The mission of the church in Paul's letter to the Philippians in the context of ancient Judaism /
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Paul seemingly nowhere in his letters commands his congregations to preach the gospel. Therefore many scholars have concluded that Paul's thinking had little or no place for a mission of the church. This study undertakes a fresh investigation of the question by devoting close attention to a text hitherto overlooked in discussion of early Christian mission, Paul's letter to the Philippians. The Jewish context of Paul's thought in Philippians is the key to unlocking his understanding of church and mission in the letter. The study accordingly begins in Part One with an investigation of conversion of gentiles in ancient Judaism. Part Two, drawing upon this Jewish context, focuses on close exegesis of Philippians, revealing the crucial place of the mission of the church in Paul's thought. The questions addressed by this study go to the heart of our understanding of Paul and of mission in earliest Christianity.
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1 online resource (xv, 380 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789047415831 :
0167-9732 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
The Authority of Law in the Hebrew Bible and Early Judaism, Tracing the Origins of Legal Obligation from Ezra to Qumran.
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In The Authority of Law in the Hebrew Bible and Early Judaism , Vroom identifies a development in the authority of written law that took place in early Judaism. Ever since Assyriologists began to recognize that the Mesopotamian law collections did not function as law codes do today-as a source of binding obligation-scholars have grappled with the question of when the Pentateuchal legal corpora came to be treated as legally binding. Vroom draws from legal theory to provide a theoretical framework for understanding the nature of legal authority, and develops a methodology for identifying instances in which legal texts were treated as binding law by ancient interpreters. This method is applied to a selection of legal-interpretive texts: Ezra-Nehemiah, Temple Scroll, the Qumran rule texts, and the Samaritan Pentateuch.
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1 online resource. :
9789004381643
Early Jewish Messianism in the New Testament : Reflections in the Dim Mirror /
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In Early Jewish Messianism in the New Testament Serge Ruzer takes a new tack on the investigation of early Christian polemical strategies against the backdrop of Second Temple Judaism. Complementing traditional inquiry on the subject, Ruzer focuses on those elements of Messiah- and Christ-centered ideas that bear witness to patterns of broader circulation - namely, the Jewish messianic ideas that provided the underpinning for the identity-making moves of Jesus' early followers. The volume suggests that such attempts can be expected to reflect eschatological ideas of the Jewish ʻOtherʼ. Exploring cases where the New Testament shows itself an early witness for belief patterns found in contemporaneous or only later rabbinic sources, this volume reveals a fuller picture of Second Temple Jewish messianism.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004432932
9789004432925
Wrestling with angels : a study of the relationship between angels and humans in ancient Jewish literature and the New Testament /
: 1 online resource. : Includes bibliographical references (p. 237-254) and indexes. : 9789047412809 : 0169-734X ; : Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Atonement and the Logic of Resurrection in the Epistle to the Hebrew s
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Scholars often explain Hebrews' relative silence regarding Jesus' resurrection by emphasizing the author's appeal to Yom Kippur's two key moments-the sacrificial slaughter and the high priest's presentation of blood in the holy of holies-in his distinctive portrayal of Jesus' death and heavenly exaltation. The writer's depiction of Jesus as the high priest whose blood effected ultimate atonement appears to be modeled upon these two moments. Such a typology discourages discrete reflection on Jesus' resurrection. Drawing on contemporary studies of Jewish sacrifice (which note that blood represents life, not death), parallels in Jewish apocalyptic literature, and fresh exegetical insights, this volume demonstrates that Jesus' embodied, resurrected life is crucial for the high-priestly Christology and sacrificial soteriology developed in Hebrews.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004206915 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Aux origines des messianismes juifs : actes du colloque international tenu en Sorbonne, à Paris, les 8 et 9 juin 2010 /
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Les termes « messie » et « messianisme » recouvrent aujourd'hui une désignation exagérément large au regard de leur sens initial dans le judaïsme et le christianisme. Ils sont utilisés dans des contextes qui empruntent souvent inconsciemment aux modèles rhétoriques à l'oeuvre dans le judaïsme ancien et dans le christianisme primitif. Le livre s'intéresse à ces modèles qui caractérisent l'histoire intellectuelle du premier messianisme juif. Tout d'abord, l'émergence du messianisme est examinée à travers les modèles de divinisation du roi dans le Proche-Orient ancien (Égypte, Mésopotamie, culture cananéenne), et à travers l'évolution de l'idéologie royale dans l'Israël ancien. D'autre part, les premiers textes chrétiens ont mis en avant la fusion des attentes messianiques en une seule figure de messie (Jésus-Christ), mais la pluralité des figures messianiques semble prévaloir dans la littérature juive ancienne. ____________________________________ The words 'messiah' and 'messianism' are presently used in a too wide significance in comparison with their original meaning in Judaism and Christianity. Nevertheless, they often borrow unconsciously from rhetorical models at work in Ancient Judaism and Christianity. The book constitutes a series of studies on these models which characterize the intellectual history of the first Jewish messianism. Firstly, the birth of messianism is studied across the divinization of kings in Ancient Near East (Egypt, Mesopotamia, Canaanite culture) and secondly, the change of royal ideology in Ancient Israel to messianism. Thirdly, the first Christian texts have promoted the merging of messianic expectations in one messianic figure (Jesus-Christ), but the plurality of messiahs seem to prevail in early Jewish literature.
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1 online resource (xi, 240 pages) : illustrations. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004251670 :
0083-5889 ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Historiography and self-definition : Josephos, Luke-Acts, and apologetic historiography /
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For centuries scholars have recognized the apologetic character of the Hellenistic Jewish historians, Josephos, and Luke-Acts; they have not, however, adequately addressed their possible relationships to each other and to their wider cultures. In this first full systematic effort to set these authors within the framework of Greco-Roman traditions, Professor Sterling has used genre criticism as a method for locating a distinct tradition of historical writing, apologetic historiography. Apologetic historiography is the story of a subgroup of people which deliberately Hellenizes the traditions of the group in an effort to provide a self-definition within the context of the larger world. It arose as a result of a dialectic relationship with Greek ethnography. This work traces the evolution of this tradition through three major eras of eastern Mediterranean history spanning six hundred years: the Persian, the Greek, and the Roman.
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1 online resource (xiv, 500 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 394-426) and indexes. :
9789004266940 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Salvation for the righteous revealed : Jesus amid covenantal and messianic expectations in Second Temple Judaism /
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Why is there such an ethical emphasis in Jesus' gospel proclamation? This work finds the answer in Jesus meeting his audience within their own conceptual realms and then expanding those realms to point to the nature of his salvation. The bulk of this work investigates the soteriology of Second Temple Judaism, especially of the Qumran Scrolls. The apocalyptic lesson was the demand of a greater covenantal obedience, held in tension with God's grace, a demand met through sectarian revelation and involving a somewhat diverse messianism. Within these conceptions, Jesus affirms that salvation is indeed for the "righteous," but as defined through himself as the unique Messiah. This work is particularly useful regarding the Jesus-Paul debate, for it provides a diachronic solution grounded in the cultural-historical milieu of the times.
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1 online resource (xvii, 391 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references (p. 331-362) and indexes. :
9789004331129 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Der betende Sünder vor Gott : Studien zu Vergebungsvorstellungen in urchristlichen und frühjüdischen Texten /
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This volume provides important new insights into the concept of \'forgiveness\' in early Christian literature. In contrast to much of the existing literature on the notion of forgiveness, which usually focuses on the preconditions for being forgiven, the author sets out to describe the actual meanings and connotations of this concept during the period in which the New Testament was being formed. In early Christian texts the notion of forgiveness is expressed in a variety of ways. On the basis of detailed analysis of a number of early Christian and contemporary Jewish prayers the author uncovers an array of different shades of meaning, which often can be obscured in modern translations. In so doing he demonstrates the importance of this complex of meanings for early Christians, not only as part of their soteriology, but in their overall theological outlook as well.
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1 online resource (xiii, 388 pages) :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789004332416 :
0169-734X ; :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
La guerre et les rites de guerre dans le judaïsme du deuxième Temple /
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This work deals with the Jewish warfare in the Hellenistic and Roman Antiquity from the point of view of the religious rites which, for the Ancients, were a necessary part of all social activity. The author rejects the traditional concept of "Holy War" and prefers to emphasise the diversity of representations of war in the Judaism of the Second Temple. The book deals with questions linked to the status of warriors and priests who were involved in war with regard to purity laws. It analyses the rituals specific to military operations. It deals with the Sabbath, with the war oracle of the ourim and toummim as well as the different types of sacrifices associated with war. The book presents a comprehensive but diverse and contrasted portrait of the Jewish practises and representations of war in Ancient times.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references and index. :
9789047405535
9789004138971
'You are a priest forever' : Second Temple Jewish messianism and the priestly christology of the Epistle to the Hebrews /
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Scholars have long questioned the conceptual background for the priestly Christology of the Epistle to the Hebrews, with suggestions including Gnosticism, the thought of Philo of Alexandria, common themes in early Christian theology and exegesis, and the creativity of the author of Hebrews himself. The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls prompted waves of enthusiasm for understanding Hebrews in that context, both in terms of the Qumran sect's priestly messianism and understanding of Melchizedek, but claims often were excessive and the approach was discredited. The present study reevaluates the priestly Christology of Hebrews and the presentations of the messianic priest and Melchizedek in the Qumran texts, arguing that the latter do indeed provide the closest parallels to Hebrews' thought.
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1 online resource. :
Includes bibliographical references (p. [205]-224) and index. :
9789047427636 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.
Sabbath and synagogue : the question of Sabbbath worship in ancient Judaism /
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Sabbath worship as a communal event does not feature in the Hebrew Bible. In the context of the first century CE, according to Philo and Josephus, the sabbath gatherings took place only for the purpose of studying the law, and not for the liturgical recital of psalms or prayer. Classical authors depict Jews spending the sabbath at home. Jewish inscriptions provide no evidence of sabbath-worship in prayer-houses ( proseuchai ), while the Mishnah prescribes no special communal sabbath activities. The usual picture of Jews going on the sabbath to the synagogue to worship thus appears to be without foundation. It is even doubtful that there were synagogue buildings, for 'synagogue' normally meant 'community'. The conclusion of this study, that there is no evidence that the sabbath was a day of communal Jewish worship before 200 CE, has far-reaching consequences for our understanding of early Jewish-Christian relationships. This publication has also been published in paperback, please click here for details.
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Includes index. :
1 online resource (xi, 279 pages) :
9789004295834 :
Available to subscribing member institutions only.