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18 pages, 416 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Scriptural Re-Interpretation and Social Identity Negotiation in the Corinthian Letters

by Darlene M. Seal

Religions 2023, 14(10), 1219; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14101219 - 22 Sep 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2096

This article describes the socially formative function of the Corinthian letters and the role that Paul’s reinterpretation of scripture plays in shaping the Corinthians’ social identity. Paul’s sustained engagement with scriptural texts in 1 Cor 10:1–22 and 2 Cor 3:1–4:6 provide the focus for analysis as two different interactions with exodus and wilderness narratives in two different social situations within the same correspondence. Like others in Second Temple Judaism, Paul uses the exodus and wilderness narratives of Israel’s paradigmatic rebellion to interpret a social situation, define group identity, and increase intergroup differentiation from outsiders and intragroup cohesiveness. Social Identity Theory (SIT) provides the conceptual framework for a robust interpretive model that identifies specific textual features that realize each aspect of social identity. This approach shows that in 1 Cor 10:1–22, Paul addresses the idol food issue by establishing shared experiences with the wilderness generation to interpret the Corinthians’ situation as parallel with the deviant idolatrous behavior of their forebears. In 2 Cor 3:1–4:6, Paul addresses tensions with the Corinthians using the veiling language of Exod 34 to differentiate the ingroup from outgroups according to their sight or blindness, respectively, which correlate to response to his ministry. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Exploring the Complexity of Identities and Boundaries within the New Testament World)

12 pages, 679 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Yeṣer ha-Raʻ and Original Sin

by Matthew Wade Umbarger

Religions 2023, 14(6), 733; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14060733 - 1 Jun 2023

Viewed by 3573

Abstract

Many modern rabbis insist that original sin was invented by St. Paul, and that it does not have a Jewish antecedent. Instead, rabbinic Judaism explains human evil in terms of “yeṣer ha-raʻ,” “the evil inclination.” But evidence from Second Temple period wisdom and apocalyptic literature suggests that ideas like Paul’s were indeed common in certain quarters of Jewish thought in the first century. Paul’s doctrine of original sin draws from an assortment of Old Testament texts. What seems novel in Romans 5 is essentially an aspect of his apocalyptic vision. Rabbinic texts from the Mishnah onwards intentionally suppress this apocalyptic account of original sin. Instead of original sin, rabbinic doctrine posits the yeṣer ha-raʻ as the explanation for human wickedness. This is an innate aspect of human nature. But it is something that good discipline, and especially the practice of Torah, can amend. Some aspects of Pauline teaching actually run parallel to these later texts pertaining to the yeṣer ha-raʻ, as well. In particular, his use of sarx seems to be a theological cognate to this concept of an evil inclination. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biblical Texts and Traditions: Paul’s Letters)

10 pages, 785 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Between History and Theology—Zerubbabel and Nehemiah as Governors of Judah from the Perspective of Literary History

by Sarah Schulz

Religions 2023, 14(4), 531; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14040531 - 14 Apr 2023

Viewed by 8678

Abstract

Hag/Zech 1–8 and Ezr/Neh have in common that they are often rated as primary sources when it comes to the development of Second Temple Judaism(s). Consequently, it is mostly assumed that the Persian governors of Judah (like the Persian kings) significantly contributed to the (re-)formation of the Jewish community in Jerusalem after the exile: Zerubbabel built the temple, Nehemiah the wall of Jerusalem. As a rule of thumb, literary analysis within these books, if applied at all, is less critical than elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible. However, a literary critical approach gives rise to serious doubts about the historic reliability of these accounts. Based on a literary critical analysis of the relevant texts from Hag/Zech 1–8 and Neh, this article aims to show that it is only in the course of redaction history that the office of governor of Judah is ascribed to both individuals. Thus, the attribution of the office of governor to them reflects theological interests and concerns in the early Second Temple Period rather than the historical reality. As the texts not only attribute aspects of royal leadership to Zerubbabel and Nehemiah as governors of Judah, but also present the holders of a Persian office as custodians of Jewish interests (temple and Torah), it will be argued that the texts contribute to the political and religious reorganization of Judaism and, thus, to the formation of a collective Jewish identity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The History of Literature and Theology in the Hebrew Bible)

12 pages, 2774 KiB

Open AccessArticle

“Mystical Spirituality” in Second Temple Period Judaism? Light from the Decorated Stone in the Magdala Synagogue

by Wally V. Cirafesi

Religions 2022, 13(12), 1218; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13121218 - 15 Dec 2022

Viewed by 2921

Abstract

While “Merkavah mysticism” as a religious movement is a phenomenon of Late Ancient and Medieval Judaism, scholars have debated whether the origins of this movement are traceable to traditions of the divine Merkavah (chariot-throne) preserved in some early Jewish apocalyptic literature from the Second Temple period. Furthermore, scholars have emphasized that these early Merkavah traditions reflect individualistic religious experiences that emerged historically in contexts of small esoteric groups of initiates who claimed a privileged experience and knowledge of the divine. In this article, I wish to do two things: (1) to establish methodologically the point that, from an analytical perspective, we can, indeed, speak of a kind of Jewish “mystical spirituality” present in the Second Temple period akin to later Jewish mystical traditions; and (2) to argue that, in light of some iconographic features on the decorated stone from the first-century synagogue at Magdala, early Jewish “mystical spirituality” was not a phenomenon restricted to the individual but could also involve an assembled community’s experience of divine presence. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Jesus and Spirituality: In Biblical and Historical Perspective)

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27 pages, 4767 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Yedidyah Ha-Alexandri and the Crisis of the Modern Jewish Age: Philo of Alexandria as an Exemplary Ḥasid in Naḥman Krochmal’s Thought

by Ze’ev Strauss

Religions 2021, 12(6), 377; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel12060377 - 22 May 2021

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3476

Abstract

The present article sets out to answer the question of the extent to which Naḥman Krochmal’s reappraisal of Philo of Alexandria in the light of his Jewish faith reflects a deep spiritual crisis that was engulfing the Maskilic world: the encroaching expansion of modern Hasidism with its transformed understanding of traditional Judaism among Eastern European communities. To this end, a major component of Krochmal’s Jewish historical thought as expressed in his masterful unfinished work Guide of the Perplexed of the Modern Age can be revealed. The examination employs two methods in order to uncover the intent behind Krochmal’s fragmentary presentation of Philo: exploring his utilization of Dähne’s Geschichtliche Darstellung der jüdisch-alexandrinischen Religionsphilosophie to demonstrate the congruence of Philo’s thought with Tannaitic ethics and drawing on similar depictions of Philo found among his circles and pupils. The study claims that Krochmal’s revival of Philo as a key Jewish thinker is politically mobilized for an ideological assault on the Hasidim, with whom the Maskilim had ongoing conflicts. Reconstructing his portrayal of Philo as a paragon of Second Temple Judaism, the paper argues that Krochmal projects his own spiritual crisis from the Maskilic settings of nineteenth-century Galicia onto the Jewish reality of first-century Alexandria, thus reproducing a valiant image of Philo as the embodiment of the Maskilic consciousness that was grappling with the ancient, overly theoretical Hasideans of his days. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Jewish Thought in Times of Crisis)

15 pages, 349 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Understanding the Letter to the Romans in the Sect-Cult Development of Early Churches

by Jin Young Kim

Religions 2020, 11(5), 257; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel11050257 - 20 May 2020

Viewed by 5311

Abstract

This article examines how the model of sect-cult development in antiquity helps us understand Paul’s discussion of Jewish traditions in the Letter to the Romans. In the traditional Augustinian–Lutheran scholarship, Romans has often been interpreted within the binary framework of Judaism and Christianity, as Paul showcasing one of the earliest examples of Christian opposition to Judaism. Based on the recent studies on Second Temple Judaism and the modified model of sect-cult reflecting the ancient context, I argue that Romans reveals internal conflicts between cultic and sectarian tendencies present among early churches of the first century C.E. The cultic tendency is reflected in Roman gentile believers’ assimilation of the Jewish tradition with the Greco–Roman virtue of self-mastery and their growing separation from Judaism. Paul, on the other hand, tries to establish the unity between believing gentiles and Israel as exhibiting his sectarian understanding of the gospel and the gentile mission. By placing Romans in the trajectory of sect-cult development of an early church, we stop reading it as a text that justifies the Christian antagonism to Judaism, but as a text that shows an early apostle’s passionate effort to create a unified people of God in the hope for the final salvation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Religious Conflict and Coexistence: The Korean Context and Beyond)

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