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Gerd Theissen
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The Shadow of the Galilean: The Quest of the Historical Jesus in Narrative Form Updated Edition, Kindle Edition

by Gerd Theissen (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 196 ratings
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First published in 1987 by Fortress Press, this 20th anniversary edition of this classic bestseller includes a new Afterword from the author. Here, in narrative form, is an account of the activity of Jesus of Nazareth, scrupulously constructed so that it does not undercut the insights of New Testament scholarship. What makes it different from other such attempts is that Jesus never actually appears. What we find everywhere is his shadow, his effect.

Such an approach avoids the usual pitfalls of the genre and lends this story attributed to a fictitious narrator an attraction, freshness, and power all its own. Tension and interest are maintained to the end, even for those sated with books about Jesus. Careful documentation in the footnotes shows how much of the narrative is based on ancient sources.

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  1. ISBN-13
    978-0800639006
  2. Edition
    Updated
  3. Sticky notes
    Not Enabled
  4. Publisher
    Fortress Press
  5. Publication date
    May 1, 2007
  6. Language
    English
  7. File size
    1987 KB
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"An achievement in 'narrative theology,' illuminating the social world of Jesus from rich sources and imaginative reconstruction. Theissen's book combines scholarship and story. The author supplements his fictional creations with letters to a professional colleague, Dr. Kratzinger, illuminating methodology. The book should be a boon to preachers of the Gospels." --John Reumann, Lutheran Theological Seminary, Philadelphia

About the Author

Gerd Theissen is Professor of New Testament at the University of Heidelberg, Germany, and the author of The Religion of the Earliest Churches (Fortress Press, 1999) and The Shadow of the Galilean (Fortress Press, 1987). He is co-author of The Historical Jesus: A Comprehensive Guide (Fortress Press, 1988) and a co-editor of The Social Setting of Jesus and the Gospels (Fortress Press, 2001).

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B001EQ653K
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Fortress Press; Updated edition (May 1, 2007)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 1, 2007
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1987 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Not enabled
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 224 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 196 ratings

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Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
196 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

JCB813
5.0 out of 5 stars product received as described.
Reviewed in the United States on February 17, 2024
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This is a good book - new fictional perspective.
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Katie Axelson
4.0 out of 5 stars Great Read
Reviewed in the United States on February 22, 2024
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This book was recommended to me by my tour guide in Israel. It's a great read of a different perspective on Jesus.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Unique Perspective on the Birth of Christianity
Reviewed in the United States on November 22, 2016
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The first century was a time of great social and political turmoil, of tensions between different people groups, and of shifts in religious ideologies. Many of these changes can be traced back to Jesus of Nazareth. In The Shadow of the Galilean, Gerd Theissen paints a poignant picture of how daily life in the first century was radically altered by the life of Jesus. Narrated by Andreas son of John, the book depicts the journey of a Jewish businessman as he traces the metaphorical footprints of the man called Jesus throughout various regions in the Roman empire.

Theissen’s book addresses distinctions in the social class hierarchy of the time. Along his journey, Andreas encounters Tholomaeus and Susanna, a couple in Nazareth who were impoverished and oppressed by the rich. Their sons had left them, and they despaired of their situation. However, these two individuals were attracted to the teachings of Jesus, and their attitudes were transformed by Christian ideology. Jesus’ teachings appealed to those who had no hope in materialistic possessions, who were suffering at the hand of the wealthy, and who were nearing the end of what they could bear. While Jesus offered nothing, He spoke words of comfort to the afflicted, and Theissen includes quotations from the beatitudes from the Sermon of the Mount to explain why the lower social classes were drawn to the countercultural ideas of Jesus.

Throughout the book, Andreas wrestles with the teachings of Jesus—beyond his task of determining whether or not Jesus was a security risk to the Roman authorities. However, Andreas cannot deny the power of Jesus’ words, and eventually adopts the Christian worldview to some capacity. Andreas concludes that Jesus had, in some way, ended the vicious cycle of protecting self-interests at the perpetual expense of others, and had conquered the evil of the world. At first, Andreas is held back by Jesus’ radical teachings, and the spirit of unrest and dissension these words sparked amongst the Jews. After much consideration and deliberation with his colleague, Baruch, Andreas has a dream about Jesus and grasps the message of redemption and reconciliation that Jesus came to preach. Today, many people are indeed dissuaded from the gospel message due to its paradoxical nature and the revolutionary ideas it presents—that continue to be countercultural in the 21st century. Another overlap between Andreas’ faith journey and the trends of today’s conversions lies in Andreas’ epiphany regarding the evanescence of life, and its meaninglessness without Jesus. The human race has been defined in many ways by its quest for purpose, and many people come to Christianity today because it offers a satisfying purpose and meaning to life that is found nowhere else.

The Shadow of the Galilean by Gerd Theissen is a well-written, excellent book that I would certainly recommend for its unique perspective on what the birth of Christianity may have looked like first-hand.
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Steve
5.0 out of 5 stars Engaging socio-political introduction to the "historical Jesus"
Reviewed in the United States on March 15, 2020
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For an approachable and engaging introduction to investigating the “historical Jesus,” readers can scarcely do better than Gerd Theissen’s “The Shadow of the Galilean”. This slim volume of historical fiction depicts Jesus and the movement that developed around him through the eyes of a fictional Palestinian of the time. It invites the reader into the story of Andreas, a young Jewish merchant from the Galilean town of Sepphoris, and uses his travails and triumphs as the scaffold on which is painted a picture of the social, political and economic world – and therefore also the religious world, which was part and parcel of the socio-political – of Roman Palestine.
We never actually encounter Jesus in the book, but his “shadow” permeates the story as we hear of his activities and preaching, learn how diverse segments of the Palestinian populace and the Roman regime react to him, and hear from those who have dealt with him directly. Readers will gain insights not evident to those reading the Gospels at a remove of two millenia. For instance, Barabbas, the criminal the Jewish crowd chose to free instead of Jesus, is drawn as a social revolutionary, a probably accurate depiction of the “bandits” who were active in the Palestinian underground of the time, but very different from the common thief or murderer we tend to think him.
The story and storytelling are somewhat contrived and wooden – Theissen is an academic theologian, not a novelist – but they serve as an adequate framework for conveying a wealth of historical and theological information. Theissen unobtrusively lards the story with a multitude of source references and discursive footnotes. He also provides contemporary (to our time) historical and theological perspective on the story by prefacing each chapter with a letter written by the author to a skeptical colleague (who is himself a fictional character, loosely based on the Catholic cardinal who became Pope Benedict XVI). Some will find this an artificial and intrusive construct, but it definitely adds a dimension to the history.
3 people found this helpful
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Katharine
5.0 out of 5 stars Thoughtful and Provocative
Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2020
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This book came to my attention as one of the choices to read in a class on the New Testament in seminary.
The Shadow of the Galilean is a captivating work of historical fiction that ushers us into the turmoil of first century Palestinian life. The main character Andreas, a young Palestinian fruit and grain merchant, has been imprisoned for being found among a group demonstrating against Roman rule. His condition for release from prison is to agree to Pilate’s demand that he collect information about Jewish religious groups considered disquieting to the governing Romans, including those seen as potential security risks—the Essenes, John the Baptist, and Jesus. Andreas sympathizes with his acquaintance Barabbas the Zealot, but not with the means of using force to effect political change. He is faced with the classical conflicts of loyalty to self, friends, and country that inevitably confront anyone agreeing to a course of action that challenges and compromises personal values. Most helpful are the vivid descriptions of the Palestinian landscape, households, and customs of the day. We are given realistic portraits of the reactions of everyday men and women who are attracted to Jesus and listen to his message. An unusual but highly effective feature is that each chapter begins with a sidebar to respond to a fictional scholarly colleague concerned about the accuracy of the narrative’s historical and exegetical details. The Shadow of the Galilean reminds us that first century communities struggled with personal, religious, and political complexities not so different from those we face in the 21st century.
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Top reviews from other countries

Lia
5.0 out of 5 stars Good book
Reviewed in Brazil on April 28, 2024
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The media could not be loaded.
 The story of the book is very interesting.
The cover is made of a simple material and is therefore more fragile. But I believe the story is more important in this case.
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Lia
5.0 out of 5 stars Good book
Reviewed in Brazil on April 28, 2024
The story of the book is very interesting.
The cover is made of a simple material and is therefore more fragile. But I believe the story is more important in this case.
Images in this review
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Customer image
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James
2.0 out of 5 stars Good book, terrible Kindle book
Reviewed in Canada on July 20, 2018
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Good book, terrible Kindle book. If you are going to charge $16 for a Kindle book make sure the footnotes are hyperlinked. In this book, the footnotes are especially important. Shame on the lazy publisher.
One person found this helpful
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Toxophylist
5.0 out of 5 stars An interesting read.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 9, 2019
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An interesting read in that it explores Palestine under Roman occupation at the time of Jesus from the viewpoint of someone who never met him but heard of him.
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mylene robichaud
1.0 out of 5 stars Electronic book of poor quality
Reviewed in Canada on June 22, 2020
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Unable to read the damn thing. It blocks, it blinks and I can't go further the second chapter. Unfortunate!
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Lisa B
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 2, 2019
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I read this book some years ago, lent it out and never got it back. I had to buy it again it was just so good!
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