The Message of Paul the Apostle within Second Temple Judaism

Noting that a traditional understanding of Paul as convert from Judaism has fueled false and often dangerous stereotypes of Judaism, and that the so-called new perspective on Paul has not completely escaped these stereotypes, Frantisek Abel has gathered leading international scholars to test the hypotheses of the more recent Paul within Judaism movement. Though hardly monolithic in their approach, these scholars’ explorations of specific topics concerning Second Temple Judaism and Paul’s message and theology allow a contextually more nuanced understanding of the apostle’s thought, one free from particular biases rooted in unacknowledged ideologies and traditional interpretations transmitted by particular church traditions. Contributors include Frantisek Abel, Michael Bachmann, Daniel Boyarin, William S. Campbell, Kathy Ehrensperger, Paula Fredriksen, Joerg Frey, Joshua Garroway, Karl-Wilhelm Niebuhr, Isaac W. Oliver, Shayna Sheinfeld, and J. Brian Tucker.