The Theological Background of the Marcan Account of the Baptism and Temptation of Jesus

The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the Old Testament and intertestamental background of the words and concepts appearing in Mark 1:1-13. Our study will show that almost every word and phrase in these verses is charged with a complex of theological associations stemming from the Old Testament and the Apocrypha and Pseudopigraha. We will attempt to show what these associations are, the different nuances given to them by the writers of the Old Testament and the intertestamental literature, and the varying ways which they were combined in these writings

1 and 2 Maccabees-Same Story, Different Meaning

The author sketches briefly the History of Israel two centuries before Christ and indicates the varied viewpoints toward and interpretations of that history that are recorded in the books of First and Second Maccabees

The assumption of the righteous dead in the Wisdom of Solomon and the Sayings Gospel Q

From the publisher\u27s website: The Wisdom of Solomon applies language from the Genesis reference to Enoch\u27s assumption (Gen. 5:24 LXX) to the dead righteous one (Wis. 4:7-17). This unusual use of the motif of assumption, normally thought of as an escape from death, is facilitated by topoi drawn from Hellenistic consolation materials; however, the typical corollary of assumption in the Jewish tradition—heavenly or eschatological exaltation—is also applied to the righteous one in Wis. 5:1-5. This innovation is particularly instructive for Q, which may understand Jesus\u27 post-mortem vindication and exaltation in terms of assumption (Q 13:35)