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Bible Books

By Stevan Davies

The Messiah Myth: The Near Eastern Roots of Jesus and David

Thomas L. Thompson

(New York: Basic Books, 2005) 414 pp., $35.00 (hardback)

Some people, but not very many, ask whether Jesus ever lived. Thomas L. Thompson, of the University of Copenhagen, is one of them.
At first, it seems to be a ridiculous question, but over time, as scholars find more and more of the New Testament to be late and legendary, this question is becoming increasingly difficult to answer.

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Footnotes

1.

The Five Scrolls has been published in three editions: The congregational edition (reviewed here) includes both the translation of the five books and prayers to accompany the reading of the books in the synagogue on the holidays when it is traditional to do so; the next version, without prayers, in a larger format than the congregationnal ($60), and the special limited edition in large format printed on rag paper with a hand-pulled Baskin etching, signed and numbered by the artist ($675). In all three versions, Baskin’s 37 watercolor illustrations are included.

2.

The first five books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy and Numbers.