Prof. David Flusser's biography of the life of Jesus is the fruit of more than fifty years of persona1 research concerning what may be considered the most well-known figure of the Second Temple Period. His philological-historical approach calls for a reconsideration of how we read the literary sources. He brings to bear the wealth of new information regarding the first century setting in light of the Dead Sea Scrolls, historical inquiry, and recent archaeological discoveries. What results is a compelling portrait of Jesus which gains additional depth because it is viewed wit& the context of Jewish though and Life in the first century.

Both Jewish and Christian readers will be challenged by the results of Flusser's study. The present work is based upon author's 1968 edition of Jesus. Yet, with the passage of 30 years, the new volume has been essentially rewritten to incorporate the wealth of new data. Whereas the previous book, now out of print, represented the beginnings of Flusser's investigation into the historical Jesus, the present volume is its culmination.