A list of corrections to The Gospel of Matthew and Judaic Traditions, a relevance-based commentar... more A list of corrections to The Gospel of Matthew and Judaic Traditions, a relevance-based commentary. Meant for readers and reviewers
The Pharisaic paradosis [legal materials of Pharisaic tradition called " Tradition (para... more The Pharisaic paradosis [legal materials of Pharisaic tradition called " Tradition (paradosis) of the Elders " ] is mentioned in Matthew 15:1-2 and Mark 7:3. 1 Mark's Gospel tells us Pharisees and all Jews obeyed this teaching while Matthew ascribes it just to the usages of Scribes and Pharisees. I wonder if Mark's source has an addition after " Pharisees " , (if " all Jews " is original then why bother mentioning Pharisees who are also Jews?) or perhaps he added it himself since he adds explanatory material here, or did another hand after Mark gloss it? While the matter of Mark's reading is curious my immediate focus here is to establish the use of paradosis as the equivalent of the Hebrew masoret.
Revue des études juives, 171 (1-2), janvier-juin 2012, pp. 173-180, 2012
The Pharisaic paradosis [legal materials of Pharisaic tradition called " Tradition (paradosi... more The Pharisaic paradosis [legal materials of Pharisaic tradition called " Tradition (paradosis) of the Elders " ] is mentioned in Matthew 15:1-2 and Mark 7:3. 1 Mark's Gospel tells us Pharisees and all Jews obeyed this teaching while Matthew ascribes it just to the usages of Scribes and Pharisees. I wonder if Mark's source has an addition after " Pharisees " , (if " all Jews " is original then why bother mentioning Pharisees who are also Jews?) or perhaps he added it himself since he adds explanatory material here, or did another hand after Mark gloss it? While the matter of Mark's reading is curious my immediate focus here is to establish the use of paradosis as the equivalent of the Hebrew masoret.
Contains a list of errata to my book on the eve of its publication date which were not incorporat... more Contains a list of errata to my book on the eve of its publication date which were not incorporated in the book. The corrections should be duly noted and the book emended accordingly.
While there is no shortage of books and articles showing the parallels between the New Testament ... more While there is no shortage of books and articles showing the parallels between the New Testament and rabbinic literature, all aiming to understand the former through the latter, there are markedly fewer publications to show how Jewish Studies benefit from study of the New Testament. The current offering attempts to show the rich gains that accrue by such an enterprise. I offer some samples to show how the New Testament can make us more aware of the precise usage of idioms in Jewish literature and of the likely antiquity of some Jewish practices where we only have relatively late Jewish evidence. The topics I present here are diverse and range from, to name a few, an oddity in the Ashkenazic rite of the Passover seder and the dating of a tradition in the late compilation of Midrash Psalms, to ancient Jewish funerary and circumcision customs.
I show how rabbinic literature is the right key to unlock gospel traditions and arguments against... more I show how rabbinic literature is the right key to unlock gospel traditions and arguments against its use lead to blind alleys. To use Qumran, Apocrypha and Hellenistic literature does not explain the rhetoric of the gospels in the way that rabbinic literature does. My example comes from the Gospel of John and needs to be read carefully. At some point I will use my studies here to form chapters of a book in answer to my critics from the NT guild of nay sayers.
Illustrates my claim that Gospel tradition shares a mind with rabbinic thought of its time and wi... more Illustrates my claim that Gospel tradition shares a mind with rabbinic thought of its time and with scant early evidence that surfaces as late as the the 15-16th up to modern times.
This paper demonstrates the beginnings of a tradition attributed to pre-talmudic times and is als... more This paper demonstrates the beginnings of a tradition attributed to pre-talmudic times and is also part of Gospel anti-pharisee instruction and then surfaces in medieval legal literature followed by its articulation in Shulhan Arukh.
Taking note of unusual turns of phrase in a narrative, for the Talmud scholar, sometimes opens up... more Taking note of unusual turns of phrase in a narrative, for the Talmud scholar, sometimes opens up well studied texts to new experiences and probes.1 Upon very thick reading, the stories told of the rabbis and by the rabbis prove as complex as the most difficult pieces of Talmudic legal " give and take. " These stories, having ostensibly undergone extensive telling and fashioning, are presented with unpretentious charm. In the case we are about to study, the simplicity of the narrative masks profound images representing a defined " theology of the Torah scholar as divine mediator. " In particular, I claim the surface narrative of the familiar " Hillel-meets-his-teachers " tradition covers a deeper story which is revealed through attention to its structure and word allusions. We find a curious presence of mystical, apocalyptic images. These mystical images of " divine " figures, I argue, are none other than the beloved masters of early rabbinic culture. By divine figures I refer to those in the visions of Ezekiel 1and Daniel 7 which captured and captivated religious imaginations over many centuries. Here we find the image of a heavenly being, perhaps angelic in nature, enthroned on high or on 1 1 I thank Professor Daniel Boyarin for his thoughtful, careful and critical reading of this paper and his many suggestions for improvements. I have tried to incorporate them. He has pondered the subject of divine mediating figures in Jewish texts in many of his own works, over many years.
A list of corrections to The Gospel of Matthew and Judaic Traditions, a relevance-based commentar... more A list of corrections to The Gospel of Matthew and Judaic Traditions, a relevance-based commentary. Meant for readers and reviewers
The Pharisaic paradosis [legal materials of Pharisaic tradition called " Tradition (para... more The Pharisaic paradosis [legal materials of Pharisaic tradition called " Tradition (paradosis) of the Elders " ] is mentioned in Matthew 15:1-2 and Mark 7:3. 1 Mark's Gospel tells us Pharisees and all Jews obeyed this teaching while Matthew ascribes it just to the usages of Scribes and Pharisees. I wonder if Mark's source has an addition after " Pharisees " , (if " all Jews " is original then why bother mentioning Pharisees who are also Jews?) or perhaps he added it himself since he adds explanatory material here, or did another hand after Mark gloss it? While the matter of Mark's reading is curious my immediate focus here is to establish the use of paradosis as the equivalent of the Hebrew masoret.
Revue des études juives, 171 (1-2), janvier-juin 2012, pp. 173-180, 2012
The Pharisaic paradosis [legal materials of Pharisaic tradition called " Tradition (paradosi... more The Pharisaic paradosis [legal materials of Pharisaic tradition called " Tradition (paradosis) of the Elders " ] is mentioned in Matthew 15:1-2 and Mark 7:3. 1 Mark's Gospel tells us Pharisees and all Jews obeyed this teaching while Matthew ascribes it just to the usages of Scribes and Pharisees. I wonder if Mark's source has an addition after " Pharisees " , (if " all Jews " is original then why bother mentioning Pharisees who are also Jews?) or perhaps he added it himself since he adds explanatory material here, or did another hand after Mark gloss it? While the matter of Mark's reading is curious my immediate focus here is to establish the use of paradosis as the equivalent of the Hebrew masoret.
Contains a list of errata to my book on the eve of its publication date which were not incorporat... more Contains a list of errata to my book on the eve of its publication date which were not incorporated in the book. The corrections should be duly noted and the book emended accordingly.
While there is no shortage of books and articles showing the parallels between the New Testament ... more While there is no shortage of books and articles showing the parallels between the New Testament and rabbinic literature, all aiming to understand the former through the latter, there are markedly fewer publications to show how Jewish Studies benefit from study of the New Testament. The current offering attempts to show the rich gains that accrue by such an enterprise. I offer some samples to show how the New Testament can make us more aware of the precise usage of idioms in Jewish literature and of the likely antiquity of some Jewish practices where we only have relatively late Jewish evidence. The topics I present here are diverse and range from, to name a few, an oddity in the Ashkenazic rite of the Passover seder and the dating of a tradition in the late compilation of Midrash Psalms, to ancient Jewish funerary and circumcision customs.
I show how rabbinic literature is the right key to unlock gospel traditions and arguments against... more I show how rabbinic literature is the right key to unlock gospel traditions and arguments against its use lead to blind alleys. To use Qumran, Apocrypha and Hellenistic literature does not explain the rhetoric of the gospels in the way that rabbinic literature does. My example comes from the Gospel of John and needs to be read carefully. At some point I will use my studies here to form chapters of a book in answer to my critics from the NT guild of nay sayers.
Illustrates my claim that Gospel tradition shares a mind with rabbinic thought of its time and wi... more Illustrates my claim that Gospel tradition shares a mind with rabbinic thought of its time and with scant early evidence that surfaces as late as the the 15-16th up to modern times.
This paper demonstrates the beginnings of a tradition attributed to pre-talmudic times and is als... more This paper demonstrates the beginnings of a tradition attributed to pre-talmudic times and is also part of Gospel anti-pharisee instruction and then surfaces in medieval legal literature followed by its articulation in Shulhan Arukh.
Taking note of unusual turns of phrase in a narrative, for the Talmud scholar, sometimes opens up... more Taking note of unusual turns of phrase in a narrative, for the Talmud scholar, sometimes opens up well studied texts to new experiences and probes.1 Upon very thick reading, the stories told of the rabbis and by the rabbis prove as complex as the most difficult pieces of Talmudic legal " give and take. " These stories, having ostensibly undergone extensive telling and fashioning, are presented with unpretentious charm. In the case we are about to study, the simplicity of the narrative masks profound images representing a defined " theology of the Torah scholar as divine mediator. " In particular, I claim the surface narrative of the familiar " Hillel-meets-his-teachers " tradition covers a deeper story which is revealed through attention to its structure and word allusions. We find a curious presence of mystical, apocalyptic images. These mystical images of " divine " figures, I argue, are none other than the beloved masters of early rabbinic culture. By divine figures I refer to those in the visions of Ezekiel 1and Daniel 7 which captured and captivated religious imaginations over many centuries. Here we find the image of a heavenly being, perhaps angelic in nature, enthroned on high or on 1 1 I thank Professor Daniel Boyarin for his thoughtful, careful and critical reading of this paper and his many suggestions for improvements. I have tried to incorporate them. He has pondered the subject of divine mediating figures in Jewish texts in many of his own works, over many years.
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