Jesus and purity Halakhah : was Jesus indifferent to impurity? / Thomas Kazen.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kazen, Thomas.

Series:

Coniectanea biblica. New Testament series ; 38.

Coniectanea biblica. New Testament series ; 38

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Jesus Christ.

Purity, Ritual--Christianity.

Purity, Ritual.

Purity, Ritual--Judaism.

Jewish law.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (416 p.)

Edition:

Rev. ed.

Place of Publication:

Winona Lake, IN : Eisenbrauns, 2010.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

What did Jesus think about Jewish practice regarding impurity? How did he relate to the inner-Jewish debates of his day concerning ritual purity and impurity? Did he discard the impurity concept altogether, or was it an obvious and natural part of his Jewish faith and life? Did he advocate another or different type of purity? Ritual or cultic purity was paramount in Jewish society and life during the Second Temple period, and differences in purity halakhah were one of the factors that distinguished various movements. Therefore, considering purity is crucial in any attempt to interpret the historical Jesus within his contemporary context. In the latest or "third" phase of historical Jesus study, researchers have given prominence to Jesus' social and cultural context. In keeping with this goal, Thomas Kazen discusses the historical Jesus alongside what we know of Jewish purity halakhah of his time and explains Jesus' attitude toward impurity. Kazen balances the work of New Testament scholars on Judaism and legal matters by incorporating the historical Jesus studies of Jewish scholars, seeking to engage students of the historical Jesus with the primary materials relating to legal matters.

Contents:

Intro

Contents

Acknowledgements

Foreword to the corrected reprint edition

Initial Positions

Chapter I Jesus and purity: an introduction

I.1 The idea of impurity

I.2 Jesus' attitude

Chapter II Jesus and history: problems and possibilities

II.1 The historical Jesus and purity

II.2 Continuity and authentic traditions

II.3 The limits of historical reconstruction

Summary: A case for the historical Jesus as conscious re-construction

Law, Purity, and Body

Chapter III Jesus and the law: much debated conflict stories

III.1 Evaluating legal issues

III.2 Mark 7, hand-washing, and the impurity system

Summary: A case for purity as a wide-spread concern in Second Temple Judaism

Chapter IV Jesus and defilement through contact: a neglected issue

IV.1 An alternative approach

IV.2 Skin disease / "leprosy"

IV.3 Bodily discharges

IV.4 The corpse

Summary: A case for Jesus' attitude as seemingly indif-ferent

Explanatory Models

Chapter V Purity and morality

V.1 Immorality and bodily defilement in ancient Judaism

V.2 Jesus: inner and outer impurity

V.3 John and Jesus: inner and outer purification

Summary: A case for Jesus as part of a moral trajectory in Judaism

Chapter VI Purity and diversity

VI.1 Common Judaisms

VI.2 Social and regional differences

VI.3 Centre and periphery

Summary: A case for Jesus' attitude as a reaction to a Galilean dilemma on purity

Chapter VII Impurity and demonic threat

VII.1 Demonology and impurity

VII.2 Jesus as exorcist

Summary: A case for Jesus as overruling impurity with the kingdom

Concluding Reflections

Chapter VIII Reconstruction and interpretation

VIII.1 Reconstructing Jesus' attitude to impurity

VIII.2 Interpreting Jesus' attitude to impurity

VIII.3 Jesus then and now

Bibliography Sources

Literature.

Indices Author Index

Subject Index

Source index.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. [354]-385) and indexes.

ISBN:

1-57506-635-1

OCLC:

792739738