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Life in first-century Palestine was very different from our world today, and many traditional interpretations of Jesus’ stories ignore this disparity and have often allowed anti-Semitism and misogyny to color their perspectives. In this wise, entertaining, and educational book, Amy-Jill Levine offers a fresh, timely reinterpretation of Jesus’ narratives. In Short Stories by Jesus , she analyzes these “problems with parables,” taking readers back in time to understand how their original Jewish audience understood them. Levine reveals the parables’ connections to first-century economic and agricultural life, social customs and morality, Jewish scriptures and Roman culture. With this revitalized understanding, she interprets these moving stories for the contemporary reader, showing how the parables are not just about Jesus, but are also about us—and when read rightly, still challenge and provoke us two thousand years later.","forthcoming":false,"isbn13":"9780061561030","publication_date":"20150915","publisher":"HarperCollins","slug":"short-stories-by-jesus","subtitle":"The Enigmatic Parables of a Controversial Rabbi","title":"Short Stories by Jesus"},"discovery":{"categories":{"all":[{"bisac_code":"REL006710","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Jesus, Gospels & Acts","score":0.8049,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"REL006800","confidence_band":"medium","label":"NT Commentary: Gospels & Acts","score":0.8013,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"REL006040","confidence_band":"medium","label":"New Testament Biography","score":0.8004,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"hint":[{"bisac_code":"REL006710","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Jesus, Gospels & Acts","score":0.8049,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"REL006800","confidence_band":"medium","label":"NT Commentary: Gospels & Acts","score":0.8013,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"REL006040","confidence_band":"medium","label":"New Testament Biography","score":0.8004,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"publisher":[{"bisac_code":"HIS002000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Ancient History","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"HIS036000","confidence_band":"high","label":"U.S. History","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"HIS037000","confidence_band":"high","label":"World History","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"LIT004020","confidence_band":"high","label":"American Lit Crit","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"LIT004210","confidence_band":"high","label":"Jewish Literary Criticism","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"LIT018000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Short Story Criticism","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"REL006070","confidence_band":"high","label":"New Testament Commentary","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"REL006160","confidence_band":"high","label":"Biblical Reference","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"}]},"genres":[{"label":"Jesus, Gospels & Acts","score":0.8049,"slug":"jesus-gospels-acts"},{"label":"NT Commentary: Gospels & Acts","score":0.8013,"slug":"nt-commentary-gospels-acts"},{"label":"New Testament Biography","score":0.8004,"slug":"new-testament-biography"}],"reader_fit":["Good for readers who enjoy Jesus, Gospels & Acts","Good for readers interested in short stories","Good for fans of Religion"],"related_lists":[{"intro":"","slug":"shelf-rel006710-biblical-studies-jesus-the-gospels-acts","title":"Biblical Studies Jesus, The Gospels & Acts Books","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/lists/shelf-rel006710-biblical-studies-jesus-the-gospels-acts"}],"series":null,"similar_books":[{"authors":["Rabbi Jason Sobel","Dallas Jenkins"],"book_id":"9781400338443","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781400338443.jpg?v=20260414T102527Z%3A2026-04-14T10%3A25%3A27Z","score":17.3352,"title":"Transformed by the Messiah","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781400338443"},{"authors":["Marcus J. 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