NCLA Review - If there ever were a book to purchase based on its title alone, this would be it. As it happens, there are other reasons. Understanding the “situation in life” (sitz im leben) of the historical Jesus is integral to interpreting His parables and many of His teachings. The author, Kenan Distinguished Professor for Teaching Excellence in Early Judaism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, aims to do precisely that, and succeeds beyond all reasonable expectations in putting Jesus in his proper place. As Magness puts it: “I focus on Jesus as he is portrayed especially in the Synoptic gospels . . . our sources indicate he was a lower-class Galilean Jew.” Everything flows, then, from that. This book is approached best not as a “page-turner,” but as a meticulously researched, and photographically illustrated, reference work. The reader will not be disappointed by the extensive footnotes (80+ pages, bibliography (34+ pages), and index (30 pages). If you can’t find what you want here, it probably cannot be found. So, should you purchase this book for your library? For the sake of stone and dung, of oil and spit, and even for Jesus’ sake, “Yes!” Rating: 4 —WS ( )