Noted Biblicist and Pioneer of the “Third Quest” Ed Parish Sanders Dies

The well-known biblical scholar Ed Parish Sanders who made a fundamental contribution to the study of the historical Jesus died last November 21. His work Jesus and Judaism published in 1985, could be considered as the start of the so-called “third search” on the historical Jesus. This method is the one that is still presently used, as opposed and distinguished from the previous ones for having overcome the opposition between Jesus and Judaism and for having instead placed the emphasis on Jesus’ belonging to the Palestinian Judaism of his time. In this context, the figure of Paul also received a global re-reading (cfr: Paul and Palestinian Judaism, Paideai 2000). The major expression of the “third research” are the four large volumes of  A Marginal Jew by John P. Meier, a North American Catholic priest. Rethinking the historical Jesus, published in Italy by Queriniana. The “third research” has also influenced the shift of barycentre of geographical area of reference biblical scholars: from the Germanic to the Anglo-Saxon area.  Below is an interesting lecture.