Includes bibliographical references (p. [266]-282) and indexes.

Part 1 : the literary world of the new testament - 1.1 : general considerations -- 1.2 : the Hebrew scriptures -- 1.3 : the Septuagint -- 1.4 : the old testament apocrypha -- 1.5 : the old testament pseudepigrapha -- 1.6. : the Dead Sea Scroll -- 1.7 : Greco- Roman literature -- Part 2 : the making of the gospels - 2.1 Jesus of Nazareth -- 2.2 : from oral to written gospels - 2.2.1 : early Christian kerygma -- 2.2.2 : form criticism -- 2.3 : why the gospels were written - 2.3.1 : to meet the needs of the early church -- 2.3.2 : the expansion of the church -- 2.3.3 : the passing away of eyewitnesses -- 2.3.4 : the need to educate believers -- 2.3.5 : new challenges for the faith -- 2.4. : how the gospels were written - 2.4.1 : the synoptic problem -- 2.4.2 : source criticism -- 2.4.3 : redaction criticism -- 2.4.4 : additional criticism -- 2.5 : the gospel genre -- 2.6 : the fourfold gospel collection - 2.6.1 : the need for a collection -- 2.6.2 : the stages of collection -- 2.6.2.1 : Papias -- 2.6.2.2 : Justin Martyr -- 2.6.2.3 : Tatian -- 2.6.2.4. : Irenaeus -- 2.6.2.5 : the Muratorian canon/ fragment -- 2.6.3 : the authority of the written gospels -- Part 3 : the making of Paul's letters - 3.1 : Paul -- 3.2 : Paul and Greco- Roman literature -- 3.3 : the form of Paul's letters -- 3.4 : the content and context of Paul's letters -- 3.5 : the writing of Paul's letters - 3.5.1 : Paul as sole author -- 3.5.2 : Paul's use of a secretary -- 3.5.3 - Paul and his coworkers -- 3.5.4 : Pseudonymity and the Deutero-Pauline Hypothesis -- 3.5.5 : editors and interpolators -- 3.6 dispatching, receiving and reading Paul's letters - 3.6.1 : the letter carriers -- 3.6.2. : reading Paul's letters to the churches -- 3.6.3 : the letter readers -- 3.7 : the collection of Paul's letters - 3.7.1 : from Paul to Clement -- 3.7.2 : theories of collection - 3.7.2.1 : the "gradual collection" theory -- 3.7.2.2 : the "Big Bang" theory -- 3.7.2.3 : Paul as collector and editor -- 3.7.3 : from Clement to Justin -- 3.7.4 : Marcion -- 3.7.5 : manuscript P46 - 3.7.6 : the Muratorian canon/fragment -- 3.7.7 : some later church father -- 3.8 : summary and reflections -- 3.9 : the canonicity of Paul's letters -- Part 4 : the making of other new testament literature - 4.1 : the acts of the apostle -- 4.2 : the Catholic epistles - 4.2.1 : 1 Peter -- 4.2.2 : 2 Peter -- 4.2.3 : Jude -- 4.2.4 : James -- 4.2.5 : Hebrews -- 4.2.6 : the Johannine literature - 4.2.6.1 : the epistles of John -- 4.2.6.2. : the revelation to John (the apocalypse) -- 4.3 : Summary -- Part 5 : the making of the new testament canon -- 5.1 : review -- 5.2 : the authority of Jesus -- 5.3 : apostolicity -- 5.4 : usage in the church -- 5.5 : orthodoxy -- 5.6 : inspiration -- 5.7 excursus: the arrangement of the new testament books -- 5.8 : postscript: contemporary dialogue on the canon and related issues - 5.8.1 : the Da Vinci Code -- 5.8.2 : contributions and controversies from Bart E. Ehrman -- Part 6 : the making of new testament manuscripts: writing, copying and transmitting -- 6.1 : Paleography -- 6.2 : Material for writing - 6.2.1 : papyrus -- 6.2.2 : parchment -- 6.2.3 : pens -- 6.2.4 : ink -- 6.2.5 : desks -- 6.3 : the form of books -- 6.3.1 : the roll -- 6.3.2 : the codex -- 6.4 : writing new testament manuscripts - 6.4.1 : uncials/majuscules -- 6.4.2: minuscles -- 6.4.3 : abbreviations/contractions -- 6.4.4 : aids for the readers -- 6.4.5 : the authors of the text -- 6.4.6 : the copiers of the text -- 6.5 : transmitting the new testament -- 6.5.1 : lectionaries -- 6.5.2 : versions -- 6.5.3 : the Greek text -- Part 7 : making sense of textual variants and the practice of textual criticism - 7.1 : unintentional variations - 7.1.1 : errors of sight - 7.1.1.1 confusing letters similar in appearance -- 7.1.1.2 : faulty division of words within a sentence -- 7.1.1.3 : haplography -- 7.1.1.4 : parablepsis -- 7.1.1.5 : dittography -- 7.1.1.6 : metathesis -- 7.1.2 : errors of hearing -- 7.1.3 : errors of writing -- 7.1.4 : errors of judgment -- 7.2 : intentional variations - 7.2.1 : revising grammar and spelling -- 7.2.2 : harmonizing similar passages -- 7.2.3 : eliminating apparent discrepancies and difficulties -- 7.2.4 : conflating the text -- 7.2.5 : adapting different liturgical traditions -- 7.2.6 : making theological or doctrinal changes-- 7.3 : evaluating the evidence -- 7.3.1 : external evidence -- 7.3.2 : internal evidence -- Appendix 1 : canon of the old testament -- Appendix 2 : significant leaders of the early church -- Appendix 3 : early canonical lists and collections of the new testament -- Appendix 4 : later canonical lists of the new testament -- Appendix 5 : early manuscripts containing the new testament.

This revised and expanded edition of The Making of the New Testament is a textbook introduction to the origin, collection, copying and canonizing of the New Testament documents. --from publisher description