Figures
Preface
I: Introduction: What Does It Mean to Call Jesus a
Theologian?
1. Jesus as a Metaphorical Theologian and the Rabbinic World
2. The Jesus Tradition and the Question of Authenticity
3. The Importance of Middle Eastern Culture for New Testament
Interpretation
4. The Parable of the Prodigal Son and the "Travel Narrative" in
Luke
5. The One and the Many in Parabolic Interpretation
II: The Parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15 Compared with the
Saga of Jacob in Genesis 27--35: The Setting In Luke 15
6. Three Stories, One Parable: Seeing the Three Stories of Luke 15
as a Unity
7. The Parable of the Lost Sheep: The First Warm-Up Story (Luke
15:3-7)
8. The Lost Coin--And Also Some Women (Luke 15:8-10)
9. To Find the Lost:The Parable of the Two Lost Sons (Luke
15:11-32)
III. The Parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15 Compared with
the Saga of Jacob in Genesis 27--35: The Saga and the Parable:
Comparisons and Contrasts
10. Jacob Revisited: The Jacob Story in Early Jewish Tradition and
in the Mind of Jesus
11. The Great Rebellion: The Family Before the Prodigal Leaves Home
(Luke 15:11-13)
12. The Exile: The Prodigal in the Far Country (Luke 15:13-19)
13. Peace for the One Who is Far Off: The Father Finds the Prodigal
(Luke 15:20-24)
14. Peace for the One Who is Near: The Father's Search for the
Older Son (Luke 15:25-32)
15. Two Dancers in a Single Dance: Reflections on N.T. Wright's
Interpretation of the Parable of the Prodigal Son
IV: Significance of this Study for an Understanding of Jesus'
Theology
16. A Summary of the Significance of the Comparisons Between Jacob
and the Prodigal for Aspects of Jesus' Theology
Conclusions
Appendix: Index of the Various Types of Contrasts and
Comparisons
Bibliography
Index of Authors
Kenneth E. Bailey (1930–2016) was an acclaimed author and lecturer in Middle Eastern New Testament studies. An ordained Presbyterian minister, he served as Canon Theologian of the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh. The author of more than 150 articles in English and in Arabic, his writings include Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes, The Good Shepherd, Open Hearts in Bethlehem: A Christmas Drama, and The Cross and the Prodigal.
Bailey spent forty years living and teaching in seminaries and institutes in Egypt, Lebanon, Jerusalem and Cyprus. For twenty of those years he was professor of New Testament and head of the Biblical Department of the Near East School of Theology in Beirut where he also founded and directed the Institute for Middle Eastern New Testament Studies. Bailey was also on the faculty of The Ecumenical Institute for Theological Research in Jerusalem.Traveling around the globe to lecture and teach, Bailey spoke in theological colleges and seminaries in England (Oxford, Cambridge, Bristol) Ireland, Canada, Egypt, Finland, Latvia, Denmark, New Zealand, Australia, and Jerusalem. He was active as a Bible teacher for conferences and continuing education events in the Middle East, Europe, and North America, and he taught at Columbia, Princeton, and Fuller Seminary.
"Ken Bailey's Jacob and the Prodigal, a monumental work, will set
the stage for all subsequent New Testament scholars working on the
'so-called' parable of the Prodigal Son."
*Review of Biblical Literature*
"Jacob and the Prodigal is excellently written, very readable,
filled with a spirit of reverence for the great subject it talks
about and replete with the scholarly nuggets of the Near-Eastern
expert that nobody else can provide at this time. The novelty of
the New Testament as well as its continuity with the old covenant
is wonderfully worked out while offering us a captivating reading
of the Evangelium in Evangelio. A book with many refreshing
discoveries."
*Ulrich W. Mauser, Professor Emeritus, Princeton Theological
Seminary*
" 'There cannot be anything new left to be said about the parable
of the prodigal son.' Really? Not when Kenneth Bailey sets to work
with his phenomenal knowledge of Scripture and Jewish writings, the
Middle-Eastern scene and early Arabic commentators on the New
Testament! The result is a highly readable, exciting and
stimulating new reading of the stories in Luke 15 in tandem with
the story of Jacob. Preachers on these stories will never be able
to expound them again in the way that they used to dobut will find
treasures new in them thanks to this insightful treatment. The
gospel stands out all the more clearly as a result of Bailey's
interpretation."
*I. Howard Marshall, Honorary Research Professor of the New
Testament, University of Aberdeen*
"Kenneth Bailey's Jacob and the Prodigal offers a fascinating study
in biblical intertextuality that opens up new and exciting
possibilities in the interpretation of one of Jesus' best-known
parables, that of the prodigal son. The importance of Bailey's
exegesis is not limited to this one parable but has significance
for our understanding of the whole of Jesus' theology."
*Craig A. Evans, Payzant Professor of New Testament, Acadia
Divinity College, Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada*
"Bailey's knowledge of the scholarly literature is matched by his
intimate understanding of ancient texts and cultures, and these
together bring interpretative insights unavailable from any other
writer. Here Bailey outlines how Jesus taught in his culture and
day. He then focuses his energies on a brilliant and persuasive
treatment of Luke 15 and shows how the 'Jacob Saga' of Genesis
informed the dramatic framework of Jesus' most famous parable.
Bailey is one of the 'great teachers' and through this volume we
can listen to the wealth of his life of research."
*Gary M. Burge, Ph.D., Professor of New Testament, Wheaton College
and Graduate School*
"Kenneth Bailey has become the premier commentator in our
generation on the cultural world behind Jesus' parables. And of all
the parables, Bailey keeps returning to the prodigal son more than
any other one. Here, in one very insight-filled yet readable
layperson's book, is a more accessible form of much of his previous
commentary on Luke 15, plus more--fascinating parallels with
Genesis and the accounts of Jacob and Esau. Bailey is undoubtedly
right that there is more of the full-orbed gospel of redemption in
this parable than first meets the eye."
*Craig L. Blomberg, Distinguished Professor of New Testament,
Denver Seminary, Denver, Colorado*
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