Israel's God and Rebecca's Children ― Christology and Community in Early Judaism and Christianity

Israel's God and Rebecca's Children is a collection of essays written as a tribute to the lasting scholarship and friendship of Larry Hurtado (University of Edinburgh) and Alan Segal (Barnard College), two scholars who have contributed significantly to the contemporary understanding of Second Temple and Rabbinic Judaism and early Christianity. Their colleagues and friends examine a wide range of topics that have been the focus of Hurtado and Segal's research, including Christology, community, Jewish-Christian relations, soteriology and the development of early Christianity. Together these essays reconceptualize Christology and community in Judaism and Christianity and provide valuable insights into the issues of community and identity.

David B. Capes chairs the Department of Christianity and Philosophy at Houston Baptist University. His books includeOld Testament Yahweh Texts in Paul's Christology (Mohr Siebeck, 1992), The Footsteps of Jesus in the Holy Land (Steimatsky, 1999), The Last Eyewitness: The Final Week (Thomas Nelson, 2006), andRediscovering Paul: An Introduction to His World, Letters and Theology (InterVarsity, 2007). He serves as the senior theological review editor for THE VOICE, a joint project of Thomas Nelson and Ecclesia Bible Society. Since the early 1990s he has been active in interfaith dialogue in Houston and co-hosts a radio show called "A Show of Faith" on TALK RADIO 950 KPRC Houston.

April D. DeConick is the Isla Carroll and Percy E. Turner Professor of Biblical Studies in the Department of Religious Studies at Rice University (Houston, Texas). She specializes in early Christian history and theology, noncanonical Gospels, and gnostic and mystical traditions. Her books include Seek to See Him: Ascent and Vision Mysticism in the Gospel of Thomas (1996);Voices of the Mystics: Early Christian Discourse in the Gospels of John and Thomas and Other Ancient Christian Literature (Sheffield Academic, 2001);Recovering the Original Gospel of Thomas: A History of the Gospel and Its Growth (T. & T. Clark, 2005); andThe Original Gospel of Thomas in Translation, with Commentary and New English Translation of the Complete Gospel(T. & T. Clark, 2006). She has also edited the collection of papers, Paradise Now: Essays on Early Jewish and Christian Mysticism(SBL, 2006).

Helen K. Bond studied at the Universities of St Andrews, Durham and Tubingen. She is Senior Lecturer in New Testament Language, Literature and Theology at the University of Edinburgh, where she has taught since 2000. She is interested in the historical, political and social background to the gospels, particularly the passion narratives, and the life (and execution) of Jesus of Nazareth. Her publications includePontius Pilate in History and Interpretation (SNTSMS 100; Cambridge University Press, 1998) andCaiaphas: Friend of Rome and Judge of Jesus? (Westminster John Knox, 2004).

Troy A. Miller is Dean and Assistant Professor of Bible & Theology in the School of Bible & Theology at Crichton College (Memphis, TN). He holds a PhD in New Testament Language, Literature, and Theology from the University of Edinburgh and specializes in late Second Temple Judaism, Paul, and early Christian identity formation. His thesis is entitledThe Emergence of the Concept of Heresy in Early Christianity and he serves as a theological review editor for THE VOICE project (Thomas Nelson).