Caught in the Act, Walking on the Sea, and the Release of Barabbas Revisited

This book brings together three essays which relate Judaic traditions to New Testament narratives in new and illuminating ways. Examining the narrative of the adulteress caught in the act in John 7:53-8:11, the author sees in it Zealot traditions reflected in the Mishnah and in Judaic interpretation of Malachi 2:11 and Hosea 4:14. Jesus’ walking on the Sea of Galilee in Mark 6:45-52 is seen to derive primarily from early Judaic traditions on the crossing of the Reed Sea in Exodus 14-15 and as a foil to the maniacal Roman emperor Caligula’s crossing of the bay of Naples. The release of Barabbas in Mark 15:6-15 is related to the response of Herod’s son and successor Archelaus to the Jerusalem insurrection against Herod at his death in 4 BCE. This work will be of interest to Bible scholars, graduate and theological students, and clergy.