Anders Runesson

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Visiting address Blindernveien 9 Domus Theologica 0371 Oslo
Postal address Postboks 1023 Blindern 0315 Oslo

Academic Interests

My research interests orbit areas of study traditionally divided into three disciplines: New Testament/Christian Origins, Jewish Studies, and Hebrew Bible. My focus is on the Jesus movement, the texts it used and produced, and its relationship to other contemporary Jewish groups, and I use a variety of methods and tools to find answers to my socio-historical and theological questions.

Locating my research within these areas, the time periods covered in my published work extend more or less from the Persian period (from the reign of Cyrus 539 bce) up to and including early Rabbinic and Patristic literature. Within these time periods, and using a variety of source materials (archaeological remains, inscriptions, papyri, literary texts), and applying a range of methods my work centres on issues related to Jewish and Christian history, identity formation, and early intra- and inter-religious encounters.

Topics of interest include Matthew’s Gospel; Paul; the historical Jesus; ancient synagogues; Jewish–Christian relations; Jewish, Christian, and Graeco-Roman ‘mission’. I also have an interest in translation, terminology, epistemology and methodology.

Courses Taught

I teach/have taught undergraduate courses on the following topics: Introduction to the New Testament; The Quest for the Historical Jesus; Earliest Portraits of Jesus (the synoptic gospels); Paul and Christian Origins; Inter-Religious Encounters in Antiquity: Jew, Christians, and Pagans; The Ancient Synagogue and the Origins of Judaism and Christianity; The Theology and Social Location of Matthew’s Gospel.

Themes for graduate courses I have taught include: Divine Judgment in the New Testament Gospels; John Among Jews and Gentiles; The Gospel of Matthew and the Matthean Communities; Textualising Jesus: The When, Where, How, and Why of the Gospel of Mark; The Historical Jesus and the Kingdom of God; Jewish-Christian Relations in Antiquity; The Ancient Synagogue: Birth Place of Two World Religions; Issues in the Study of Religions (a theory and methods course).

Education

At the Centre for Theology and Religious Studies at Lund University, Sweden, where I began my undergraduate education in 1989, I earned a B.A. (Jewish Studies, 1995), an M.Div. (1995), an M.A. (Religious Studies, 1996), a Licentiate (New Testament Exegesis, 1997; thesis: The Judgment According to Matthew), and a Ph.D. (New Testament Exegesis, 2001; thesis: The Origins of the Synagogue: A Socio-Historical Study). I was appointed docent (approx. Dr. Habil.) in 2002.

Employment History

After completion of my doctoral dissertation, I was employed as Researcher at Lund University 2002–2003. Between 2003 and 2015 I was Professor of Early Christianity and Early Judaism in the Department of Religious Studies at McMaster University in Canada. Since July 1 2015, I am Professor of New Testament in the Faculty of Theology at the University of Oslo.

Honours and Awards

Scientific:

  • The Esaias Tegnér Award, for excellence in exegetical research, Lund University, Sweden, 2002.
  • The Lars Johan Wallmark Award for scholarly excellence, The Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies at Lund University, Sweden, 2002.
  • The Biörnstjärnska Award for The Origins of the Synagogue, The Royal Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities, received from the King of Sweden at a ceremony in the Royal Palace, Stockholm, Sweden, 2003.
  • The Westrupska Award, for The Origins of the Synagogue, The Royal Academy of Humanities, Lund, Sweden, 2004.
  • The Frank W. Beare Award, for an “outstanding book in the areas of Christian Origins, Post-Biblical Judaism and/or Graeco-Roman Religions” 2017: Divine Wrath and Salvation in Matthew: The Narrative World of the First Gospel (Fortress, 2016).

Other scholarly honours:

  • Selected as Author in Focus, November 2011, by Brill Academic Publishers (Leiden, The Netherlands).

Pedagogical:

  • Nominated for the President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, McMaster University, 2006.
  • Nominated for the President’s Award for Excellence in Graduate Supervision, McMaster University, 2013.

Membership in Learned Societies

  • Uppsala exegetiska sällskap/Svenska exegetiska sällskapet 1990-
  • Society of Biblical Literature 2001-
  • Canadian Society for Biblical Studies (elected) 2004-
  • Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas (elected) 2006-

Conference and Cooperation

Annual Conferences, ongoing:

  • Co-Chair (with Profs. Hermut Löhr, Germany, and Markus Öhler, Austria), Social History and the New Testament Seminar, SNTS. 2010– .
  • Co-Chair (with Prof. Daniel M. Gurtner, USA), Matthew Section, Society of Biblical Literature. 2012– .
  • Member of Steering Committee, Paul Within Judaism Section, Society of Biblical Literature. 2010– .

Previous conferences organised include:

  • Theology and Liberation in a Global World. Ten years after Per Frostin. An International Conference exploring recent developments in Contextual Theology with special emphasis on Sweden, Norway, and Tanzania. Lund University 2002. Co-organised with the Institute for Contextual Theology.
  • Mark and Matthew – Texts and Contexts I: Understanding the Earliest Gospels in Their First-Century Settings. An international conference for the study of gospel literature in comparative perspective. Aarhus University, Denmark, 2008. Co-organised with Prof. Eve-Marie Becker, Aarhus University.
  • Mark and Matthew – Texts and Contexts II: Reception History, Cultural Hermeneutics, and Theology. An international conference for the study of gospel literature in comparative perspective. McMaster University, Canada, 2009. Co-organised with Prof. Eve-Marie Becker, Aarhus University.
Tags: New Testament Studies, Gospel Literature, Pauline Studies, Early Christianity, Ancient Judaism, Synagogue Studies, Greek, Hebrew, Latin

Publications

Books

Runesson, Anders. The Origins of the Synagogue: A Socio-Historical Study. ConBNT 37. Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell International, 2001. (573 pages).

Runesson, Anders and Torbjörn Sjöholm (eds.). Varför ser ni mot himlen? Utmaningar från den kontextuella teologin. [Why Do you Look Towards Heaven? Challenges from Contextual Theology]Stockholm: Verbum, 2005. (204 pages)

Mitternacht Dieter and Anders Runesson (eds.). Jesus och de första kristna: Inledning till Nya testamentet. (Jesus and the First Christians: An Introduction to the Study of the New Testament). Stockholm: Verbum, 2006. (527 pages). ISBN 97891-526-4721-9. NOTE: An English (revised) version of this book will be published by Eerdmans in 2017.

Runesson, Anders, Donald D. Binder, and Birger Olsson. The Ancient Synagogue: From its Origins to 200 c.e. A Source Book. Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity Series 72. Leiden: Brill, 2008. (328 pages + foldout map).

Runesson, Anders. O att du slet itu himlen och steg ner! Om Jesus, Jonas Gardell och Guds andedräkt. (O That You Would Tear Open the Heavens and Come Down! On the Historical Jesus, Jonas Gardell, and the Breath of God.) Örebro and Skellefteå: Libris and Artos, 2011.

Eve-Marie Becker and Anders Runesson, eds. Mark and Matthew. Comparative Readings I: Understanding the Earliest Gospels in their First Century Settings. WUNT 271. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2011. 

Eve-Marie Becker and Anders Runesson, eds., Mark and Matthew. Comparative Readings II: Hermeneutics, Reception History, Theology. WUNT 304. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2013.

Carl Ehrlich, Anders Runesson and Eileen Schuller (eds.). Purity and Holiness in Judaism and Christianity: Essays in Memory of Susan Haber. WUNT 305. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2013.

Runesson, Anders. Divine Wrath and Salvation in Matthew: The Narrative World of the First Gospel. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2016 (forthcoming, September).

Scientific Articles and Book Chapters

(Selection: for full list, please visit www.andersrunesson.com)

Anders Runesson. “The Oldest Original Synagogue Building in the Diaspora: A Response to L. Michael White, Harvard Theological Review, 92:4 (1999): 409-33. ISSN 0017-8160.

Anders Runesson. “Particularistic Judaism and Universalistic Christianity? Some Critical Remarks on Terminology and Theology.” Pages 120-44 in Journal of Greco-Roman Christianity and Judaism. Volume 1 (2000). Edited by Stanley E. Porter, Matthew Brook O’Donnell, and Wendy J. Porter. Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2004. ISBN 1-905048-06-8. Also published in: Studia Theologica, 54:1 (2000): 55-75.

Anders Runesson. “Water and Worship: Ostia and the Ritual Bath in the Diaspora Synagogue.” Pages 115-29 in The Synagogue of Ancient Ostia and the Jews of Rome: Interdisciplinary Studies. ActaRom-4o, 57. Edited by Birger Olsson, Dieter Mitternacht, and Olof Brandt. Stockholm: Paul Åström, 2001. ISBN 91-7042-165-X

Anders Runesson. “The Synagogue at Ancient Ostia: The Building and its History from the First to the Fifth Century.” Pages 29-99 in The Synagogue of Ancient Ostia and the Jews of Rome: Interdisciplinary Studies. ActaRom-4o, 57. Edited by Birger Olsson, Dieter Mitternacht, and Olof Brandt. Stockholm: Paul Åström, 2001. ISBN 91-7042-165-X. 

Anders Runesson. “A Monumental Synagogue from the First Century: The Case of Ostia.” Journal for the Study of Judaism, 33 (2002): 171-220. ISSN 1570-0631.

Anders Runesson. “Persian Imperial Politics, the Beginnings of Public Torah Reading, and the Origins of the Synagogue.” Pages 63-89 in The Ancient Synagogue: From the Beginning to about 200 ce. Papers Presented at the International Conference at Lund University October 14-17, 2001. ConBNT, 39. Edited by Birger Olsson and Magnus Zetterholm. Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell International, 2003.

Anders Runesson. “The Origins of the Synagogue in Past and Present Research: Some Comments on Definitions, Theories, and Sources.” Studia Theologica 58:1 (2004): 60-76.

Anders Runesson. “Praktisk sanning och svenskkyrklig religionsteologi” (“Praxis-oriented Definitions of Truth and the Theology of Religions of the Church of Sweden”). Pages 96-107 in Religionsteologi och religionsmöten (Theology of Religion and Interfaith Encounters). Studia Missionalia Svecana. Edited by Aasulv Lande and Carl Sundberg. Uppsala: Svenska Institutet för Missionsforskning, 2007. ISSN 1101-6701.

Anders Runesson. “Architecture, Conflict, and Identity Formation: Jews and Christians in Capernaum From the 1st to the 6th Century.” Pages 231-57 in The Ancient Galilee in Interaction: Religion, Ethnicity, and Identity. Edited by Jürgen Zangenberg, Harold W. Attridge, and Dale Martin. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2007. ISBN 978-3-16-149044-6.

Anders Runesson. “Re-Thinking Early Jewish–Christian Relations: Matthean Community History as Pharisaic Intragroup Conflict.” Journal of Biblical Literature 127:1 (2008) 95-132.

Anders Runesson. “Inventing Christian Identity: Paul, Ignatius, and Theodosius I.” Pages 59-92 in Exploring Early Christian Identity. Edited by Bengt Holmberg. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2008.

Anders Runesson. “Behind the Gospel of Matthew: Radical Pharisees in Post-War Galilee?” Currents in Theology and Mission 37 (2010) 460-471.

Anders Runesson. “Bringing Out of the Treasure What is New and Old: Trajectories in New Testament Research Today.” Svensk Teologisk Kvartalskrift 87 (2011) 2-13.

Anders Runesson. “Building Matthean Communities: The Politics of Textualization.” Pages 379-408 in Eve-Marie Becker and Anders Runesson (eds.), Mark and Matthew. Comparative Readings I: Understanding the Earliest Gospels in their First-Century Setting(s). Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2011.

Anders Runesson. “Giving Birth to Jesus in the Late First Century: Matthew as Midwife in the Context of Colonisation.” Pages 301-327 in Claire Clivaz, Andreas Dettwiler, Luc Devilliers, and Enrico Norelli (eds), Infancy Gospels: Stories and Identities. WUNT; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2011.

Anders Runesson, “Judging Gentiles in the Gospel of Matthew: Between ‘Othering’ and Inclusion,” in JesusMatthew’s Gospel and Early Christianity: Studies in Memory of Professor Graham N. Stanton (edited by Daniel M. Gurtner, Joel Willitts, and Richard A. Burridge; London: T & T Clark, 2011) 133-151.    

Anders Runesson. “Was there a Christian Mission Before the Fourth Century? Problematizing Common Ideas about Early Christianity and the Beginnings of Modern Mission.” Pages 205-247 in The Making of Christianity: Conflicts, Contacts, and Constructions (edited by Magnus Zetterholm and Samuel Byrskog; Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 2012.

Anders Runesson. “Who Parted From Whom? The Myth of the So-Called Parting of the Ways between Judaism and Christianity” Pages 53-72 in Chosen to Follow: Jewish Believers through History and Today Høyland, Knut H. and Nielsen, Jakob W., editors (Jerusalem: Caspari Center, 2012).

Anders Runesson. “Kunskap, dårskap och intighet i nytestamentlig frälsningsteologi: Jesus, Paulus och Första Johannesbrevet.” ["Knowledge, Madness, and Nothingness in New Testament Theologies of Salvation: Jesus, Paul, and First John.] Pages 43-65 in Benjamin Ekman and Henrik Rydell Johnsén (red.), Sōteria och gnōsis: Frälsning och kunskap i den tidiga kyrkanFöreläsningar hållna vid Nordiska patristikermötet i Lund 18-21 augusti 2010. [Sōteria and Gnōsis: Salvation and Knowledge in the Early Church. Papers given at the Meeting of the Nordic Society for Patristic Studies in Lund August 18-21, 2010.] Patristica Nordica VIII. Skellefteå: Artos & Norma, 2012. 

Anders Runesson. “Paul’s Rule in All the Ekklēsiai (1 Cor 7:17-24).” In David Rudolph and Joel Willits (eds.), Introduction to Messianic Judaism: Its Ecclesial Context and Biblical Foundations. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2013, 214-223.

Anders Runesson. “Judging the Theological Tree by its Fruit: The Use of the Gospels of Mark and Matthew in Official Church Documents on Jewish – Christian Relations.” In Becker Eve-Marie and Anders Runesson, eds., Mark and Matthew. Comparative Readings II: Hermeneutics, Reception History, Theology. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2013, 189-228.

Anders Runesson. “Purity, Holiness, and the Kingdom of Heaven in Matthew’s Narrative World.” In Carl Ehrlich, Anders Runesson and Eileen Schuller (eds.). Purity and Holiness in Judaism and Christianity: Essays in Memory of Susan Haber. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2013, 144-180.

Anders Runesson. “The Historical Jesus, the Gospels, and First-Century Jewish Society: The Importance of the Synagogue for Understanding the New Testament.” Pages 265-297 in Daniel Warner and Donald D. Binder (eds.), A City Set on a Hill: Essays in Honor of James F. Strange. Mountain Home, AR: BorderStone Press, LLC, 2014.

Anders Runesson. “Saving the Lost Sheep of the House of Israel: Purity, Forgiveness, and Synagogues in the Gospel of Matthew.” Melilah: Manchester Journal of Jewish Studies 11 (2014) 8-24. (http://www.melilahjournal.org)

Anders Runesson. “The Question of Terminology: The Architecture of Contemporary Discussions on Paul.” Pages 53-77 in Mark Nanos and Magnus Zetterholm (eds.), Paul Within Judaism: Restoring the First-Century Context to the Apostle. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2015.

Anders Runesson, “The Rise of Normative Judaism and Christianity: The Role of Politics in the Formation of ‘Religion’ in Late Antiquity,” Patristica Nordica Annuaria 30 (2015), 57-76.

Anders Runesson, “Placing Paul: Institutional Structures and Theological Strategy in the World of the Early Christ-believers,” SEÅ80 (2015)  43-67.

Papers given

(Selection: for full list, please visit www.andersrunesson.com)

  • Runesson, Anders. “Persian Imperial Politics, the Beginnings of Public Torah Readings, and the Origins of the Synagogue.” Paper presented at the international conference The Ancient Synagogue: From the Beginning to About 200 ce, Lund University. Lund, October 14-17 2001.
  • Runesson, Anders. “From Integration to Alienation: Archaeology as Text and the Analysis of Early Diaspora Judaism.” Paper presented at the annual meeting of Collegium Biblicum, Copenhagen University. Copenhagen, January 2002.
  • Runesson, Anders. “The Origins of the Synagogue in Past and Present Research: Some Comments on Definitions, Theories, and Sources.” Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature. Toronto, November 2002.
  • Runesson, Anders. “Divine Judgment in the First Gospel and the Religio-Ethnic Identity of the Matthean Community.” Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature. San Antonio, TX, November 2004.
  • Runesson, Anders. Response to paper by Agnes Choi, “The Travelling peasant and Urban-Rural Relations in Roman Galilee.” Presented at the annual meeting of the Canadian Society of Biblical StudiesLondon, ON, May 2005.
  • Runesson, Anders. “From Where to What? Common Judaism, Pharisees, and the Changing Socio-Religious Location of the Matthean Community.” Paper presented at the Calgary Conference in honour of E.P. Sanders: Common Judaism Explored. Second Temple Judaism in Context. Calgary, May 16-17, 2005.
  • Runesson, Anders. “Re-thinking the ‘Parting of the Ways Between Judaism and Christianity’: The Case of Matthew.” Paper presented at Lund University. Sweden, June 8, 2005.
  • Runesson, Anders. “Reading Torah or Offering Sacrifices? On Worshipping the God of Israel in the Diaspora.” Paper presented at a joint colloquium on Hellenistic Judaism by the Department of Religious Studies and the Classics Department, McMaster University. Hamilton, September 27, 2005.
  • Runesson, Anders. “Architecture, Conflict, and Identity Formation: Jews and Christians in Capernaum From the 1st to the 6th Century.” Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature. Philadelphia, November 2005.
  • Runesson, Anders. “Re-Thinking the ’Parting(s) of the Ways Between Judaism and Christianity’: Categories, Terminology, Procedure.” Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature. Philadelphia, November 2005.
  • Runesson, Anders. Presentation/discussion of Susan Haber’s study “Going up to Jerusalem: Purity, Pilgrimage, and the Historical Jesus.” Paper presented/discussed at the annual meeting of the Canadian Society of Biblical Studies. Toronto, May 2006.
  • Runesson, Anders. “Disaster, Sin, and Salvation: The Politics of Text in Matthean Community Building.” Paper presented at Mark and Matthew. Texts and Contexts I: The First Gospels in the First Century Settings. An International Conference at Aarhus University, Denmark, July 25-26, 2008. Conveners: Eve-Marie Becker and Anders Runesson.
  • Runesson, Anders. “Aspects of Ethnicity, Politics, and Gender in Early Christian Theology and Mission.” A Response to paper by Paul Trebilco, “’Global’ and ‘Local’ in the New Testament and in Earliest Christianity.” Response presented at the SNTS conference, Seminar 15 History and Theology of Mission in the New Testament: Global Challenges and Opportunities. Lund, July 29 - August 2, 2008.
  • Runesson, Anders. “Was there a Christian Mission Before the Fourth Century? Problematizing Common Ideas About Early Christianity and the Origins of Modern Mission.” Paper presented at the annual meeting of the SNTS, Seminar 12 History and Theology of Mission in the New Testament: Global Challenges and Opportunities. Vienna, August 4 - 8, 2009.
  • Runesson, Anders. “Judging the Theological Tree by its Fruit: The Use of the Gospels of Mark and Matthew in Official Church Documents on Jewish – Christian Relations” Paper presented at Mark and Matthew. Texts and Contexts II: Hermeneutics, Reception History, Theology. An International Conference at McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada, November 17-18, 2009. Conveners: Eve-Marie Becker and Anders Runesson.
  • Runesson, Anders. "The Mattheans: Radical Pharisees in Post-War Galilee?" Paper presented at the Research Seminar Reading the New Testament as Second Temple Jewish Literature.Hebrew University (Department of Comparative Religion and L'École biblique et archéologique française de Jérusalem ), Jerusalem May 26, 2010.
  • Runesson, Anders. “Kunskap, dårskap och intighet i nytestamentlig frälsningsteologi” [“Knowledge, Madness, and Nothingness in New Testament Theologies of Salvation”]. Paper presented at the 8th Nordic Patristic Conference Sôteria och Gnôsis - frälsning och kunskap i den tidiga kyrkan [Soteria and Gnosis – Salvation and Knowledge in the Early Church. Lund University. Lund, Sweden, August 18-21, 2010.
  • Runesson, Anders. “Giving Birth to Jesus in the Late First Century: Matthew as Midwife in the Context of Colonisation.” Paper to be presented at Infancy Gospels: Stories and IdentitiesAn International Conference at the University of Lausanne. Lausanne, Switzerland, September 30 - October 2, 2010. Conveners: Claire Clivaz and Sabrina Onowlocki-Meister. 
  • Runesson, Anders. "The Good, the Bad, and the Proselyte: Divine Judgement and 'the Other' in the Gospel of Matthew." Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature, Atlanta, November 2010.
  • Runesson, Anders. "Paul and Jewish Christianity: Terminological and Conceptual Issues." Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature, Atlanta, November 2010.
  • Runesson Anders. “Paul and the Politics of Understanding: Choosing Life as Interpretive Strategy.” Paper presented at the Annual Holocaust Luncheon at Baylor University. Invitation by Prof. Marc Ellis. Event co-sponsored by the Center for Jewish Studies and Kyle Lake Center for Effective Preaching at Truett Theological Seminary. Texas, April 13, 2011. 
  • Runesson, Anders. “Translating Paul: Colonising the Past or Liberating the Dead?” Paper presented at Paul, Jewishness, and Otherness after the Holocaust, a conference convened by Davina C. Lopez (Eckerd College) and Todd Penner (Austin College), in conjunction with Marc Ellis of the Center for Jewish Studies at Baylor University. Waco, April 14-16, 2011. 
  • Runesson, Anders. “Changing the Facts on the Ground: Judaism, Christianity, and the Politics of ‘Religion’ in Late Antiquity.” (Plenary speaker) Paper presented atEmerging Normativities: Examining the Formation of Proto-Orthodox Christianities and Rabbinic Judaisms 200-800 CE. St. Thomas More College, Saskatoon Canada. September 21-22, 2011. Convener: Simon Lasair.
  • Runesson Anders. “Synagogues Without Rabbis or Christians? Ancient Institutions Beyond Normative Discourses.” Paper presented at Erasure History: Approaching the Missing Sources of Antiquity. An international conference at University of Toronto, November 11-12, 2011. Convener: John W. Marshall.
  • Runesson Anders. “Apostolic Judaism and the Myth of Christian Origins.” Paper presented at the University of Toronto (The Seminar for Culture and Religion in Antiquity (SCRA). January 23, 2012.
  • Runesson Anders. “From Apocalyptic Catastrophe to Theological Triumphalism: The Jesus Movement and the Destruction of the Jerusalem Temple.” Paper presented at Westdale United Church, Hamilton, as part of their lecture series Creative Responses to the End of the World. March 19, 2012.
  • Runesson Anders. “Beyond Normativity: What Would an Ancient Synagogue Be Without Rabbis or Christians?” Paper presented at Penn State University. March 22, 2012.
  • Runesson, Anders. “Entering a Synagogue with Paul: Torah Observance in First-Century Jewish Institutions” Paper presented at the annual meeting of Society of Biblical Literature, Section: Paul and Judaism. Chicago, November 2012.
  • Runesson, Anders. "The Impact of Ethnic Identity on Theology and Salvation in Matthew's Gospel." Paper presented at the annual meeting of the SNTS, Seminar 10, Social History and the New Testament Seminar, Perth, Australia, July 2013.
  • Runesson, Anders. “Placing Paul: Institutional Structures and Theological Strategy in the World of the Early Christ-Believers.” Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the Swedish Exegetical Society, Uppsala University, September 29, 2014. 
  • Runesson, Anders. “The Impact of Ethnic Identity on Salvation in Matthew’s Gospel.” Paper presented at the Higher Research Seminar at Uppsala University in a joint session with Lund University. September 30, 2014. 
  • Runesson, Anders. “Reading Paul in (Institutional) Context: What Difference Does it Make?” Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature, San Diego, November 24, 2014. 
  • Runesson, Anders. “The Relevance of Synagogue Research for the Study of the New Testament.” Paper given at the fall meeting of Collegium Iudaicum, Oslo, December 5, 2014. 
  • Runesson, Anders. “The Future of New Testament Studies.” A presentation at a seminar at the Academy of Science and Letters, Oslo, entitled “Re-Imagining New Testament Studies.” January 30, 2015.
  • Runesson, Anders. “Jerusalem: City of God or Home of Tyrants and Traitors? Matthew’s Perspective.” Paper to be presented at Cities of God? Assessing Early Christian Engagement with the Ancient Urban Environments. An international conference at St. Mary’s University, London UK (http://www.smuc.ac.uk/social-scientific-biblical-studies-centre/). May 22-23, 2015.
  • Runesson, Anders. “The Sacred and the City: Jerusalem, Galilee, and the Role of the Christ in Matthew’s Gospel.” Paper to be presented at the Nordic New Testament Conference in Aarhus. Theme: New Testament Scholarship in the Nordic Countries: Trends and Tasks. May 29-June 2, 2015.
  • Runesson, Anders. “Domestic Worship in Ancient Judaism: Some Comments on Religion in the non-Public Sphere.” Response to paper by Gabriele Faßbeck (“Being Jewish at home: A glance at interpretations of ancient Palestine’s material record”). To be presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for New Testament Studies, Amsterdam, July 28-31, 2015.
  • Runesson, Anders. “The (Institutional) Origins of Pauline Theology.” Paper given at the Faculty of Theology, at the University of Oslo, October 7, 2015.
  • Runesson Anders, “Beyond Ethics: The Politics of Moral Purity in the World of Matthew’s Gospel.” Paper presented at Jewish and Christian Rituals of Purification in Antiquity, an international conference at Uppsala University, October 21-23, 2015.
  • Runesson, Anders, “‘Ljus, bli till!’: Om kampen mot mörkret i bibeln.” [“‘Let there be Light!’ On the Struggle Against Darkness in the Bible”]. Paper given at an Interdisciplinary seminar on light at the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, November 11, 2015.
  • Runesson, Anders. “Understanding the Other: Public Space and the Ancient Synagogue as the Birthplace of Judaism and Christianity.” The Religious Roots of Europe Open Lecture at Lund University, November 3, 2015.
  • Runesson, Anders. “Reading Architecture and Reconstructing History: Archaeological Remains as Evidence of Ancient Judaism and Christianity.” Seminar given at Lund University, November 4, 2015. 
  • Runesson, Anders (2023). What Does ‘Within Judaism’ Mean? Some Thoughts on Method, History, and Theology. In Zetterholm, Karin Hedner & Runesson, Anders (Ed.), Within Judaism? Interpretive Trajectories in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam from the First to the Twenty-First Century. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISSN 978-1-9787-1506-6. p. 22–34.
  • Runesson, Anders (2023). John among the Synoptics? Understanding the Institutional World of the Fourth Gospel in Light of Other Early Gospels. In Kobel, Ester; Brant, Jo-Ann A. & Warren, Meredith J.C. (Ed.), The Ties that Bind: Negotiating Relationships in Early Jewish and Christian Texts, Contexts, and Reception History. Essays in Honor of Adele Reinhartz.. Bloomsbury T&T Clark. ISSN 9780567702616. p. 44–52.
  • Runesson, Anders (2023). What Does It Mean to Read New Testament Texts 'within Judaism'? New Testament Studies. ISSN 0028-6885. 69(3), p. 299–312. doi: 10.1017/S0028688522000431. Full text in Research Archive
  • Runesson, Anders (2022). Who Needs the Pharisees? New Testament and Beyond. Ancient Jew Review (AJR). ISSN 2769-4860.
  • Runesson, Anders (2022). Who Killed Jesus and Why? The Jewish Nature of Matthew’s Anti-Imperial Polemics. In Sim, David; Schröter, Jens & Verheyden, Joseph (Ed.), The Composition, Theology, and Early Reception of Matthew's Gospel. Mohr Siebeck. ISSN 978-3-16-161048-6. p. 179–193.
  • Runesson, Anders (2022). Beyond the Parting of Ways: Institutional Contexts as Matrices for the Formation of Judaism and Christianity. . In Runesson, Anders; Zetterholm, Karin Hedner; Wassén, Cecilia & Zetterholm, magnus (Ed.), Negotiating Identities: Conflict, Conversion, and Consolidation in Early Judaism and Christianity (200 BCE–600 CE) . Lexington Books. ISSN 1978714734. p. 351–379.
  • Runesson, Anders (2022). Jesus against the Forces of Death Reading Matthew Thiessen's Reading of the Gospels' Reading of Jesus' War against Ritual Impurity. Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus. ISSN 1476-8690. 20(1), p. 33–49. doi: 10.1163/17455197-bja10004.
  • Runesson, Anders (2021). “Beyond Universalism and Particularism: Rethinking Paul and Matthew on Gentile Inclusion". In Charles, Ronald (Eds.), Paul and Matthew Among Jews and Gentiles Essays in Honour of Terence L. Donaldson. Bloomsbury T&T Clark. ISSN 9780567694119. p. 99–11.
  • Runesson, Anders (2021). “Paul and the Joining of the Ways: Ordering the Eschaton, Preparing for Judgment”. In Abel, Frantisek (Eds.), Israel and the Nations: Paul's Gospel in the Context of Jewish Expectation. Lexington Books. ISSN 978-1978710801. p. 25–48.
  • Runesson, Anders (2021). Institutions as Text: The Dissemination of Religious Knowledge in Ancient Synagogues. In Voitila, Anssi; Lahti, Niilo; Sundkvist, Mikael & Valve, Lotta (Ed.), From Text to Persuasion : Festschrift in Honour of Professor Lauri Thurén on the Occasion of his 60th Birthday. Finnish Exegetical Society. ISSN 978-951-9217-78-9. p. 44–64.
  • Runesson, Anders (2021). What Never Belonged Together Cannot Part: Rethinking the So-Called Parting of the Ways between Judaism and Christianity. Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft und die Kunde der älteren Kirche. ISSN 0171-6441. 253, p. 33–56. doi: 10.1515/9783110742213-003.
  • Runesson, Anders (2021). Jewish Christ-Followers and the Emergence of Christianity and Judaism. In Runesson, Anders Paul Lennart & Mitternacht, Dieter (Ed.), Jesus, the New Testament and Christian Origins: Perspectives, Methods, Meanings. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. ISSN 9780802868923. p. 365–399.
  • Runesson, Anders (2021). Men, Women, and Power in Ancient Society and the Early Jesus Movement. In Runesson, Anders Paul Lennart & Mitternacht, Dieter (Ed.), Jesus, the New Testament and Christian Origins: Perspectives, Methods, Meanings. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. ISSN 9780802868923. p. 147–163.
  • Runesson, Anders (2021). The Synagogue. In Runesson, Anders Paul Lennart & Mitternacht, Dieter (Ed.), Jesus, the New Testament and Christian Origins: Perspectives, Methods, Meanings. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. ISSN 9780802868923. p. 73–76.
  • Runesson, Anders (2021). Paths to the past: On Scources and Methods. In Runesson, Anders Paul Lennart & Mitternacht, Dieter (Ed.), Jesus, the New Testament and Christian Origins: Perspectives, Methods, Meanings. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. ISSN 9780802868923. p. 31 –49.
  • Runesson, Anders (2021). Beginnings. In Runesson, Anders Paul Lennart & Mitternacht, Dieter (Ed.), Jesus, the New Testament and Christian Origins: Perspectives, Methods, Meanings. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. ISSN 9780802868923. p. 1–12.
  • Runesson, Anders (2021). Paths to the Past: On Sources and Methods. In Runesson, Anders Paul Lennart & Mitternacht, Dieter (Ed.), Jesus, the New Testament and Christian Origins: Perspectives, Methods, Meanings. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. ISSN 9780802868923. p. 39–49.
  • Runesson, Anders Paul Lennart & Gurtner, Daniel M. (2020). The Location of the Matthew-within-Judaism Perspective in Past and Present Research. In Runesson, Anders Paul Lennart & Gurtner, Daniel M. (Ed.), Matthew within Judaism: Israel and the Nations in the First Gospel. Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) Press. ISSN 9780884144434. p. 1–25.
  • Runesson, Anders Paul Lennart & Cirafesi, Wally (2020). Reassessing the Impact of 70 CE on the Origins and Development of Palestinian Synagogues. In Bonnie, Rick (Eds.), The Synagogue in Ancient Palestine: Current Issues and Emerging Trends. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. ISSN 978-3525522141. p. 37–57.
  • Runesson, Anders Paul Lennart (2020). Aspects of Matthean Universalism:::: Ethnic Identity as a Theological Tool in the First Gospel. In Runesson, Anders Paul Lennart & Gurtner, Daniel M. (Ed.), Matthew within Judaism: Israel and the Nations in the First Gospel. Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) Press. ISSN 9780884144434. p. 103–133.
  • Runesson, Anders Paul Lennart & Cirafesi, Wally (2019). Art and Architecture at Capernaum, Kefar 'Othnay, and Dura Europos. In Keith, Chris; Bond, Helen K.; Jacobi, Christine & Schröter, Jens (Ed.), The Reception of Jesus in the First Three Centuries. Volume Three: From Celsus to the Catacombs: Visual, Liturgical, and Non-Christian Receptions of Jesus in the Second and Third Centuries CE.. Bloomsbury T&T Clark. ISSN 9780567000194. p. 151–220. doi: 10.5040/9780567693464.ch-068.
  • Runesson, Anders Paul Lennart (2019). Space, Ritual, and Politics in (the Reconstruction of) the Ancient Synagogue: An Exploration of the Historical Archive. In Bergmann, Claudia & Kranemann, Benedikt (Ed.), Ritual Dynamics in Jewish and Christian Contexts. Brill Academic Publishers. ISSN 9789004405950. p. 190–212. doi: https:/doi.org/10.1163/9789004405950_011.
  • Runesson, Anders Paul Lennart (2017). Jewish and Christian Interaction From the First to the Fifth Centuries. In Esler, Philip F. (Eds.), The Early Christian World. Routledge. ISSN 978-1-138-200074. p. 244–264.
  • Runesson, Anders Paul Lennart (2017). City of God or Home of Traitors and Killers? Jerusalem According to Matthew. In Gill, David W. J.; Trebilco, Paul & Walton, Steve (Ed.), The Urban World and the First Christians. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. ISSN 978-0-8028-7451-1. p. 219–235.
  • Runesson, Anders Paul Lennart (2017). Synagogues without rabbis or Christians? Ancient institutions beyond normative discourses. Journal of Beliefs and Values. ISSN 1361-7672. 38(2), p. 159–172. doi: 10.1080/13617672.2017.1315708.
  • Runesson, Anders Paul Lennart (2016). Entering a Synagogue with Paul: First Century Torah Observance. In Wendel, Susan J. & Miller, David M. (Ed.), Torah Ethics and Early Christian Identity. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. ISSN 978-0802873194. p. 11–26.
  • Runesson, Anders Paul Lennart (2015). “The Rise of Normative Judaism and Christianity: The Role of Politics in the Formation of ‘Religion’ in Late Antiquity.”. Patristica Nordica Annuaria. ISSN 2001-2365. 30, p. 57–76.
  • Runesson, Anders Paul Lennart (2015). “Placing Paul: Institutional Structures and Theological Strategy in the World of the Early Christ-believers.”. Svensk Exegetisk Årsbok. ISSN 1100-2298. 80, p. 43–67.

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  • Zetterholm, Karin Hedner & Runesson, Anders (2023). Within Judaism? Interpretive Trajectories in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam from the First to the Twenty-First Century. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN 978-1-9787-1506-6. 432 p.
  • Runesson, Anders; Zetterholm, Karin Hedner; Wassén, Cecilia & Zetterholm, magnus (2022). Negotiating Identities: Conflict, Conversion, and Consolidation in Early Judaism and Christianity (200 BCE–600 CE) . Lexington Books. ISBN 1978714734. 626 p.
  • Runesson, Anders (2022). Judaism for Gentiles: Reading Paul Beyond the Parting of the Ways Paradigm. Mohr Siebeck. ISBN 978-3-16-159328-4. 391 p.
  • Runesson, Anders Paul Lennart & Mitternacht, Dieter (2021). Jesus, the New Testament and Christian Origins: Perspectives, Methods, Meanings. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. ISBN 9780802868923. 706 p.
  • Runesson, Anders Paul Lennart & Gurtner, Daniel M. (2020). Matthew within Judaism: Israel and the Nations in the First Gospel. Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) Press. ISBN 9780884144434. 574 p.
  • Runesson, Anders Paul Lennart (2016). Divine Wrath and Salvation: The Narrative World of the First Gospel. Fortress Press. ISBN 978-0-8006-9959-8. 545 p.
  • Runesson, Anders Paul Lennart (2015). “The Question of Terminology: The Architecture of Contemporary Discussions on Paul.”. Fortress Press. ISBN 9781451470031. 24 p.

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  • Runesson, Anders (2022). The puzzle and politics of historical reconstruction The case of the rise and development of Christianity and Judaism. Approaching Religion. ISSN 1799-3121. 12(1), p. 4–17. doi: 10.30664/ar.111496. Full text in Research Archive
  • Runesson, Anders (2021). Appendix 1: Nonbiblical Sources . In Runesson, Anders Paul Lennart & Mitternacht, Dieter (Ed.), Jesus, the New Testament and Christian Origins: Perspectives, Methods, Meanings. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. ISSN 9780802868923. p. 601–6013.
  • Runesson, Anders Paul Lennart (2020). "Matthew, Gospel of". In Stuckenbruck, Loren & Gurtner, Daniel M. (Ed.), T&T Clark Encyclopedia of Second Temple Judaism Volumes I and II. Bloomsbury T&T Clark. ISSN 9780567661449. p. 358–362.
  • Runesson, Anders Paul Lennart (2020). “Synagogues”. In Stuckenbruck, Loren & Gurtner, Daniel M. (Ed.), T&T Clark Encyclopedia of Second Temple Judaism Volumes I and II. Bloomsbury T&T Clark. ISSN 9780567661449. p. 766–772.
  • Runesson, Anders Paul Lennart (2016). “The Ancient Synagogue and the Birth of Judaism and Christianity.”.
  • Runesson, Anders Paul Lennart (2015). “Reading Architecture and Reconstructing History: Archaeological Remains as Evidence of Ancient Judaism and Christianity.”.
  • Runesson, Anders Paul Lennart (2015). “Understanding the Other: Public Space and the Ancient Synagogue as the Birthplace of Judaism and Christianity.”.
  • Runesson, Anders Paul Lennart (2015). “‘Ljus, bli till!’: Om kampen mot mörkret i bibeln.”.
  • Runesson, Anders Paul Lennart (2015). “Beyond Ethics: The Politics of Moral Purity in the World of Matthew’s Gospel.”.
  • Runesson, Anders Paul Lennart (2015). “The (Institutional) Origins of Pauline Theology.”.
  • Runesson, Anders Paul Lennart (2015). “Domestic Worship in Ancient Judaism: Some Comments on Religion in the non-Public Sphere. A Response to Gabriele Faßbeck”.
  • Runesson, Anders Paul Lennart (2015). “The Sacred and the City: Jerusalem, Galilee, and the Role of the Christ in Matthew’s Gospel.”.
  • Runesson, Anders Paul Lennart (2015). “Jerusalem: City of God or Home of Tyrants and Traitors? Matthew’s Perspective.”.
  • Runesson, Anders Paul Lennart (2015). “The Future of New Testament Studies".

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Published Aug. 17, 2015 6:26 PM - Last modified June 22, 2023 11:16 AM