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Short Stories by Jesus: The Enigmatic Parables of a Controversial Rabbi - Paperback | Diverse Reads

Short Stories by Jesus: The Enigmatic Parables of a Controversial Rabbi

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The renowned biblical scholar, author of The Misunderstood Jew, and general editor for The Jewish Annotated New Testament interweaves history and spiritual analysis to explore Jesus’ most popular teaching parables, exposing their misinterpretations and making them lively and relevant for modern readers.

Jesus was a skilled storyteller and perceptive teacher who used parables from everyday life to effectively convey his message and meaning. Life in first-century Palestine was very different from our world today, and many traditional interpretations of Jesus’ stories ignore this disparity and have often allowed anti-Semitism and misogyny to color their perspectives.

In this wise, entertaining, and educational book, Amy-Jill Levine offers a fresh, timely reinterpretation of Jesus’ narratives. In Short Stories by Jesus, she analyzes these “problems with parables,” taking readers back in time to understand how their original Jewish audience understood them. Levine reveals the parables’ connections to first-century economic and agricultural life, social customs and morality, Jewish scriptures and Roman culture. With this revitalized understanding, she interprets these moving stories for the contemporary reader, showing how the parables are not just about Jesus, but are also about us—and when read rightly, still challenge and provoke us two thousand years later.

ISBN-13: 9780061561030

Media Type: Paperback(Reprint)

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers

Publication Date: 09-15-2015

Pages: 352

Product Dimensions: 7.90(w) x 5.30(h) x 1.20(d)

AMY-JILL LEVINE is University Professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies and Mary Jane Werthan Professor of Jewish Studies at Vanderbilt Divinity School and Department of Jewish Studies. She has also taught at Swarthmore College, Cambridge University, and the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome. She is the author of many books, including The Misunderstood Jew and Short Stories by Jesus, and she is the co-editor of the Jewish Annotated New Testament.

Table of Contents

Introduction: How We Domesticate Jesus's Provocative Stories 1

1 Lost Sheep, Lost Coin, Lost Son 25

2 The Good Samaritan 71

3 The Kingdom of Heaven Is like Yeast 107

4 The Pearl of Great Price 127

5 The Mustard Seed 151

6 The Pharisee and the Tax Collector 169

7 The Laborers in the Vineyard 197

8 The Widow and the Judge 221

9 The Rich Man and Lazarus 247

Conclusion: The Power of Disturbing Stories 275

Acknowledgments 283

Notes 287

Index 309