{"title":"Peter Schäfer","description":"\u003cp\u003ePeter Schäfer’s works offer insightful explorations into ancient religious texts and the intersections of Judaism and early Christianity. His scholarship delves into historical contexts, shedding light on complex spiritual narratives and traditions.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eReaders can expect well-researched studies that combine rigorous inquiry with accessible presentation, perfect for those interested in \u003cem\u003eReligion \u0026amp; Spirituality\u003c\/em\u003e as well as \u003cem\u003eEducation \u0026amp; Reference\u003c\/em\u003e. Schäfer’s books challenge and enrich understanding of faith, history, and culture.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"two-gods-in-heaven-by-peter-schafer-9780691181325","title":"Two Gods in Heaven","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA book that challenges our most basic assumptions about Judeo-Christian monotheism. Contrary to popular belief, Judaism was not always strictly monotheistic. \u003cem\u003eTwo Gods in Heaven\u003c\/em\u003e reveals the long and little-known history of a second, junior god in Judaism, showing how this idea was embraced by rabbis and Jewish mystics in the early centuries of the common era and casting Judaism's relationship with Christianity in an entirely different light.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDrawing on an in-depth analysis of ancient sources that have received little attention until now, Peter Schäfer demonstrates how the Jews of the pre-Christian Second Temple period had various names for a second heavenly power—such as Son of Man, Son of the Most High, and Firstborn before All Creation. He traces the development of the concept from the Son of Man vision in the biblical book of Daniel to the Qumran literature, the Ethiopic book of Enoch, and the Jewish philosopher Philo of Alexandria.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAfter the destruction of the Second Temple, the picture changes drastically. While the early Christians of the New Testament took up the idea and developed it further, their Jewish contemporaries were divided. Most rejected the second god, but some—particularly the Jews of Babylonia and the writers of early Jewish mysticism—revived the ancient Jewish notion of two gods in heaven.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDescribing how early Christianity and certain strands of rabbinic Judaism competed for ownership of a second god to the creator, this boldly argued and elegantly written book radically transforms our understanding of Judeo-Christian monotheism.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Hachette Aotearoa New Zealand","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47464747827436,"sku":"9780691181325","price":75.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780691181325-two-gods-in-heaven.jpg?v=1775052942"},{"product_id":"jesus-in-the-talmud-by-peter-schafer-9780691143187","title":"Jesus in the Talmud","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eScattered throughout the Talmud, the founding document of rabbinic Judaism in late antiquity, can be found quite a few references to Jesus—and they're not flattering. In this lucid, richly detailed, and accessible book, Peter Schäfer examines how the rabbis of the Talmud read, understood, and used the New Testament Jesus narrative to assert, ultimately, Judaism's superiority over Christianity.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Talmudic stories make fun of Jesus' birth from a virgin, fervently contest his claim to be the Messiah and Son of God, and maintain that he was rightfully executed as a blasphemer and idolater. They subvert the Christian idea of Jesus' resurrection and insist he got the punishment he deserved in hell—and that a similar fate awaits his followers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSchäfer contends that these stories betray a remarkable familiarity with the Gospels—especially Matthew and John—and represent a deliberate and sophisticated anti-Christian polemic that parodies the New Testament narratives. He carefully distinguishes between Babylonian and Palestinian sources, arguing that the rabbis' proud and self-confident countermessage to that of the evangelists was possible only in the unique historical setting of Persian Babylonia, in a Jewish community that lived in relative freedom. The same could not be said of Roman and Byzantine Palestine, where the Christians aggressively consolidated their political power and the Jews therefore suffered.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA departure from past scholarship, which has played down the stories as unreliable distortions of the historical Jesus, \u003cem\u003eJesus in the Talmud\u003c\/em\u003e posits a much more deliberate agenda behind these narratives.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"NewSouth Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47471032926444,"sku":"9780691143187","price":73.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780691143187-jesus-in-the-talmud.jpg?v=1775230862"},{"product_id":"the-history-of-the-jews-in-the-greco-roman-world-by-peter-schafer-9780415305853","title":"The History of the Jews in the Greco-Roman World","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis volume examines Judaism in Palestine throughout the Hellenistic period, from Alexander the Great's conquest in 334 BC to its capture by the Arabs in AD 636. Under the Greek, Roman, and finally Christian supremacy which Hellenism brought, Judaism developed far beyond its biblical origins into a form which was to influence European history from the Middle Ages to the present day.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe History of the Jews in the Greco-Roman World\u003c\/em\u003e focuses particularly on the social, economic, and religious concerns of this period, and the political status of the Jews as both active agents and passive victims of history. Peter Schäfer provides a straightforward chronological survey of this important period through analysis and interpretation of the existing sources.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWith its accessible style and explanation of technical terms, the book provides a useful introduction to students and anybody with an interest in post-biblical Judaism.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Taylor \u0026 Francis","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47608057823468,"sku":"9780415305853","price":341.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780415305853-the-history-of-the-jews-in-the-greco-roman-world.jpg?v=1778181816"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/collections\/peter-schafer.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}