Reimagining the Parables of Jesus

By R. Steven Notley

Reimagining the Parables of Jesus is a pioneering work that considers more fully the language, culture and religious trends of first-century Judaism in our reading of the Gospel parables. Parables were a favorite vehicle for communicating theological ideas in the first century, and in these pedagogical gems one finds the essential expressions of the theology of Jesus. Yet, often the meaning of these ancient short-stories escapes the modern reader, because they are rooted in a land, language, culture and time in history that is not our own. Building upon Notley and Ze’ev Safrai’s earlier anthology of early Jewish parables, Parables of the Sages, the author draws on the consequences of that collection to bring fresh light to the message of Jesus.
 Notley introduces the reader to the landscape of emerging first-century Jewish thought and the important information one needs to know in order to understand Jesus’ parables in their original setting. He provides a fresh English translation of the New Testament parables together with his translation of selected early Jewish parables. Each parable includes notes on the historical, social, and religious setting that are important for its meaning.

R. Steven Notley is Distinguished Professor of New Testament and Christian Origins on the New York City campus of Nyack College and director of its graduate programs in Ancient Judaism and Christian Origins.

SBN: 978-965-220-890-3
16×24 cm (6¼×9½ in.); c. 400 pp.; cloth