Ancient Texts For New Testament Studies: A Guide To The Background Literature

by Craig A. Evans

One of the daunting challenges facing the New Testament interpreter is achieving familiarity with the immense corpus of Greco-Roman, Jewish, and Pagan primary source materials. From the Paraphrase of Shem to Pesiqta Rabbati, scholars and students alike must have a fundamental understanding of these documents’ content, provenance, and place in NT interpretation. But achieving even an elementary facility with this literature often requires years of experience or a photographic memory. Evans’s dexterous survey—a thoroughly revised and significantly expanded edition of his Noncanonical Writings and New Testament Interpretation—amasses the requisite details of date, language, text, translation, and general bibliography. Evans also evaluates the materials’ relevance for interpreting the NT. The vast range of literature examined includes the Old Testament apocrypha, the Old Testament pseudepigrapha, the Dead Sea Scrolls, assorted ancient translations of the Old Testament and the Targum paraphrases, Philo and Josephus, Rabbinic texts, the New Testament pseudepigrapha, the early church fathers, various gnostic writings, and more. Six appendixes, including a list of quotations, allusions, and parallels to the NT, and a comparison of Jesus’ parables with those of the rabbis will further save the interpreter precious time. Praise for the first "Evans’s introduction is more than a map to terra incognita, it is a helpful companion for all who study Judaism and Christianity before the establishment of the Holy Roman Empire." —James H. Charlesworth, George L. Collord Professor of New Testament Language and Literature, Princeton Theological Seminary

Genres: New Testament, Biblical Studies, Theology, Christianity, History, Christian History, Old Testament

539 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2005

About the author

Craig A. Evans (PhD, Claremont Graduate University) is Payzant Distinguished Professor of New Testament at Acadia Divinity College in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. He is a frequent contributor to scholarly journals and the author or editor of numerous publications.

Reviews

[Bryan Kuranaga · Rating 4 out of 5]

We have lost the practice and discipline of understanding the Bible on its own terms and in its own contexts. Though ANE texts may not be divinely inspired, such texts provide us with an understanding of the particular worldview that the majority of people held during the time of the biblical writers. It would be false to think that the biblical writers did not know of the opposing worldviews and did not write, in part, polemically. This book by Evans provides a compilation of various writings around the time of the composition of the Bible.

[Gage Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably the best reference of all time for New Testament Studies. Excellent descriptions and perspectives. The money is in the Appendices which catalogue every New Testament passage with a corresponding Ancient Text.

This does it all. Dead Sea Scrolls, Apocrypha, Ancient Historians, Targum, Mishna… it’s honestly boring lol but if you need it, it’s one the most powerful books ever.

Craig ‘Clutch’ Evans, the winner and scholar.

[David Tee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not a book for everyone. It is merely a record of almost all the different texts available for very serious bible students who want to see what the ancient people have written and how it applies to their lives.

It is more of a resource than any other type of book

[Caleb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great introduction. I was really impressed with how exhaustive the introduction was. He obviously couldn’t go into too much depth for any of the specific topics, but it’ll work as a really good reference guide for how to begin a research project on NT Backgrounds topics in the future.

[Timothy Decker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Invaluable resource that I will return to frequently.

[Reggie Sheppard · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great work and valuable resource.

[Brenton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best source I've found for extra-biblical New Testament literature. It makes a great companion volume to E. Ferguson's "Backgrounds of Early Christianity."

[Brian LePort · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely valuable resource.