Jude and the Relatives of Jesus in the Early Church (Bloomsbury Academic Collections)

by Richard Bauckham

Publisher:

T&T Clark

, 2004

Overview

This volume is an original and important contribution to the study of the earliest Palestinian Jewish Christianity. For the first time all the evidence for the role which relatives of Jesus played in the early church is assembled and assessed. Dr. Bauckham discusses a wide range of evidence, not only from the New Testament but also from the Church Fathers, the New Testament Apocrypha, rabbinic literature and Palestinian archaeology. The letter of Jude, in particular, proves to have much to teach us about the theology of the brothers of Jesus and their circle. It illuminates their exegetical methods and their Christology and shows both to have been influential contributions to the development of early Christianity.

This study shows that this neglected New Testament book is far more important for the study of early Christianity than has hitherto been recognized. By setting the letter of Jude within the context of the evidence for the role of relatives of Jesus in the early church, new light is thrown on the letter and on early Jewish Christianity.

Contents

Top Highlights

“The conclusion which took me most by surprise during my work on this book was the discovery that the genealogy of Jesus recorded in Luke’s Gospel can be shown to derive from the same circle as Jude. Properly understood, it is a sophisticated theological document, a precious relic of the messianic-apocalyptic Christology which the brothers of Jesus preached on their missionary travels throughout Palestine.” (Pages 3–4)

“Mark 6:3 names four brothers of Jesus: James, Joses, Judas and Simon. In the Matthean parallel (13:55) the names are: James, Joseph, Simon and Judas.” (Page 6)

“We conclude that it is unlikely that any of the twelve were related to Jesus.” (Page 18)

“Of the three views the Hieronymian is the least plausible.” (Page 20)

“the Clopas of John 19:25 is likely to be the same person as the Cleopas of Luke 24:18.^{41” (Page 17)}

Product Details

• Title: Jude and the Relatives of Jesus in the Early Church
• Author: Richard Bauckham
• Publisher: T&T Clark
• Print Publication Date: 2004
• Logos Release Date: 2008
• Era: era:contemporary
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Jesus Christ › Family; Jesus Christ › Person and offices; Bible. N.T. Jude › Criticism, interpretation, etc; Jewish Christians › History--Early church, ca. 30-600; Jews in the New Testament
• ISBNs: 9780567082978, 0567082970
• Resource ID: LLS:JUDERELJESUS
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2025-01-16T19:19:01Z

About Richard Bauckham

Richard Bauckham (1946– ) was professor of New Testament studies at St Mary's College, University of St Andrews. He retired in 2007 from this position in order to concentrate on research and writing. He currently is the senior scholar at Ridley Hall in Cambridge and visiting professor at St. Mellitus College.

Bauckham earned a PhD at the University of Cambridge and was a fellow of St John's College. He taught theology for one year at the University of Leeds and for 15 years at the University of Manchester before teaching at the University of St Andrews. He is a fellow of the British Academy and a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

Bauckham is known for his commentary on Jude and 2 Peter in the Word Biblical Commentary and his book Jude and the Relatives of Jesus in the Early Church.