Covenant - Concepts of Berit, Diatheke, and Testamentum

Born 1961; 2001 Dr. theol. University of Notre Dame; Professor of Humanities, St. Edward's University in Austin, Texas.Born 1965; 1997 PhD Harvard University; Isla Carroll & Percy E. Turner Professor of Biblical Studies at Rice University in Houston, Texas.Born 1961; 1993 doctorate; 1999 habilitation; Professor at the University of Rostock.Born 1964; 2000 doctorate; 2011 Habilitation; Professor of Religious Studies and Director of the Religious Studies Program at the University of Houston, Texas.Born 1955; 1990 doctorate; 1994 Habilitation; Professor emeritus for New Testament Studies at the University of the Saarland, Saarbruecken.

The topic of covenant is as important to the study of ancient Near Eastern religions, Second Temple Judaism, early Christian literature, and the early Christian Church and Rabbinic Judaism as it is complex and disputed among ancient and modern scholars. It permeates much of biblical and cognate literature throughout many centuries. The essays in this collection explore the diverse spectrum of covenant concepts that emerged during this time period in different parts of the ancient Near East and the Eastern Mediterranean. They also discuss theological implications and later applications in mostly religious texts from different scholarly perspectives. The result is a detailed, comprehensive, and thorough presentation of the tremendous range of covenantal concepts and their complexities in biblical and cognate literature throughout the ages, together with a keen look at the history of pertinent scholarly research.