This volume charts the shifting boundaries of Judaism from antiquity to the modern period in order to bring clarity to what scholars mean when they claim that ancient texts or groups are "within Judaism," as well as exploring how rabbinic Jews, Christians, and Muslims have negotiated and renegotiated what Judaism is and is not in order to form their own identities. Belief in Jesus as the Messiah was seen as part of first-century Judaism but by the fourth or fifth century the boundaries had shifted and adherence to Jesus came to be seen as outside of Judaism. Resituating New Testament texts within first- or second-century Judaism is an historical exercise that may broaden our view of what Judaism looked like in the early centuries CE, but normatively these texts remain within Christianity because of their reception history. The historical "within Judaism" perspective, however, has the potential to challenge and reshape the theology of contemporary Christianity while at the same time the long-held consensus that belief in Jesus cannot belong within Judaism is again challenged by the modern Messianic Jewish movement.

About the Author

Karin Hedner Zetterholm is associate professor of Jewish Studies at Lund University.

Anders Runesson is professor of New Testament at the University of Oslo.

Reviews

This is a really quite remarkable book. Even as debates over situating New Testament texts "within Judaism" continue to roil biblical studies, Zetterholm, Runesson, and their outstanding contributors pause to theorize the question itself, to explore what is at stake, and for whom, and to point to promising ways forward. The authors of the twenty-five chapters are expert guides to a difficult but extremely important field of research. This will be a book to come back to again and again.

-- Matthew V. Novenson, University of Edinburgh



Book Information
ISBN 9781978715066
Author Karin Hedner Zetterholm
Format Hardback
Page Count 432
Imprint Lexington Books/Fortress Academic
Publisher Rowman & Littlefield
Weight(grams) 785g
Dimensions(mm) 237mm * 158mm * 29mm