Rewritten Bible - the living word speaks again

The Genesis Apocryphon consists of a series of first person accounts of the patriarchs Lamech (4QapGen 0-2.1-25), Enoch (3.3; 5.1-27), Noah (6.1-17.19) and Abraham (19.6-22.34). Unfortunately, the text is fragmentary so there are large sections missing. Still, a brief overview will provide a feel for the character of the text, with noted similarities to another book found among the DSS scrolls called Jubilees. This summary will focus on the portions of the book devoted to Lamech, Enoch and Noah with a subsequent post dedicated to Abraham.

The text begins after the corruption of the earth by the angelic “watchers” and the birth of their angel-human offspring – the Nephilim (4QapGen 0-1.29; cf. Gen 6.1-4). See, the story is already weird and interesting. Next, the text picks up with a frightening account of the birth of Lamech’s son Noah (4QapGen 2.1-18). While the text of Genesis provides us with only a brief mention of Lamech fathering Noah (Gen 5.28-31), the Genesis Apocryphon provides an intriguing back-story. Lamech is in turmoil because when he sees his son the baby is so glorious that Lamech assumes it must be the offspring of one of the Holy Ones or Nephilim (4QapGen 2.1). He questions his wife, who assures her husband that the child is his (2.3-18). Unconvinced, Lamech asks his father Methuselah to solicit the wisdom his grandfather Enoch (2.19-20) because the Holy Ones “reveal everything to him” (2.21). Here again we have an interesting tradition about Enoch as a mediator between God and men based on a unique description of the man in Genesis (Gen 5.21). Eventually, Lamech is reassured that Noah is in fact his progeny (4QapGen 5.24-27).

The scene shifts rather abruptly from Lamech to a first person account of Noah. Before the flood Noah practices righteousness (4QapGen 6.1-5; cf. Gen 6.9-13), follows certain marriage laws (4QapGen 6.6-10) and then receives a vision of the coming flood (6.11-26). The flood story is not mentioned, or lost, but the text does focus on Noah’s sacrifice after the flood as Torah obedient (10.11-17; cf. Jub. 6.1-3). The children of Noah’s sons are listed, which includes daughters who are unmentioned in the Genesis and Jubilees (4QapGen 12.8-12; cf. Jub. 7.18-19). Noah is also recorded as observing a Jewish calendar (4QapGen 12.13-18; cf. Jub. 7.1-6). The portrait of Noah, then, is of a man who is obedient to Torah practices that have not yet been given! As Jews reflected on what it meant for Noah to be described as “blameless in his generation” (Gen 6.9), they conceived of a man obeying Torah. Even after the flood, when Noah gets drunk (Gen 9.20-27), the Genesis Apocryphon focuses on how it is that Noah knew what Ham had done and thus apportioned the land according to a dream-vision. While passed-out drunk (cf. Gen 9.21-23; Jub. 7.7-13), Noah receives a vision that provides divine guidance regarding the land allotments of his sons (4QapGen 13.8-16.20). There is on condemnation of Noah’s actions, but only further explanation of how Noah’s sons divided the land as divinely ordained.

As Jewish readers read the stories of Genesis they had all kinds of questions that people still ask. They wanted to know more about Enoch, Lamech and Noah. So, with what preachers sometimes call a “sanctified imagination,” they filled in the gaps. They tried to describe what it might have looked like for Noah to be “blameless” and “righteous.” They tried to make sense of the odd description of Enoch as one who “walked with God.” They also used these retellings as exhortations. Not only was Noah righteous, but he was righteous in the way that we’re supposed to be righteous today – keeping Torah! Preachers do the same thing all the time. It’s one of the ways a good storyteller can make the Bible come alive in a new way. 

Accessing the Dead Sea Scrolls

The Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS) are surprisingly accessible. Unfortunately, they often go unread. Many people just don't care, but I would imagine there are a few interested parties that just have no idea how to gain access to these scrolls. There are two books in particular that unlock these ancient documents in readable English that was previously unavailable.

The Dead Sea Scrolls, translation by Wise, Abegg and Cook, provides very readable translations of the non-biblical scrolls. There are helpful introductions that show how these texts that don't appear in contemporary Bibles might be relevant to biblical texts.

The Dead Sea Scrolls Bible is an amazing tool. It provides a translation of OT texts from the DSS and footnotes wherever the DSS manuscripts differ from other OT manuscripts.

These resources are very helpful in two regards. First, they provide access to textual traditions that are much older than the best Hebrew manuscripts previously available. Before the DSS, scholars had to rely on the textual tradition of the Masoretic Text (MT), the Samaritan Pentateuch (SP), and a Greek translation of the OT known as the Septuagint (LXX). The MT is the standard for most English Bible translations today. The DSS, however, provide evidence that precedes the MT by almost 1,000 years!  

Second, these resources show us how Jews were copying, reading and interpreting sacred texts around the same time as Jesus and Paul. It is interesting to note that the three most popular books among the DSS caches were Psalms (37 manuscripts), Deuteronomy (30 manuscripts) and Isaiah (21 manuscripts). These are also the most frequently cited OT books in the NT! Comparing these texts to the NT shows us how other Jews were interpreting the same books sometimes in similar ways and other times in radically different ways than the NT writers.

If you want access to some of the most popular writings and traditions circulating around the time of Jesus, read these books.   

How Jewish is your Paul?

At initial glance many readers might find the title of Pamela Eisenbaum's recent book, Paul was not a Christian to be offensive. "What do you mean, Paul was not a Christian?! Paul is not only a Christian but he is the premier Christian." Eisenbaum's intention is not to rob believers of their beloved Apostle, but to understand him in a more historically accurate way.

Typically, Paul's story is told something like this:

Paul was originally a zealous Jew who was persecuting the church, until something utterly miraculous happened: the resurrected Jesus appeared to him. This revelation led to Paul's conversion from Judaism to Christianity, from being a zealous Pharisee to being an unstoppable preacher of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Once converted, he realized the futility of Judaism, with its endless demands of the law, and rejected it. [pg 2]

In contrast, Eisenbaum argues, "Paul lived and died a Jew" [5].

After setting the terms of her discussion [chap. 2], Eisenbaum explains how Paul has come to be read through the lens of conversion from Judaism to Christianity. The chief contributors to the misreading were Augustine and Luther who mistakenly read their own religious experiences into Paul's letters [chap. 3]. Then, she provides a brief history of Paul's relationship to Judaism in recent research that culminates with New Perspective (NP) interpreters [chap. 4]. Though she appreciates what the NP has done for reading Paul as a Jew, Eisenbaum wants to take the NP further into a "radical new perspective" [66]. Her problem with the NP is that she sees it reinforcing too sharp a distinction between Paul prior to his Damascus encounter and afterward.

In order to substantiate her radical new perspective, Eisenbaum spends a few chapters clarifying what Second Temple Jews believed and how porous their social boundaries could be. She begins by describing the common features of the various strands of Second Temple Judaism [chap 5]. She focuses on monotheism, election and Torah as key defining features. She also argues against reading personal redemption as a major feature of Second Temple Judaism. Whereas "Christians assume that personal salvation is the fundamental question of religion—all religion. . . . there is no notion of eternal life . . . in the Hebrew Bible" [89]. Jews were not concerned with life after death because they assumed that the creator God would bring them redemption in history. As a result, they were more concerned with defining Israel–God's chosen people—than salvation.

To follow her chapter on defining Judaism Eisenbaum addresses one of the chief concerns for Second Temple Jews, that is identifying who is in the people of God [chap. 6]. A corollary of this question is what will happen to those outside God's people – Gentiles. She argues that there was a wide variety of answers to these questions ranging from sectarian Jews who were militantly hostile to Gentiles (represented Jubilees and 4QMMT) to Jews who were highly integrated into Greek culture while still maintaining a keen sense of Jewish identity (represented most obviously in Philo). Moving from the general picture of Judaism, Eisenbaum narrows in on the Pharisees [chap 7]. She argues that the Pharisees sought to extended temple purity to everyone, but in more lenient ways than other groups. So, for the Pharisees "The table of every Jew in his home was seen as being like the table of the Lord in the Jerusalem Temple" [130], but their interpretation of purity laws tended to be more lenient than the priests who actually served in the temple. Here, Eisenbaum appeals mostly to the Mishnah and Josephus and then suggests that perhaps Paul's "more flexible view of Torah . . . derive[s] from his training as a Pharisee" [131].

If Paul is a Jew, what about those texts (esp. Gal 1.11-17; Phil 3.2-9) that emphasize the radical discontinuity between his life prior to and after Damascus? It is precisely this question that Eisenbaum addresses in chapter 8. Her answer is that these passages have been misread. The texts are contextually significant to Paul's argument regarding the divine source of his gospel (Gal 1.11-17) and his response to a less educated opposition in Philippi (Phil 3.2-9). So, "the apostle's mystical encounter with the risen Jesus cannot be used as the key to understanding Paul" [142]. In chapters 9-11 Eisenbaum offers her interpretation of Paul as a Jew. She focuses on Paul's Jewish presuppositions which are observable everywhere in his letters [chap 9]. She looks at Paul's monotheism as the key to his conceptual framework [chap 10]. Then, she looks at his specific calling and mission to go to Gentiles as a crucial part of understanding him [chap 11]. These chapters are well worth reading to see the continuity of Paul's thought with Second Temple Judaism.

Finally, in chapters 12-13 Eisenbaum turns to the crucial question of Paul's view of the law. How can she read the passages where Paul makes critical comments about the Torah (esp. Rom 7.5-6, 8-10; Gal 3.23-25; 5.2) in her radically new perspective? To respond to this question she makes five arguments:

1. Paul's audience is composed of Gentiles, "so everything he says about the law applies to Gentiles [only], unless specified otherwise" [216].
   
2. "Torah is for Jews but provides a standard for all" [219].
   
3. "The law is not meant to condemn humanity; it serves a positive pedagogical function" [224].
   
4. There is no inherent opposition between grace and doing good works [233].
   
5. "Jesus saves, but he only saves Gentiles." [242]
   

So, Paul's disparaging remarks about the Law are not really disparaging the law per se, but rather refute imposing Torah on Gentiles. To impose Torah on Gentiles would be to deny the significance of Jesus' faithful activity on cross. But, Torah is still in effect for Jews.

The last chapter of the book responds to the critique that she is presenting a "two ways salvation" [251]. She argues that her view is only a "two ways salvation" from the traditional perspective. Her radically new perspective argues that Paul had no concern for personal salvation, but rather for the imminent redemption of the world. According to Eisenbaum, "Paul's question is, Now that the end of time is at hand, how will God reconcile all people, Jews and Gentiles, collectively?" She sees Paul addressing this question most directly in Romans 9-11, but she offers only a cursory interpretation of the passage [254-55].

I am convinced that Paul remained a Jew throughout his life. So, I agree with the basic thesis of Eisenbaum's book. Still, I consider many of her other specific conclusions about Paul to be incorrect. To put it simply, I radically disagree with the radical new perspective. Consider for example, her treatment of the Pharisees. Eisenbaum only presents the examples of more lenient Pharisees from late evidence and does not interact with the image of Pharisees as strict observers of Torah prevalent in the NT (privileging late sources over earlier ones). She also fails to account for the significant discontinuity in Paul's life after Damascus. Paul certainly saw himself receiving a new calling in the tradition of the Hebrew prophets, but the significance of Jesus in his thought is unprecedented (failure to explain the development of the church). She aligns with Hurtado in regard to Christology, but fails to explain how this might relate to Jews. Does Paul only care that Jews eventually recognize Jesus' significance for Gentiles or does he think that Jesus is the means of communal redemption for both Jews and Gentiles? I think Paul thought Jesus was more significant for Jews than Eisenbaum suggests. Lastly, it seems inconceivable to me that Paul only addressed Gentiles. In fact, the letters where he addresses issues regarding the law (Galatians and Romans) were probably filled with Jewish believers. How else does one explain Paul's extensive use of Jewish scripture to validate his arguments? Though I appreciated her new perspective I think it is too radical.

emil schürer and second-temple judaism

I was recently asked by a close friend, "So I'm reading [N. T.] Wright and I see him referencing this Schurer cat over and over. Who is that?"

The short answer to the question is that Emil Schürer (1844 –1910) was a German scholar who produced a major work (6 Volumes) on the history of the Jewish people between 175 bc and ad 135. You can actually download a free PDF copy of Schürer's first volume here courtesy of Google books. The focus of the work is to give a comprehensive picture of second-temple Judaism and thus the world of Jesus and his immediate followers.

The original six volume series has been revised and edited into three volumes (Vol 1, Vol 2, Vol 3) by T & T Clark/Continuum. You can preview the first volume at Google books here. The revision was done by the recognized Jewish scholar Géza Vermes (most famous for his translation work on the Dead Sea Scrolls), the immanent Roman historian Fergus Miller (probably most recognized for his work on Roman Emperors) and Matthew Black (who is recognizable for suggesting that the Gospels and Acts be reconstructed in Aramaic). Unfortunately, this massive three volume work is too expensive to be readily accessible to the average reader, let alone the poor theology student. If you've got loads of cash buy the set (each volume goes for a little over $ 100), oh and why don't you get me one while you're at it. For the rest of humanity I would recommend finding a good academic library nearby or purchasing these books:

• Jewish Literature Between the bible and Mishnah (about $20 at Amazon)
  
• Complete Works of Josephus ($20 at Amazon) check out Steve Mason's book while you're at it.
  
• In the Shadow of the Temple: Jewish Influences on Early Christianity (about $20 at Amazon)
  
• The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha
  ($45 at Amazon for both volumes in paperback is a great deal)
  
• The Works of Philo ($13 at Amazon)
  

N. T. Wright does indeed hail Schürer's work with abundant praise. "There is no recent work which does for the early church, or yet for Jesus, what the new edition of Schürer's classic History of the Jewish People in the Age of Jesus Christ does for its subject-matter" (NTPG, 114). After E. P. Sanders, Schürer merits the most citations in Wright's work on first-century Palestine, The New Testament and the People of God (a.k.a. NTPG).

 

What else do you think ought to be on this list of resources for anyone interested in the Jewish world of Jesus and his contemporaries?