Recent New Testament scholarship has rightly emphasized the significance of urban features at Sepphoris for gospels and Historical Jesus research. However, some of these studies have greatly exaggerated the quantity of evidence for Greco-Roman influence in the first-century city. Most of the architectural features associated with the Greco-Roman city are missing, evidence for use of Greek is minimal, and signs of pagans are rare. In light of this, questions about the influence of Galilee's Hellenistic milieu on the Historical Jesus must be reconsidered.

Paul is the first author of the NT who stresses the central biblical-theological theme of ‘promise and fulfilment’. He is doing so as apostle of the righteousness of God: the One God remains true to Himself as the ‘God of hope’ (Rom 15.13); sending His son to save the world of sinners He says his ‘Yes’ to all He has given in His grace to His people (2 Cor. 1.20), and He creates the eschatological act of redemption which is radically new in opening the Kingdom of God (Rom 14.17). In the horizon of his theology of justification, Paul discovers what God has promised to Abraham; in the horizon of his theology of promise, he discovers what God fulfils in justifying Jews and Gentiles by their faith. Paul's theology, maturing from Galatians to Romans, gives a good measure for Christian talk of promise and fulfilment in dialogue with the Jews.

The Letter to the Hebrews develops a theological topography in which conventional biblical goods are desanctified by means of christological reorientation. The ‘land of promise’ (11.9), the promised rest, the sanctuary of the first covenant, Mount Sinai, are left behind in the shadows of earth whereas all light is shed upon their counterparts in God's heavenly realm, which turns out to be the faithful's true fatherland. This theocentric transformation is ascribable to the author's radical interpretation of επαγγελια: any earthbound hope will look vague because with Christ's ‘new and living way’ (10.20) promise has come to be bright.

Jas 4.5 poses several exegetical difficulties. Particularly elusive has been identifying the ‘scripture’ to which James refers. This article suggests a fresh translation and reading of vv. 5–6. It is argued that vv. 5b–6a constitute an indirect discourse construction. This is grammatically possible and best takes into account the paraenetic context of chapter 4. Further, the two main sections of these verses correspond functionally to the two cola of the quotation from Prov 3.34 in v. 6. Hence, vv. 5b–6a serve as an introductory gloss to the proverb designed to advance James's paraenetic aims.

Wie auch immer man die Einzelergebnisse ihrer Forschungen zu apokryphen Evangelien beurteilen mag: Aus dem mit den Arbeiten J. D. Crossans und H. Kösters eingeleiteten Paradigmenwechsel in der Beurteilung apokrypher Literatur folgt fast zwangsläufig die Notwendigkeit einer Problematisierung des Kanonverhältnisses ‘neutestamentlicher Apokryphen’. Daraus ergibt sich u.a. die Forderung apokryphe Evangelien zunächst einmal unter Ausblendung von Fragen ihres literarischen Verhältnisses zu Texten des NTs auch an sich als theologische Literatur ernst zu nehmen. Die folgende Untersuchung versteht sich als Beispiel eines derartigen Zugangs. Die genaue Untersuchung der häufig pauschal beurteilten Rolle der ‘Juden’ im Petrusevangelium erweist diese als bei weitem differenzierter gezeichnet, als meistens angenommen wird.

La controverse sur la virginité de Marie a dominé l’exégèse de Mt 1.18 dans des débats récents. Les références critiques de la littérature rabbinique n’ont fait que confirmer cette tendance – à tort, comme nous le verrons. Notre tâche ici est premièrement, d’expliquer comment une forte tradition académique – poussée par son intérêt sur la virginité de Marie – s’est appropriée certaines références rabbiniques, et deuxièmement, de nous concentrer sur la question de la culture contextuelle de Mt 1.18 que la littérature rabbinique peut nous aider à comprendre et cela dans une nouvelle perspective.

In addressing people living far away, the prophet Isaiah (56.5–7) says: ‘And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be his servants, every one who keeps the Sabbath, and does not profane it, and holds fast to my covenant – these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.’