The Content and Setting of the Gospel Tradition. Edited by MARK HARDING and ALANNA NOBBS.

Abstract

T his all-Australian production is an impressive monument to the standard of learning, especially classical learning, at Macquarie University and the other universities at which the authors teach. As in all collections of essays, the contributions are uneven, especially the early, more general chapters, which are hard-hitting, deeply learned, and enlightening. Later chapters on details of the gospels (Parables, Miracles, Passion Narratives) are often no more than useful summaries of widely held positions. More rigorous editing might profitably have cut out considerable overlap between the chapters. The stated target of the essays is undergraduates in theology or history, and a good example of the standard set is given by the helpful first chapter on the archaeology of Palestine around the time of Jesus, giving both plenty of detail and summaries of possible deductions. It is slightly disappointing that there is only one short section on the textual discoveries in the Judean desert. By contrast, the second chapter on the Gospel Manuscript seems to me too sophisticated and advanced for undergraduates; more helpful would have been discussion of particular examples. The chapter on the Language of the Gospels is an excellent example of detailed but intelligible investigation, focused on the question how the linguistic usage of the gospels fits into the contemporary use of language. From the sample studied it appears that the koine Greek was not so much ‘kitchen Greek’ as well up the higher register of language, though perhaps this depends on excessive concentration on Luke. The comparisons between gospel usage and inscriptional and other contemporary evidence is enlightening.