Robert L. Mowery

Book Reviews: Andries van Aarde, FATHERLESS IN GALILEE: JESUS AS A CHILD OF GOD. Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International, 2001. Pp. viii + 246. Paper,

As indicated by this book’s arresting title, this book argues that Jesus was a &dquo;fatherless&dquo; child. Assuming that the boy Jesus would have experienced the painful hurts inflicted on such children by firstcentury Galilean society, van Aarde claims that this factor provides explanatory power for various aspects of Jesus’ ministry, such as his identification of God as his heavenly Father, his non-patriarchal ethos, and his compassion for women, children, the sick, and other powerless people. Van Aarde is Professor of New Testament at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. The argument begins with the fact that the figure of Joseph is absent from Paul, Mark, Q, and the Gospel of Thomas. Although many scholars suggest that Joseph’s absence from these sources means that he must have died prior to Jesus’ ministry, van Aarde argues that no known father played a role in the life of the histor-

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ences to the region but by depicting it in language whose vividness derives from the author’s lived sociocultural and spiritual experience in the area. Chapter Three demonstrates how each evangelist incorporated distinctive aspects ofGalilee into the gospel text. Mark featured places and symbolism. Matthew inserted details ofGalilean life into Jesus’ sermons. Luke highlighted the “marginal” people of “marginal” Galilee. John depicted a place of relative peace for Jesus and his followers. Chapter Four masterfully brings all these insights into a practical focus for the prayer life of a Christian. A select bibliographyofhighquality resources completes the book. Sister Hennessy provides not only a treasure trove of information, insight, and inspiration, but also a n admirable literary model worthy of imitation in form and style by other scholars.

Book Review: Jesus of Nazareth: Lord and Christ, Essays on the Historical Jesus and New Testament Christology

In a work published in 1863, H. J. HoltZllla1117 divided Matthew’s scriptural quotations into two groups. While the quotations which have synoptic parallels preserve texts from the Septuagint, most of the quotations found only in Matthew have texts based on the Hebrew. To test this proposal, New examines thirty-six scriptural quotations found in the synoptic Gospels. These quotations appear in sixty-five synoptic passages, including thirty-five passages in Mat-

Book Reviews: David S. New, Old Testament Quotations in the Synoptic Gospels, and the Two-Document Hypothesis. Septuagint and Cognate Studies, 37; Atlanta, GA: Scholars Press, 1993. Pp. viii + 140. Cloth,

ness, a new community-ethic and discipline, and a new set of rules with regard to the civil realm and outsiders contributed towards community members’ self-understanding. While the Jewish leadership, referred to by Matthew as the scribes and the Pharisees, were flatly condemned, the Galilean based Matthean community viewed themselves as the &dquo;true Israel,&dquo; as the heir of God’s kingdom. Due to many similarities between the Matthean community,

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even bold, yet fraught with exegetical and methodological imponderables. On the other hand, Waetjen’s suggestive analysis of Mark’s community whets one’s curiosity about its precise, sociopolitical setting. Along the way, various whispers are audible: the breakdown of Jewish purity codes (pp. 89-90); the wild popularity of the gospel among Gentiles (p. 138); the struggle, among Jesus’ followers, between faith and incompetent despair (pp. 139-64). Could these and other clues (cf. pp. 1-26) be amalgamated into

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Ross6 begins with an extended introduction which provides an overview of the problem of the cry in the context of nineteenth century and early twentieth century biblical theology. Strong emphasis is then placed on the post-Bultmannian effort to recover a sense of the biblical text as having real historical import, rather than being nearly exclusively existential in orientation and impact. The brief first chapter takes the reader through the events of the crucifixion, interpreting them against the background of First Testament literature. For example, the darkness surrounding Jesus’ death may be seen in connection with Amos’ &dquo;Day of Yahweh&dquo; (Amos 8:9), or as a reference to Exod 10:22, i.e., the plague of darkness. After dealing with the text from this standard exegetical perspective, Ross6 turns his attention to the question of the historicity of the cry from the cross. He acknowledges that the materials we have at our disposal do not permit affirmation of the cry as historical. However, he agrees with those who hold,

Book Reviews: Robert C. Tannehill, The Narrative Unity of Luke-Acts: A Literary Interpretation. Volume Two: The Acts of the Apostles. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress, 1990. Pp. 398. Hardcover,

include socially marginal persons. &dquo;The temporal and social axes in fact intersect at Matt 10:5b-6&dquo; (p. 277). 11 unfolding her thesis, the author treats of the following areas: ichap. 1) the exclusivity logion (Matt 10:5b-6) and Matthean salvation history; (chap. 2) the genealogy; (chap. 3) the infancy; (chap. 4) the centurion and the sons of the kingdom; (chap. 5) the Canaanite woman in context; (chap. 6) the Great Commission ; (chap. 7) the rejection of the Jews (interpretation of the Great Commission with Matt 21:33-43; 22:1-14; 23:37-39, and the eschatological discourse Matt 25:1-13,14-30,31-46); (chap. 8) Jewish Guilt, Jewish Innocence and the True Israel (Matt 11-12; 13:1-51; 27:22-26). The book ends with a full bibliography and indices.

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variety of religious expression in Ancient Israel as represented through the history of and by different parts of the community. It is more appropriate to speak of the &dquo;The Religions of Israel&dquo; than to attempt to synthesize &dquo;The Faith of Israel.&dquo; Also, to discuss the religious experience of Israel as distinct from the history and literature is to suggest a false separation. Ancient Israel did not function with the idea of separation of &dquo;Church and State.&dquo;

Book Reviews: Brad H. Young, Jesus and His Jewish Parables. Rediscovering the Roots of Jesus' Teaching. New York/Mahwah: Paulist Press, 1989. Pp. 365. Paper,

the replacement of the old by the new in chaps. 2-4, and the emphasis on the Jewish feasts in chaps. 5-12. In this respect he is very close to the view of Dodd in some respects but particularly close to that of Brown. Nevertheless, in his detailed outline of the public ministry he focuses on a number of Christological themes (Jesus as Mediator of Life and Judgment, as Bread of Life, as Water and Light of Life, etc.) as the main topics concerning the Evangelist rather than the themes of replacement or the feasts. After Brown and Schnackenburg one might well ask whether anyone could really write a respected commentary on John in one volume. Beasley-Murray’s work gives a clear affirmative

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that suggest contact between Jesus and the Zealots or some measure of militancy on Jesus’ part (e.g. Luke 22:35-38 and Matthew 10:34, par.) have to be dealt with, and K. does so at length. What K. finds in this 30-plus page survey of the gospel materials is a striking uniformity in all the accounts; Jesus’ command to his disciples to love their enemies is &dquo;a positive, militant, but non-violent, message&dquo; (p. 102) which has as its consequence that they be part of a community which actively