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Jesus-Oriented Groups and the Emergence of a Rabbinic Jewish Identity

Zetterholm, Karin LU (2024) In Journal for Religion and Transformation in Contemporary Society - Supplementa 4. p.17-36
Abstract
This essay argues that an important factor behind the emergence of a rabbinic form of Judaism was a challenge to Jewish identity and self-understanding posed by Jesus-oriented groups who had appropriated essential aspects of Jewish self-understanding. The unease with gentile attachment to Israel’s God and involvement with the Torah, and the reconfiguration of the boundaries of Judaism to exclude Jesus-oriented Jews that we see in some early rabbinic texts appear to reflect a need to re-establish Israel’s identity in the wake of the Jesus movement’s construction of a competing identity of the people of God. That “internal others” (Jesus-oriented Jews) aligned themselves with “external others” (Jesus-oriented gentiles) to promote a different... (More)
This essay argues that an important factor behind the emergence of a rabbinic form of Judaism was a challenge to Jewish identity and self-understanding posed by Jesus-oriented groups who had appropriated essential aspects of Jewish self-understanding. The unease with gentile attachment to Israel’s God and involvement with the Torah, and the reconfiguration of the boundaries of Judaism to exclude Jesus-oriented Jews that we see in some early rabbinic texts appear to reflect a need to re-establish Israel’s identity in the wake of the Jesus movement’s construction of a competing identity of the people of God. That “internal others” (Jesus-oriented Jews) aligned themselves with “external others” (Jesus-oriented gentiles) to promote a different understanding of Israel’s covenantal identity eventually led non-Jesus-oriented Jews to redefine Jewish identity in rabbinic terms. (Less)
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author
organization
publishing date
type
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
publication status
published
subject
host publication
Parting of the Ways : The Variegated Ways of Separations between Jews and Christians - The Variegated Ways of Separations between Jews and Christians
series title
Journal for Religion and Transformation in Contemporary Society - Supplementa
editor
Tiwald, Markus and Öhler, Markus
volume
4
pages
19 pages
publisher
Brill Schöningh
ISBN
978-3-657-79489-8
978-3-506-79489-5
DOI
10.30965/9783657794898_003
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
b78088ab-2109-4e2b-bbe5-426e39121abe
date added to LUP
2024-09-20 11:04:42
date last changed
2025-04-04 15:15:02
@inbook{b78088ab-2109-4e2b-bbe5-426e39121abe,
  abstract     = {{This essay argues that an important factor behind the emergence of a rabbinic form of Judaism was a challenge to Jewish identity and self-understanding posed by Jesus-oriented groups who had appropriated essential aspects of Jewish self-understanding. The unease with gentile attachment to Israel’s God and involvement with the Torah, and the reconfiguration of the boundaries of Judaism to exclude Jesus-oriented Jews that we see in some early rabbinic texts appear to reflect a need to re-establish Israel’s identity in the wake of the Jesus movement’s construction of a competing identity of the people of God. That “internal others” (Jesus-oriented Jews) aligned themselves with “external others” (Jesus-oriented gentiles) to promote a different understanding of Israel’s covenantal identity eventually led non-Jesus-oriented Jews to redefine Jewish identity in rabbinic terms.}},
  author       = {{Zetterholm, Karin}},
  booktitle    = {{Parting of the Ways : The Variegated Ways of Separations between Jews and Christians}},
  editor       = {{Tiwald, Markus and Öhler, Markus}},
  isbn         = {{978-3-657-79489-8}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{17--36}},
  publisher    = {{Brill Schöningh}},
  series       = {{Journal for Religion and Transformation in Contemporary Society - Supplementa}},
  title        = {{Jesus-Oriented Groups and the Emergence of a Rabbinic Jewish Identity}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.30965/9783657794898_003}},
  doi          = {{10.30965/9783657794898_003}},
  volume       = {{4}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}