Volume I
Jesus research is a difficult task because of the number of primary source materials and their complexities. These complexities involve problems that arise from imperfect preservation of sources, uncertain literary relationships among the documents themselves, and even less certain knowledge of their respective provenances. Jesus research inevitably involves reaching behind the extant sources, inferring from what lies before us the nature of the material upon which the evangelists drew. This volume reviews the criteria, assumptions, and methods involved in critical Jesus research. Its purpose is to clarify the procedures necessary to distinguish tradition that stems from Jesus from tradition and interpretation that stem from later tradents and evangelists, and to inquire into the various forces and situations that led to the emergence of the tradition as we have it.
Volume II
In this companion volume to Authenticating the Words of Jesus, the authors examine the important issue of the original setting and context in which the words of Jesus were spoken. They proceed on the assumption that authenticating the activities of Jesus is just as important as authenticating his words. A historical framework, made up of several fairly certain facts, must be clarified and used as a primary criterion for determining which sayings and episodes ought to be considered the stronger candidates of authentic tradition and how they should be interpreted. Many of Jesus’ sayings cohere with historical elements and oftentimes either explain them or are explained by them. A complete study of the words of Jesus must also include a study of the activities of Jesus.
Please note that Authenticating the Words of Jesus (ISBN 90 04 11301 0) and Authenticating the Activities of Jesus (ISBN ISBN 90 04 11302 9) were previously published by Brill in hardback (still available seperately).
