Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews: A Jewish Life and the Emergence of Christianity

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 352 pages
• Published by: Vintage December 5, 2000
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0679767460
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0679767466
• Book Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.7 inches
• Weighs: 12 ounces

Product Review
The epigraph to Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews by Paula Fredriksen includes the following observation by Matteo Ricci: "[A]ll things (including those that at last come to triumph mightily) are at their beginnings so small and faint in outline that one cannot easily convince oneself that from them will grow matters of great moment." This little thought helps to explain Fredriksen's big one, that no one during Jesus' lifetime (including the man himself) considered Jesus to be the Messiah. That interpretation of his life, Fredriksen argues, was occasioned by his death: "Jesus' crucifixion as King of the Jews had come as a shock to his core followers. Their experiences of his continued presence after his death, on the evidence of the Gospels, surprised them, too. Seeking to understand what they had witnessed, they turned to Scripture." Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews makes its argument through careful reconstruction of Jesus' historical context, and dogged attention to the details of his crucifixion and to the fates of his immediate followers. The book's surprising arguments and its lucid style make this a valuable addition to the canon of popular Historical Jesus scholarship. --Michael Joseph Gross --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly
Among bookstore shelves crowded with recent biographies of Jesus of Nazareth, Fredriksen's contribution will certainly be a welcome addition. It is scholarly without being pedantic, insightful without being revolutionary. Yet the central question it asksA"Why did Jesus die the way he did?"Astrikes to the very core of the debate over the Historical Jesus. Fredriksen, Aurelio Professor of Scripture at Boston University, brings to this question enormous erudition drawn from the rabbinic writings, opening fresh ways of looking at the well-trodden Historical Jesus material. Her careful working through the serious historical issues surrounding the definition of "Gospel Truth," the nature of God and Israel in Roman antiquityAas well as the problem of Paul's renovation of the first Christians' view of JesusAare important contributions to our understanding of Jesus' life. Unlike some other new biographies of Jesus emerging from the trade press, the scholarly apparatus for this text was not shed in the hopes of making it more acceptable to the general reader. The author's notes, far from merely documenting sources, contain interesting and useful augmentations. There is much new here, something that seems unusual for territory so heavily mined. Fredriksen's Jesus of Nazareth is one of those enviable scholarly works that is both a credible scholarly effort and a very good read. (Nov.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Reader Reviews
This review is from: Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews: A Jewish Life and the Emergence of Christianity (Hardcover) Paula Fredriksen offers the best historical account of the passion. Jesus, she says, wasn't killed for black magic, Torah-disputes, parables, nor even his outrageous demonstration in the temple. As offensive as these were to many, they wouldn't have resulted in crucifixion. Authorities knew that Jesus was essentially a harmless nuisance: Antipas left him alone, because (unlike the Baptist and other prophets) he didn't convene mass rallies in the desert; and Pilate didn't move against him on account of the triumphal entry, because he'd been long aware that Jesus really posed no threat to Roman power (John's gospel correctly indicates he'd been in Jerusalem before). The demonstration in the temple, moreover, would have hardly been noticed by anyone during a festival. But during his last trip to Jerusalem, in the days between his triumphal entry and last supper, Jesus fueled alarming amounts of messianic enthusiasm. The author suggests that Jesus stepped up the apocalypse's timetable from "soon" to "now" -- proclaiming that this passover would be the last before the kingdom arrived -- with increased amounts of crowds and pilgrims acclaiming him the messianic liberator. Pilate finally acted against Jesus to set an example for the masses and prevent riots. In many ways this book owes to E.P. Sanders' reconstruction of Jesus the eschatological prophet obedient to Torah, but while for Sanders Jesus was killed for acting against the temple, Fredriksen believes he was executed because Caiaphas was nervous about Pilate's itchy trigger-finger when dealing with popular prophets. This is a sound contribution to historical-Jesus studies and should be read by anyone remotely interested in the field.