The Jesus Institute Forum

The nature of God – Part 5
The shema Israel in Mark and the New Testament

Jesus Christ in the Synoptics inclusive of Luke-Acts

Lee F Greer III
Loma Linda, California
© 2005
Prepared for the CHC Rose Room Sabbath school class
of Larry Christoffel & the members of JIF

(Last updated March 2006)

Abstract. Jesus of Nazareth the Christ affirmed the shema Israel confession that God is one. The writings of the NT re-affirmed the same. All the messianic titles and honors ascribed to Christ in the NT were bestowed by God and are consistent with this proclamation, that there is one God and He is the Father of Jesus the Messiah.

Introduction & method – listening to the text in its own context

(1) Determination of the text(s). The Greek text of this passage in Mark is very well established with few textual variants (Aland et al., 1998; eds. The Greek New Testament).

Text
Mark 12
Context
Precedent Biblical / historical-oral sources
Allusions appearing in later Biblical literature
28And one of the scribes came and heard them arguing, and recognizing that he had answered them well, asked him, "What commandment is the foremost of all?"
29Jesus answered, "The first is, 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!
30And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.'
31(The) second (is) this, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' Greater than these, there is no other commandment!"
32And the scribe said to him, "Right, teacher! In truth you say that He is one, and there is no other but He;
33and to love Him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices."
34And when Jesus saw that he had answered intelligently, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God!" After that, no one would dare ask him any more questions.		 v28 – According to Mark, the scribe who asked had overheard the dispute with the Sadducees over the resurrection (12:18-27). Parallel with Matt. 22:34-40 = Luke 10:25-28, who probably had Mark as their source for this pericope. 

v29-31 – Deut. 6:4-5 combined with Lev. 9:8 in Jesus' affirmation

v32-33 – Reaffirmation of shema Israel in terms of the single person of God: He is one (Deut. 6:4), and there's no other but He (Deut. 4:39; Isa. 45:6,14; 46:9), and to love Him entirely (Deut. 6:5; cf. 10:12; 11:22; Josh. 22:5) is more than all sacrifices (1 Sam. 15:22; Hos. 6:6; Mic. 6:6-8)! The scribe's reaffirmation is almost formulaic, he repeats, enlarges, and affirms by again reciting Hebrew scriptural passages and alluding to others.

In a moment of harmony, two fellow Jews together were making their supreme confessions as part of the covenant people of God: First and entire love to the One who alone is God, and love to neighbor as greater than any ritual, even those divinely established! 

v34 – Affirming the scribe's true and intelligent answer, Jesus told him he was not far from 'the kingdom of God' which is a reference to Daniel 2:44: "And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall its sovereignty be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand for ever."

(2) Ascertaining the literary / oral form. The oral form of this passage is rabbinic-style argumentation such as would occur in a yeshiva, where Jewish men study and discuss Torah. In the current written form it which it appears, it seems that Mark (12:8-34) has provided the most complete version, to which Matthew (22:34-40) and Luke (10:25-28) are indebted.

(3) Recovering the contemporary historical life situation (setting). As an enigmatic and popular teacher from Galilee, surrounded by messianic rumors in a time of oppression, political and eschatological ferment (Crossan & Reed, 2001), it seems natural that Jesus engaged in discussion about Torah and the prophets. The title applied to Jesus in the synoptics most commonly is the Danielic 'Son of man' (Daniel 7, also found in I Enoch, IV Ezra; Allison, 1998) who is delegated by God to receive the messianic kingdom. Also illustrative of the messianic, Danielic expectation around Jesus' time are Jesus' own proclamation of the Kingdom of God as imminent in terms of the fulfillment of Daniel's time prophecy of 70 sabbatical 'weeks' (Mark 1:15; cit. Dan. 9:21-27 and 2:44-45) and among many apocalyptic documents from the Essene community in Qumran, the 11Q13 or 11QMelchizedeq fragment, which links together the Danielic reference to the coming of Messiah, final judgment, and Jubilee liberation (Lev. 25), to the end of 10 Jubilee cycles foretold by the prophet Daniel (70 sabbatical 'weeks,' 490 yr) with the messianic prophecies of 2nd Isaiah (Fitzmeyer, 1974; Garcia Martinez, 1996; Greer, 2001).

(4) Meaning of the words and idiom for original author and audience. The language of the shema Israel and its affirmation in Mark 12 places Jesus and the scribe firmly in the language of 1st century Judaism. Jesus is called the Son of man, the Son of God, the Christ / Messiah, the son of David, David's lord, the born king of the Jews, the king of Israel, Imanu'El the savior, that Moses-like prophet who should come into the world (Deut. 18; Acts 3). As resurrected Lord and Christ, he is granted by God all authority in heaven and earth, to sit at God's right hand and to mediate forgiveness for Israel and all nations. In God's time, he is returning to take up his throne of glory. As God's anointed representative, he ascribed all glory and greatness to God his Father: "Why do you call me good? There is none good but one, God" (Mark 10:18 = Matt. 19:17 = Luke 18:19), and denied the blasphemy of making himself God when describing his subordinate unity as Son-sent with God his Father-Sender: "'Is it not written in your law, 'I said, You are gods.' If He called them gods to whom the word of God came (and Scripture cannot be broken), how can you say, 'you blaspheme' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'?" (from John 10:29-39). Like Cyrus of old (Isa. 45), he could say, "The Father who dwells in me, He does the works [miracles]" (John 14:10). The apostolic church confessed him likewise in their proclamations:

Acts (adapted vis à vis RSV and NASB)

  • 2:22-36 "Men of Israel, listen to these words! Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs which God did through him among you, as you know – this Jesus, delivered up according to the decreed plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. But God raised him up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible for him to be held under it.... Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified."
  • 3:13 "The God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him.... the prince of life you killed, whom God raised from the dead...."
  • 4:10 "Be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, in this name this man is standing before you restored."
  • 4:24-30 "And when they heard this, they lifted their voices to God with one accord and said, 'O Lord, it is You who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them! [next citing Ps. 2].... For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy child Jesus, whom You anointed [echrisas], both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose pre-ordained to happen. And now, Lord, take note of their threats, and grant that Your slaves may speak Your word with all boldness, while You extend Your hand to heal, and signs and wonders take place through the name of Your holy child Jesus."
  • 7:55-6 "But he [Stephen], being filled with Holy Spirit, stared into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, 'Look! I see the heavens completely opened up and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God.'"
  • 10:37-8 "You know... Jesus the one from Nazareth, how God anointed him [echrisen, same root as Christos] with Holy Spirit and power, who went about doing good and curing all the ones oppressed by the devil, because God was with him."
  • 13:22-3, 32-33, 38-39 "And removing him [Saul], He [God] raised up David to be their king, of whom He witnessed, 'I have found David the son of Jesse a man after My heart, who will do all My will.' From this man's seed, according to the promise, God brought to Israel a savior, Jesus.... And we announce the good news that the promise to the fathers has come! That (promise) God has fulfilled to our children, raising up Jesus, as also in the second psalm has been written, 'My son you are, today I have begotten you!' ... Therefore let it be known, brothers, that through this man [Jesus] forgiveness of sins is announced to you, and justification from all which you could not be (justified) by the law of Moses."
The apostolic church in Acts firmly confessed, like Peter at Caesarea Philippi, that God is the Father of Jesus the Christ.

(5) Understanding the total context and historical background. Are the synoptic gospels, including Luke-Acts, consistent with Jesus' confession of the shema Israel? What about the rest of the NT?

Select explicit affirmations of the shema Israel in the NT: Part I

Text
Witnesses
Who is the one God?
Mark 12:29-31 (= Matt. 22:37-40 = Luke 10:27-37) – 
"Jesus answered, 'The first is, 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!
And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength...'"		 Jesus of Nazareth (ca 30 CE) The one God of Israel, YHWH our God, called Kyrios 'o Theos (LXX)
Mark 12:32-34 – "And the scribe said to him, 'Right, teacher! In truth you say that He is one, and there is no other but He....'
And when Jesus saw that he had answered intelligently, he said to him, 'You are not far from the kingdom of God!'"
  • The wise scribe (ca 30 CE)
  • Reaffirmed by Jesus of Nazareth 
  • Reported by the writer of Mark (perhaps as early as the 40s or 50s CE; Thiede & D'Ancona, 1996; Thiede, 2000)
 The one God of Israel, YHWH our God, called Kyrios 'o Theos (LXX), beside Him there is no other
Pater noster: Jesus' Jubilee Kingdom prayer

Matthew 6:9-13a (=Luke 6:2-4) – "Our Father the (One) in the heavens.... [Pater 'imon 'O en tois ouranois]"
 
  • Jesus of Nazareth (ca 30 CE)
  • The Q tradition (whether oral or written, ~30s-50s CE; Crossan & Reed, 2001; etc.)
  • Approved by writers of Matthew (~60s CE; Thiede & D'Ancona, 1996) & Luke (probably after 70 CE, cf. 'armed encampments,' 21:20, and earthworks built against Jerusalem, 19:43-44, perh. 80-85 CE; Fitzmeyer, 1993)
 Our Father and the Father of Jesus
  • Jesus: "I go to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God" (John 20)
The 1st Christian confession
Simon Peter in Caesarea Philippi in response to Jesus' questions:
Matthew 16:13, 16 – "'Who do men say that the Son of man is?'.... 'But who do you say that I am?'"

Matthew 16:16-18 – "Simon Peter answered, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!' And Jesus said to him, 'Congratulations to you, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal (this) to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter [Petros], and on this rock [petra, confession of Christ] I will build my church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it!'"
  • Simon Peter (ca 30 CE)
  • Affirmed by Jesus of Nazareth as the foundation of the church
  • Approved throughout NT times (~30-90s CE): Mt 14:33; Mr 8:29; Lu 9:20; Joh 6:69; 11:27; Ac 8:37; 9:20; Heb 1:2, 5; 1Jo 4:15; 5:5; etc., etc.)
 The living God is the Father of Jesus = my Father who is in the heavens
John 5:43-44 – "I have come in the name of my Father, and you do not receive me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive. How can you believe, (you) receiving glory from one another and not seeking the glory that comes from the one and only God? [tou mono Theou]"
  • Jesus of Nazareth (ca 30 CE)
  • Reported in John (perh. ~85 CE; for discussion of this possibility and others, see Smalley, 1993; other datings have been proposed)
 The Father of Jesus = the One and Only God in whose name Jesus came
John 8:42 – "Jesus said to them, 'If God were your Father, you would have loved me, for from God I came and have come; for not of my own accord have I come, but that One ['ekeinos] sent me."
  • Jesus of Nazareth (ca 30 CE)
  • Reported in John (perh. ~85 CE)
 The Father of Jesus = God, that One who sent Jesus
John 10:30-36 – "'For a good work we do not stone you, but for blasphemy, because you a man makes yourself God.' Jesus answered them, 'Is it not written in your law, 'I said, You are gods.' If He called them gods to whom the word of God came (and Scripture cannot be broken), how can you say, 'you blaspheme' because I said, 'I am the Son of Go'?"
  • Jesus of Nazareth (ca 30 CE) defining his saying, "I and my Father are one" when accused of blasphemy, citing Ps. 82; A 'oneness' of Sender and sent, of God and Son of God, not of co-equality. 
  • Reported in John (perh. ~85 CE)
 The Father of Jesus 
John 17:3 – "This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God [ton monon alethinon Theon], and Jesus (the) Christ whom You have sent."
  • Jesus of Nazareth (ca 30 CE)
  • Reported in John (perh. ~85 CE)
 The One Sender who sent Jesus
Romans 3:30 – "Or (is He) the God of the Jews only? Not also of the nations? Yes, of the nations too, since God is one, who will justify circumcision by faith and uncircumcision through faith."
10:9 – "So if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
15:6 – "so that with one accord with one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."
16:25-27 – "Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the announcement of Jesus (the) Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept silent for long ages past, but now is manifested through the prophetic Scriptures according to the decree [epitagen] of the eternal God, made known to all the nations unto obedience of faith! To the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be the glory until forever! Amen."		 Paul of Tarsus in the letter to the Romans (~57 CE; Bruce, 1993)
  • God is one 
  • the God and Father of our Lord Jesus the Christ
  • The eternal God = the One who kept secret the prophetic mystery of Christ which is now revealed!
  • The eternal God = the only wise God who is glorified forever, through Jesus the Christ
I Corinthians 8:4-7 – "...we know that there is no idol in the world, because (there is) no God but one. For even if there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth... yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we in Him, and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and we through him. But not all have this knowledge...."
15:(21-)24(-)28 – "...then comes the end, when he [Christ] hands over the kingdom to the God and Father.... When all things are subjected to him [Christ the last Adam], then the Son himself will also be subjected to Him [God] who put all things under him, that God may be all in all" (conclusion to an extended Adamic passage).		 Paul of Tarsus in the 1st letter to the Corinthians (early 50s CE; Holladay, 1993; perh. 51-53 CE; Allison, 1998)
  • No God but one = the one God is the Father, the Father of our Lord Jesus the Christ (Messiah)
  • The God and Father of Jesus Christ, the last Adam, is the One to whom the Son finally subjected so that God may be all in all
Galatians 3:20 – "Now a mediator implies more than one; but God is one" cf. 1:1, 3. Paul of Tarsus in the letter to the Galatians (ca 48 CE; Bruce, 1993) The Father of Jesus = the one God before whom the Christ mediates
Philippians 2:9-11 – "For this reason [dio kai] also, God super-exalted ['yper'ypsosen] him, and bestowed on him the name over all names, that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus (the) Christ is Lord, to the glory [doxa] of God, the Father." Paul of Tarsus in the letter to the Philippians: If from Rome, c 60 CE, if from Caesarea c 58 CE (Hawthorne, 1993) God, the Father of Jesus (because of Jesus' obedience unto death) has super-exalted him and bestowed on him the name above all others (Lord and Christ) to the glory of God, the Father
Ephesians 4:4-6 – "One body and one spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, the One over all and through all and in all." Paul of Tarsus in the letter to the Ephesians (perh. 61-63 CE from Rome; or between 70-100 CE if pseudonymous, i.e., written by a disciple in Paul's name; Barth, 1993)
  • The one God and Father of Jesus and everyone else
  • the One over all!
1 Timothy 2:5 – "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, a man Christ Jesus."
6:13-16 – "I charge you in the presence of God who gives life to all, and of Christ Jesus who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate, that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which He will bring about at the proper time – He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has ever seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen."		 Paul of Tarsus in the 1st letter to Timothy (prob. from the aged Paul before ca 65 C; Karris, 1993; note that a fragment, 7Q4, of II Timothy has been found at Qumran, which was destroyed by the Roman armies in 68 CE; Thiede, 2000) 
  • The one God before whom a man mediates, Christ Jesus, i.e., Messiah Jesus (title & name)
  • cf. time of Jesus' appearing is reserved in the Father's authority, Acts 1:7; only the Father knows the time of the Advent (Mark 13), Jesus Christ = 'the image of the invisible God' (Col. 1)
Hebrews 2:11 – "For both the sanctifier [Christ] and the sanctified (ones) are all from One [ex Enos pantes, i.e., from One (Father, God)] for which cause he [Christ] is not ashamed to call them brothers." An unknown author in a letter to Jewish Christians sometime before the fall of Jerusalem (70 CE) given the indication that the temple sacrificial services were still taking place (Hughes, 1993) God = the one Father of both the sanctifier and the sanctified, i.e., of both Christ and Christians, so that they all are brothers
James 1:27 – "Religion that is clean and undefiled before the God and Father is this: To visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world."
2:19 – "You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe – and shudder."		 James, the brother of Jesus, in the letter to the '12 tribes scattered abroad' probably composed and edited between James' martyrdom (61 CE) and the fall of Jerusalem (70 CE; Davids, 1993) 
  • God = the Father
  • God is one
Jude 25 "To the only God our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen." Jude in the letter 'to the called, the beloved' (a work which cites II Peter, hence late 1st century to early 2nd century CE; Bauckham, 1993; cf. Best & Bauckham, 1993; on the Petrine epistles)
  • The only God our Saviour (Principal)
  • Through Jesus (the) Christ our Lord (agent)
Revelation 1:1 – "The revelation of Jesus (the) Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants what must soon take place; and he made it known by sending his angel to his servant John"
3:12 – "He who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God; never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name" (RSV)		 John in the apocalyptic circulating letter to the 7 churches in Roman Asia (Greer, 2003) which as per Irenaeus, c 180 CE, probably dates toward the end of the Emperor Domitian's tenure, 81-96 CE, although earlier dates have been proposed; Sweet, 1993)
  • God = the One who gave Christ the revelation, who revealed it by his angel, to his servant John, who wrote it for the 7 churches in Asia
  • The Father is the God of Jesus
As we shall see in future studies, there are many other NT texts that emphasize the same central and foundational truth, and none to the contrary.

The Jesus tradition and the NT authors strongly and repeatedly affirm the shema Israel (~30s CE to the end of the 1st century CE) that there is only one God, and that He is the God and Father of Jesus and also our Father, the One in the heavens.  Whatever exalted titles and honors are bestowed on the Christ in the NT, all are subordinated to this central truth, all are delegated by the one God of heaven and earth. The NT insists that the shema Israel continues to apply to Israel expanded to include gentile Christians (see Eph. 2:11-13; etc.). To recognize the genuine monotheistic foundation of all true christology is not a minimalist hermeneutic as some charge nor is it the maximalist-expansionist hermeneutic found in the post-apostolic, Nicean-Chalcedonic tradition (4th-5th centuries CE). Rather let us aspire to an actualist and exegetical NT christology: Let us confess about the Christ all that the NT confesses in the original sense it is confessed, no more no less, to the glory of our one God and Father (Phil. 2:2-11).

Discussion – How do you read?

"Historical criticism has the necessary function of bringing into focus the issues that only faith can decide. . . . We must distinguish between clarity as to what the promise is and certainty that God will fulfill it. The former may be aided by the work of the historian; the latter can rest solely on faith"
(Howard Clark Kee speaking in the debt of Wolfhart Pannenberg; cited in Kee, 1970).

A) Questions from history:

B) Questions of personal commitment: How do you read?
References

Aland B, Aland K, Karavidopoulos J, Martini CM, Metzger BM. 1998: The Greek New Testament (4th Rev. Ed.). Stuttgart, Germany: Deutsche Bibelgessallschaft, United Bible Societies.

Allison DC. 1998. Jesus of Nazareth: Millenarian prophet. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press.

Barth MK. 1993. "The letter of Paul to the Ephesians." In: BM Metzger and MD Coogan (eds.), The Oxford companion to the Bible. New York, NY / Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Bauckham RJ. 1993. "The letter of Jude." In: BM Metzger and MD Coogan (eds.), The Oxford companion to the Bible. New York, NY / Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Best E & Bauckham RJ. 1993. "The letters of Peter." In: BM Metzger and MD Coogan (eds.), The Oxford companion to the Bible. New York, NY / Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Bruce FF. 1993. "The letter of Paul to the Galatians." In: BM Metzger and MD Coogan (eds.), The Oxford companion to the Bible. New York, NY / Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Crossan JD & Reed JL. 2001. Excavating Jesus: Beneath the stones, behind the texts – the key discoveries for understanding Jesus in his world. New York, NY: HarperSanFrancisco, a division of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.

Davids PH. 1993. "The letter of James." In: BM Metzger and MD Coogan (eds.), The Oxford companion to the Bible. New York, NY / Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Fitzmeyer JA. 1974. Essays on the Semitic Background of the New Testament. Missoula, Montana: Scholar’s Press, University of Montana.

____. 1993. "The Gospel according to Luke." In: BM Metzger and MD Coogan (eds.), The Oxford companion to the Bible. New York, NY / Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Garcia Martinez F. 1996. The Dead Sea Scrolls Translated: The Qumran Texts in English (Wilfred Watson, translator; 2nd ed.). Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans.

Greer LF. 2001. "The Jubilee Day of Atonement enthronement – 11Q13 and the New Testament proclamation." The Jesus Institute Forum: http://www.jesusinstituteforum.org/LAPart2.html.

____. 2003. "The Revelation: The Covenant and the Christ." The Jesus Institute Forum: http://www.jesusinstituteforum.org/Rev1HCE.html.

____. 2005. "Jesus and the revolutionary Kingdom of God: From the ancient Near East to the Common Era, an emerging ethic." The Jesus Institute Forum: http://www.jesusinstituteforum.org/JKG-ethics.html.

Hawthorne GF. 1993. "The letter of Paul to the Philippians." In: BM Metzger and MD Coogan (eds.), The Oxford companion to the Bible. New York, NY / Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Holladay CR. 1993. "The letters of Paul to the Corinthians." In: BM Metzger and MD Coogan (eds.), The Oxford companion to the Bible. New York, NY / Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Hughes PE. 1993. "The letter to the Hebrews." In: BM Metzger and MD Coogan (eds.), The Oxford companion to the Bible. New York, NY / Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Karris RJ. 1993. "The pastoral letters [I, II Timothy, Titus]." In: BM Metzger and MD Coogan (eds.), The Oxford companion to the Bible. New York, NY / Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Kee HC. 1970. Jesus in history: An approach to the study of the gospels. New York, NY: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc.

Smalley SS. 1993. "The Gospel according to John." In: BM Metzger and MD Coogan (eds.), The Oxford companion to the Bible. New York, NY / Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Sweet J. 1993. "Revelation." In: BM Metzger and MD Coogan (eds.), The Oxford companion to the Bible. New York, NY / Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Thiede CP. 2000. The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Jewish origins of Christianity. New York, NY: Palgrave, St. Martin's Press LLC Scholarly and Reference Division and Palgrave Publishers, Ltd.

Thiede CP & D'Ancona M. 1996. Eyewitness to Jesus: Amazing new manuscript evidence about the origin of the gospels. New York, NY: Doubleday; Bantam, Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc.

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