Books by Roger David Aus

With the aid of early Jewish sources, this study opens new avenues of interpretation regarding two enigmatic passages on baptism in Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, 10:1-5 and 15:29.

These five essays deal with the influence of Judaic haggadah or lore, especially in the form of "creative historiography" or "imaginative dramatization," on four enigmatic passages in the Gospels, and one in Acts.

A widespread early Palestinian Jewish saying was 'As the first redeemer of Israel, so the last redeemer of Israel': as Moses, so the Messiah. This was the major reason why the death, burial, and translation of Moses to heaven in primarily Palestinian early Jewish tradition greatly influenced the descriptions of numerous accounts in the Gospels. The most significant examples of this are Jesus' burial by Joseph of Arimathea in Mark 15:42-46, and the narrative of the empty tomb in 16:1-8. Striking new insights into the background and significance of these episodes are gained here through an analysis of early Jewish materials.

This work is a collection of essays on the Palestinian Judaic background of Mark 5:1-20; Luke 4:16-30; the name Judas 'Iscariot'; Luke 19:41-44; John 8:56-58; Matt 24:28; Luke 17:37; Luke 13:34b, and Matthew 23:37b.

This study uses early Jewish sources to analyze the significance of Day of Atonement and High Priest imagery in the narrative of Simon Peter's threefold denial of Jesus. It then describes the influence of other early Jewish sources on Jesus' commissioning Simon Peter as his own successor in John 21:15-19.

In contrast to common opinion, Roger David Aus explores the positive aspects of the Apostle Paul's use of the image of 'triumphing' in Second Corinthians 2:14. Through detailed analysis of both Greco-Roman and Judaic texts, this exciting new work completely revises recent interpretations of this decisive passage.

Matthew 1-2 and the Virginal Conception examines early Palestinian and Hellenistic Jewish accounts of the birth of Israel's first redeemer, Moses. The author shows how these accounts provide the background of Mary's "virginal conception" of Jesus, Israel's final redeemer, in Matthew 1-2.