Synopses & Reviews
Israel, the community to which Jesus belonged, took its name from their patriarch Jacob. His story of exile and return was their story as well. In the well-known tale of the prodigal son, Jesus reshaped the story in his own way and for his own purposes. In this work, Kenneth E. Bailey compares the Old Testament saga and the New Testament parable. He unpacks similarities freighted with theological significance and differences that often reveal Jesus' particular purposes. Drawing on a lifetime of study in both Middle Eastern culture and the Gospels, Bailey offers here a fresh view of how Jesus interpreted Israel's past, his present and their future.
Synopsis
Includes bibliographical references (p. [219]-224) and index.
Table of Contents
Introduction : what does it mean to call Jesus a theologian? -- Jesus as a metaphorical theologian and the rabbinic world -- The Jesus tradition and the question of authenticity -- The importance of Middle Eastern culture for New Testament interpretation -- The parable of the prodigal son and the "travel narrative" in Luke -- The one and the many in parabolic interpretation -- Three stories, one parable : seeing the three stories of Luke 15 as a unity -- The parable of the lost sheep : the first warm-up story (Lk 15:3-7) -- The lost coin--and also some women (Lk 15:8-10) -- To find the lost : the parable of the two lost sons (Lk 15:11-32) -- Jacob revisited : the Jacob story in early Jewish tradition and in the mind of Jesus -- The great rebellion : the family before the prodigal leaves home (Lk 15:11-13) -- The exile : the prodigal in the far country (Lk 15:13-19) -- Peace for the one who is far off : the father finds the prodigal (Lk 15:20-24) -- Peace for the one who is near : the father's search for the older son (Lk 15:25-32) -- Two dancers in a single dance : reflections on N.T. Wright's interpretation of the parable of the prodigal son -- A summary of the significance of the comparisons between Jacob and the prodigal for aspects of Jesus' theology.