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	May 2003				Authenticating the Words of Jesus by Bruce Chilton and Craig A. Evans (editors). Brill Academic Publishers. (Boston and Leiden) 480 pages, 2002
		Authenticating the Words of Jesus reviewed by Alan Dwight
			This book is academic, 'not to be undertaken lightly'. It consists of articles by leading theologians, has an extensive bibliography, indices of authors and biblical quotations but no general index. It doesn't provide translations of German quotations but, less surprising in such a book, also leaves Greek and Hebrew untranslated. Its aim is not to offer an apologia for Jesus' words in the gospels but seeks 'to clarify what procedures should be undertaken to distinguish tradition and meaning that stem from Jesus from that which stems from later tradents and evangelists, and to inquire into the various forces that led to the emergence of the tradition as we have it.' At the beginning the book points out the six sources: Q (the hypothetical common source of much of the Synoptics), the three Synoptics, and the two Johannine sources (with 'signs' material considered as separate). These can give six distinct images of Jesus. to which we can add what is presented in non-canonical material. To some extent this book is a response to the much-publicised Jesus Seminar which ranked only 18% of Jesus' words as actually or probably connected to Jesus. Charles Leland Quarles accuses the Seminar of manipulating 'the evidence to fit its agenda'. Language Ben F. Meyer has a fascinating chapter. 'How Jesus Charged the Language with Meaning: A Study in Rhetoric'. Meyer establishes Jesus' use of phanopoeia, 'charging language with sharp visual images'. He shows how images reflect life in Jesus' world. And there is melopoeia, 'the orchestration of sound'. Particular use is made of Aramaic, the language Jesus may have used and the possible original gospel language. Jesus may have (also) used koine Greek, the lingua franca of Galilee at the time. Add to these logopoeia, the language charged with allusions. Douglas E, Oakham studies the social background of the Lord's Prayer, showing how it reflects Jesus' concern for the poor and hungry of his time, and it's argued that healing may sometimes have been needed because of malnutrition. The Greek manuscripts are studied: daily bread, bread, 'coming in the future', 'in abundance'. Intended Jesus also shows concern for the debt-ridden poor with courts often rigged by corrupt judges. Oakham, points out that in Aramaic 'debts' and 'sins' use the same word. The prayer, as originally intended, can deal with social and economic crises for today's poor throughout the world. Bruce Chilton examines whether '(the) Son of (the) Man' stresses Jesus' humanity or divinity and decides it means both, arguing 'He (Jesus) operates in the realm of poetry, not prose.' In conclusion, there is too much of interest to do justice to this book in a short review and so the focus is a selection of highlights.