An introduction to the literary forms of New Testament and early Christian writings in the context of the literature of the Judaic and Hellenistic traditions.
A study of the relationship between the New Testament writings and other literature of late antiquity. This comprehensive introduction identifies and describes the major literary genres and forms found in the New Testament and Early Christian non-canonical literature. Comparing them with those prevalent in Judaism and Hellenism, it sheds light on the conventions that the New Testament writers chose to follow.
| Dimensions | 234 × 156 mm |
|---|---|
| Pages | 260 |
| Format | |
| Trade Information | JGEN |
Foreword by Wayne A. Meeks
Abbreviations
Introduction
1. The Genre of the Gospels: Nonliterary and Literary “Parallels”
“Gospel” as a Literary Form
Modern Scholarship and the Gospels
Genre Criticism and the Gospels
The Gospels as a “Nonliterary” Genre
Ancient Biographical Literature
Greco-Roman Biographical Literature
Israelite-Jewish “Biographical” Literature
2. The Gospels as Ancient Biography and the Growth of Jesus Literature
The Form of the Gospels
The Content of the Gospels
The Function of the Gospels
The Gospels as Greco-Roman Biography
Later Jesus Literature
3. Luke-Acts and Ancient Historiography
The Problem of Genre
Hellenistic Historiography
The Form and Content of History
Constituent Literary Forms
The Function of History
Israelite Historiography
Hellenistic Jewish Historiography
Comparing Ancient Historiographies
4. The Generic Features of Luke-Acts and the Growth of Apostle Literature
The Form of Luke-Acts
Constituent Oral Forms
Constituent Literary Forms
The Content of Luke-Acts
The Function of Luke-Acts
Luke-Acts as General History
The Apocryphal Acts
5. Letters in the Ancient World
Greco-Roman Letters
Aramaic and Jewish Epistolography
6. Early Christian Letters and Homilies
Formal Literary Analysis
Form-Critical Analysis
Epistolary Styles of Discourse
Types of Early Christian Letters
Occasional Letters and Homilies
General Letters and Homilies
7. The Apocalypse of John and Ancient Revelatory Literature
What is Apocalypticism?
Types of Ancient Revelatory Literature
Early Christian Apocalypticism
The Apocalypse of John
Christian Apocalypses in Transition
Index of Selected Subjects
Index of Selected Biblical Passages
In a period when literary and rhetorical criticism has once again become a major feature of New Testament study, the need for an authoritative treatment of the richly diverse literary context of the New Testament writings was becoming increasingly urgent. David Aune, one of very few New Testament scholars who can claim deep and thorough acquaintance with the full range of Jewish, Greek, and Latin literature of the period, has now met that need, and how! This magisterial handbook with its careful and lucid analysis of literary types and parallels and valuable bibliographical guidance will assuredly become a standard work, a constant companion, and a starting point for many a research paper and scholarly study over the next two decades.
James D. G. Dunn, Professor of Divinity, University of Durham
In recent years I have not read any introduction to the New Testament with as much interest and as extensive agreement as I found in reading David Aune’s The New Testament in Its Literary Environment. It is concise, precise, and sober, and at the same time it is written in a relevant and exciting style and offers an impressive quantity of information. Not only students and pastors but professors of New Testament studies as well can learn much from it.
Martin Hengel, Professor of New Testament and Early Judaism, University of Tübingen
All of David Aune’s work is marked by a profound and wide knowledge of the Jewish and Graeco-Roman background of the New Testament. In this new book he has put this knowledge to excellent use in providing a comprehensive survey of the literary character of the books of the New Testament. He provides all the information necessary to enable the student to see the New Testament writings in their literary environment in the ancient world, and not simply as part of the canon of sacred Scripture.
I. Howard Marshall, Professor of New Testament Exegesis, King’s College, University of Aberdeen
This book provides a comprehensive guide to the relevant ancient documents, setting the New Testament back into its proper literary context and pointing out both the similarities to and the differences from the extant contemporary literature, both Greek and Jewish. The student will find it an invaluable introduction, packed with information and with ample reference to material for further study.
R. McL. Wilson, Professor Emeritus of Biblical Criticism, St Mary’s College, University of St Andrews
