John Meier, A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus, 2 vols. (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1991–1994). Meier’s work does not, in the main, fall under the summarizing comments I make in this article. For an appreciation and critique of his volumes, see my reviews, “A Marginal Mediterranean Jewish Peasant,” Commonweal 119 (April 1992), pp. 24–26; and “Testing the Gospel Story,” Commonweal 121 (November 1994), pp. 33–35.