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The Ways That Never Parted Texts and Studies in Ancient Judaism Texte und Studien zum Antiken Judentum Edited by Martin Hengel and Peter Schäfer 95 The Ways that Never Parted Jews and Christians in Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages Edited by ADAM H. BECKER and ANNETTE YOSHIKO REED Mohr Siebeck ADAM H. BECKER, born 1972; M.A. in Classics from New York University; M. St. in Syriac Studies from Oxford University; he will finish his dissertation and receive his Ph.D. from Princeton University in 2003. ANNETTE YOSHIKO REED, born 1973; Ph.D. from Princeton University; currently a post- doctoral Research Associate at Princeton University in the Department of Religion and Program in Jewish Studies. ISBN 3-16-147966-1 ISSN 0721-8753 (Texts and Studies in Ancient Judaism) Die Deutsche Bibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliographie; detailed bibliographic data is available in the Internet at http://dnb.ddb.de. © 2003 by J. C. B. Möhr (Paul Siebeck), P. O. Box 2040, D-72010Tübingen. This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any form (beyond that permitted by copyright law) without the publisher's written permission. This applies particularly to reproductions, translations, microfilms and storage and processing in electronic systems. The book was printed by Guide-Druck in Tiibingen on non-aging paper and bound by Held in Rottenburg. Printed in Germany. Foreword This volume arises from the fortuitous and fortunate coincidence of two originally unrelated events. The first is a series of workshops and colloquia initiated by Peter Schäfer in 2000, with generous funding from John Wilson, formerly Dean of the Princeton University Graduate School. The aim was to foster collaborative research between faculty and doctoral students in the Religions of Late Antiquity subfield of the Department of Religion, while providing the Department's students with unique opportunities for professional development. Each year, two graduate students choose a topic of interdisciplinary interest and, under the guidance of Peter Schäfer, organize a series of workshops on that theme, followed by a colloquium. At each workshop, a graduate student paper is presented, followed by discussion geared towards providing the student with guidance about how best to rework the paper into a formal conference presentation. The student papers are finally presented at the concluding colloquium, alongside papers from the faculty participants and invited scholars from other institutions, who are selected by the two organizers. Following the success of the first colloquium, "In Heaven as it is on Earth: Imagined Realms and Earthly Realities in Late Antique Religion" (January 14-15, 2001),1 planning soon began for a second workshop and colloquium, this time organized by Adam H. Becker and Annette Yoshiko Reed. For this, they conceived of a timely topic that draws on the special strengths of Princeton's Department of Religion: an exploration of the continued interchange between late antique and early medieval Jews and Christians, which approaches the two religions as "Ways that Never Parted." The second event was the creation of a formal Research Partnership between Princeton and Oxford in April 2001. One of the first twelve projects approved by that Partnership was on "Culture and Religions of the Eastern Mediterranean." Convened by Simon Price at Oxford and Fritz Graf at Princeton, this project seeks to make use of the ample resources of both universities in the area of late antique religions, in order to promote interdisciplinary research and to enhance the excellence of graduate studies through joint projects and graduate student exchanges.2 1 The papers from the 2001 colloquium will also be published as a volume: Heavenly Realms and Earthly Realities in Late Antique Religions, ed. Ra'anan S. Abusch and Annette Yoshiko Reed (Cambridge: Cambridge UP, forthcoming). 2 For more information, see http://www.classics.ox.ac.uk/faculty/oxprinceton.html. vi Foreword It soon became clear that the "Ways that Never Parted" project was an ideal fit for the new Oxford-Princeton partnership. Martin Goodman and Simon Price organized a seminar on the same topic, involving Oxford students and faculty from a broad range of related fields, and they oversaw the planning for a group of the Oxford participants to travel to Princeton for the culminating conference on January 9-11, 2002. As the first event in the Oxford-Princeton Research Partnership, the conference brought together faculty and students from Princeton and Oxford, along with selected speakers from other institutions. As part of the unique combination of interdisciplinary research and graduate student training in the "Culture and Religions of the Eastern Mediterranean" project, Martin Goodman and Simon Price also worked with Fritz Graf to arrange two evening workshops during the conference, at which doctoral students from Oxford and Princeton shared their dissertation research with a group of faculty and students from both institutions. Together with the conference itself, these sessions helped to lay the groundwork for further cooperation and collaboration, strengthening the connections between scholars and students from different fields between (and even within) the two universities. The conference itself was organized by the editors of the present volume, under the guidance of Peter Schäfer, and the expenses were met jointly by Princeton and Oxford. The costs of the conference were covered from the fund established to support the yearly workshops and colloquia in Princeton's Department of Religion, while the Oxford visit and graduate student sessions were generously funded by the Oxford-Princeton Research Partnership. The "Ways that Never Parted" proved to be a wonderful theme for a conference. A great deal of intellectual excitement was generated by the participation of scholars and students from Princeton, Oxford, and other universities, representing an unusually broad array of fields: Jewish Studies, Christianity, and even Paganism. The present book results from this conference. We believe that it successfully conveys the intellectual vigor of this event and, moreover, offers an excellent indication that the Oxford-Princeton project will go from strength to strength, revolutionizing our understanding of the culture and religions of the Eastern Mediterranean world. Martin Goodman Simon Price Peter Schäfer Table of Contents Foreword by MARTIN GOODMAN, SIMON PRICE, and PETER SCHÄFER... V ANNETTE YOSHIKO REED & ADAM H. BECKER Introduction: Traditional Models and New Directions 1 PAULA FREDRIKSEN What "Parting of the Ways"? Jews, Gentiles, and the Ancient Mediterranean City 35 DANIEL BOYARIN Semantic Differences; or, "Judaism'V'Christianity" 65 ROBERT A. KRAFT The Weighing of the Parts: Pivots and Pitfalls in the Study of Early Judaisms and their Early Christian Offspring 87 ANDREW S. JACOBS The Lion and the Lamb: Reconsidering Jewish-Christian Relations in Antiquity 95 MARTIN GOODMAN Modeling the "Parting of the Ways" 119 DAVID FRANKFURTER Beyond "Jewish Christianity": Continuing Religious Sub-Cultures of the Second and Third Centuries and Their Documents 131 E. LEIGH GIBSON The Jews and Christians in the Martyrdom of Poly carp: Entangled or Parted Ways? 145 AMRAM TROPPER Tractate Avot and Early Christian Succession Lists 159 ANNETTE YOSHIKO REED "Jewish Christianity" after the "Parting of the Ways": Approaches to Historiography and Self-Definition in the Pseudo-Clementines 189 viii Table of Contents ALISON SALVESEN A Convergence of the Ways? The Judaizing of Christian Scripture by Origen and Jerome 233 DANIEL STOKL BEN EZRA Whose Fast Is It? The Ember Day of September and Yom Kippur 259 NAOMI KOLTUN-FROMM Zippora's Complaint: Moses is Not Conscientious in the Deed! Exegetical Traditions of Moses' Celibacy 283 RA'ANAN S. ABUSCH Rabbi Ishmael's Miraculous Conception: Jewish Redemption History in Anti-Christian Polemic 307 AVERIL CAMERON Jews and Heretics - A Category Error? 345 JOHN G. GAGER Did Jewish Christians See the Rise of Islam? 361 ADAM H. BECKER Beyond the Spatial and Temporal Limes: Questioning the "Parting of the Ways" Outside the Roman Empire 373 List of Contributors 393 Modern Author Index 397 Subject Index 403 Introduction Traditional Models and New Directions by ANNETTE YOSHIKO REED & ADAM H. BECKER For those who seek the origins of our modern conceptions of Judaism and Christianity as ultimately related yet essentially distinct religions, the idea of the "Parting of the Ways" proves powerfully attractive, offering a reassuringly ecumenical etiology of the religious differences between present-day Christians and Jews.1 In this model Judaism and Christianity are likened to two paths that branched off from a single road, never to cross or converge again.2 Even as their common origin is affirmed, the allegedly fundamental distinction between the two is explained as a result of a mutual decision, long ago, to part their fates and go their separate ways. Scholars still debate the determinative catalyst for this "Parting" and whether or not such a split was inevitable.3 Nevertheless, it is generally agreed that there was a fateful turning point in the first or early second century CE, after which "there were no relations between Jews and Christians except hostile ones."4 As a result, most research on Late 1 On the place of contemporary ecumenical concerns in the "Parting" model, see Judith Lieu, '"The Parting of the Ways': Theological Construct or Historical Reality?" JSNT 56 (1994): 106-9. On the use of various familial metaphors to communicate the same concepts, see Daniel Boyarin, Dying for God: Martyrdom and the Making of Judaism and Christianity (Stanford: Stanford UP, 1999), esp. 1-6. 2 I.e., as illustrated by Figures 1 and 2 in Martin Goodman's piece in this volume, "Modeling the 'Parting of the Ways.'" 3 See further: James J. D. Dunn, The Partings of the Ways Between Christianity and Judaism and their Significance for the Character of Christianity (London: SCM, 1991), esp. 238; idem, ed., Jews and Christians: The Parting of the Ways, AD 70 to 135 (Cambridge: Eerdmans, 1992), esp.
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