Paul and His Jewish Identity: an Overview

Spes Christiana 22–23, 2011–2012, 85–104 Paul and His Jewish Identity: An Overview Luca Marulli Abstract Paul was a Jew from the Diaspora who never ceased to affirm his deep con- nection with the people, land and traditions of Israel. Even after his conversion/call, Paul was persuaded to be a godly Jew living out true Judaism. What he was and did before is in continuity with what he became after his dramatic encounter with the risen Christ. Jesus did not obliterate Paul’s past; rather he helped him to bring it to the appointed (by God) completion. This paper offers an overview of how scholars understand texts such as 1 Corinthians 9:20–21, 2 Corinthians 11:22, Philippians 3:4–6, Galatians 1:13–14, and Romans 11:1 to be indicative of the fact that Paul always con- sidered himself to be (though in fieri) an Israelite, a Benjaminite, a Hebrew, a Jew, a Pharisee, and a zealot for God and His plan as revealed in Christ. Among all the New Testament writers, the apostle Paul stands out as the subject of earnest studies that seek a deeper understanding of how the theological and historical transition from Judaism to Christianity occurred. On this matter, the study of the texts that, in Paul’s epistles, reflect the apostle’s understanding of the relationship between continuity and discontinuity in his own religious thought as well in his “Jewish identity” is of great importance. Students of Pauline literature and of Paul’s biography are confronted with Paul’s way to define and redefine himself as a “Jew” converted to Christ as he used existing expressions but some- times giving them a new or (Christianly) “updated” meaning. Texts such as 1 Corinthians 9:20–21, 2 Corinthians 11:22, Philippians 3:4–6, Galatians 1:13– 14, and Romans 11:1 are unavoidable starting points for discussions about Paul’s self-definition.1 This paper reviews some of the vocabulary Paul used in these texts to describe himself ethnically, culturally, and religiously as an Israelite, Benjaminite, He- brew, Jew, Pharisee, and Zealot. I will limit the scope of this article to the debate on the meaning the above terms might have had for Paul’s historical readers. My 2 goal is to offer a simple overview as a basis for further discussion. 1 All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible (NRSV). 2 In this paper I do not address issues such as Paul’s understanding and critique of Judaism, or the elements that could have facilitated his conversion. The reader is referred to Stemberger 2010, 411– 423; Ehrensperger and Tucker 2010; Boyarin 1994, 41–52. Another interesting aspect of Paul’s biography that is beyond the scope of this article is how his conversion occurred. Hurtado 1993, 273–284, critically presents three approaches. According to Fredriksen 1986, 3–34, we cannot know Luca Marulli 1. An Israelite, Seed of Abraham (2 Cor 11:22; Phil 3:4–6; Rom 11:1) According to James Dunn, “Israelite” is an ethno-religious term that emphasizes the relationship between Israel and its God. It refers to “a people who identified themselves as the chosen of God, not so much by reference to the other peoples, but primarily by reference to the covenant made with the patriarchs, children of Israel” (Dunn 1999, 187). In fact, Jesus was called “king of the Jews” by non- Jewish people (Mark 15:2, 8, 26 par. Matt 27:11, 29, 37), but “king of Israel” by Jews (Mark 15:32 par. Matt 27:42; John 12:13). As S. Zeitlin pointed out, the Rabbis (hence after 70 CE) speak of themselves as “Israel” and not as “Jews” (Zeitlin 1936, 31–32). Finally, Paul employs the term “Jews” 9 times in Romans 1–3 (where he argues that all people are under God’s righteous wrath), but only twice in Romans 9–11 (against the 11 usages of the word “Israel”), where his people are now described “from God’s perspective … Here, Israel’s identity is determined by God, and not with Jewish identity determined by contrasting Jew/Gentile” (Dunn 1999, 188). Paul’s expression “son of Abraham” is linked with “Hebrews” and “Israelite” in 2 Corinthians 11:22, and with “Israelite” (again) and “Tribe of Benjamin” in Romans 11:1. If Paul, when he defines himself as an “Israelite”, is somehow af- firming his identity not by contrast (with other nations) but by election, he could also use or even reinterpret the expression “seed of Abraham” with the same pur- pose, as Esler suggests of the Pauline use of “Abraham” in Galatians 3 (Esler 2006, 23–34). 2. Of the Tribe of Benjamin (Phil 3:4–6; Rom 11:1) Famous characters such as Saul, the first king of Israel (1 Chron 8:33), and Mordecai (Esther 2:5) belonged to the tribe of Benjamin. Claims that the Tem- ple was erected on Benjamitic ground appear in the rabbinic literature (SifDev 352) and also in Origen (In Genesim 42:6). Origen probably gives a reason based on Jewish tradition: since Benjamin did not bow down before Esau (Gen 33:3–7) or before Joseph (Gen 42:6), his territory was reserved for the worship of God (Gottheil et al. 1906). However, it is difficult to determine if this claim was already made in Paul’s time. It has been argued that the Benjamites survived anything from Paul and from Acts since the memory of his conversion was reshaped by the commu- nity [apologetically] and by Paul himself [rhetorically]. According to Kim 1981, Paul alludes often to the Damascus experience in his letters, and those are reliable and accountable records. According to Segal 1990, Paul was a visionary initiated to the mystical and apocalyptic movements; in 2 Corin- thians 12:1–9 Paul is allegedly talking about “an experience that transcends human ken” (35); “Paul’s reference to the third heaven confirms the environment of Jewish apocalypticism and mysti- cism” [cf. 1 Enoch 39:3; 52:1; 71:1–5; 2 Enoch 3, 7, 8, 11; 3 Baruch 2, footnote 5, p. 313]). See Murphy-O’Connor 1996 for a more classical approach. 86 Paul and His Jewish Identity in Palestine after the Assyrian deportation (722 BCE) and even came back from captivity (Neh 11:7–9, 31–36), but they intermarried extensively with the tribe of Judah and therefore lost their identity (Maccoby 1986, 95–96). They were assimi- lated into the Judahites (or Jews), and at Paul’s time it was impossible for a Jew to describe himself as a pure Benjamite (Kohler 1906). However, in 2 Maccabeans 3:4 (II BCE) Simon is described as being “of the tribe of Benjamin (evk th/j Beniamin fulh/j)”. A few scholars contest the witness of 2 Maccabeans 3:4. For example, P. Spilly reads the passage thus: “But a certain Simon, of the priestly course of Bilgah” (Spilly 1985), and Maccoby argues that Beniamin must be a copyist’s error for Miniamin, adding that in b. Berakhot 16b Jews would confess “we do not know whether we are descendant from Rachel or Leah” (Maccoby 1986, 216). However, arguing that Paul’s claim of being a Benjamite is fraudu- lent (and casting doubt upon Hillel’s alleged same origin; see BerR 33:3) as- sumes the unlikely combination that 2 Maccabeans 3:4 contains a scribal error (a claim that remains to be demonstrated) and that such a late statement as b. Berakhot 16b was already popular in the first half of the first century (a claim impossible to verify). The fact that Paul claims a Benjaminite lineage while addressing a mixed audi- ence consisting primarily of ethno-Christians is intriguing. He is probably re- claiming a pedigree that enables him to compete in authority with the Judaizers, without necessarily assuming that the Christians in Rome and in Philippi, and even the Diaspora Jews, were aware of their ancestors’ debates in first century Palestine. 3. A Hebrew of Hebrews (2 Cor 11:22; Phil 3:4–6) Christian thinkers during the 4th and 5th century CE reinterpreted Paul’s Hebra- ism. For instance, Ambrosiaster understands Hebraeus ex Hebraeis as a “univer- salizing Christian faith” claim (Commentarius in Epistolam ad Philippenses, 3:5–7, cited by Jacobs 2006, 266). According to Ambrosiaster, Hebraeus does not come from “Eber” (Abram’s ancestor, cf. Gen 10:24–25; 11:14–17), but from the word “Abraham”. Ambrosiaster therefore “psychologically converted [Paul] from a Jew to an Abrahamite” (Jacobs 2006, 267). However, the word “Hebrew” in the first century CE seems to indicate a Jew from Palestine or the Diaspora able to understand Hebrew (or at least Aramaic) and closely connected (culturally and ideolog- ically) to the land of Israel (Hengel 1991, 25). Sirach, Prol. 22, is the first time the word e`brai?sti, appears as indicating the Hebrew language (cf. also 4 Maccabeans 12:7; 16:15). For Philo (Vita Mosis 11:31), the e`brai/oi from Judea are those able to translate the Old Testament into the Greek language (Hengel 1991, 117– 118, footnote 146). According to Dunn, the word Hebrew in Paul’s mouth “in- dicates willingness ... to continue to identify himself with the ancient origins 87 Luca Marulli and character of his people, a studied archaism which those familiar with its use in Second temple Judaism would probably have recognized” (Dunn 1999, 186). Paul brings up the fact that he has been circumcised (Phil 3:2), and therefore, he does not come from a family who detached itself from the language and the traditions of his ancestors and of his land.

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