Anders Runesson

Research Interests

My research interests lie primarily in the Jesus movement and the texts it left behind, Second Temple Judaism, and ancient synagogues. I am also interest in epistemology and methodology. Most of my research revolves around socio-historical questions, but I engage in literary critical approaches as well. Currently, my main area of focus is identity formation in the early Jesus movement and various forms of interaction between religious groups in antiquity. Ongoing projects include a monograph on the Gospel of Matthew/Matthean communities, and a book on Jews, Christians and ‘Others’. I am also co-authoring a study on Paul. I have an interest in contemporary inter-religious encounters and have been involved in religious dialogue, especially Jewish/Christian dialogue, for many years.

Courses Taught

RS 2GG3: Earliest Portraits of Jesus
RS 3TO3: The Quest for the Historical Jesus
RS 3JO3: Jews, Christians, and ‘Others’ in Antiquity
RS 4IO3: 4th Year Honours Seminar: The Ancient Synagogue and the Origins of Judaism and  Christianity

Graduate:

RS 730 Topics in the Relationship of Judaism and Christianity: Jewish-Christian Relations  in Antiquity

RS 757 Topics in Gospel Literature: The Gospel of Matthew and the Matthean Communities

RS 757 Topics in Gospel Literature: Textualising Jesus: The When, Where, How, and Why of the Gospel of Mark

RS 733 Topics in Social History and Material Culture: The Ancient Synagogue: Birth Place of Two World Religions

Select Publications

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

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.

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

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). ISBN 9789004161160. Paperback published in 2010; ISBN 978 90 04 18890 7.

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

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

“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.

The Origins of the  Synagogue: A Socio-Historical  Study. ConBNT 37. Stockholm: Almqvist &  Wiksell International,  2001. ISBN 91-22-01946-4.