Reading Paul Within Judaism

The dominant portrayals of the apostle Paul are of a figure who no longer valued Jewish identity and behavior, opposing them for both Jew and non-Jew in his assemblies. This prevailing version of Paul depends heavily upon certain interpretations of key flashpoint passages. In this book and the subsequent volumes in this series, Mark Nanos undertakes to test a Paul within Judaism (re)reading of the apostle, especially of these flashpoint texts. Nanos demonstrates how traditional conclusions about Paul and the meaning of his letters are dramatically altered by testing the hypothesis that the historical Paul practiced a Jewish, Torah-observant way of life, and that he expected those whom he addressed to know that he did so. Nanos also tests the hypothesis that the non-Jews addressed were expected to know that his guidance was based on promoting a Jewish way of life for themselves, at the same time insisting that they remain non-Jews and thus not technically under Torah on the same terms as himself and the other Jews in this new (Jewish) movement. In conversation with the prevailing views, Nanos argues that the Paul within Judaism perspective offers not only more historically probable interpretations of Paul's texts, but also more promise for better relations between Christians and Jews, because these texts have informed Christian concepts of, ways of talking about, and behavior toward Jews based on the premise that Paul considered Jews and Judaism the mirror opposites of what Christians should be and become. For over twenty years, Mark Nanos has been working on situating Paul and his thought within early Judaism. This volume brings together Nanos's innovative arguments that Paul was not an apostate Jew, but a Second Temple Jew who sought to be faithful to the Jewish law and Israel's God as he pursued a mission to gentiles. This is a must read for anyone looking to break out of traditional readings of Paul! --Matthew Thiessen, McMaster University Mark Nanos has pioneered the historical reconstruction of Paul as native to his own time and place--a Paul, in brief, who stands entirely within the traditional hopes, beliefs, and practices of his own people, Israel. This exciting book conveys to the reader the thrill of a refreshed portrait, free of the later overlays of Luther, of Augustine, and of post-70 CE interpretations. If you want to meet Paul again for the first time, pick up Nanos' Reading Paul Within Judaism. --Paula Fredriksen, Author of Paul: The Pagans' Apostle Mark D. Nanos (University of St. Andrews, Scotland) is a Lecturer at the University of Kansas; his books include The Mystery of Romans (1996), The Irony of Galatians (2002), and as co-editor, Paul within Judaism (2015).