The Trial Of Jesus Of Nazareth

Radin, Max. The Trial of Jesus of Nazareth. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1931. ix, 266 pp. Reprint available September 2006 by The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd. ISBN-13: 978-1-58477-662-8. ISBN-10: 1-58477-662-5. Cloth. $75.

* Renowned for its impeccable legal reasoning and lucid prose, this compelling study is based on a close reading of the four gospels. It reconstructs the accounts of Mathew, Mark, Luke and John and examines their discrepancies. The final two chapters put these accounts into the context of Jerusalem's legal and political environment. Radin's goal is not to pass judgment, but to reconstruct one of the most significant events in history, which he does with remarkable skill. Radin [1880-1950], the son of a rabbi, had a thorough education in Hebrew, Greek and Latin in addition to his legal training. A professor of law at Boalt Hall, Berkeley, he was a versatile scholar of jurisprudence and international, comparative and Roman law.