The Galilee Episode

Second Temple Pharisees conducted Clean-Up-the-Galilee campaign against gay and lesbian couples. Key evidence was ignored and suppressed by Christian and Jewish leadership. Luke's evidence demonstrates that Pharisees conducted vice raid and stings against gays and lesbians, unevenly due to legal jurisdictional dispute. "Catch and Release" policy resulted from conflict between Israeli and Roman law. Key evidence of Galilee Episode overlooked.1)Founder of Rabbinic Judaism, Yohanan b. Zakkai, stationed in Galilee between 20 and 40 CE: record sanitized for its incendiary legal precedent. 2)Scholars ignored Pharisees as law enforcement because of a) reaction against their knee-jerk utility as go-to bad guys for orthodox Christianity, b) dangers of further stoking anti-Judaism, and c) alleged lack of evidence of Pharisees in Galilee.3)Persecution sites Chorazin and Bethsaida ignored because of only one mention in Q. 4)Entrapment techniques undetected because of "messianic pretender" theologizing, an element present in Matthew but absent in Luke. 5)The gay and lesbian identities of the targets missed for theological and personal reasons. 6)Legal reasons for "Great Separation" unseen due to bias favoring apocalyptic judgment interpretations. (I.e., "God rescued one but not the other because...")7)Historically, the cause of "One was taken and the other left" in Luke 17:34-35 was a jurisdictional dispute between Pharisee Yohanan b. Zakkai and Philip the Tetrarch, who wouldn't allow his non-Jewish subjects to be prosecuted under the Jewish Torah. 8)The same-sex identity of the couples in Luke 17 denied by Christian theologians because it "contradicted" the Clobber Passages. Pericope Eiusdem Sexus (Luke 17:28-29, 34) created, emphasizing same-sex elements already present in Q source.Luke 17:35's sexual "grinding" was never slang or metaphorical, but a nearly universal idiom, present in Biblical Hebrew, Latin, koine Greek, Chaucer, Shakespeare, ubiquitous historically and today.Bible translators Bruce Metzger (RSV, NRSV) and Mark Strauss (NIV, TNIV) eliminated evidence for the gay and lesbian targets incrementally. Metzger eliminated "men" from one bed by 1951, Strauss eliminated lesbian ambiguity in 1984, and by 2005 all traces of gays and lesbians in English translations of Luke 17:34-35 was gone.

Text and Interpretation gives an insight into the many different approaches that more recent South African scholarship has adopted in the interpretation of the New Testament. While the number of approaches in New Testament interpretation has proliferated over the past few years, all the proposals still fall under one of the three traditional poles: sender (author) - text - receptor (reader). Classified according to this division each chapter has a twofold aim. Firstly, the perspective is situated within a wider framework of interpretation to illustrate the context out of which this approach emerges. Secondly, each article has selected a particular New Testament text to demonstrate this approach in practice. The authors of these chapters - the majority of which are South African scholars - were chosen because of their expertise in their specific fields. By presenting these studies together in one collection, the scholarship in these different areas will become more readily accessible to a wider group of scholars.

In this book, Harris Lenowitz explores the fascinating history of Jewish messianic movements. Looking in detail at all of the Jewish messiahs about whom anything is known, he introduces each of these figures in turn, and offers extensive excerpts of the original texts that tell their stories. The messiahs whom we meet in these pages range from the inspiring to the tragic and bizarre. By examining the messianic idea in the tradition which gave birth to it, Lenowitz both sheds new light on this engrossing aspect of Jewish history and provides a firmer basis for understanding contemporary messianic groups.

In June 2000, five internationally renowned biblical scholars and one equally well known systematic theologian traveled to Israel with 60 non-academic pilgrims to share their insights on the Jesus of history and the meaning of the "historians' Jesus" for Christian faith. The result is a book that provides a succinct summary of what is currently known about Jesus and his times-his setting in Galilee, his relationship to the Qumran community, his sense of mission as an eschatological prophet and miracle worker, and, finally, the mechanics of how the memories of Jesus's words and deeds circulated among his followers and were passed on in oral performance to be enshrined eventually in the written Synoptic tradition. The book concludes with reflections by Elizabeth Johnson on the relevance of such scholarship for contemporary Christian faith. Rather than a challenge to faith, she sees it as a gift.

JESUS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY THE UNIFIED GOSPEL Do you want Peace and Prosperity? Do you want Security and Happiness? Do you want Hope and Love? Readers of the 21st century are looking for such spiritual, social and cultural values in themselves, in other people and in a wide variety of other places. The Bible reveals truths about the values you may be seeking. The example of Jesus and his teachings in the gospels may provide the answers to many of your questions and problems. There are four gospels in the Bible, each telling the story of Jesus. Some episodes are included in each gospel which are omitted by one or more of the other three gospels. Some details included in one gospel are not found in the telling of the same episode in the other gospels. Therefore, this editor has sought to combine the four gospels with all the details and nuances of all four into a single narrative without adding to or omitting any event, dialogue or comment which the four evangelists wrote.

Stories, photos, and recipes from Israel’s culinary scene—a fusion of flavors from around the world. After years of travels elsewhere, photographer Steven Rothfeld visited Israel for the first time, spending several months exploring the small country’s vibrant food scene. The locals guided him from one great restaurant to another, and to growers and producers of fine foods as well. This book is a delicious compilation of stories and reflections, recipes, and stunning photographs of Israel’s food culture today. From north to south, Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, chefs and food growers have branched out from a vast array of cultural influences and historic traditions to create fresh, contemporary fusions and flavors. Rothfeld’s friend Nancy Silverton, a winner of the James Beard Foundation’s Outstanding Chef Award, contributes ten dishes inspired by the delicious fusion styles that have become a hallmark of the Israeli culinary community. “Learn about the cultural traditions underlying dishes like spiced lamb kabobs grilled on cinnamon sticks, beet puree with tahini and date syrup, a kumquat marmalade Rothfeld first tasted at an inn in the Golan Heights, and inventive variations on Israeli staples like cauliflower and eggplant.”—St. Helena Star

R.T. France's study of Matthew's Gospel is a contribution to the Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, a popular commentary designed to help the general Bible reader understand clearly what the text actually says and what it means, without undue recourse to scholarly technicalities.