Jews and Gentiles Research Papers (original) (raw)

In the Acts of the Apostles, there are two quotations from the Book of Amos: Am 5:25-27 in Acts 7:42-43 and Am 9:11-12 in Acts 15:16-18. Both of them were taken from the Greek version of the Septuagint, and in several places reworked in order that they might better suit Luke’s theological-rhetorical aims.
The quotation from Am 9:11-12 LXX was supplemented in Acts 15:18 with a literary echo of Gal 2:9a-c for a rhetorical characterization of the character of James as giving his consent to the mission among the Gentiles (cf. Gal 2:9), but in fact having grave reservations concerning the exceptional grace, whose reception was declared by Paul (Gal 2:9ab; cf. 2:12c.f). Such a particular use of the quotation from Am 9:11-12 LXX in Acts 15:16-18 additionally confirms the fact that Luke in his narrative used the letters of the Apostle, and not only general Pauline traditions or ideas.

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- Galatians, Book of Amos, Acts of the Apostles, Jews and Gentiles

Сборник воспоминаний «Мы благодарны Вам за жизнь» посвящен подвигу спасения евреев Крыма и других регионов СССР их соседями – русскими, украинцами, крымскими татарами, представителями других народов – в период «окончательного решения еврейского вопроса нацистами в годы Второй мировой войны. Книга содержит воспоминания спасенных и их спасителей, фотографии и документальные материалы

- by Mykhaylo Tyaglyy
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- Holocaust Studies, Holocaust, Crimea, Jews and Gentiles

本文對「浪子比喻」進行了深入分析後發現，它所使用的典故（約瑟故事）、關鍵字詞（「兒子」「饑荒/餓」「遠」「誡命/命令」）和概念（「潔淨」「回家/ 、回耶路撒冷」「先知以及其神國筵席信息遭拒」、）應該會使受眾將它連繫於耶穌的「第一講章」（路四 16~30）有關外邦人得救和神子民的重新定義的主題，以致我們有十分充分的理由去以外邦人得救的架構去詮釋這比喻，理解大兒子為猶太人（或猶太基督徒），小兒子為外邦人（或外邦基督徒），而不落入初期教父的寓意解經傳統裡。這比喻在《路—徒》整體寫作架構內的位置，讓受眾以「旅途敘事」當中的「回家」和「上帝國度的筵席會遭受拒絕」的角度去閱讀這個比喻，讓我們看到猶太人失落救恩其實是自絕救恩門外。「浪子比喻」的天國筵席信息告訴我們，普世本是一家，無論猶太人或是外邦人，都可以回家。這是上帝的恩典、福音的核心信息。這比喻在《路—徒》整體中用較隱晦的方式向當時拒絕福音、拒絕外邦人的人提出挑戰：接受上帝國度筵席的福音嗎？接受外邦的弟兄姊妹嗎？願意回家嗎？

- by Fox Lo
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- Gospel of Luke, Christian Identity, Acts of the Apostles, Lukan Studies
- by Alexis M Schmidt
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- Matthew's Gospel, Synoptic Problem, Life of Jesus, Jews and Gentiles

The article traces the building blocks of the rabbinic concept of Nohaide laws as they appear in Jubillees, the Temple Scroll and the Genesis Apocryphon: the commandments given to Noah or by him to his sons; the motif of blaimng the sons of Noah for violating the commandments; and the rejection of the sons of Noah and the election of Israel, including its eschatological dimensions. The artilce also presents the percedents of legal discrimination against non-jews in the context of the ban against theft and murder. These various elements were later incorporated into a well-developed rabbinic conceptual framework of the Nohide laws. However, it is only in the rabbinic corpus, and especially in the Baylonian Talmud, that the Nohide laws were framed in terms of a binary model of distinction between Jews and Gentiles. The elements, motifs and conventions that later constituted the rabbinic concept are found in the earlier corpora in different contexts and settings. For example, the laws given to Noah or his sons are seen as par of a continuous chain of covenants rather than as a different legal system for non-Jews. Blaming the sons of Noah appears in the idelological context of the election of the Qumran sect rather than of the election of Israel as a whole. Finally, the halakhic context of the Nohide laws in rabbinic literature is an important development. It reflects a generic shift towards the development of distinct legal systems for Jews and non-Jews. I it also suggested that Acts 15 may be seen as the earliest legal cocretization of the laws, leading from Second Temple and secterial origins to the later rabbinic framework.

In this passage, the Lord used His rebellious prophet to be a means through which His grace would be extended to Gentile sinners. As per the theme verse of the book, “salvation is from the Lord” (Jon 2:9). He bestows it to whom He chooses at His appointed time. Jonah knew God’s will but opposed it; the sailors acknowledge the existence of God and try to find the right way to do His will. The pericope presents the reader with a call to respond as the sailors did, and amid His judgment, trust His salvation and submit to Him.

- by Faly Ravoahangy
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- Book of Jonah, Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, Jews and Gentiles

There is no disagreement among scholars that Romans is one of the most robust and theological books of the New Testament. But, with this, there is a lot of disagreement and discussion as to how to best interpret and understand Paul’s complex writing and syntactical style.2 The thesis of the book of Romans is found in 1:16-17, where Paul writes that salvation is the result of the power of God, which is good news to the Jew first, and to the Greek. The distinction and unity Paul refers to here becomes important, especially as it relates to the conclusion of the letter. Just as he does in his thesis, Paul quotes the Old Testament as a support for his exhortation. In Romans 15:7-13, Paul ties in the themes from chapter 1 through verbal links and gives a conclusive summary of his theological argument in chapters 9-11, but more than that, he concludes many of the themes of his entire letter.3 Paul makes an exhortation and supports it with something Christ did for the Jews, with lasting effects for the Gentiles. He continues to give support for these claims from Old Testament passages. Though there is little disagreement about the exhortation in verses 7-8, the proceeding verses which give context to the former must be given a fresh interpretation and understanding. Therefore, it is the purpose of this paper to give a fresh translation of Romans 15:7-13 (dealing specifically with the syntactical issues in verses 8-9), discuss the identity and priority of περιτομῆσ (the circumcision) especially as it relates to his use of ἔθνη (the Gentiles), and to reveal how Paul uses scriptural support for this climactic exhortation.

- by Devin Dunn
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- Identity (Culture), Romans, Biblical Exegesis, Circumcision

This article explores the depiction of the vulnerable “stranger” in the writings of two Orthodox rabbis, Irving Greenberg and Meir Kahane, in light of how they understand biblical discourse about the people of Israel’s experience as “strangers in the land of Egypt” and their liberation from slavery. Greenberg, developing his theologically liberal Orthodoxy, emphasizes universal human dignity and the Jewish obligation to provide refuge, support, and empowerment for oppressed others. Kahane, developing his supremacist and militant form of Orthodoxy, emphasizes how Jews are uniquely oppressed and vulnerable, as strangers, such that they need to be separated from non-Jews who threaten them by denying Jewish superiority. The article analyzes how these two thinkers proceed from common assumptions, develop their arguments with reference to the biblical Exodus narrative, and dispute what it means to be a vulnerable stranger.

- by Geoffrey Claussen
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- Jewish Law, Immigration, Religious Ethics, Jewish Ethics

A study of Amos 9:11-12 with special attention to the role on non-Israelites and the use of this passage in Acts 14.

- by Daniel Timmer
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- Old Testament Prophecy, Intertextuality, Inner-Biblical Exegesis, Book of Amos

In Paul: The Pagans’ Apostle (2017), Paula Fredriksen reminds us that gods and their cults were intertwined with ancient ethnic groups so much so that when gentiles committed themselves exclusively to Israel’s God, some Jews considered this ‘tantamount to changing ethnicity’. Fredriksen claims, however, that Paul’s gentile addressees—whom she terms ‘ex-pagan pagans’—remain separate ethnically from Jews despite forsaking their ancestral gods for Israel’s. Given that gods and ethnicity were intertwined, this article examines if it is reasonable to conclude that Paul thinks gentile Christ-followers remain strictly gentiles after they have abandoned their ethnic gods and entered into a relationship with Israel and its God. I argue that similar to Philo’s proselyte inclusion strategy, Paul incorporates gentiles-in-Christ into ethnic Israel. As Abraham’s ‘offspring’, Paul suggests that his addressees not only gain membership in Israel’s covenant on account of Israel’s messiah, but that they also acquire a new ethnic identity despite that their prior identities as ‘the gentiles’ are not erased. This study, then, seeks to destabilise the binary that Fredriksen posits between ethnic Israel and Paul’s gentiles-in-Christ as ethnic ‘other’. In the end, I demonstrate that Paul’s ethnic reconfiguration of gentile identities resembles Philo’s proselyte discourse and is more disruptive ethnically than Fredriksen’s phrase ‘ex-pagan pagans’ would suggest.

- by Denys McDonald
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- New Testament, Philo of Alexandria, Ethnic Identity, Romans
- by Rebecca Harrocks
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- Synoptic Gospels, Historical Jesus, Miracles of Jesus, Jews and Gentiles

What purpose does Paul use the Old testament in Romans? Does he repurpose God’s promises made to Israel to include Gentiles as well? The phrase "All Israel" has been discussed for just under two millennia along with a plethora of interpretations, and the likelihood of it ever quelling is far from over. Israel's houses were promised soteriological reunification, and the mysterious inclusion of Gentiles perplexed Paul until he came to the realization of God's dually-cryptic plan was to not only unify both houses of Israel under the Messiah, but likewise incorporate Gentiles into His Kingdom as well.

- by Ken Palmer
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- Apostle Paul and the Pauline Letters, Eschatology, Soteriology, Book of Romans

This essay addresses two main questions: Why does the author of Acts invoke the Noahide laws in chapters 15 and 21, and what is the significance of their redundancy? By implementing a methodology that makes use of intertextuality theory and literary stylistics within the framework of Systemic Functional Linguistics, this essay argues that the Noahide laws were used in first-century Jewish contexts to promote the separation of Jews and gentiles. However, the author of Acts directly opposes this Jewish social value, which is evidenced in the book of Jubilees, and establishes a new use for the Noahide laws within Christian communities, which is to promote ecumenism between Jewish and gentile believers.

- by Zachary K Dawson
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- Literary Stylistics, Poetics, Linguistic stylistics, Intertextuality
- by Menahem Kister
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- Gnosticism, Midrash, Jewish Thought, Second Temple Judaism (Religion)

This paper is committed not to theologically support the doctrine of predestination and election. God’s enduring plan since the Old Testament in connection with His ελεος (verb:ελεειν) in the light of Romans 9-11 is the focus of this... more

- by B. Moreno Bragas
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- Covenant Theology, Predestination, Romans 9, Jews and Gentiles

The decision of the Jerusalem Council concerning Gentile believers – that they had to abstain, among other things, from meat with blood still in it and from sexual immorality – was officially recorded in order to be obeyed in the early Christian communities (Acts 15). It is echoed in Paul’s letters, because this apostolic instruction was intended for non-Jewish believers like us. The prescription from Jerusalem was by no means incidental, it is rooted in basic principles of created life , and it was generally observed during the first centuries. Yet, most Christians today no longer feel bound by this biblical rule and have no problem with eating blood pudding or rare steak. The purpose of this article is to explain why, in the course of time, the Apostolic Decree was considered to have become obsolete. In a church with an increasing number of Gentile Christians, the redemptive-historical necessity of the decree had ceased to exist.

- by Rob van Houwelingen
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- Hermeneutics, Idolatry, Acts of the Apostles, Jews and Gentiles
- by Ryan Heinsch
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- Romans, Apostle Paul and the Pauline Letters, Biblical Covenants, Jews and Gentiles

El mensaje de de este estudio, es que ya no estamos bajo la ley, sino bajo la gracia. Se reitera en cada uno de los tres puntos de inflexión en el Nuevo Testamento que presentamos: el bautismo de Jesús, la transfiguración de Jesús y Hechos 7, un parteaguas en el Evangelio. Tres poderosos mensajes subrepticios. Nos confirman que de religión pasamos a relación.

- by Pepo Toledo
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- Biblia, Pecados, Estudios bíblicos, Antiguo Testamento
- by Ryan Heinsch
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- Romans, Apostle Paul and the Pauline Letters, Galatians, Jews and Gentiles

This paper examines the problems faced by the Christian administration of Mt. Zion school, Mong Pong, West Bengal. It intends to offer suggestions on how they might respond to the issue of ethnic discrimination of Gorkhas by Bengalis, which perhaps, is the leading cause of the difficulties they face. After a brief presentation of the problem, I draw insights from published data, a relevant Scripture passage (Acts 15), and a parallel situation in India, namely, Hindutva’s discrimination of Christians. Then, I share some common principles from both the studies to offer practical recommendations to help Mt. Zion management navigate the issue more competently and sensitively.

- by Manoj Kumar Khatore
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- New Testament, Ethnic minorities, Amartya Sen, Ethnicity & Ethnic Conflicts

Yahudiliğe göre insanlık Nuhiler ve Yahudiler olmak üzere ikiye ayrılır. Rabbilerin insan algısına göre Sina vahyine kadarki dönemde herkes Nuhi olmuş, Sina’da İsrailoğlu kimliği doğmuş ve geriye kalan bütün insanlar Nuhi kabul edilmiştir. Zaman içerisinde Nuhiler arasında doğru yoldan sapanlar olmuş, insanlar inanç ve ibadet bakımından ilahi emre uymamışlardır. Yahudi kaynaklarında bunlar Oved Avoda Zara adlanır. Nuhiler, doğru yolda devam edenler, Nuh Kanunları’na uyanlardır. Nuhi kimliği, Yahudi olmayan fakat Yahudiler tarafından makbul sayılan bir kimliktir. Nuhiler’in gelecek dünyada da nasipleri vardır. Rabbani düşünce Nuhi kimliğini Yahudi kimliği karşısında ikincil konuma yerleştirmiştir. Tarihin herhangi bir aşamasında Nuhilik diye bir sosyal topluluğun mevcut olduğuna ilişkin bilgi mevcut değildir. Nuhi kimliği aslında gelmesi beklenen Mesih dönemi için kurgulanan bir kimlik olup Yahudilere sempati duyan, onların egemenliğini benimseyenler için tasarlanmış statüdür. Diğer bir dine mensup olup da Nuh Kanunları manzumesinde yer alan hükümleri o dinin hükmü olarak uygulamak veya akıl yürüterek bu hükümleri bulmak Nuhi sayılmak için yeterli değildir. Nuhi kabul edilmek için epistemolojik olarak Yahudilik esastır. Bu açıdan, Müslümanlar ve Hıristiyanlar Nuhi sayılmazlar.

- by Eldar Hasanoğlu
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- Jews and Gentiles, Jewish/non-Jewish Relations, Noahidism
- by Monika Vrzgulova
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- Biographical narratives, Jews and Gentiles

This article discusses Jewish-Gentile relations ahead of and during the deportation of the Jews from Thessaloniki, Greece. It focuses on Yomtov Yacoel and Asher Moisis, two classmates, business partners, friends and prominent Jewish leaders who marked with their actions Greek Jewry in the twentieth century. They ascended very quickly in leadership positions, and in their mid-30s Moisis became president of the Jewish Community of Thessaloniki, while Yacoel acted as the Jewish Community's legal advisor and also as president of B’nei B’rith. The war found the two childhood friends and long-time colleagues separated, Moisis in Italian-occupied Athens and Yacoel in German-occupied Thessaloniki. The article amplifies existing knowledge and offers new unknown details on the efforts of Greek Jews for the aid and rescue of their coreligionists in this critical period, showing the Jews as agents and not as passive victims. Yacoel and Moisis tried to reach out to Greek Christian elites in both cities and elicit their mobilization in support of the Jews of Thessaloniki undergoing Nazi deportations. Nevertheless, their efforts were not met with the same success: Moisis was able to mobilize a larger force in support of the Jews of Thessaloniki in Athens than Yacoel in their native city. Thus, this article argues that in some cases – like that of the Jews in Thessaloniki – help was easier organized from the outside rather than from the inside. In addition, the article provides a detailed timeline and background on the efforts for the rescue of the Jews of Thessaloniki in Athens. The stories of Moisis and Yacoel make clear that it was often individual Jewish actions and initiatives that triggered efforts of aid and mobilization of solidarity by the Christian population. It also adds an important microhistorical approach to the Holocaust in Greece, laying bare the vulnerability of Jews as citizens in “young” nation-states, during processes of consolidation of state structures and national identities.

- by Leon Saltiel
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- Holocaust Studies, Modern Greece, Microhistory, Holocaust

The Apostolic Decree holds a prominent place in the narrative of Acts; yet its meaning remains unclear for many. For some it is simply a Lukan invention; for others it is an ad hoc law of the early Jerusalem Church for Gentiles entering... more

- by Aaron W White
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- Immigration, Social Inclusion, Luke-Acts, Leviticus
- by Daniel Timmer
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- Methodology, Old Testament Prophecy, Old Testament Theology, Old Testament
- by Reuven Chaim Klein
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- Jewish Studies, Talmud, Jewish Mysticism, Jewish History
- by Matan Orian
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- Philosophy, Greek translation, Septuagint, Maccabees

The date, and following it, the proper interpretation of the Alexandrian composition known as III Maccabees (henceforth III Macc.) has long been at the center of a debate in research, i.e., whether it should be dated to the Hellenistic period in Egypt, or to the Roman period. This paper suggests that III Macc. was composed not too long after the inauguration of the Herodian Temple in Jerusalem — hence an additional support for its dating to the Roman period.

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- by Duane A Miller
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- Missiology, Theological Hermeneutics, Arab Christian Studies, Book of Jonah

Within the Herodian temenos in Jerusalem, a warning inscription prohibited non-Jews, under penalty of death, from proceeding any further inward. This was mounted on a low stone balustrade that encircled an area larger than the actual holy ground. As suggested
in research, the underlying pentateuchal law for the inscription was הזר הקרב יומת, “the unauthorized encroacher shall be put to death.” The subjection of gentiles to this law, in particular, and its application even when they had not, de facto, trespassed on holy ground remain, however, unexplained. The article suggests that the inscription applied הזר הקרב יומת to a זר, in the sense of “a foreigner,” who merely קרב, “draws near”
to sacred ground. A further suggestion is that this reading and implementation of the biblical law reflects a preemptive endeavor to blunt Jewish objection to a major cultic innovation by Herod: granting gentiles access to the Jerusalem temenos.

- by Matan Orian
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- Jewish Law, Second Temple Judaism, Septuagint, Biblical Interpretation

często uważana jest za utwór wybitnie nacjonalistyczny, uzasadniający ideologię ‫״‬ świętej wojny" z zamieszkującymi ziemię Kanaan poganami. W takim rozumieniu trudno dopatrzeć się w niej jakichkolwiek wątków uniwersalistycznych, które w pozytywny sposób odnosiłyby się do członków innych grup kulturowych. Jednakże bliższa analiza zarówno samej Księgi Jozuego, jak i historii jej oddziaływania w Starym i Nowym Testamencie, pokazuje, że perspektywa uniwersalistyczna ma w tej księdze dość istotne znaczenie. Kto napisał Księgę Jozuego? Jednym z pytań kluczowych dla interpretacji Księgi Jozuego jest pytanie, kto tę księgę napisał. Nie chodzi oczywiście o autorstwo w sensie jednostkowym, gdyż księga jest anonimowa i nie ma żadnych danych pozwalających na stwierdzenie, kto konkretnie był jej literackim autorem. Ważne jest natomiast ustalenie środowiska ideowo-kulturowego, w którym powstała. Zidentyfikowanie tego środowiska możliwe jest na podstawie specyficznej ideowo-politycznej retoryki, przez którą Księga Jozuego oddziałuje na odbiorców. Retoryka ta dotyczy m.in. określonej prezentacji szczepu Judy. Nazwa ‫״‬Juda" pojawia się w Księdze Jozuego po raz pierwszy w opisie grzechu Akana (Joz 7,1). Etymologia imienia ‫״‬Akan" jest niejasna, jednakże jego grecka wersja Achar w Septuagincie

- by Bartosz Adamczewski
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- Rhetoric, Rhetorical Criticism, Numbers, Book of Judges

It was during the Second Temple period where Jews had to face various changes. Specifically, gentiles and the covenant. Can gentiles enter into a relationship with YHWH? The Second Temple period is filled with various kinds of literature's which deal with this problem. There is no consensus on the subject matter among Second Temple Jews, but there seems to be a shift towards allowing gentiles to partake in the covenant of Israel. Throughout this essay I deal with some of the primary sources of this period and what some Jews had to say on the subject at hand, but research still needs to be done in this area. Specifically, more research needs to be done on what gentiles must do in order to enter the covenant and stay in it.

Portraits on a counter-reformation altarpiece: Wouter Pietersz. Crabeth’s Assumption of 1628 This article identifies two disguised portraits in Wouter Pietersz. Crabeth’s Assumption (1628), which is kept in ‘Het Catharinagasthuis’ (The Gouda Municipal Museum). Two of the apostles show the features of respectively father Petrus Purmerent of the Gouda church of Saint John the Baptist and probably apostolic vicar Philippus Rovenius.

- by Rudie van Leeuwen
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- Art, Christian Iconography, Virgin Mary, Catholic Church History
- by Menahem Kister
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- Gnosticism, Midrash, Jewish Thought, Second Temple Judaism (Religion)

First Maccabees 7:34 employs four verbs to describe the offensive speech by Nicanor, the Seleucid general, addressed to the Jewish elders and priests. The third verb indicates that Nicanor defiled his audience. While this has led scholars to associate 1 Maccabees with the Jewish concept of gentile impurity, several factors suggest that, at this point, an error found its way into the Greek translation from the original Hebrew. The present argument comprises three steps. First, I use the biblical Sennacherib story, featured in the background of the Nicanor episode in 1 Maccabees, as a means of reconstructing the relevant original Hebrew verb employed by 1 Maccabees. Second, I suggest a possible misreading of one letter on the part of the Greek translator. Finally, I propose that a similar, earlier verse in 1 Maccabees, 1:24b, may have been conducive to the translator’s commission of this mistake, thus offering an insight into his way of thinking.

- by Matan Orian
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- Greek translation, Septuagint, 1 Maccabees, Misreading

Within the Herodian temenos in Jerusalem, a warning inscription prohibited non-Jews, under penalty of death, from proceeding any further inward. This was mounted on a low stone balustrade that encircled an area larger than the actual holy ground. As suggested in research, the underlying pentateuchal law for the inscription was הזר הקרב יומת, “the unauthorized encroacher shall be put to death.” The subjection of gentiles to this law, in particular, and its application even when they had not, de facto, trespassed on holy ground remain, however, unexplained. The article suggests that the inscription applied הזר הקרב יומת to a זר, in the sense of “a foreigner,” who merely קרב, “draws near” to sacred ground. A further suggestion is that this reading and implementation of the biblical law reflects a preemptive endeavor to blunt Jewish objection to a major cultic innovation by Herod: granting gentiles access to the Jerusalem temenos.

- by Matan Orian
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- Jewish Law, Art, Second Temple Judaism, Septuagint

This paper assesses the validity of the dual covenant theory through the textual analysis of Romans 9-11 but specifically Romans 11. The method used in this paper is the analysis the Holy Bible as the primary source. The goal of this research is to examine whether the God of Israel has rejected his ethnical people Israel and now accepts the Christian Church as 'the new Israel' as claimed by those who adhere to replacement theology. This paper argues God has not rejected his chosen people Israel, rather God allowed the unbelief of the Jews for the reconciliation of the whole world, and the belief of the Gentiles to provoke the Jews to jealousy so that they would believe. It is for this reason Christians maintain a dialogue of respect when speaking with Jews because the gospel is for the Jews first and also for the gentiles.

- by John Converse
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- Israel Studies, End Times, Living in the End Times, Romans 9-11