Short Stories by Jesus: The Enigmatic Parables of a Controversial Rabbi - Hardcover

"A professor of New Testament studies at Vanderbilt Divinity School, Levine has spent a lifetime exploring the profound connections and equally profound divisions between Christianity and Judaism--and, perhaps more important, between Christians and Jews."--"New York Times"

"Amy-Jill Levine is learned by scholarly standards, a wonderful writer by literary standards, and a sensitive, witty, and wise teacher by human standards. Levine is one of those scholars whose life and scholarship are obviously not two separate things."--Richard Elliott Friedman, author of "Who Wrote the Bible?" and "Commentary on the Torah"

"Amy-Jill Levine characteristically writes with learning, passion, humor, and insight."--Mary C. Boys, author of "Has God Only One Blessing?: Judaism As a Source of Christian Self-Understanding"

Praise for Amy-Jill Levine: "A professor of New Testament studies at Vanderbilt Divinity School, Levine has spent a lifetime exploring the profound connections and equally profound divisions between Christianity and Judaism--and, perhaps more important, between Christians and Jews."--"New York Times"

"Levine will change how you think about Jesus and the stories he told. With her characteristic wit and learned, iconoclastic imagination, Levine presses readers of the parables-especially Christian readers-to question their assumptions, curb their biases, and read Jesus's words afresh with ancient eyes. A provocative read."--Peter Enns, author of "The Bible Tells Me So"

"As subversive as any parable, this shakes the faithful where we most need to be shaken, showing how close we have come to disarming some of Jesus' most potent teachings. Every new book from Levine startles me with its brilliance and pluck, but this one goes next to my Bible."--Barbara Brown Taylor, author of "Learning to Walk in the Dark"

"In this brilliant book Amy-Jill Levine invites her audience to read the parables of Jesus through a Jewish lens. The result is a series of stunning new insights into our religious heritage. Levine, a Jewish New Testament scholar of enormous depth, powerfully illumines both Jesus and the Christian story."--John Shelby Spong, author of "The Fourth Gospel: Tales of a Jewish Mystic"

"Jesus's parables have been sanitized, spiritualized, and allegorized for so many generations that it can only be called Good News when another wise Jewish teacher calls a halt. In this wonderfully readable book, not only could Jesus spin a yarn, he could challenge whole world views in the process."--Dr. Ben Witherington, III, Amos Professor of New Testament for Doctoral Studies, Asbury Theological Seminary

"This is probably the best book on parables available today: brief, informative, witty, and very interesting. A perfect introduction for the merely curious, but even passionate readers who have lived with these stories for decades will find their eyes and hearts opened by Levine's provocative insights."--Mark Allan Powell, editor of the "HarperCollins Bible Dictionary"

"Those who view parables as easy nuggets of feel-good sentiment need to think again. Levine shows how despite their brevity, Jesus's tales have disturbed from the very beginning [and] she shows how the biblical stories' defiance of narrow understandings and application is reason for celebration."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)