Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels - (IVP Bible Dictionary) 2nd Edition by Joel B Green (Hardcover)

About the Book

Showcasing the work of a new generation of scholars, this volume surveys scholarship and method in historical Jesus studies, New Testament textual criticism and more. Nearly all 175 articles have been reconceived and rewritten to reflect developments in the field since the 1992 edition.

Book Synopsis

ECPA Christian Book Award Winner
Readers' Choice Award Winner
Biblical Foundations Award Winner
Preaching's Preacher's Guide to the Best Bible Reference

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 DJG 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.

Reference volumes in the IVP Bible Dictionary Series provide in-depth treatment of biblical and theological topics in an accessible, encyclopedia format, including cross-sectional themes, methods of interpretation, significant historical or cultural background, and each Old and New Testament book as a whole.

Review Quotes

"[A]n excellent resource for those who really want to go deeper into the Gospels and the Messiah to whom they faithfully witness."

--Rev. Dr. Bob Robinson, Latimer Fellowship, 2015

"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, and author of A Week in the Life of Corinth

"Nourished especially by the evangelical tradition and yet well informed by wider debates and perspectives, this extensively updated edition of the Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels is sure to continue the success of the first edition in providing for its readers clear, scholarly guidance on the themes, characters and major hermeneutical issues that one meets in reading the four Gospels. Its clear and accessible arrangement, supporting bibliographies and substantial treatments of its chosen topics render the Dictionary an invaluable resource for beginning students and established scholars alike."

--Murray Rae, professor of theology at the University of Otago, NZ

"Since its initial publication, the Dictionary of Jesus as the Gospels has been a key reference work that I've recommended often, and in this revised and updated edition it will surely continue to have my recommendation. It is a handy desk reference for scholars, and an informative introduction and overview of a multitude of topics for students and general readers."

--Larry W. Hurtado, professor emeritus, University of Edinburgh

"The articles are carefully written, edited, and indexed, and they end with a bibliography. They will lead serious readers (including nonspecialists) through various issues, including thorny ones, to plausible, defensible understandings. Highly recommended."

--P. L. Redditt, CHOICE, March 2014

"The editors have matched the most important topics on the most important subject in the world with the people best qualified to write on them. Each article in this wonderful Dictionary is, if not an education, then an online course in itself."

--Kevin J. Vanhoozer, research professor of systematic theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

"The IVP Dictionaries were an instant classic when they began to appear over two decades ago. They are inevitably the first volumes I turn to for current discussions on a variety of New Testament topics. Written by critical scholars who have an evangelical faith commitment, they provide quick yet comprehensive access to a myriad of topics of interest to students of the New Testament. The second edition of the Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels continues the tradition of accessible scholarship: it includes superb articles, a good number of which are written by cutting-edge scholars on their respective topics. The list of contributors is a veritable who's who of evangelical Gospels scholarship. I enthusiastically welcome this revised edition and will keep it within easy reach for trustworthy entrées into the world of the Evangelists and their Lord."

--Daniel B. Wallace, professor of New Testament Studies, Dallas Theological Seminary, and executive director, Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts

"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, Cambridge

About the Author

Nicholas Perrin is Franklin S. Dyrness Professor of Biblical Studies, Wheaton College. He is the author of Thomas, the Other Gospel, Jesus the Temple and Lost in Transmission: What We Can Know About the Words of Jesus.

Jeannine K. Brown is professor of New Testament, Bethel Seminary San Diego. She is the author of The Disciples in Narrative Perspective and Scripture as Communication: Introducing Biblical Hermeneutics, and two commentaries on Matthew.

Joel B. Green is professor of New Testament interpretation and associate dean for the Center for Advanced Theological Studies, Fuller Theological Seminary. He was an editor of the first edition of the Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels and is the author and editor of numerous books, including The Gospel of Luke (NICNT), Body, Soul and Human Life: The Nature of Humanity in the Bible, The Theology of the Gospel of Luke and (with Mark Baker) Recovering the Scandal of the Cross.