Recent scholarship has benefited from the discoveries at Qumran and refined methodologies for the analysis of a variety of Second Temple texts. It has become increasingly clear that the cultural milieu of Palestine in the New Testament period was a complex mixture of Judaism and Hellenism. This fresh data provides textual, social and political information on the world of Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus’ words and actions take on fresh meaning in light of the contexts which we can now more fully describe. Focus will fall on readings from the Talmud, Midrashim, Pesharim, Apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha and Qumran documents which provide additional insights into the biblical witness for teaching and preaching. (1.5 CEU)