The multivalent image of the sparrow in ancient Jewish thought made it a useful vehicle for conveying messages about human and divine relationships.
Better Than the Day of Birth: Reflecting on David Flusser’s Interpretation of the Love Commandment on the 25th Anniversary of His Passing
I regard the twenty-fifth anniversary of David Flusser’s passing not solely as a day of loss, but also as the day that gave him to the world.
25 Years Since David Flusser’s Passing
Professor Serge Ruzer shares his recollections of Israeli scholar David Flusser on the twenty-fifth anniversary of his death.
The Discomposure of Jesus’ Biography (Reboot): A Modification to Lindsey’s Conjectured Stages of Synoptic Transmission
How did the Hebrew biography of Jesus disintegrate into the isolated pericopae that make up the Synoptic Gospels?
Was the Hemorrhaging Woman Jesus Healed Named Rebekah?
Is it possible to retrieve the name of the woman who touched Jesus’ tzitzit?
Did Jesus Raise Jairus’ Daughter from the Dead?
Should readers give more weight to the bystanders’ impressions or to the words Jesus said?
Character Profile: Prostitutes in the Gospels
Was first-century Jerusalem really crawling with prostitutes, as Jesus’ saying about tax collectors and harlots entering the Kingdom of God seems to suggest?
Purity Halakha in the Story of the Hemorrhaging Woman
Does concern for ritual purity explain why the hemorrhaging woman touched Jesus’ tzitzit?
Coordinating Ritual and Moral Purity in the New Testament
Taking another look at how John the Baptist, Jesus, and the Apostle Paul related to issues of ritual and moral purity.
Two Kinds of Love in the Story of the Paralyzed Man
Two kinds of love operate in the story of the paralyzed man. One kind of love is inclusive and redemptive, the other is exclusive and destructive. Which kind of love will prove victorious?
What’s Wrong with Contagious Purity? Debunking the Myth that Jesus Never Became Ritually Impure
The view that Jesus could not be affected by impurity and that Jesus was able to spread his purity to others is based on faulty assumptions and invalid inferences.
The Seven Types of Pharisees and the Fear of God in the Synoptic Gospels
Ancient Jewish sources attest to a debate over which motivation for keeping the commandments—fear or love—was most highly to be esteemed. This debate surfaces, among other places, in the Talmudic discussions of the seven types of Pharisees. These seven types and the debate over love versus fear illuminate important aspects of Jesus’ teaching.
The Sin Against the Spirit: Matt. 12:31-32; Mark 3:28-29; Luke 12:10
Jesus’ saying about the sin against the Holy Spirit belongs to developing Jewish ideas regarding the gradation of sin and punishment. It also reflects his high self-awareness.
From the Galilee to Jerusalem: Luke as a Source for the Routes of Jewish Pilgrimage
Luke’s Gospel preserves valuable evidence of pilgrimage routes that would have been utilized by Jewish pilgrims in the Second Temple period.
Halakha in the Gospels
The Gospels describe Jesus and his followers as keeping halakha to a relatively high extent; they were a group to whom the law was important.
‘Look at…all the trees’: Trees in the New Testament Gospels
An examination of the role trees play in the New Testament Gospels.
He Could No Longer Openly Enter a Town: A Synoptic Study in Light of an Early Luke
According to Mark, after one of Jesus’ very first miracles, Jesus would no longer openly approach a town in public, but instead avoided the crowds who continually sought him out.