Bibliography for Biblical Studies and Early Christian Origins

Gospel Studies

Barnett, Paul W.  Making the Gospels: Mystery or Conspiracy?  Eugene: Cascade Books, 2019.

 

 

Bauckham, Richard, ed.  The Gospels for All Christians: Rethinking the Gospel Audiences.  Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1998.

 

 

Brown, Jeannine K.  The Gospels as Stories: A Narrative Approach to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.  Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2020.

 

 

Harding, Mark, and Nobbs, Alanna, eds.  The Content and Setting of the Gospel Tradition.  Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 2010.

 

 

Hays, Richard B.  Echoes of Scripture in the Gospels.  Waco: Baylor University Press, 2016.

 

 

Hill, C.E.  Who Chose the Gospels? Probing the Great Gospel Conspiracy.  Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010.

 

 

Licona, Michael R.  Why Are There Differences in the Gospels?  What We Can Learn from Ancient Biography.  New York: Oxford University Press, 2017.

 

 

Perrin, Nicholas.  Thomas: The Other Gospel.  Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2007.

 

 

Watson, Francis.  The Fourfold Gospel: A Theological Reading of the New Testament Portrait of Jesus.  Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2016.

 

 

________.  What Is A Gospel?  Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2022.

 

 

Pauline Studies

Aernie, Matthew D, and Donald E. Hartley.  The Righteous & Merciful Judge: The Day of the Lord in the Life and Theology of Paul.  Studies in Scripture & Biblical Theology.  Bellingham: Lexham Press, 2018.

 

Anderson, Garwood P.  Paul’s New Perspective: Charting A Soteriological Journey.  Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2016.

 

 

Barclay, John M.G.  Paul & the Gift.  Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 2015.

 

 

________.  Pauline Churches and Diaspora Jews.  Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 2016.

 

 

 

Barnett, Paul.  After Jesus. Vol. 2, Paul: Missionary of Jesus.  Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 2008.

 

Bird, Michael F.  An Anomalous Jew: Paul Among Jews, Greeks, and Romans.  Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 2016.

 

 

Blackwell, Ben C., John K. Goodrich, and Jason Maston, eds.  Paul and the Apocalyptic Imagination.  Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2016.

 

 

Campbell, Douglas A.  Paul: An Apostle’s Journey.  Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 2018.

 

 

Cara, Robert J.  Cracking the Foundation of the New Perspective on Paul: Covenantal Nomism Versus Covenantal Theology.  Great Britain: Mentor, 2017.

 

 

Gray, Patrick.  Paul As a Problem in History and Culture: The Apostle and His Critics Through the Centuries.  Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2016.

 

 

Hays, Richard B.  Echoes of Scripture in the Letters of Paul.  New Haven: Yale University Press, 1989.

 

 

Johnson, Luke Timothy.  Constructing Paul: The Canonical Paul.  Vol. 1.  Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 2020.

 

 

________.  Interpreting Paul: The Canonical Paul.  Vol. 2.  Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 2021.

 

 

Keener, Craig S.  The Mind of the Spirit: Paul’s Approach to Transformed Thinking.  Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2016.

 

 

 

Longenecker, Richard N.  Paul, Apostle of Liberty.  2d ed.  Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 2015.

 

Moo, Douglas J.  Theology of Paul and His Letters: The Gift of the New Realm in Christ.  Biblical Theology of the New Testament.  Edited by Andreas J. Kostenberger.  Grand Rapids: Zondervan Academic, 2021.

 

Pitre, Brant, Michael P. Barber, and John A. Kincaid.  Paul, a New Covenant Jew: Rethinking Pauline Theology.  Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 2019.

 

 

Sanders, E.P.  Paul: The Apostle’s Life, Letters, and Thought.  Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2015.

 

 

Schreiner, Thomas R.  Handbook on Acts and Paul’s Letters.  Handbooks on the New Testament.  Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2019.

 

 

Still, Todd D., and Bruce W. Longenecker.  Thinking Through Paul: A Survey of His Life, Letters, and Theology.  Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2014.

 

 

Thate, Michael J., Vanhoozer, Kevin J., and Campbell, Constantine R., eds.  “In Christ” in Paul: Explorations in Paul’s Theology of Union and Participation.  Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 2014.

 

 

Thompson, James W.  Apostle of Persuasion: Theology and Rhetoric in the Pauline Letters.  Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2020.

 

 

Ware, James P.  Paul’s Theology in Context: Creation, Incarnation,Covenant and Kingdom.  Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 2019.

 

 

Witherington, Ben, III, and Jason A. Myers.  Voices and Views on Paul: Exploring Scholarly Trends.  Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2020.

 

 

Wright, N.T.  Christian Origins and the Question of God.  Vol. 4,  Paul and the Faithfulness of God, 2 Vols.  Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2013.

 

 

________.  Paul: A Biography.  San Francisco: Harper One, 2018.

 

 

 

________.  Paul and His Recent Interpreters.  Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2015.

 

 

 

 

________.  The Paul Debate: Critical Questions for Understanding the Apostle.  Waco: Baylor, 2015.

 

New Testament Studies

Beale, G.K.  The Temple and the Church’s Mission: A Biblical Theology of the Dwelling Place of God.  Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2004.

 

 

Bernier, Jonathan.  Rethinking the Dates of the New Testament: The Evidence for Early Christianity.  Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2022.

 

 

 

Blomberg, Craig L.  From Pentecost to Patmos: An Introduction to Acts Through Revelation.  2nd ed.  Nashville: B&H Academic, 2021.

 

 

Bockmuehl, Marcus, and James Carleton Paget, eds.  Redemption and Resistance: The Messianic Hope of Jews and Christians in Antiquity.  New York: T&T Clark, 2009.

 

Bond, Helen K.  Caiaphas: Friend of Rome and Judge of Jesus.  Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004.

 

 

Burge, Gary M, and Gene L. Green.  The New Testament in Antiquity: A Survey of the New Testament Within Its Cultural Contexts.  2d ed.  Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2020.

 

 

Carson, D.A., ed.  The Enduring Authority of the Christian Scriptures.  Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 2016.

 

 

Chilton, Bruce.  The Herods: Murder, Politics, and the Art of Succession.  Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2021.

 

 

Cohen, Shaye J.D.  From the Maccabees to the Mishnah. 3d ed.  Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2014.

 

 

Collins, Adela Yarboro, and John J. Collins.  King and Messiah as Son of God: Divine, Human, and Angelic Messianic Figures in Biblical and Related Literature.  Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 2008.

 

Collins, John J., Evans, Craig A., and Lee Martin MacDonald, eds.  Ancient Jewish and Christian Scriptures: New Developments in Canon Controversy.  Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2020.

 

 

Collins, Steven, and Joseph M. Holden, eds.  The Harvest Handbook of Bible Lands: A Panoramic Survey of the History, Geography, and Culture of the Scriptures.  Eugene: Harvest House Publishers, 2019.

 

Crook, Zeba A.  The Ancient Mediterranean Social World: A Sourcebook.  Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 2020.

 

 

DeSilva, David A.  Honor, Patronage, Kinship, and Purity: Unlocking New Testament Culture.  2d ed.  Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2022.

 

 

Evans, Craig A., and David Mishkin, eds.  A Handbook on the Jewish Roots of the Christian Faith.  Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 2019.

 

 

________., and Aaron W. White, eds.  Who Created Christianity?: Fresh Approaches to the Relationship between Paul and Jesus.  Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 2020.

 

Fairbairn, Donald.  The Global Church–The First Eight Centuries: From Pentecost through the Rise of Islam.  Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2021.

 

 

Flusser, David.  Judaism of the Second Temple Period. Vol. 2, The Jewish Sages and Their Literature. Trans. Azzan Yadin. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 2009.

 

Freyne, Sean.  Galilee From Alexander the Great to Hadrian, 323 BCE to 135 CE: A Study of Second Temple Judaism. Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1980.

 

 

Goldingay, John.  Reading Jesus’ Bible: How the New Testament Helps Us Understand the Old Testament.  Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 2017.

 

 

 

Hanson, K.C., and Douglas E. Oakman.  Palestine in the Time of Jesus: Social Structures and Social Conflicts. 2d ed. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2008.

 

Horsley, Richard A., ed.  In The Shadow of the Empire: Reclaiming the Bible as a History of Faithful Resistance.  Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2008.

 

 

________.  Scribes, Visionaries, and the Politics of Second Temple Judea.  Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2007.

 

 

Knohl, Israel.  The Messiah Before Jesus: The Suffering Servant of the Dead Sea Scrolls.  Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000.

 

 

Kruger, MIchael J. Canon Revisited: Establishing the Origins and Authority of the New Testament Books.  Wheaton: Crossway, 2012.

 

 

________.  The Question of Canon: Challenging the Status Quo in the New Testament Debate.  Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2013.

 

 

 

McCready, Wayne O. and Adele Reinhartz, ed.  Common Judaism: Explorations in Second- Temple Judaism.  Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2008.

 

 

McDermott, Gerald.  Understanding the Jewish Roots of Christianity: Biblical, Theological, and Historical Essays on the Relationship Between Christianity and Judaism.  Bellingham: Lexham Press, 2021.

 

McDonald, Lee Martin.  The Biblical Canon: Its Origin, Transmission, and Authority. Rev. 3d ed.  Peabody: Hendrickson, 2007.

 

 

________.  Forgotten Scriptures: The Selection and Rejection of Early Religious Writings.  Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2009.

 

 

McGrew, Lydia.  Hidden in Plain View: Undesigned Coincidences in the Gospels and Acts.  Chillicothe: DeWard, 2017.

 

 

McKnight, Scott, and Nijay K. Gupta.  The State of New Testament Studies: A Survey of Recent Research.  Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2019.

 

 

Merrick, James R.A., Garret Stephen M., and R. Albert Mohler, Jr., eds.  Five Views on Biblical Inerrancy.  Counterpoints: Bible and Theology.  Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2013.

 

 

Millard, Alan, James K. Hoffmeier, and David W. Baker.  Faith, Tradition, and History: Old Testament Historiography in Its Near Eastern Context.  Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 1994.

 

 

 

Nickelsburg, George W.E., and Michael E. Stone.  Early Judaism: Texts and Documents of Faith and Piety. Rev. Ed. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2009.

 

 

Nienhuis, David R.  A Concise Guide to Reading the New Testament: A Canonical Introduction.  Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2018.

 

 

O’Brien, Peter T.  God Has Spoken in His Son: A Biblical Theology of Hebrews.  New Studies in Biblical Theology.  Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2016.

 

 

Porter, Stanley E.  Sacred Tradition in the New Testament: Tracing Old Testament Themes in the Gospels and Epistles.  Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2016.

 

 

 

Sanders, E.P.  Jewish Law from Jesus to the Mishnah.  Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2016.

 

 

Simmons, William A.  Peoples of the New Testament World: An Illustrated Guide.  Peabody: Hendrickson, 2008.

 

 

Skarsaune, Oskar.  In the Shadow of the Temple: Jewish Influences on Early Christianity.  Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2002.

 

 

Thornhill, A. Chadwick.  The Chosen People: Election, Paul and Second Temple Judaism.  Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2015.

 

 

 

Tidball, Derek.  The Voices of the New Testament: Invitation to a Biblical Roundtable.  Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2016.

 

Witherington, Ben, III.  New Testament History: A Narrative Account.  Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2001.

 

 

Wise, Michael O.  The First Messiah: Investigating the Savior Before Christ.  San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1999.

 

 

Wright, N.T.  Christian Origins and the Question of God. Vol. 1, The New Testament ad the People of God.  Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1992.

 

 

________., and Michael F. Bird.  The New Testament in Its World: An Introduction to the History, Literature, and Theology of the First Christians.  Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2019.

 

 

Textual Criticism

Comfort, Philip Wesley, and David P. Barrett.  The Text of the Earliest New Testament Manuscripts, 2 Volumes.  3rd ed.  Grand Rapids: Kregel Academic, 2019.

 

 

Hixson, Elijah, and Peter J. Gurry, eds.  Myths and Mistakes in New Testament Textual Criticism.  Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2019.

 

Early Church History

Barnett, Paul.  After Jesus. Vol. 1, The Birth of Christianity: The First Twenty Years.  Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 2005.

 

 

Bellitto, Christopher M.  The General Councils: A History of the Twenty-One Church Councils from Nicaea to Vatican II.  New York: Paulist Press, 2002.

 

 

Brown, Harold O.J.  Heresies: Heresy and Orthodoxy in the History of the Church.  Peabody: Hendrickson, 1988.

 

 

Cohick, Lynn H., and Amy Brown Hughes.  Christian Women in the Patristic World: Their Influence, Authority, and Legacy in the Second through Fifth Centuries.  Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2017.

 

Cooper, Derek.  Sinners and Saints: The Real Story of Early Christianity.  Grand Rapids: Kregel Academic, 2018.

 

 

Dunn, James D.G.  Christianity in the Making.  Vol. 2, Beginning From Jerusalem.  Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 2009.

 

 

________.  Christianity in the Making.  Vol. 1, Jesus Remembered.  Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 2019

 

 

________.  Christianity in the Making.  Vol. 3, Neither Jew Nor Greek: A Contested Identity.  Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 2015.

 

 

Fairbairn, Donald.  Life in the Trinity: An Introduction to Theology with the Help of the Church Fathers.  Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2009.

 

 

________., and Ryan M. Reeves.  The Story of Creeds and Confessions: Tracing the Development of the Christian Faith.  Michigan: Baker Academic, 2019.

 

 

Ferguson, Everett.  Baptism in the Early Church: History, Theology, and Liturgy in the First Five Centuries.  Grand Rapids:  William B. Eerdmans, 2013.

 

 

Gonzalez, Justo L.  A History of Early Christian Literature.  Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2019.

 

 

________.  The Bible in the Early Church.  Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 2022.

 

 

Gupta, Nijay K.  Tell Her Story: How Women Led, Taught, and Ministered in the Early Church.  Downers Grover: IVP Academic, 2023.

 

 

Harding, Mark, and Nobbs, Alanna, eds.  Into All the World: Emergent Christianity in its Jewish and Greco-Roman Context.  Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 2017.

 

Hengel, Martin.  Acts and the History of Earliest Christianity.  Philadelphia: Fortress, 1979.

 

 

Hurtado, Larry W.  Ancient Jewish Monotheism and Early Christian Jesus-Devotion: The Context and Character of Christological Faith.  Waco: Baylor University Press, 2017.

 

 

________.  Destroyer of the Gods: Early Christian Distinctiveness in the Roman World.  Waco: Baylor University Press, 2016.

 

 

 

________.  The Earliest Christian Artifacts: Manuscripts and Christian Origins.  Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 2006.

 

 

________.  How On Earth Did Jesus Become A God? Historical Questions About Earliest Devotion to Jesus.  Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 2005.

 

 

________.  One God, One Lord: Early Christian Devotion and Ancient Jewish Monotheism. 3d ed.  Edinburgh: T &T Clark, 2015.

 

 

Kreider, Alan.  The Patient Ferment of the Early Church: The Improbable Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire.  Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2016.

 

 

Kruger, Michael J.  Christianity at the Crossroads: How the Second Century Shaped the Future of the Church.  Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2018.

 

 

 

Leithart, Peter J.  Defending Constantine: The Twilight of an Empire and the Dawn of Christendom.  Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2010.

 

 

Matthews, Alice.  Gender Roles and the People of God: Rethinking What We Were Taught About Men and Women in the Church.  Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2017.

 

 

McGuckin, John Anthony.  The Path of Christianity: The First Thousand Years.  Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2017.

 

 

Padilla, Osvaldo.  The Acts of the Apostles: Interpretation, History and Theology.  Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2016.

 

 

 

Pelikan, Jaroslav.  Credo: Historical and Theological Guide to Creeds and Confessions of Faith in the Christian Tradition.  New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003.

 

 

Raisanen, Heikki.  The Rise of Christian Beliefs: The Thought World of Early Christians.  Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2010.

 

 

Rowland, Christopher.  Christian Origins: The Setting and Character of the Most Important Messianic Sect of Judaism. 2d ed. Great Britain: SPCK, 2002.

 

 

 

Skarsaune, Oskar, and Reidar Hvalvik, eds.  Jewish Believers in Jesus: The Early Centuries.  Peabody: Hendrickson, 2007.

 

 

Tabbernee, William, ed.  Early Christianity in Contexts: An Exploration Across Cultures and Continents.  Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2014.