Compendia Rerum Iudaicarum Ad Novum Testamentum ─ The Mystery of God, Early Jewish Mysticism and the New Testament

Explorations of the Jewish background of New Testament theology tend to focus on the legal/ethical sections of rabbinic literature rather than the apocalyptic literature which sought to reveal hidden truths about divine mysteries. In this sequel to The Jewish People in the First Century and The Literature of the Jewish People in the Period of the Second Temple and the Talmud, Rowland (exegesis of Holy Scripture, U. of Oxford) and Morray-Jones (PhD, JD, Oakland, CA) argue that the Jewish mystical traditions played an important role in the development of Christology. In this valuable contribution to this contested area, they follow Gershom Sholem's view of a continuous tradition of Jewish mysticism from the Second Temple period to medieval Kabbalah, while also examining non-mystical interpretations of rabbinic and Hekkalot literature in relation to the earliest Christian texts. The volume includes the cumulative bibliography to sections 1-3. Annotation c2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Christopher Rowland has been Dean Ireland Professor of the Exegesis of Holy Scripture, University of Oxford, and Fellow of Queen's College since 1991. His most recent book (with Judith Kovacs) is a commentary on the reception history of the Book of Revelation (2004).Christopher R.A. Morray-Jones, Ph.D. (1988) Cambridge University, J.D. (2006) University of California, Berkeley, is currently practicing law in Oakland, California.He is author of A Transparent Illusion: The Dangerous Vision of Water in Hekhalot Mysticism (JSJSup 59; Brill, 2002)