The book addresses critical issues of the formation and development of Jewish identity in the late Second Temple period. How could Jewish identity be defined? What about the status of women and the image of 'others'? And what about its ongoing influence in early Christianity?

Jörg Frey, Dr. theol. habil., is Professor of New Testament interpretation at the University of Munich (Germany). He has published extensively on Qumran, Apocalypticism, Paul and, especially, the Johannine literature, including Die johanneische Eschatologie (3 volumes, 1997-2000).
Daniel R. Schwartz, Ph.D., is Professor of Jewish History at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem (Israel). He has published extensively on Josephus and the History of the Second Temple period, including a commentary on 2 Maccabees (in Hebrew, 2004).
Stephanie Gripentrog, M.A., is lecturer at the chair of Religious Studies at the Theological Faculty of the University of Basel (Switzerland)