Jesus against the Scribal Elite: The Origins of the Conflict, rev. ed.
Digital Verbum Edition
Overview
How did the controversy between Jesus and the scribal elite begin? We know that it ended on a cross, but what put Jesus on the radar of established religious and political leaders in the first place? Chris Keith argues this an answer to that question must go beyond typical explanations such as Jesus’s alternative views on Torah or his miracle working and consider his status as a teacher.
Keith examines Jesus’ own likely educational background, and situates Jesus within his first-century context, showing readers that some of the tensions between Jesus and the scribal authorities may have originated in Jesus’ own lack of formal education. Keith builds on his earlier work on Jesus’ literacy and uses insights from memory theory and ancient media studies to consider how Jesus’ actions and teachings may have specifically been seen to challenge an elitist scribal culture.
- Explores the tensions between Jesus and the scribal authorities
- Considers how Jesus’ actions and teachings may have specifically been seen to challenge an elitist scribal culture
- Examines Jesus’ likely educational background
- Preface to the Revised Edition
- Preface to the First Edition
- Introduction
- Teachers in the Time of Jesus
- Jesus as Teacher in the Gospels
- Assessing the Texts
- Jesus and Scribal Literacy
- The Content of the Conflict
- The Emergence of the Conflict
- Concluding Remarks
Well informed by current academic discussions of historical Jesus research, memory, orality, and literacy, Chris Keith adds a very important social dimension to understanding the conflicts between Jesus and other teachers of his day. This fascinating book makes a new and welcome contribution to the discussion.
—Craig S. Keener, Asbury Theological Seminary
This work is a well-researched, well-written, and significant contribution to the discussions of literacy and conflict in Jesus’s ministry and to discussions of the nature of the Gospels. Even if one disagrees with some of the conclusions, it offers a new perspective worthy of analysis and reflection.
—Klyne Snodgrass, North Park Theological Seminary
“This is a fresh and fruitful approach to a key aspect of the historical Jesus by one of the more creative younger scholars in the field.
—Richard Bauckham, University of St. Andrews; Ridley Hall, Cambridge