Putting Paul in His Place

Chapter 1 Putting Paul in His Place Overview This chapter considers the emergence and development of the Jesus movement within the context of first-century CE Judaism, as well as Paul’s place within that movement. Next, it examines the sources of information about Paul and their relative value. Finally, the text discusses what is known about Paul’s life before and after the event that led him to accept Jesus, the crucified and Risen One, as God’s messiah. The Jesus Movement before Paul Paul’s name is attached to almost half the documents in the New Testament, and his missionary work dominates the account in the Acts of the Apostles of how the gospel spread. Because of this, one can easily overlook the fact that the Jesus movement began before Paul, in Palestine, among devout Jews. Paul, also a devout Jew, was one of the Jesus movement’s fiercest opponents before becoming one of its strongest advocates. Before examining his relation to the Jesus movement, it is important to consider the Jewish world of Palestine, where the movement began. By the turn of the first century ce, the daily reality for Jews such as Jesus was Roman control of Palestine, the Jewish homeland, with all the oppression and violence that occurs when one nation imposes its will and presence on another. The Roman takeover began in 63 bce when Pompey conquered Palestine, put an end to Has- monean rule, and brought Palestine under Roman control. Before 13 7060_Paul_with index and endorsements.indd 13 8/26/14 10:58 AM 14 PAUL: WINDOWS ON HIS THOUGHT AND HIS WORLD ATLANTIC OCEAN 0 0 250 250 500 kilometers SAHARA DESERT 500 miles North Sea A Mediterranean Sea d r i a t i c S e Baltic a Sea Roman Empire in the Early 1st Century CE 1st Century in the Early Empire Roman Black Sea Black Sea © 2014 ANSELM ACADEMIC © 2014 Red ARABIAN DESERT the Romans, Palestine had been occupied by the Greeks and, before that, by a succession of foreign powers as far back as the sixth century bce.1 The imposition of Greek thought, language, and culture—a process began by Alexander the Great ca. 332 bce and referred to 1. The period of Jewish history from 519 bce (when the Jews built a second temple to replace the first, which the Babylonians destroyed in 587 bce) through 70 ce (when the Romans destroyed that second temple), is known as the Second Temple Period. A concise review of this period is provided by Lester Grabbe in, An Introduc- tion to Second Temple Judaism: History and Religion of the Jews in the Time of Nehemiah, the Maccabees, Hillel and Jesus (New York: Continuum, 2012). 7060_Paul_with index and endorsements.indd 14 8/26/14 10:58 AM Putting Paul in His Place 15 as Hellenization—had transformed the entire Mediterranean world. Palestine had also been Hellenized, but not without Jewish opposi- tion. Because Greek language and culture remained pervasive, even after the Roman conquest of the Mediterranean world, the period of Roman hegemony from ca. the second century bce to the fourth century ce is commonly referred to as the Greco-Roman era. First-century-ce Jews longed for liberation from foreign rule. Segments of the population banded behind various messianic figures who emerged at different times to lead popular uprisings, largely unsuccessful, against the Romans.2 Others attached themselves to prophetic figures leading renewal movements.3 Some hoped for the coming of a new “anointed one” (Hebrew mashiach/messiah; Greek Christos/Christ), from David’s line, who would restore the kingdom to Israel (see Ps 89: 20–29; further 2 Sam 7:8–17) and be both king and shepherd (see Pss. Sol. 17:21–46).4 Some first-century Jews came to believe that the crucified and Risen One, Jesus of Nazareth, was the hoped-for messiah, or christ, from the line of David (see Acts 2:29–36; Rom 1:1–6). Most Jews did not. Among other things, the messiah was expected to bring about the political liberation of the Jewish nation now oppressed by Rome.5 Jesus had not done this. 2. For example, Simon, former slave of Herod, was acclaimed king by some Jews and led an unsuccessful revolt (see Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews (hereafter Ant.), 17.10:6), as did Anthronges, a shepherd, who declared himself king (Ant. 17:10.7). Concerning Judas, see Ant. 17.10:5. In this book all citations from Josephus are from William Whiston, trans., The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged One Volume, new updated edition (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1988). Josephus’ writings can be accessed at www.ccel.org/ccel/josephus/complete. Original language editions of Josephus’ works with translations are available in multi volumes in the Loeb Classical Library Series published by Harvard University Press. 3. For example, in the 40s ce, Theudas, a self-declared prophet, saw himself as a new Moses, leading a new Exodus. The Romans beheaded him; see Josephus, Ant., 20.5:1. 4. The Psalms of Solomon (Pss. Sol.) are hymns written by pious Jews in the first century bce in response to the Roman capture of Jerusalem. They are part of a corpus of valuable Jewish religious writings not included in the canon of the Hebrew Bible. The hymns, along with other noncanonical Jewish writings, are available in translation in James H. Charlesworth, ed., The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, 2 vols. (New York: Doubleday, 1983, 1985). 5. The idea of the messiah as a warrior king and liberator from the Davidic line was widespread in first-century Judaism. However, it was only one of four main ways Jews conceived the Messiah. An excellent discussion of messianic paradigms and expectations is provided by John J. Collins, The Scepter and the Star: Messianism in Light of the Dead Sea Scrolls, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 2010). 7060_Paul_with index and endorsements.indd 15 8/26/14 10:58 AM 16 PAUL: WINDOWS ON HIS THOUGHT AND HIS WORLD In fact, the Romans had executed him. For the majority of Jews, this served as decisive evidence that Jesus was not the messiah. The small Jewish group that formed around Jesus, at first known simply as “the way” (Acts 9:2), or the Nazarenes (Acts 24:1), was only one of a number of Jewish groups at the time. Other groups had come into existence during the brief period of Jewish self-rule that began in ca. 164 bce with a successful revolt against the Seleu- cid Greeks. A family of pious Jews, the Hasmoneans, led the revolt.6 Before self-rule ended in 63 bce when the Romans seized power, the Jews were governed by the Hasmonean kings for almost eighty years (ca. 142–63 bce). However, not everyone recognized them as legitimate kings or agreed with their policies and practices, which led to further splintering of the population.7 By the time the Romans seized control, there were four main groups: the Sadducees, Phari- sees, Essenes, and Zealots. These groups shared some core convic- tions; for example, the beliefs that there was only one God and that they were God’s elect people who expressed their love for God by obedience to the Torah. However, beyond a core of shared beliefs, each group had different ideas about what it meant to be a true Jew, what practices and beliefs were essential, and how to respond to the Roman occupation. From the limited ancient sources available, one can glean a few broad insights about each group.8 The Sadducees comprised the elite strata of Jewish society. Some may have been priests associated with the Jerusalem Temple or members of the Sanhedrin, the ancient Jew- ish court system. To protect their interests, they apparently collab- orated with the Romans, which did not put them in good standing with the rest of the Jews. The Sadducees rejected the resurrection of the dead, whereas the Pharisees believed in it. Moreover, the 6. This revolt is also referred to as the Maccabean Revolt. “Maccabee,” which means “hammer,” was the nickname give to Judah Hasmonean. He and his broth- ers continued the revolt started by their father, Mattathias. For information, see Uriel Rappaport, “Maccabean Revolt,” in The Anchor Bible Dictionary, ed. David N. Freed- man (New York: Doubleday, 1992), vol. 4, 433–39. 7. On the Hasmoneans, see Tessa Rajak, “Hasmonean Dynasty,” in The Anchor Bible Dictionary, ed. David N. Freedman (New York: Doubleday, 1992), vol. 3, 67–76. 8. The main source of information about Jewish groups in the first century ce is the Jewish historian, Flavius Josephus. See Ant. Bk. 18.1:1–6 7060_Paul_with index and endorsements.indd 16 8/26/14 10:58 AM Putting Paul in His Place 17 Sadducees rejected the Pharisees’ innovative interpretations of the Torah and adhered to the text as written.9 Though portrayed negatively in the New Testament (see, e.g., Matt 23:1–39), the Pharisees were a widespread social and religious reform movement of laypersons who, unlike the Sadducees, enjoyed great popular appeal.10 In response to the upheaval the Roman occupation caused, they worked to maintain and reform Jewish identity around strict observance of the Torah, which they continuously interpreted and applied to their current cir- cumstances. The Pharisees aimed to sanctify everyday domestic life and live the same holiness required of priests. According to Josephus, they were ascetic in their eating habits. They believed in God’s preordained will, which, in their view, did not preclude human freedom.

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