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Scattered throughout the Talmud, the founding document of rabbinic Judaism in late antiquity, can be found quite a few references to Jesus--and they're not flattering. In this lucid, richly detailed, and accessible book, Peter Schäfer examines how the rabbis of the Talmud read, understood, and used the New Testament Jesus narrative to assert, ultimately, Judaism's superiority over Christianity. The Talmudic stories make fun of Jesus' birth from a virgin, fervently contest his claim to be the Messiah and Son of God, and maintain that he was rightfully executed as a blasphemer and idolater. They subvert the Christian idea of Jesus' resurrection and insist he got the punishment he deserved in hell--and that a similar fate awaits his followers. Schäfer contends that these stories betray a remarkable familiarity with the Gospels--especially Matthew and John--and represent a deliberate and sophisticated anti-Christian polemic that parodies the New Testament narratives. He carefully distinguishes between Babylonian and Palestinian sources, arguing that the rabbis' proud and self-confident countermessage to that of the evangelists was possible only in the unique historical setting of Persian Babylonia, in a Jewish community that lived in relative freedom. The same could not be said of Roman and Byzantine Palestine, where the Christians aggressively consolidated their political power and the Jews therefore suffered. A departure from past scholarship, which has played down the stories as unreliable distortions of the historical Jesus, Jesus in the Talmud posits a much more deliberate agenda behind these narratives.

Jewish religion --- Jesus Christ --- Talmud --- Rabbinical literature --- Littérature rabbinique --- History and criticism. --- Histoire et critique --- Jewish interpretations. --- Bible. --- Criticism, interpretation, etc. --- Controversial literature --- 225*1 --- -Hebrew literature --- Jewish literature --- Leven van Jezus Christus in het Nieuwe Testament. Historische Jezus Christus --- -Christ --- Cristo --- Jezus Chrystus --- Jesus Cristo --- Jesus, --- Jezus --- Christ, Jesus --- Yeh-su --- Masīḥ --- Khristos --- Gesù --- Christo --- Yeshua --- Chrystus --- Gesú Cristo --- Ježíš --- Isa, --- Nabi Isa --- Isa Al-Masih --- Al-Masih, Isa --- Masih, Isa Al --- -Jesus, --- Jesucristo --- Yesu --- Yeh-su Chi-tu --- Iēsous --- Iēsous Christos --- Iēsous, --- Kʻristos --- Hisus Kʻristos --- Christos --- Jesuo --- Yeshuʻa ben Yosef --- Yeshua ben Yoseph --- Iisus --- Iisus Khristos --- Jeschua ben Joseph --- Ieso Kriʻste --- Yesus --- Kristus --- ישו --- ישו הנוצרי --- ישו הנצרי --- ישוע --- ישוע בן יוסף --- المسيح --- مسيح --- يسوع المسيح --- 耶稣 --- 耶稣基督 --- 예수그리스도 --- Jíizis --- Yéshoua --- Iėsu̇s --- Khrist Iėsu̇s --- عيسىٰ --- -Bible. --- Talmud Bavli --- Babylonian Talmud --- Talmud, Babylonian --- Talmud Vavilonskiĭ --- Talmoed, Babylonische --- Babylonische Talmoed --- Shas --- Shishah sedarim --- Talmud of Babylonia --- Talmud de Babilonia --- Talmud Babli --- Talmouth --- Talmod --- Ba-yon Tipan --- Bagong Tipan --- Jaji ma Hungi --- Kainē Diathēkē --- New Testament --- Nouveau Testament --- Novo Testamento --- Novum Testamentum --- Novyĭ Zavet --- Novyĭ Zavi︠e︡t Gospoda nashego Īisusa Khrista --- Novyĭ Zavit --- Nuevo Testamento --- Nuovo Testamento --- Nye Testamente --- Perjanjian Baru --- Dhamma sacʻ kyamʻʺ --- Injīl --- -History and criticism. --- -Leven van Jezus Christus in het Nieuwe Testament. Historische Jezus Christus --- -Jewish interpretations. --- 225*1 Leven van Jezus Christus in het Nieuwe Testament. Historische Jezus Christus --- -225*1 Leven van Jezus Christus in het Nieuwe Testament. Historische Jezus Christus --- Hebrew literature --- Littérature rabbinique --- Christ --- History and criticism --- ‏عيسىٰ‏ --- Jesus --- ספרות רבנית --- أدب الحاخامات --- היסטוריה וביקורת --- تاريخ ونقد --- ישו, --- פירושים יהודיים --- Interpretations, Jewish --- תלמוד בבלי --- التلمود البابلى --- Shas (Talmud) --- הברית החדשה --- ספרות פולמוסית