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The First New Testament: Marcion’s Scriptural Canon

the first new testament book coverThe earliest version of the New Testament, now in English for the first time!

History preserves the name of the person responsible for the first New Testament, the circumstances surrounding his work, and even the date he decided to build a textual foundation for his fledgling Christian community. So why do so few people know about him? Jason BeDuhn introduces Marcion, reconstructs his text, and explores his impact on the study of Luke-Acts, the two-source theory, and the Q hypothesis.

“BeDuhn has provided a work of scholarship that is sure to be both welcomed and controversial. For historians of early Christianity, this will be a book to be reckoned with.” —Bart D. Ehrman, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

 

Product Details

    • Paperback: 440 pages
    • Publisher: Polebridge Press (November 5, 2013)
    • Language: English
    • ISBN-10: 1598151312
    • ISBN-13: 978-1598151312
    • Product Dimensions: 0.8 x 5.9 x 8.9 inches

Editorial Reviews

Review

In this bold undertaking, Jason BeDuhn sets forth, for the first time, a complete English translation of the Bible of Marcion. With a useful introduction to all relevant issues, a readable translation of this First New Testament, and copious notes supporting each textual decision, BeDuhn has provided a work of scholarship that is sure to be both welcomed and controversial. For historians of early Christianity, this will be a book to be reckoned with. –Bart Ehrman, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

This is an important book that fills a large gap in the resources needed for the study of second-century Christianity and Marcion in particular. It is an exhaustive examination of the relevant sources and a masterful, methodologically sensitive, treatment of Marcion’s significance. –Joseph B. Tyson, professor emeritus, Southern Methodist University

… a provocative and groundbreaking contribution to the long discussion of Marcion. The First New Testament upends many standard facts in the field of New Testament and early Christian studies, such as the longstanding claim that Marcion’s Christian Bible contained texts mutilated to conform to his distinctive beliefs. Anyone interested in the earliest recoverable forms of the New Testament texts needs to pay attention to this sharp and original study. –J. Albert Harrill, Professor of Classics, The Ohio State University

About the Author

Jason BeDuhn is Professor of the Comparative Study of Religions at Northern Arizona University, a Guggenheim and National Humanities Center Fellow, and author of The Manichaean Body (2000, winner of the American Academy of Religion Best First Book Award), Truth in Translation (2003), Augustine’s Manichaean Dilemma (vol. 1 2010, vol. 2 2013), and The First New Testament: Marcion’s Scriptural Canon (2013).

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