Bible Review, February 1993
Features
Reinterpreting John
How the Dead Sea Scrolls have revolutionized our understanding of the Gospel of John
Before the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, many scholars considered the Fourth Gospel—the Gospel According to John—to be a mid-to-late-second-century composition inspired by Greek philosophy. Today, 45 years later, a growing scholarly consensus finds John to be a first-century composition. More surprising still, it is perhaps...Read more ›
John’s Anti-Jewish Polemic
In the previous article, Professor Charlesworth calls the Gospel of John the most Jewish of the Gospels. This means, not that it is pro-Jewish or sympathetic to Jewish interests, but that it is by and about Jews acting in a Jewish environment. In fact, the Gospel of...Read more ›
Rings of Gold—Neither “Modest” Nor “Sensible”
Several passages in the New Testament discourage Christian women—and men—from adorning themselves with gold rings. But by the time the Christian movement became more secure—and wealthier—one Church father said gold rings were all right—at least for limited purposes. The many gold rings that have been recovered from...Read more ›
What Are Pagan River Gods Doing in Scenes of Jesus’ Baptism?
From its earliest days, one of the most popular scenes in Christian art has been John the Baptist baptizing Jesus in the Jordan River—and understandably so. Jesus’ baptism is a central moment in the Gospel narrative. The standard cast of characters in the baptism scene includes the...Read more ›
Was Eve Cursed?
(or did a woman write Genesis?)
In a recent popular book entitled The Book of J—for a period in 1990, it was on the best-seller list—Harold Bloom argues that the biblical author known to scholars as J was a woman. J is the name scholars give to what is probably the oldest authorial...Read more ›