Explores the socio-economic background of people in the New Testament using papyrological evidence from Roman Egypt.

This collection of frequently cited articles and chapters, published from 1962 to 2004, provides perspective, with critique, on the history, development, and methodologies of New Testament textual criticism, with emphasis on the role of papyri in antiquity and in current theory.

This volume provides novel social-scientific and historical approaches to religious identifications in late antique (3rd–12th century) Egyptian papyri, bridging the gap between two academic fields that have been infrequently in full conversation: papyrology and the study of religion. Through eleven in-depth case studies of Christian, Islamic, “pagan,” Jewish, Manichaean, and Hermetic texts and objects, this book offers new interpretations on markers of religious identity in papyrus documents written in Coptic, Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic, and Arabic. Using papyri as a window into the lives of ordinary believers, it explores their religious behavior and choices in everyday life. Three valuable perspectives are outlined and explored in these documents: a critical reflection on the concept of identity and the role of religious groups, a situational reading of religious repertoire and symbols, and a focus on speech acts as performative and efficacious utterances. Religious Identifications in Late Antique Papyri offers a wide scope and comparative approach to this topic, suitable for students and scholars of late antiquity and Egypt, as well as those interested in late antique religion. A PDF version of this book is available for free in Open Access at www.taylorfrancis.com. It has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

Drawing from Greco-Roman history, Second-Temple Jewish studies, archaeology, the social world of the New Testament, parable studies, and the burgeoning literature on Galilee, The People of the Parables describes life in first-century Galilee as it was experienced by the characters in Jesus' parables. R. Alan Culpepper assesses both primary literature and recent research on Galilee--including important archaeological discoveries--and fashions a new and insightful social history of Galilee, the people of the parables, and the historical context of Jesus' ministry. Culpepper builds this history by elucidating the lives of first-century Galileans featured in Jesus' parables: children, women, daughters, mothers, widows, fathers, sons, landowners, tenants, day laborers, debtors, farmers, fishermen, shepherds, merchants, travelers, innkeepers, masters, slaves, tax collectors, judges, Pharisees, priests, Levites, Samaritans, bandits, and, finally, Jesus. Who these people were--their place in Galilean society, how they lived, socialized, worshiped, and conducted business; how they were educated--is described in straightforward, nontechnical language. Culpepper brings new meanings to the parables for today's readers by shedding light on the people of Galilee in the time of Jesus.

Die Universitätsbibliothek in Basel ist im Besitz einer kleinen Papyrussammlung von 63 Papyri aus ptolemäischer, römischer sowie spätantiker Zeit in überwiegend griechischer, aber auch hieratischer, lateinischer, koptischer und mittelpersischer Sprache. Der Freiwillige Museumsverein der Stadt Basel erwarb sie im Jahre 1899 für die Universitätsbibliothek und machte damit Basel zur einer der ersten Universitäten, die im Besitz einer Sammlung griechischer Papyri war. Im frühen 20. Jahrhundert nahm sich zwar der an der Universität Basel als Professor für Rechtsgeschichte lehrende Ernst Rabel (Basel 1906-1910) der Sammlung an und bearbeitete einige ausgewählte Texte. Doch er beließ es bei einer Auswahl von 26 Papyri, die er als „Papyrusurkunden der Öffentlichen Bibliothek der Universität zu Basel" während des 1. Weltkriegs im Jahre 1917 publizierte. Dieser Band bietet nun eine Reedition der bereits bekannten Stücke und eine Erstedition aller weiteren Basler Papyri.

This volume covers the transition period stretching from the reign of Justinian I to the end of the 8th century, focusing on the experience of individuals who lived through the last decades of Byzantine rule in Egypt before the arrival of the new Arab rulers. The contributions drawing from the wealth of sources we have for Egypt, explore phenomena of stability and disruption during the transition from the classical to the postclassical world.

This volume brings together a series of innovative studies on Roman, Byzantine, and Islamic Palestine, Qumran and the Dead Sea Scrolls, and ancient synagogues in honor of renowned archaeologist Jodi Magness.