The Pharisees
Their History, Character, and New Testament Portrait
Foreword by Craig A. Evans
Imprint: Cascade Books
A struggle is currently underway to figure out one of the central groups in the gospel story . . . the Pharisees. Were they "hypocrites or heroes"? Or as one recent writer put it, maybe they were just "good guys with bad press." Scholars of Judaism and of the NT have been painstakingly correcting, even rehabilitating, the image of the first-century Pharisees, but this seems not yet to have affected most readers of Scripture. Here at last is a book that lays out for the non-specialist the evidence for the origin and true nature of the Pharisees . . . and challenges them to re-read the gospel stories with real Pharisees in mind rather than caricatures.
Kent L. Yinger, retired Professor of New Testament at Portland Seminary (George Fox University), is the author of The New Perspective on Paul: An Introduction (2011) and God and Human Wholeness: Perfection in Biblical and Theological Tradition (2019).
“I am excited that Kent has written this book and believe it will be an excellent, very accessible contribution for Christian readers, especially pastors and the like, who may not realize just how mistaken are the prevailing tropes about Pharisees in Christian culture. . . . For people of good will, this should be a very welcome resource, both as a historically based corrective and a way forward for thinking and talking about Jewish people and groups.”
—Mark D. Nanos, author of Reading Paul within Judaism
“With wit, creativity, and accessibility, Yinger paints a renewed portrait of the Pharisees that provides a much-needed corrective to deeply ingrained common mischaracterizations. Yinger’s expertise as teacher is evident in the design of this volume. I look forward to recommending this exceptional resource to all students of the Bible!”
—Jennifer M. Matheny, Nazarene Theological Seminary
“Yinger performs an unusual and helpful service to the academy and church in this detailed, well-researched book. . . . If you read this book, you will not think of Pharisees the same way. I am grateful to Dr. Yinger for producing such an accessible and valuable resource. I will recommend it to colleagues far and wide.”
—Charles J. Conniry Jr., Western Seminary
“Yinger sifts afresh through the literary witnesses to the Pharisees, helping us see them as a bona fide religious movement with comprehensible—and even commendable—goals. . . . The cumulative result of this careful work is a platform from which to assess when we speak truthfully about Pharisees and discern when we perpetuate defamation—a goal to which all ethically minded people must aspire.”
—David A. deSilva, Ashland Theological Seminary
“Stereotypes of Pharisees as hypocritical and legalistic self-righteous moralists have fueled anti-Semitism and bad readings of the Bible for far too long. . . . Yinger makes an excellent contribution to serve that need, examining the range of ancient texts that talk about Pharisees for the benefit of students, pastors, and general readers of the Bible. This is the first book I would hand someone who was interested in understanding the Pharisees of antiquity.”
—Nijay K. Gupta, Northern Seminary
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