Books by Anders Runesson
Judaism for Gentiles: Reading Paul beyond the Parting of the Ways Paradigm, 2022
For almost two millennia, readers of the New Testament have been trying to figure out Paul. The s... more For almost two millennia, readers of the New Testament have been trying to figure out Paul. The struggle with his words begins already within the canon itself. While Acts portrays with ease a Torah-observant, Pharisaic-messianic Paul working in partnership with James and other leaders in Jerusalem, the author of 2 Peter famously admitted that the apostle to the nations is difficult to understand. From that moment on debate has ebbed and flowed on all things Pauline; on women as leaders in assemblies and on the status of Jews and Gentiles in God's plan, just to mention two of the contentious topics associated with Paul. For clergy, scholar, and lay person, Paul's letters hold weight and continue to draw in new readers. Anders Runesson seeks to listen to the voice of the historical Paul – a Jew proclaiming a form of Judaism to non-Jews to save them from divine wrath – but also to probe what it means to breathe new life into this historical figure in the twenty-first century.
Judaism for Gentiles: Reading Paul Beyond the Parting of the Ways Paradigm, 2022
For almost two millennia, readers of the New Testament have been trying to figure out Paul. The s... more For almost two millennia, readers of the New Testament have been trying to figure out Paul. The struggle with his words begins already within the canon itself. While Acts portrays with ease a Torah-observant, Pharisaic-messianic Paul working in partnership with James and other leaders in Jerusalem, the author of 2 Peter famously admitted that the apostle to the nations is difficult to understand. From that moment on debate has ebbed and flowed on all things Pauline; on women as leaders in assemblies and on the status of Jews and Gentiles in God’s plan, just to mention two of the contentious topics associated with Paul. For clergy, scholar, and lay person, Paul’s letters hold weight and continue to draw in new readers. In this book, Anders Runesson seeks to listen to the voice of the historical Paul – a Jew proclaiming a form of Judaism to non-Jews to save them from divine wrath – but also to probe what it means to breathe new life into this historical figure in the twenty-first century.
Negotiating Identities: Conflict, Conversion, and Consolidation in Early Judaism and Christianity (200 BCE–600 CE), 2022
Relying on archaeological remains and ancient sources, this book describes important identity for... more Relying on archaeological remains and ancient sources, this book describes important identity formation processes within early Judaism and Christianity and shows how negotiations involving issues of ethnicity, stereotyping, purity, commensality, and institution building contributed to the formation of group identities.
"This impressive collection of contributions by leading international experts provides comprehensive, thorough, and methodically innovative insights into the intersections and complex relationships between Judaism and Christianity in their historical, social, cultural, and religious contexts. This remarkable book is indispensable for anyone interested in the multifaceted identity formation and early interaction of both world religions from the Hellenistic-Roman period to Late Antiquity." -Michael Tilly, University of Tübingen
Jesus, the New Testament, and Christian Origins Perspectives, Methods, Meanings, 2021
In this up-to-date introduction to the New Testament, twenty-two leading biblical scholars guide ... more In this up-to-date introduction to the New Testament, twenty-two leading biblical scholars guide the reader through the New Testament’s historical background, key ideas, and textual content. Seminarians and anyone else interested in a deep understanding of Christian Scripture will do well to begin with this thorough volume that covers everything from the historical Jesus to the emergence of early Christianity. The contributors stress the importance of Christianity’s emergence within and from Second Temple Judaism.
Unique to this book is a special focus on interpretative methods, with several illustrative examples included in the final chapter of various types of scriptural exegesis on select New Testament passages. Readers are guided through the hermeneutical considerations of a historical text-oriented reading, a historical-analogical reading, a rhetorical-epistolary reading, argumentation analysis, feminist analysis, postcolonial analysis, and narrative criticism, among others. These practical, hands-on applications enable students to move from an abstract understanding of the New Testament to a ready ability to make meaning from Scripture
Matthew within Judaism; Israel and the Nations in the First Gospel, 2020
ln this collection of essays, leading New Testament scholars reassess the reciprocal relationship... more ln this collection of essays, leading New Testament scholars reassess the reciprocal relationship between Matthew and Second Temple Judaism. Some contributions focus on the relationship of the Matthean Jesus to torah, temple, and synagogue, while others explore theological issues of Jewish and gentile ethnicity and universalism within and behind the text.
Matthew within Judaism: Israel and the Nations in the First Gospel, 2020
As the title of this book suggests, Matthew within Judaism is a collection of specialized essays ... more As the title of this book suggests, Matthew within Judaism is a collection of specialized essays addressing key themes as they relate to the larger issue of the Gospel of Matthew and second temple Judaism. The sub- title further signals this dynamic through the word pair Israel and nations and echoes main concerns in recent Matthean scholarship. together, the title and subtitle problematize the bidirectionality of central issues in Matthean scholarship: Matthew’s Gospel within second temple Judaism, on the one hand, and Israel and the nations in Matthew’s Gospel, on the other. The themes to be discussed in the book relate in various ways to these narrative realities. As early as the writings of Papias, the Judaic character of Matthew’s Gospel has been the subject of considerable conversation. More recent generations have framed the matter in terms of the Matthean community and its relation(s) to late first-century Judaism. Though scholarly discourse has ebbed and flowed, there has recently been a steep rise in interest in Matthew’s Gospel understood as a Jewish text, and several monographs have already been authored arguing such a case from different perspectives. This renewed interest in understanding the nature of Matthew’s story and its socioreligious location within first-century Jewish settings may be contextualized from a synchronic and a diachronic perspective, respectively. In the following, instead of a more traditional survey of recent research, we shall sketch briefly what we see as the key components of these two contexts, the larger interpretive matrix in which the current study of Matthew within Judaism is taking shape. In other words, the aim here is to frame an understanding of the larger picture of how present Matthean scholarship is connected with both its own past and the current moment of New Testament Studies more generally for a more complete perspective of the field of scholarly inquiry into which the essays of this volume speak.
Divine Wrath and Salvation in Matthew: The Narrative World of the First Gospel, 2016
This Preface deals with, among other things, the relationship between history and theology.
"Over two decades in gestation, Divine Wrath and Salvation in Matthew is a landmark work, not onl... more "Over two decades in gestation, Divine Wrath and Salvation in Matthew is a landmark work, not only in Matthean or even gospel studies but also in New Testament theology more broadly. It explores a major and also distinctive Matthean theme with historical and
hermeneutical integrity, offering sagacious suggestions for making good—because responsible—sense of Matthew’s peculiar thematic structures in our own vastly different context(s). Although one cannot know in advance what impact a scholarly work may have, this is a potentially agenda-shaping book." (RBL 06/2018)
Winner of the 2017 Frank W. Beare Award for "outstanding book in the areas of Christian Origins, ... more Winner of the 2017 Frank W. Beare Award for "outstanding book in the areas of Christian Origins, Post-Biblical Judaism and/or Graeco-Roman Religions."
Judgment and the " parting of the ways " Major Points: • Sets out to show that the theme of divine judgement plays very different and distinct roles regarding different groups of Jews and non-Jews in Matthew's Gospel • Finds that Matthew does not support some of the most popular slogans in Christian theology Judgment and the wrath of God are prominent themes in Matthew's Gospel. Because judgment is announced not only on the hypocritical but also on those who reject God's messengers—and because this rejection is implicitly connected with the destruction of Jerusalem—the Gospel has often been read in terms of God's rejection of Israel, with catastrophic results. Anders Runesson sets out to show, through careful study of Matthew's composition and comparison with contemporary Jewish literature, that the theme of divine judgment plays very different and distinct roles regarding diverse groups of Jews (including Jesus' disciples) and non-Jews in this Gospel. Runesson examines various assumptions regarding the criteria of judgment in each case and finds that Matthew does not support some of the most popular slogans in Christian theology. The results and implications for our historical understanding of Christian origins and our theological estimation of Matthew's place in that story will be of vital interest to scholars and students for years to come.
---More information and free chapter samples are found here: http://fortresspress.com/product/divine-wrath-and-salvation-matthew-narrative-world-first-gospel
Winner of the Biörnstjärnska Award (The Royal Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities, Stockh... more Winner of the Biörnstjärnska Award (The Royal Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities, Stockholm, 2003), and of the Westrupska Award (The Royal Academy of Humanities, Lund, 2004).
In the first century CE, synagogues existed not only in the land of Israel but in all parts of the Roman Empire where Jews lived. Although incorporating a number of activities, the most characteristic feature of these institutions was the public reading and teaching of Torah, making the synagogue an unparalleled institution in the ancient world. But how, when, where, and why did this unique institution come into being? Which historical, social, or political factors determined its rise and development?
Since the dawn of modern history writing, scholars have wrestled with these questions, most likely due to the fact that the synagogue sheds light on the earliest history of two world religions and their inter-relationship: Judaism and Christianity. In fact, the influence of this ancient institution is still felt in large parts of the world today through the impact not only of Judaism and Christianity but also of Islam, since the emergence of the mosque is also related to the ancient synagogue. Intriguingly, despite centuries of research no consensus on the complex problem of the origins of this institution yet exists.
Taking into account literary, epigraphic, and archaeological material, and adopting a socio-political perspective, the present study constitutes a new approach to an old enigma.
The investigation spans the period from the sixth century BCE to the second century CE and argues that, in the first century, two types of institution hide behind the twenty-five Greek, Hebrew, and Latin terms used in the sources for what we translate into English as ‘synagogue’: A public town assembly, a type of civic institution, on the one hand, and Jewish voluntary associations on the other. While the former originated as a result of the implementation of Persian imperial policy in Yehud, the latter developed in the Diaspora and in Judaea when Hellenistic influence was felt in the region. In some places in the Diaspora, synagogue liturgy gradually replaced Jewish sacrificial cult so that institutions properly understood as temples were eventually transformed into what we recognise today as synagogues.
The results of the study touch not only upon questions of how Judaism was formed in the Persian period (the origins of Judaism as intertwined with the origins of the synagogue), but also affect the understanding of the social situation in first-century Jewish society and the relationship between different Jewish groups, such as the Jesus movement and the Pharisees.
(For reviews and discussion, see http://www.andersrunesson.com/reviews.html)
Papers by Anders Runesson
Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus 20 (2022) 33–49, 2022
Thiessen's book is a systematic attempt at making obsolete an entire research paradigm, which has... more Thiessen's book is a systematic attempt at making obsolete an entire research paradigm, which has portrayed Jesus and the gospels as targeting for eradication the Jewish purity system itself, understood as an oppressive social mechanism with which the elite controlled the masses, rather than these texts describing a war against the impurity that this system defined and was meant to control. This essay engages this thesis.
New Testament Studies, 2023
For centuries, Christians have understood some of the texts included in the New Testament as ‘Jew... more For centuries, Christians have understood some of the texts included in the New Testament as ‘Jewish,’ in the sense of them being written by (converted) Jews for other Jews. From a historical perspective, a new development in the academy suggests that such approaches do not do justice to the nature of these texts. Indeed, even more recent attempts at understanding the New Testament against the background of Judaism are also found wanting. Instead, placing these texts within the broader context of the diverse ways of embodying Jewish ancestral customs in the pre-rabbinic Second Temple period, this interpretive trajectory, involving scholars from a wide array of backgrounds, insists that Paul, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Revelation etc., should be understood as expressions of Judaism. This article highlights key issues involved in such re-readings of New Testament texts, including ways in which they may or may not relate to normative-theological positions among Christians and Jews today. First, the study looks at how the question is asked in our contemporary setting. Then, moving down historical layers, issues related to history and categorisation are addressed before we, finally, return to the present to consider possible implications of our findings.
The Synagogue in Ancient Palestine: Current Issues and Emerging Trends, 2020
The Synagogue in Ancient Palestine: Current Issues and Emerging Trends, 2020
Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus, 2022
Thiessen’s book is a systematic attempt at making obsolete an entire research paradigm, which has... more Thiessen’s book is a systematic attempt at making obsolete an entire research paradigm, which has portrayed Jesus and the gospels as targeting for eradication the Jewish purity system itself, understood as an oppressive social mechanism with which the elite controlled the masses, rather than these texts describing a war against the impurity that this system defined and was meant to control. This essay engages this thesis.
Ritual Dynamics in Jewish and Christian Contexts, 2019
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Books by Anders Runesson
"This impressive collection of contributions by leading international experts provides comprehensive, thorough, and methodically innovative insights into the intersections and complex relationships between Judaism and Christianity in their historical, social, cultural, and religious contexts. This remarkable book is indispensable for anyone interested in the multifaceted identity formation and early interaction of both world religions from the Hellenistic-Roman period to Late Antiquity." -Michael Tilly, University of Tübingen
Unique to this book is a special focus on interpretative methods, with several illustrative examples included in the final chapter of various types of scriptural exegesis on select New Testament passages. Readers are guided through the hermeneutical considerations of a historical text-oriented reading, a historical-analogical reading, a rhetorical-epistolary reading, argumentation analysis, feminist analysis, postcolonial analysis, and narrative criticism, among others. These practical, hands-on applications enable students to move from an abstract understanding of the New Testament to a ready ability to make meaning from Scripture
hermeneutical integrity, offering sagacious suggestions for making good—because responsible—sense of Matthew’s peculiar thematic structures in our own vastly different context(s). Although one cannot know in advance what impact a scholarly work may have, this is a potentially agenda-shaping book." (RBL 06/2018)
Judgment and the " parting of the ways " Major Points: • Sets out to show that the theme of divine judgement plays very different and distinct roles regarding different groups of Jews and non-Jews in Matthew's Gospel • Finds that Matthew does not support some of the most popular slogans in Christian theology Judgment and the wrath of God are prominent themes in Matthew's Gospel. Because judgment is announced not only on the hypocritical but also on those who reject God's messengers—and because this rejection is implicitly connected with the destruction of Jerusalem—the Gospel has often been read in terms of God's rejection of Israel, with catastrophic results. Anders Runesson sets out to show, through careful study of Matthew's composition and comparison with contemporary Jewish literature, that the theme of divine judgment plays very different and distinct roles regarding diverse groups of Jews (including Jesus' disciples) and non-Jews in this Gospel. Runesson examines various assumptions regarding the criteria of judgment in each case and finds that Matthew does not support some of the most popular slogans in Christian theology. The results and implications for our historical understanding of Christian origins and our theological estimation of Matthew's place in that story will be of vital interest to scholars and students for years to come.
---More information and free chapter samples are found here: http://fortresspress.com/product/divine-wrath-and-salvation-matthew-narrative-world-first-gospel
In the first century CE, synagogues existed not only in the land of Israel but in all parts of the Roman Empire where Jews lived. Although incorporating a number of activities, the most characteristic feature of these institutions was the public reading and teaching of Torah, making the synagogue an unparalleled institution in the ancient world. But how, when, where, and why did this unique institution come into being? Which historical, social, or political factors determined its rise and development?
Since the dawn of modern history writing, scholars have wrestled with these questions, most likely due to the fact that the synagogue sheds light on the earliest history of two world religions and their inter-relationship: Judaism and Christianity. In fact, the influence of this ancient institution is still felt in large parts of the world today through the impact not only of Judaism and Christianity but also of Islam, since the emergence of the mosque is also related to the ancient synagogue. Intriguingly, despite centuries of research no consensus on the complex problem of the origins of this institution yet exists.
Taking into account literary, epigraphic, and archaeological material, and adopting a socio-political perspective, the present study constitutes a new approach to an old enigma.
The investigation spans the period from the sixth century BCE to the second century CE and argues that, in the first century, two types of institution hide behind the twenty-five Greek, Hebrew, and Latin terms used in the sources for what we translate into English as ‘synagogue’: A public town assembly, a type of civic institution, on the one hand, and Jewish voluntary associations on the other. While the former originated as a result of the implementation of Persian imperial policy in Yehud, the latter developed in the Diaspora and in Judaea when Hellenistic influence was felt in the region. In some places in the Diaspora, synagogue liturgy gradually replaced Jewish sacrificial cult so that institutions properly understood as temples were eventually transformed into what we recognise today as synagogues.
The results of the study touch not only upon questions of how Judaism was formed in the Persian period (the origins of Judaism as intertwined with the origins of the synagogue), but also affect the understanding of the social situation in first-century Jewish society and the relationship between different Jewish groups, such as the Jesus movement and the Pharisees.
(For reviews and discussion, see http://www.andersrunesson.com/reviews.html)
Papers by Anders Runesson
"This impressive collection of contributions by leading international experts provides comprehensive, thorough, and methodically innovative insights into the intersections and complex relationships between Judaism and Christianity in their historical, social, cultural, and religious contexts. This remarkable book is indispensable for anyone interested in the multifaceted identity formation and early interaction of both world religions from the Hellenistic-Roman period to Late Antiquity." -Michael Tilly, University of Tübingen
Unique to this book is a special focus on interpretative methods, with several illustrative examples included in the final chapter of various types of scriptural exegesis on select New Testament passages. Readers are guided through the hermeneutical considerations of a historical text-oriented reading, a historical-analogical reading, a rhetorical-epistolary reading, argumentation analysis, feminist analysis, postcolonial analysis, and narrative criticism, among others. These practical, hands-on applications enable students to move from an abstract understanding of the New Testament to a ready ability to make meaning from Scripture
hermeneutical integrity, offering sagacious suggestions for making good—because responsible—sense of Matthew’s peculiar thematic structures in our own vastly different context(s). Although one cannot know in advance what impact a scholarly work may have, this is a potentially agenda-shaping book." (RBL 06/2018)
Judgment and the " parting of the ways " Major Points: • Sets out to show that the theme of divine judgement plays very different and distinct roles regarding different groups of Jews and non-Jews in Matthew's Gospel • Finds that Matthew does not support some of the most popular slogans in Christian theology Judgment and the wrath of God are prominent themes in Matthew's Gospel. Because judgment is announced not only on the hypocritical but also on those who reject God's messengers—and because this rejection is implicitly connected with the destruction of Jerusalem—the Gospel has often been read in terms of God's rejection of Israel, with catastrophic results. Anders Runesson sets out to show, through careful study of Matthew's composition and comparison with contemporary Jewish literature, that the theme of divine judgment plays very different and distinct roles regarding diverse groups of Jews (including Jesus' disciples) and non-Jews in this Gospel. Runesson examines various assumptions regarding the criteria of judgment in each case and finds that Matthew does not support some of the most popular slogans in Christian theology. The results and implications for our historical understanding of Christian origins and our theological estimation of Matthew's place in that story will be of vital interest to scholars and students for years to come.
---More information and free chapter samples are found here: http://fortresspress.com/product/divine-wrath-and-salvation-matthew-narrative-world-first-gospel
In the first century CE, synagogues existed not only in the land of Israel but in all parts of the Roman Empire where Jews lived. Although incorporating a number of activities, the most characteristic feature of these institutions was the public reading and teaching of Torah, making the synagogue an unparalleled institution in the ancient world. But how, when, where, and why did this unique institution come into being? Which historical, social, or political factors determined its rise and development?
Since the dawn of modern history writing, scholars have wrestled with these questions, most likely due to the fact that the synagogue sheds light on the earliest history of two world religions and their inter-relationship: Judaism and Christianity. In fact, the influence of this ancient institution is still felt in large parts of the world today through the impact not only of Judaism and Christianity but also of Islam, since the emergence of the mosque is also related to the ancient synagogue. Intriguingly, despite centuries of research no consensus on the complex problem of the origins of this institution yet exists.
Taking into account literary, epigraphic, and archaeological material, and adopting a socio-political perspective, the present study constitutes a new approach to an old enigma.
The investigation spans the period from the sixth century BCE to the second century CE and argues that, in the first century, two types of institution hide behind the twenty-five Greek, Hebrew, and Latin terms used in the sources for what we translate into English as ‘synagogue’: A public town assembly, a type of civic institution, on the one hand, and Jewish voluntary associations on the other. While the former originated as a result of the implementation of Persian imperial policy in Yehud, the latter developed in the Diaspora and in Judaea when Hellenistic influence was felt in the region. In some places in the Diaspora, synagogue liturgy gradually replaced Jewish sacrificial cult so that institutions properly understood as temples were eventually transformed into what we recognise today as synagogues.
The results of the study touch not only upon questions of how Judaism was formed in the Persian period (the origins of Judaism as intertwined with the origins of the synagogue), but also affect the understanding of the social situation in first-century Jewish society and the relationship between different Jewish groups, such as the Jesus movement and the Pharisees.
(For reviews and discussion, see http://www.andersrunesson.com/reviews.html)
As with prophets, the ability of theologies to unlock for people the enigmatic dimensions of life we call truth will be determined by the fruits they produce.
The biblical texts, in all their complexities and embodied potential for projecting light or darkness, demand of us that we, condemned as we are to be free, choose; life above death, blessing above curse. And there is no choice without responsibility.
A theology of responsibility cannot but respect denominational boundaries, but only beyond the abstract idea of boundary itself, as the absolute escapes the probing mind just as much as it instils humility.
What is, then, the place of the biblical texts in theology, if theology relates to life as life relates to responsibility? What is the location of exegesis in the quest for a post-supersessionist theology?
1) the issue of autobiography, epistemology and the nature of the academic conversation,
2) the problem of anti-Jewish interpretations of Matthew, and
3) the topic of Pilate's innocence (or not).