Judaism, Jewish Identities and the Gospel Tradition is a collection of essays focused on what is now a major issue in contemporary gospel studies. The essays are in honour of Maurice Casey who has made major contributions to our understanding of the Jewish context of Jesus and the gospels. Fittingly, however, this collection of essays will avoid the conventional festschrift format and is designed to be a detailed analysis in its own right. This volume will look at the ways in which 'Judaism' can function as an analytical concept in gospel scholarship. This will include an overview of the ways in which Judaism is used in the canonical gospels and how this relates to the idea of a 'Jewish Jesus', in addition to specific examples of similarities with, and differences from, various Jewish traditions in the gospels, constructions of gender, the impact of the historical Jesus, and the significant steps toward Christian distinctiveness made in the gospel of John. Contributors include Andrew Angel, Roger D. Aus, George J. Brooke, David Bryan, Bruce Chilton, Daniel Cohen, James G. Crossley, Wendy E. S. North, and Catrin Williams, with a preface by C. K. Barrett.

James G. Crossley is Senior Lecturer in New Testament Studies in the Department of Biblical Studies at the University of Sheffield. His recent publications include why Christianity Happened: A Sociohistorical Account of Christian Origins 26-50 CE (2006) and Jesus in an Age of Terror: Scholarly Projects for a New American Century (Equinox Publishing, 2008). His main research interests include early Judaism, historical Jesus, social history of Christian origins, the political contexts of scholarship, and the New Testament in contemporary politics and popular culture.