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An in-depth look at the Christian scriptures—from a Jewish perspective.
On Christmas day 1925, Rabbi Stephen S.Wise, one of the twentieth century’s most influential Jewish leaders, gave a lecture at Carnegie Hall in New York City titled “A Jew’s View of Jesus.” He argued that Jesus, in fact, existed, contrary to popular Jewish opinion at that time. He said, “Neither Christian protest nor Jewish lamentation can annul the fact that Jesus was a Jew, an Hebrew of Hebrews.”
Thirty years later, Rabbi Samuel Sandmel set out to explain and introduce—for the first time in scholarly detail from a Jewish perspective—the enigmatic character of the texts held sacred by Christians, the so-called New Testament that surrounds and presents the figure of Jesus.
In this new edition of Sandmel’s classic work, you will encounter his lucid and brilliant introduction to the New Testament from a Jewish point of view, transcending the boundaries of religion in order to share in the profound perplexities and deep aspirations that we as human beings have been inspired to express.
"Now when it is needed more than ever, at last the definitive classic is back. Samuel Sandmel—beloved teacher of Bible to generations of Reform rabbis—guides Jews through the beauty, subtlety, and difficulty of Christian scripture. Don't open the desk drawer in a motel room without Sandmel in your other hand."
—Rabbi Lawrence Kushner, author of Filling Words with Light: Hasidic and Mystical Reflections on Jewish Prayer
"This is a classic in every sense of the term. Sandmel guides us patiently through the early writings of the Christian Church—Paul and the Epistles, the Gospels and the other writings—with scholarly acumen, sound historical judgement and sympathy. Particularly striking is his treatment of both the genuine controversies within and between the individual books and the overarching unity of the whole."
—Rabbi Neil Gillman, professor of Jewish philosophy at The Jewish Theological Seminary; author of The Death of Death: Resurrection and Immortality in Jewish Thought and The Jewish Approach to God: A Brief Introduction for Christians
Preface to the Third Edition
Preface
New Forward
Part One: Preliminaries
I. A Description of the New Testament
II. The Historian's Approach
III. The Jewish Background
IV. From Judaism into Christianity
Part Two: Paul and the Pauline Epistles
V. The Background of Paulinism
VI. Paul
VII. Paul’s Doctrine of Christ
VIII. The Church and the Law of Moses
IX. The Epistles of Paul
X. Pauline Christianity and Greek Religion
Part Three: The Synoptic Gospels and Jesus
XI. The Gospel Process
XII. The Gospel According to Mark
XIII. Beyond the Gospel According to Mark
XIV. The Gospel According to Matthew
XV. The Gospel According to Luke
XVI. The Historical Jesus
Part Four: Other Writings
XVII. Catholic, Johannine, and Pastoral Epistles
XVIII. The Epistle of James
XIX. The First Epistle of Peter
XX. The Epistle of the Hebrews
XXI. The Johannine Epistles
XXII. Revelation
XXIII. Acts of the Apostles
XXIV. The Gospel According to John
XXV. The Pastoral Epistles
XXVI. Jude and Second Peter
Part Five: The Significance of the New Testament
XXVII. The Genius of the New Testament Faith
XXVIII. Epilogue
Bibliography
Indices