Description
The Gospel of John presents its readers, listeners, and interpreters with a serious problem: how can we reconcile the Gospel's exalted spirituality and deep knowledge of Judaism with its portrayal of the Jews as the children of the devil (John 8:44) who persecuted Christ and his followers?
One widespread solution to this problem is the so-called "expulsion hypothesis." According to this view, the Fourth Gospel was addressed to a Jewish group of believers in Christ that had been expelled from the synagogue due to their faith. The anti-Jewish elements express their natural resentment of how they had been treated; the Jewish elements of the Gospel, on the other hand, reflect the Jewishness of this group and also soften the force of the Gospel's anti-Jewish comments.
In Cast out of the Covenant, this book, Adele Reinhartz presents a detailed critique of the expulsion hypothesis on literary and historical grounds. She argues that, far from softening the Gospel's anti-Jewishness, the Gospel's Jewish elements in fact contribute to it. Focusing on the Gospel's persuasive language and intentions, Reinhartz shows that the Gospel's anti-Jewishness is evident not only in the Gospel's hostile comments about the Jews but also in its appropriation of Torah, Temple, and Covenant that were so central to first-century Jewish identity. Through its skillful use of rhetoric, the Gospel attempts to convince its audience that God's favor had turned away from the Jews to the Gentiles; that there is a deep rift between the synagogue and those who confess Christ as Messiah; and that, in the Gospel's view, this rift was initiated in Jesus' own lifetime. The Fourth Gospel, Reinhartz argues, appropriates Jewishness at the same time as it repudiates Jews. In doing so, it also promotes a "parting of the ways" between those who believe that Jesus is the messiah, the Son of God, and those who do not, that is, the Jews. This rhetorical program, she suggests, may have been used to promote outreach or even an organized mission to the Gentiles, following in the footsteps of Paul and his mid-first-century contemporaries.
About the Author
Adele Reinhartz is professor in the Department of Classics and Religious Studies at the University of Ottawa.
Reviews
Reinhartz's final foray into the rhetorical world of the Fourth Gospel is as incisive as ever . . . Her willingness to, at times, lay herself bare-emphasizing her identity and social location-make Reinhartz's analysis crucial reading, and offers a helpful model for readers to follow. * Reading Religion *
In Cast out of the Covenant, Adele Reinhartz combines the insights of long engagement in the debate with a clear-sighted analysis of locating these various perspectives in presenting a sustained account of the problem and of what is at stake. . . . .This is a both scholarly and readable, engaging book on what remains an important topic for exegesis and for hermeneutics. * The Catholic Biblical Quarterly *
The present book marks a concluding step on this brilliant Jewish scholar's long journey of befriending the author of the Fourth Gospel. Reinhartz is not willing to follow the apologetic moves of many of her Christian fellow-exegetes to explain away John's anti-Jewish polemics as a still inner-Jewish dispute or a merely marginal element of the gospel text. In her view, the anti-Jewish stance is at the core of its rhetorical construction, and thus more closely linked to the tragedies of later Christian anti-Judaism than most exegetes care to admit. -- Joerg Frey, University of Zurich
With historical-critical precision and literary-critical acuity, Reinhartz dismisses popular reconstructions of a pre-gospel Johannine community, demolishes standard apologetics for John's vituperations, and convincingly indicts the Gospel for anti-Jewish rhetoric. The volume represents not only the culmination of decades of Johannine studies, it portends a paradigm shift in the field. -- Amy-Jill Levine, Vanderbilt University
Regular Reinhartz readers will not be surprised that she has published another book on John that challenges widely held views of its origin and purpose. She is no "compliant reader" of the Gospel, but she presents "Alexandra," who is. This engaging exploration of John's rhetoric and its effects almost assures that conversations about John will now be using new terms, such as "affiliation," "disaffiliation," "expropriation," "propulsion theory," and, yes, "Alexandra." -- R. Alan Culpepper, dean and Professor of New Testament Emeritus, McAfee School of Theology, Mercer University
In this book Adele Reinhartz presents a fresh synthesis of her many years of diligent scholarship on the way the gospel of John relates to Judaism. Guided by historical imagination, the six chapters of this book offer a comprehensive approach to the central question of Johannine exegesis: how do Jewishness and anti-Judaism relate to one another in the fourth gospel? Creative thinking outside the box has long been Reinhartz's trademark, and this new book is no exception. Reinhartz is not afraid of challenging scholars who become too self-assured of their convenient convictions. She sketches the different dimensions of rhetoric which are at play in John's narrative presentation of the Jews. Marked by a disarming honesty, this book confronts us with an 'inconvenient truth', or at least Reinhartz's 'inconvenient truth' with regard to a research topic of greatest importance, both in historical and in contemporary perspective. A vintage Adele Reinhartz book which is a must for every student of the gospel of John, especially those of us who will not be inclined to agree with her central thesis. -- Reimund Bieringer, KU Leuven
Book Information
ISBN 9781978701199
Author Adele Reinhartz
Format Paperback
Page Count 248
Imprint Lexington Books/Fortress Academic
Publisher Rowman & Littlefield
Weight(grams) 372g
Dimensions(mm) 219mm * 153mm * 19mm
One widespread solution to this problem is the so-called "expulsion hypothesis." According to this view, the Fourth Gospel was addressed to a Jewish group of believers in Christ that had been expelled from the synagogue due to their faith. The anti-Jewish elements express their natural resentment of how they had been treated; the Jewish elements of the Gospel, on the other hand, reflect the Jewishness of this group and also soften the force of the Gospel's anti-Jewish comments.
In Cast out of the Covenant, this book, Adele Reinhartz presents a detailed critique of the expulsion hypothesis on literary and historical grounds. She argues that, far from softening the Gospel's anti-Jewishness, the Gospel's Jewish elements in fact contribute to it. Focusing on the Gospel's persuasive language and intentions, Reinhartz shows that the Gospel's anti-Jewishness is evident not only in the Gospel's hostile comments about the Jews but also in its appropriation of Torah, Temple, and Covenant that were so central to first-century Jewish identity. Through its skillful use of rhetoric, the Gospel attempts to convince its audience that God's favor had turned away from the Jews to the Gentiles; that there is a deep rift between the synagogue and those who confess Christ as Messiah; and that, in the Gospel's view, this rift was initiated in Jesus' own lifetime. The Fourth Gospel, Reinhartz argues, appropriates Jewishness at the same time as it repudiates Jews. In doing so, it also promotes a "parting of the ways" between those who believe that Jesus is the messiah, the Son of God, and those who do not, that is, the Jews. This rhetorical program, she suggests, may have been used to promote outreach or even an organized mission to the Gentiles, following in the footsteps of Paul and his mid-first-century contemporaries.
About the Author
Adele Reinhartz is professor in the Department of Classics and Religious Studies at the University of Ottawa.
Reviews
Reinhartz's final foray into the rhetorical world of the Fourth Gospel is as incisive as ever . . . Her willingness to, at times, lay herself bare-emphasizing her identity and social location-make Reinhartz's analysis crucial reading, and offers a helpful model for readers to follow. * Reading Religion *
In Cast out of the Covenant, Adele Reinhartz combines the insights of long engagement in the debate with a clear-sighted analysis of locating these various perspectives in presenting a sustained account of the problem and of what is at stake. . . . .This is a both scholarly and readable, engaging book on what remains an important topic for exegesis and for hermeneutics. * The Catholic Biblical Quarterly *
The present book marks a concluding step on this brilliant Jewish scholar's long journey of befriending the author of the Fourth Gospel. Reinhartz is not willing to follow the apologetic moves of many of her Christian fellow-exegetes to explain away John's anti-Jewish polemics as a still inner-Jewish dispute or a merely marginal element of the gospel text. In her view, the anti-Jewish stance is at the core of its rhetorical construction, and thus more closely linked to the tragedies of later Christian anti-Judaism than most exegetes care to admit. -- Joerg Frey, University of Zurich
With historical-critical precision and literary-critical acuity, Reinhartz dismisses popular reconstructions of a pre-gospel Johannine community, demolishes standard apologetics for John's vituperations, and convincingly indicts the Gospel for anti-Jewish rhetoric. The volume represents not only the culmination of decades of Johannine studies, it portends a paradigm shift in the field. -- Amy-Jill Levine, Vanderbilt University
Regular Reinhartz readers will not be surprised that she has published another book on John that challenges widely held views of its origin and purpose. She is no "compliant reader" of the Gospel, but she presents "Alexandra," who is. This engaging exploration of John's rhetoric and its effects almost assures that conversations about John will now be using new terms, such as "affiliation," "disaffiliation," "expropriation," "propulsion theory," and, yes, "Alexandra." -- R. Alan Culpepper, dean and Professor of New Testament Emeritus, McAfee School of Theology, Mercer University
In this book Adele Reinhartz presents a fresh synthesis of her many years of diligent scholarship on the way the gospel of John relates to Judaism. Guided by historical imagination, the six chapters of this book offer a comprehensive approach to the central question of Johannine exegesis: how do Jewishness and anti-Judaism relate to one another in the fourth gospel? Creative thinking outside the box has long been Reinhartz's trademark, and this new book is no exception. Reinhartz is not afraid of challenging scholars who become too self-assured of their convenient convictions. She sketches the different dimensions of rhetoric which are at play in John's narrative presentation of the Jews. Marked by a disarming honesty, this book confronts us with an 'inconvenient truth', or at least Reinhartz's 'inconvenient truth' with regard to a research topic of greatest importance, both in historical and in contemporary perspective. A vintage Adele Reinhartz book which is a must for every student of the gospel of John, especially those of us who will not be inclined to agree with her central thesis. -- Reimund Bieringer, KU Leuven
Book Information
ISBN 9781978701199
Author Adele Reinhartz
Format Paperback
Page Count 248
Imprint Lexington Books/Fortress Academic
Publisher Rowman & Littlefield
Weight(grams) 372g
Dimensions(mm) 219mm * 153mm * 19mm
