John S. Kloppenborg is a specialist in Christian origins and second Temple Judaism, in particular the Jesus tradition (the canonical and non canonical gospels), and the social world of the early Jesus movement in Jewish Palestine and in the cities of the eastern Empire. He was written extensively on the Synoptic Sayings Gospel (Q) and the Synoptic Problem, and is currently writing on the parables of Jesus, the letter of James, and cultic, professional, and ethnic associations in the Graeco-Roman world. He has taught and conducted research in Toronto, Windsor, Jerusalem, Cambridge, UK, Calgary, Helsinki, and Claremont, Calif. He is one of the general editors of the International Q Project.
He completed his MA (1977) and PhD (1984) at the University of St. Michael’s College (Toronto).
Areas of research
synoptic problem; social history of early Christianity; letter of James; the Parables of Jesus
Primary Teaching
- RLG 322: Early Gospels
- RLG 323: Jesus of Nazareth
- RLG 324: Paul of Tarsus
- RLG 449: Synoptic Problem
- RLG 451: Parables of Jesus
- RLG 452: Death of Jesus
- RLG 454: Social History of the Jesus Movement
Opportunities for Student Supervision/Areas of Interest
- Gospels (canonical and noncanonical)
- Historical Jesus
- Social History of the early Jesus movement
- Parables
- Passion narratives.
Selected Publications
2009. “Agrarian Discourse in the sayings of Jesus”
2008. Q: The Earliest Gospel. Louisville and London: Westminster/John Knox Press, 2008. 57,475 words.
2008. “The Growth and Impact of Agricultural Tenancy in Jewish Palestine (III bce—I ce).” Journal for the Economic and Social History of the Orient 51/1 (2008), 31-66.
2007. Robert L. Webb and John S. Kloppenborg (eds.). Reading James with New Eyes. Library of New Testament Studies. London and New York: T. & T. Clark International, 2007. Pp. viii + 197. ISBN 056703125X
2007. “Diaspora Discourse: The Construction of Ethos in James.” New Testament Studies 53/2 (2007) 242-270..
2006. The Tenants in the Vineyard: Ideology, Economics, and Agrarian Conflict in Jewish Palestine. Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament, 1. Reihe, vol. 195. Tübingen: J.C.B. Mohr (Paul Siebeck), 2006. Pp. xxix + 651. ISBN 3–16–148908–X.
2005. John S. Kloppenborg, with John W. Marshall, (eds.). Apocalypticism, Anti-Semitism, and the Historical Jesus: Subtexts in Criticism. Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus, Supplement = JSNTSup 275. London and New York: T.& T. Clark International, 2005.
2001. “Discursive Practices in the Sayings Gospel Q and the Quest of the Historical Jesus.” Pp. 149-190 in The Sayings Source Q and the Historical Jesus, Colloquium Biblicum Lovaniense XLIX, edited by Andreas Lindemann; BETL vol. 158. Leuven: Leuven University Press and Uitgeverij Peeters, 2001.
2000. Excavating Q: The History and Setting of the Sayings Gospel. Minneapolis: Fortress Press; Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 2000. Pp. xxii + 520 pages. ISBN 0-8006-2601-8.
2000. James M. Robinson, Paul Hoffmann, and John S. Kloppenborg, (eds.). The Critical Edition of Q: A Synopsis, including the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, Mark and Thomas, with English, German and French translations of Q and Thomas. Milton C. Moreland (managing editor). Hermeneia Supplements. Leuven: Uitgeverij Peeters; Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2000.
2000. “Dating Theodotos (CIJ II 1404),” Journal of Jewish Studies 51 (2000) 243-280.
1996. Voluntary Associations in the Graeco-Roman World, edited by John S. Kloppenborg and Stephen G. Wilson. London and New York: Routledge, 1996. Pp. xvii + 333. ISBN 0-415-13593-1.
1996-, with James M. Robinson and Paul Hoffmann, general editors. Documenta Q: Reconstructions of Q through Two Centuries of Gospel Research, excerpted, sorted and evaluated. 31 vols. Leuven: Uitgeverij Peeters, 1996-.
1995. Conflict and Invention: Literary, Rhetorical and Social Studies on the Sayings Gospel Q, edited by John S. Kloppenborg. Valley Forge: Trinity Press International, 1995. Pp. ix + 245. ISBN 1-56338-123-0.
Contact Information
Professor
Department and Centre for the Study of Religion
BA, MA, PhD (University of St. Michael’s College)
Trinity College, Larkin Rm. 311
Tel: 416-978-6493
Fax: 416-978-4949
Email: john.kloppenborg@utoronto.ca