Modern Jewish Identity and the Apostle Paul: Pauline Studies as an Intra-Jewish Ideological Battleground

Abstract

This is the second of two related studies of Jewish approaches to the apostle Paul. The context of the first was that of Jewish-Christian dialogue, while the context of the second is that of intra-Jewish ideological debate. Jewish Pauline Studies can be understood as a theatre of war in a wider intra-Jewish ideological battle. That is, Jewish commentaries on Paul appear to reflect and inform more general debates in the Jewish community on issues such as how to establish Jewish authenticity, how to regard the Law in modernity, how to respond to non-Jewish culture and ideas, how to regard marginal figures, how to relate Judaism and nationalism, and how to relate Judaism and Christianity. Some of the key figures treated in this schematic survey of the history of the Jewish interpretation of Paul include Claude Montefiore, Joseph Klausner, Hans Joachim Schoeps, Hugh Schonfield, Samuel Sandmel, Alan Segal, Richard Rubenstein, Nancy Fuchs-Kreimer and Daniel Boyarin.