Durham E-Theses Paul and the Vocation of Israel: How Paul's Jewish Identity Informs his Apostolic Ministry, with Special Reference to Romans WINDSOR, LIONEL JAMES How to cite: WINDSOR, LIONEL JAMES (2012) Paul and the Vocation of Israel: How Paul's Jewish Identity Informs his Apostolic Ministry, with Special Reference to Romans , Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/3920/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 Paul and the Vocation of Israel: How Paul’s Jewish Identity Informs his Apostolic Ministry, with Special Reference to Romans by Lionel James Windsor Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Durham University Department of Theology and Religion 2012 Lionel James Windsor, “Paul and the Vocation of Israel: How Paul’s Jewish Identity Informs his Apostolic Ministry, with Special Reference to Romans,” Thesis, Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Durham University, Department of Theology and Religion, 2012. Abstract This dissertation argues that Paul’s apostolic mission to the Gentiles was the definitive expression of his divine vocation as an Israelite, and thus of his Jewish identity. For many of Paul’s Jewish contemporaries, Israel’s divine vocation was to keep and to teach the precepts of the Law of Moses as an exemplary witness to God’s power and wisdom. For Paul, however, Jewish identity was expressed primarily by preaching the gospel of Christ, as the fulfilment of the Law of Moses, to the Gentiles. This is seen most clearly in Paul’s letter to the Romans. In chapter 1, we summarize our methodology: we are seeking to examine Paul’s Jewish identity by reading Paul’s letters (especially Romans), in light of other second-temple Jewish texts, using certain insights from social identity theory. We show that the concept of vocation is an important dimension of Jewish identity, especially in Paul’s letters. We also discuss some prior approaches to the question of Paul’s Jewishness, demonstrating both their value and also their limitations for our purposes. In chapter 2, we survey three key aspects of Paul’s explicit language of Jewish identity in his letters: Jewish distinctiveness, divine revelation and divine vocation. In chapter 3, we demonstrate that Paul deliberately frames his letter to the Romans (Rom 1:1–15, 15:14–33) by presenting his apostolic ministry as the fulfilment of positive scripturally-based eschatological expectations concerning Israel’s divine vocation with respect to the nations. We also compare Paul’s self-presentation in the outer frame of Romans with other first-century expressions of Jewish vocation. In chapter 4, we concentrate on Rom 2:17–29. Contrary to most interpretations which read this passage as a discussion about the nature of (Jewish or Christian) salvation, we argue that Paul deliberately sets this passage in the context of the mainstream Jewish synagogue, in order to contest the nature of Jewish vocation. In chapter 5, we examine Rom 9–11 from the perspective of Jewish vocation. We demonstrate that in Rom 9–11, Paul presents his own apostolic vocation, in various ways, as a contrast to, a fulfilment of, and a means of hope for Israel’s place and role in God’s worldwide purposes. Table of Contents Abbreviations .............................................................................................................................. 6 Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................... 7 Statement of Copyright ............................................................................................................ 9 Chapter 1: Introduction ......................................................................................................... 10 1.1. Paul’s Jewish identity ........................................................................................................... 10 1.2. Paul’s gospel and his Jewish identity ............................................................................. 18 1.3. The vocational dimension of Jewish identity .............................................................. 23 1.3.1. Scripture and Jewish vocation within Paul’s communities ....................................................... 25 1.3.2. The relationship between Jewish vocation and Jewish salvation .......................................... 28 1.3.3. Paul’s vocation and his Jewish identity .............................................................................................. 33 1.4. Romans: An exercise in Jewish vocation ....................................................................... 36 1.5. Preview of the argument .................................................................................................... 41 Chapter 2: Paul’s Language of Jewish Identity ............................................................... 43 2.1. Jewish distinctiveness ......................................................................................................... 44 2.1.1. “Jew” and “circumcision”: Terms of Jewish distinctiveness ..................................................... 45 2.1.2. An ethnic distinctiveness ......................................................................................................................... 48 2.1.3. A theological distinctiveness .................................................................................................................. 51 2.2. Jewish identity and divine revelation ............................................................................ 54 2.2.1. Jewish identity and the Law of Moses ................................................................................................ 55 2.2.2. “Israelites” and divine revelation ......................................................................................................... 60 2.2.3. “Hebrews” and divine revelation .......................................................................................................... 64 2.3. Jewish identity and divine vocation ............................................................................... 66 2.3.1. The Law of Moses: A basis for Jewish vocation .............................................................................. 66 2.3.2. Abraham’s fatherhood / seed: A paradigm for Jewish vocation ............................................. 67 2.3.3. “Judaism” / “zeal”: Paul’s former expression of Jewish vocation ........................................... 75 2.3.4. Paul’s opposition to alternative expressions of Jewish vocation ........................................... 79 2.4. Summary: Paul’s language of Jewish identity ............................................................. 81 Chapter 3: The Jewishness of Paul’s Vocation (Romans 1:1–15 & 15:14–33) ....... 83 3.1. Paul and the Isaianic Servant ............................................................................................ 87 3.1.1. Paul’s identification with the Isaianic Servant: Evidence .......................................................... 88 3.1.2. Paul’s identification with the Isaianic Servant: Common objections.................................... 92 3.1.3. Paul’s identification with the Isaianic Servant: Significance .................................................... 99 3.2. Paul and Israel’s priesthood ........................................................................................... 100 3.2.1. Paul’s consecration ................................................................................................................................... 101 3.2.2. Paul’s priestly ministry ........................................................................................................................... 102 3.3. Paul and contemporary expressions of Jewish vocation ..................................... 109 3.3.1. “Proselytism”? ............................................................................................................................................. 111 3.3.2. Accommodation? ....................................................................................................................................... 117 3.3.3. Apologetics? ................................................................................................................................................. 119 3.3.4. Israel as a global priesthood? ............................................................................................................... 120 3.3.5. Eschatological expectations .................................................................................................................. 122 3.3.6. Apparent anomalies .................................................................................................................................