Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, 2nd ed. (IVP Bible Dictionary)

by Joel B. Green; Jeannine K. Brown; Nicholas Perrin

Publishers:

IVP Academic; Inter-Varsity

, 2013

Overview

The second edition of the Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels is a thoroughly reconstructed and revised version of the critically acclaimed 1992 first edition. Since that groundbreaking volume was published, a wave of Jesus and Gospel scholarship has crested and broken on the shores of a new century.

Jesus has been proposed as sage, shaman, revolutionary, marginal Jew, Mediterranean peasant or a prophet of Israel’s restoration. The non-canonical Gospels have been touted, examined and reassessed. There are revised understandings of historiography, orality, form criticism, empire and more. The second edition of the Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels amply weighs and assess the gains and shortcomings of this new scholarship.

Here is a self-contained reference library of information and perspective essential to exploring Jesus and the Gospels. This volume bridges the gap between scholars and those pastors, teachers, students and interested readers who want thorough treatments of key topics in an accessible and summary format. Articles cover each Gospel, major themes in the Gospels, key episodes in the life of Jesus, significant background topics, as well as issues and methods of interpretation.

Among other benefits, it allows multiple opportunities for each of the Gospels to be weighed and heard in its own voice. Bibliographies are full and up to date, putting readers in touch with the best work in the field. All of this allows the articles to serve as launching pads for further research.

When the first edition of the Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels was published, it was immediately recognized as an innovative reference work. By taking a particular corpus of biblical books and exploring it with in-depth articles written by specialists in the field, it refashioned a staple reference genre. This dictionary model has now been applied to each segment of the biblical canon in successive volumes.

Those who have enjoyed and benefitted from the wealth in the first edition will find the second edition an equally indispensable companion to study and research. Over ninety percent of the articles have been completely rewritten, and the rest thoroughly revised and updated. Here is the doorway into a reliable and comprehensive summary and appraisal of the last twenty years of Jesus scholarship. A new generation of scholars has opened the way to make this a Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels for the twenty-first century.

The Logos digital edition of this masterpiece brings new life to your research. Important theological terms, people, places, and key words in your Bible Facts tool and in your right-click menu link to articles in the Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, so the research in this resource is never far from hand. Get key insights to the Gospel you’re studying as you find terms in your Bible that link to this dictionary, elucidating nearly every text in your favorite Bible translation. Bring the research with you on your mobile device or laptop as you carry this volume (among many others) in your Logos library wherever you go.

Contents

Top Highlights

“C. H. Dodd, which has served several generations of interpreters well despite their wide array of competing interpretive interests: ‘At its simplest a parable is a metaphor or simile drawn from nature or common life, arresting the hearer by its vividness or strangeness, and leaving the mind in sufficient doubt about its precise application to tease it into active thought’ (Dodd, 5).” (Page 652)

“Wright thinks that when Jesus referred to the ‘kingdom of God,’ he was using a kind of shorthand for Israel’s story, that both Jesus and his listeners knew this story well, and that Jesus’ formulation of the story was intended to recall that story so as to transform it. That is, Jesus ‘engaged in that characteristically Jewish activity of subversively retelling the basic Jewish story, and adjusting the other worldview elements accordingly’ (Wright, 201).” (Page 469)

“Luke’s overarching theme is *salvation—God’s action to restore God’s people, Jesus’ coming to announce and make plain God’s royal rule, and the concomitant appeal to God’s people to welcome and align themselves with God’s saving agenda.” (Page 546)

“Burridge has argued that to write a biography is to use a genre that places a person at center stage, where only the Torah should be (Burridge 2000, 155–56). Therefore, the biographical genre of the Gospels is making an explicit theological claim about the centrality of Jesus: the christological statement that God is revealed in the life, death and resurrection of this person.” (Page 341)

“Jesus took a commonly occurring phenomenon—a master with disciples—and used it as an expression of the kind of relationship that he would develop with his followers, but he would mold and shape it to form a unique form of discipleship, far different than others.” (Page 203)

Praise for the Print Edition

For over a decade now, I have assigned my NT Introduction students articles from the Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels. It has become a standard, and very popular, reference work on the subject. I am very pleased to see that now we have a second edition of this useful tool so that a further generation of Bible students can benefit. Not only do I highly recommend this volume, I require my students to read it!

—Ben Witherington III, Amos Professor for Doctoral Studies, Asbury Theological Seminary

This new edition of the Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, made by a star-studded list of contributors, contains a wealth of material that scholars, seminarians, pastors and laypeople will not be able to find anywhere else so conveniently. The editorial decision to focus on substantial articles allows an unusual depth to discussions. An already classic dictionary is now set to become a new classic.

—Peter J. Williams, warden, Tyndale House

Twenty years ago IVP began its groundbreaking series of dictionaries on large segments of the Bible with an outstanding volume on Jesus and the Gospels. To keep current with scholarship, the articles have now been completely reworked and updated. Very few articles are written by the people who wrote them originally, a number of new entries have been added and a few deleted, and the emphasis on the distinctives of the four Evangelists is even greater than before. The contributors represent an ‘all-star’ cast of contemporary, largely evangelical scholars, with noticeably greater representation by women and minorities. No serious student of Scripture will want to be without this volume.

—Craig L. Blomberg, Distinguished Professor of New Testament, Denver Seminary

Product Details

• Title: Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, Second Edition
• Authors: Joel B. Green, Jeannine K. Brown, Nicholas Perrin
• Series: IVP Dictionary of the New Testament
• Publishers: IVP Academic, Inter-Varsity
• Print Publication Date: 2013
• Logos Release Date: 2014
• Pages: 1088
• Era: era:Contemporary
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subject: Bible. N.T. › Dictionaries
• ISBNs: 9780830884384, 0830884386
• Resource ID: LLS:DCTJSSGSSCNDDTN
• Resource Type: Encyclopedia
• Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-29T23:13:43Z

About the Editor

Joel B. Green (BS, MTh, PhD) is professor of New Testament interpretation at Fuller Theological Seminary. He was vice president of academic affairs, provost and professor of New Testament interpretation at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky. Prior to his appointment at Asbury in 1997, he was associate professor of New Testament at the American Baptist Seminary of the West/Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California.