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This book explores 'innocent blood' and its traditions as keys to the death of Jesus in Matthew, against background of exile and return.
List of contents
Part I. Introduction: 1. Introducing the question; 2. Innocent blood in the gospel of Matthew: a narrative-critical study; Part II. Innocent Blood in Second-Temple Jewish and Rabbinic Literature: 3. 1 Enoch and the cosmic sweep of innocent blood: from Cain and blood to flood and judgment; 4. Other Cain/blood-flood/judgment traditions; 5. The blood of Zechariah in the lives of the prophets and Rabbinic literature; Part III. Innocent Blood and the Gospel of Matthew: 6. Zechariah traditions and Cain/Blood-flood/Judgment traditions; 7. The meaning of innocent blood in Matthew: pollution and purgation, exile and restoration; Part IV. Conclusion: 8. Conclusion.
About the author
Catherine Sider Hamilton is Assistant Professor of New Testament and Greek at Wycliffe College in the University of Toronto, and Priest-in-charge at St Matthew's Anglican Church, Toronto. She received a Helliwell-Thompson doctoral fellowship from Wycliffe College and a SSHRC doctoral grant which enabled her to begin and complete this book. She is a member of the Society for Biblical Literature and the Canadian Society of Biblical Studies and has given numerous papers at these annual conferences. She has published peer-reviewed articles on Matthew and on Paul. In addition, she writes on women in the early church and is currently co-authoring the book Paul and Women through the Ages (forthcoming). She owns and maintains the blog, feastfastferia.wordpress.com, exploring the rhythms of the Christian year.
Summary
This book offers a new approach to the death of Jesus in Matthew by introducing the central concept of 'innocent blood' and the Jewish paradigm of purity and pollution. It will be of interest to all who work in Matthew, New Testament, and/or Judaic studies.
