlook on the Gospels remains hidden within technical journals and academic monographs. The Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels bridges the gap between scholars and those pastors, teachers, students and lay people desiring in-depth treatment of select topics in an accesible and summary format. The topics range from cross-sectional themes (such as faith, law, Sabbath) to methods of interpretation (such as form criticism, redaction criticism, and death of Jesus) to each of the four Gospels as a whole. Some articles--such as the Dead Sea Scrolls, rabbinic traditions and revolutionary movements at the time of Jesus--provide significant background information to the Gospels. Others reflect recent and less familiar issues in Jesus and Gospel studies, such as divine man, ancient rhetoric and the chreiai (aphorisms). Contemporary concerns of general interest are discussed in articles covering such topics as healing, the demonic and the historical reliability of the Gospels. And for those entrusted with communicating the message of the Gospels, there is an extensive article on preaching from the Gospels. The Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels presents the fruit of evangelical New Testament scholarship at the end of the twentieth century--committed to the authority of Scripture, utilizing the best of critical methods, and maintaining dialog with contemporary scholarship and challenges facing the church. IVP Extra! Check out the Essential IVP Reference Collection which includes this work and many others all in one handy--and powerful--CD-ROM package! Features & Benefits

* nearly 200 in-depth articles

* the first work of its kind since James Hastings' Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels (1909)

* will be used as the comprehensive text for seminary classes

* all articles are written exclusively for the DJG

* does not duplicate the material presented in even multi-volume Bible dictionaries

* includes hundreds of cross-references, extensive bibliographies, subject and Gospel Scripture indexes

* first volume in a landmark Bible reference series that now has more than 100,000 total copies in print

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #192509 in Books
• Published on: 1992-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 934 pages

About the Author
Green (B.S., M.Th., Ph.D.) is dean of academic affairs, dean of the School of Theology and professor of New Testament interpretation at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky. Prior to his appointment at Asbury in 1997, he was associate professor of New Testament at the American Baptist Seminary of the West/Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. His recent titles include Introducing the New Testament: Its Literature and Theology (coauthored with Paul Achtemeier and Marianne Meye Thompson, 2001), Beginning with Jesus: Christ in Scripture, the Church and Discipleship (2000), Recovering the Scandal of the Cross: Atonement in New Testament and Contemporary Contexts (coauthored with Mark Baker, 2000), Between Two Horizons: Spanning New Testament Studies and Systematic Theology (coedited with Max Turner, 2000) and The Gospel of Luke in the New International Commentary on the New Testament (1997). Green has for more than twenty years been editor of! Catalyst, a journal providing evangelical resources and perspectives to some 5,000 United Methodist seminarians. An ordained elder in the United Methodist Church, he has pastored churches in Texas, Scotland and Northern California. He has also served on the boards of Berkeley Emergency Food and Housing Project and RADIX magazine.

McKnight (Ph. D.) is assistant professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illonois. He is general editor of Guides to New Testament Exegesis and wrote Interpreting the Synoptic Gospels in that series.

. Howard Marshall is Honorary Research Professor of New Testament at the University of Aberdeen in Aberdeen, Scotland. Among his numerous publications on the New Testament are his commentaries on the Gospel of Luke, Acts, 1-2 Thessalonians, the Pastoral Epistles, 1 Peter and 1-3 John. He is coauthor of Exploring the New Testament: A Guide to the Letters and Revelation.

Customer Reviews

Excellent resource - but don't make it the only one
The information in this book is comprehensive, well-referenced (including mention of non-scriptural resources related to the period), and quite absorbing. I found myself moving from one cross reference to another, avidly seeking the information which "fleshed out" the accounts, and made the meanings of scriptural texts, even those I had studied a number of times, richer and more complete. The relation of gospel texts, particularly Jesus's parables, miracles and the like, to historical perspectives is well done. There also is a valuable section relating how to use gospel texts in preparing sermons. In total, it is a fine reference for placing Jesus's words in context, and understanding the actions of those with whom he dealt. (For example, look up the article on Pontius Pilate... his fear at "you are no friend of Caesar" has an interesting and very natural basis.) With this said, however, this valuable book should not be one's only reference for scripture study. My five stars are for the book as it is intended - a "dictionary," with extensive and often fascinating explanations. It is not sufficient for most scriptural exegesis or advanced New Testament study, particularly because it is strictly composed from an evangelical perspective. Many distinguished contemporary scholars (Raymond Brown, N.T. Wright, E.P. Sanders, to name a few), equally orthodox in their Christology, would have viewpoints that are far less literalist than this work provides. Just as two minor examples, the Dictionary sees no reason to doubt that the apostle Matthew was the author of the first gospel, and the idea that the visit of the Magi was completely, literally true (with no allowance for its being a midrash at all) is unquestioned. The entire approach in this work is extremely conservative. I would place this book on the shelf of anyone studying the gospels, but it would be one of at least five.

Excellent Reference Resource
This is one of the better reference works available from a conservative evangelical publishing company (IVP). The text itself is a very detailed dictionary of the four Gospel accounts. The editors include articles regarding people, places, events, dates, cross-references, etc. The articles are broad in the sense that they include various opinions and views but not so broad that they are too muddled in what they communicate. There is an enormous amount of detail in this volume. The editors discuss things such as the ethics of Jesus, certain feasts, genealogies, historical reliability of the Gospel accounts, the doctrine of Hell, historical quest of Jesus, Josephus, the phrases "Kingdom of God" and "Kingdom of Heaven," miracles and miracle stories, passion narratives, the Resurrection, what the term Son of Man means, etc. and what I have listed does not even begin to scratch the surface of the material that is within these pages. This work is over 900 pages of great material about the Gospels and their content, history, dating, etc. If you are wanting a great research tool, then this is one of, if not the best one you could add to your library. Another great reference work by the same publishing company (IVP) which works well with this volume is titled "Dictionary of Paul and His Letters." See my review, here at Amazon, on that gereat reference work which is a type of vol. 2 in connection with "Dictionary of Jesus . . ."

Very Good Resource
I am student taking a few classes at a seminary, but have no Greek background. Despite that, I have found this book to be an invaluable resource for indepth study of issues relating to the Gospels. This is a must have reference for anyone who loves the Bible and wants to understand the Gospels and the teachings of Jesus more. It is a great balance of thorough and concise.