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Between Jews and Heretics: Refiguring Justin Martyr's Dialogue

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Between Jews and Heretics: Refiguring Justin Martyr's Dialogue BETWEEN JEWS AND HERETICS “This may be the most important book on Justin Martyr’s work in a century, solving major problems with understanding the text that have been unsolved since Harnack.” – Daniel Boyarin, University of California Berkeley, USA Justin Martyr’s Dialogue with Trypho is the oldest preserved literary dialogue between a Jew and a Christian and a key text for understanding the development of early Judaism and Christianity. In Between Jews and Heretics , Matthijs den Dulk argues that whereas scholarship has routinely cast this important text in terms of “Christianity vs. Judaism,” its rhetorical aims and discursive strategies are considerably more complex, because Justin is advocating his particular form of Christianity in constant negotiation with rival forms of Christianity. The striking new interpretation proposed in this study explains many of the Dialogue’s puzzling features and sheds new light on key passages. Because the Dialogue is a critical document for the early history of Jews and Christians, this book contributes to a range of important questions, including the emergence of the notion of heresy and the “parting of the ways” between Jews and Christians. Matthijs den Dulk is Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Philosophy, Theology, and Religious Studies at Radboud University, The Netherlands. ROUTLEDGE STUDIES IN THE EARLY CHRISTIAN WORLD Routledge Studies in the Early Christian World offers monographs and edited collections which explore the most cutting-edge research in Early Christianity. Covering all aspects of world of early Christianity, from theology, archaeology and history, to urbanism, class, economics, and sexuality and gender, the series aims to situate these early Christians within the wider context of Late Antiquity. Comprising both regional studies and broader thematic surveys, this series explores what changed with the advent of Christianity, what remained the same, and how early Christians interacted with, made sense of, and shaped the world around them. Aimed at early Christian scholars, classicists and historians alike, Studies in the Early Christian World is an invaluable resource for anyone research- ing this fascinating period. RECONCEIVING RELIGIOUS CONFLICT New Views from the Formative Centuries of Christianity Edited by Wendy Mayer and Chris L. de Wet JEWISH GLASS AND CHRISTIAN STONE A Materialist Mapping of the ‘Parting of the Ways’ Eric C. Smith THE SLAVE METAPHOR AND GENDERED ENSLAVEMENT IN EARLY CHRISTIAN DISCOURSE Double Trouble Embodied Marianne Bjelland Kartzow BETWEEN JEWS AND HERETICS Refiguring Justin Martyr’s Dialogue with Trypho Matthijs den Dulk For more information on this series, visit: https://www.routledge.com/Routledge- Studies-in-the-Early-Christian-World/book-series/SECW BETWEEN JEWS AND HERETICS Refiguring Justin Martyr’s Dialogue with Trypho Matthijs den Dulk First published 2018 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2018 Matthijs den Dulk The right of Matthijs den Dulk to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice : Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record for this book has been requested ISBN: 978-0-815-37345-2 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-351-24349-0 (ebk) Typeset in Times New Roman by Apex CoVantage, LLC CONTENTS List of abbreviations vi Acknowledgments viii Introduction 1 1 Justin Martyr, heresy hunter 13 2 The case for an internal audience 38 3 The Dialogue as an anti-heretical text 52 4 “Heresy” and the composition of the Dialogue 69 5 In favor of heresiology 95 Conclusion 139 Appendix: Justin Martyr and Acts of the Apostles 145 Bibliography 155 Index 169 v ABBREVIATIONS AB Anchor Bible AJS American Journal of Sociology ANRW Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt BHTh Beiträge zur historischen Theologie BZ Biblische Zeitschrift BZNW Beihefte zur ZNW CBET Contributions to Biblical Exegesis & Theology CQ Classical Quarterly CRINT Compendia Rerum Iudaicarum ad Novum Testamentum CSCO Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium EC Early Christianity GCS Die griechischen christlichen Schriftsteller der ersten Jahrhunderte HR History of Religions HTR Harvard Theological Review HUCA Hebrew Union College Annual HUTh Hermeneutische Untersuchungen zur Theologie ICC International Critical Commentary JBL Journal of Biblical Literature JCP Jewish and Christian Perspectives JECS Journal of Early Christian Studies JEH Journal of Ecclesiastical History JQR Jewish Quarterly Review JR Journal of Religion JRS Journal of Roman Studies JSJ Journal for the Study of Judaism JSNT Journal for the Study of the New Testament JTS Journal of Theological Studies LNTS Library of New Testament Studies NICNT New International Commentary on the New Testament NovT Novum Testamentum NTS New Testament Studies PTS Patristische Texte und Studien vi ABBREVIATIONS RAC Reallexikon für Antike und Christentum SA Sociological Analysis SC Sources chrétiennes SJT Scottish Journal of Theology SNTSMS Society for New Testament Studies Monograph Series SVF Stoicorum veterum fragmenta TBN Themes in Biblical Narrative TDNT Theological Dictionary of the New Testament TSAJ Texts and Studies in Ancient Judaism TU Texte und Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der altchristlichen Literatur USQR Union Seminary Quarterly Review VC Vigiliae Christianae VT Vetus Testamentum WBC Word Biblical Commentary WUNT Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament ZAC Zeitschrift für Antikes Christentum / Journal of Ancient Christianity ZKG Zeitschrift für Kirchengeschichte ZNW Zeitschrift für die Neutestamentliche Wissenschaft und die Kunde der älteren Kirche vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I have incurred a great number of debts in the process of writing this book. First of all, many thanks are due to Margaret Mitchell, who was my advisor and chair of the committee that accepted an earlier, rather different version of this study as a doctoral dissertation at the University of Chicago in 2015. If this monograph exhibits any scholarly virtues at all, it is largely to her credit. She has consistently been a model of scholarly excellence and a great supporter as well extremely perceptive critic of my work. I am deeply grateful for her example and guidance. Many others have also been sources of academic and moral support. I fondly remember the camaraderie and helpful conversations I enjoyed during my time at Chicago. In particular, I would like to mention Jonathan Soyars and Andrew Lang- ford, who not only shared the joys and burdens of the doctoral experience at Chi- cago with me but also read and commented on this manuscript in its entirety, and to great avail. Others who have offered helpful criticism and suggestions include Daniel Boyarin, David Brakke, Brandon Cline, Michael Fishbane, Allison Gray, Galit Hasan-Rokem, and Hans-Josef Klauck. I am very grateful to all of them for their invaluable advice. Their rigorous critique and collegial encouragement has meant a great deal to me. I am pleased also to acknowledge the fi nancial support provided by the Univer- sity of Chicago and the Martin Marty Center for the Advanced Study of Religion, as well as the generosity of my colleagues at Radboud, who provided me with a new intellectual home. I would also like to thank the excellent team at Routledge for their enthusiasm, professionalism, and expertise. Most of all, I am profoundly grateful to Yael for her unfailing encouragement and willingness to move across the Atlantic with me not once but twice (and the second time with a kid in tow, no less). I am under no illusion that I can ever repay her for her kindness, love, and generosity of spirit. Dankjewel, liefste . Dit alles is dankzij jou . viii INTRODUCTION Aristotle once remarked that “one sees matters most clearly if one studies them in the process of development from the beginning” (Pol . I.2, 1252a24). 1 The implication of Aristotle’s statement for the study of Christianity would seem straightforward: in order to understand it accurately, one should start by scrutiniz- ing its beginning. But determining Christianity’s originary moment has turned out to be challenging. Arguably the most important complicating factor is that it is difficult to identify when Christianity became something other than Judaism.2 Whereas earlier scholarship tended to think in terms of a clear break or “parting of the ways” between Judaism and Christianity that could be relatively securely dated sometime between Jesus’s ministry and the immediate aftermath of the destruc- tion of the second temple in 70 CE, more recent work has recast this process as a complex, lengthy, messy, and ultimately not even fully resolved separation.3 Christian identity vis-à-vis Judaism remained inchoate and in flux for a long time, certainly
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