Reopening the Word: Reading Mark As Theology in the Context of Early Judaism

Rating:
Summary: Professor of Jesus and Culture, Emory University
Review: I found both new to me and completely convincing:
1. The establishment of the gospel's genre as midrash
2. The establishment of the true ending of the gospel and the right translation for the witnesses' awe. (I'm also glad to have the snakehandler's text exercised).
3. The immersion of the evangelist in the tradition of Wisdom.
4. The role of the women as the wise.
5. The interrelation of the sower parables and also their interrelation to the mustard seed parable. (One example of many such effective expositions).
.

Rating:
Summary: Professor of Jesus and Culture, Emory University
Review: I found both new to me and completely convincing:
1. The establishment of the gospel's genre as midrash
2. The establishment of the true ending of the gospel and the right translation for the witnesses' awe. (I'm also glad to have the snakehandler's text exercised).
3. The immersion of the evangelist in the tradition of Wisdom.
4. The role of the women as the wise.
5. The interrelation of the sower parables and also their interrelation to the mustard seed parable. (One example of many such effective expositions).
.

Rating:
Summary: Professor of Biblical Studies, Cornell University
Review: The doyen of New Testament scholars of the past five decades, the late W.D. Davies of Duke University, said of Sabin's book that, "in a complicated field, the author writes in an admirably lucid, uncluttered style and draws upon the vast pertinent sources. The Gospel of Mark is one of the most scrutinized of all the Gospels. Dr. Sabin recognizes that it has been treated theologically, literarily, liturgically, and cathechetically; but she is innovative in suggesting a fresh approach to that Gospel.... After a very illuminating chapter in which she sets forth the meaning of the term Midrash, she examines Mark as a midrashic document. To show how such a midrashic approach leads to new insights, she juxtaposes her midrashic exegesis of Mark with one of the early Church Fathers and that of a contemporary exegete.... The result is a presentation of Mark which is often provocative and enriching: it may prove to be seminal."
I align myself with Davies' judgment and would add that her aim when countering longstanding standard approaches to the interpretation of Mark proves most successful. Time and again she produces novel insights and her criticism of major scholars in the field is both sophisticated and persuasive.

Rating:
Summary: Professor of Biblical Studies, Cornell University
Review: The doyen of New Testament scholars of the past five decades, the late W.D. Davies of Duke University, said of Sabin's book that, "in a complicated field, the author writes in an admirably lucid, uncluttered style and draws upon the vast pertinent sources. The Gospel of Mark is one of the most scrutinized of all the Gospels. Dr. Sabin recognizes that it has been treated theologically, literarily, liturgically, and cathechetically; but she is innovative in suggesting a fresh approach to that Gospel.... After a very illuminating chapter in which she sets forth the meaning of the term Midrash, she examines Mark as a midrashic document. To show how such a midrashic approach leads to new insights, she juxtaposes her midrashic exegesis of Mark with one of the early Church Fathers and that of a contemporary exegete.... The result is a presentation of Mark which is often provocative and enriching: it may prove to be seminal."
I align myself with Davies' judgment and would add that her aim when countering longstanding standard approaches to the interpretation of Mark proves most successful. Time and again she produces novel insights and her criticism of major scholars in the field is both sophisticated and persuasive.