Crossing over Sea and Land: Jewish Missionary Activity in the Second Temple Period

✍ Scribed by Michael F. Bird

• Publisher: Hendrickson Publishers
• Year: 2010
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 224
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

Were there Jewish missionaries during Jesus' time? Second Temple Judaism was not a typical missionary religion with decisive and intentional plans for converting those outside the faith. However, Jewish attitudes and actions toward the Gentile world were diverse in the scattered communities across Palestine, resulting in differing strategies for recruiting new adherents and useful sympathizers. Bird examines the extent and nature of Jewish proselytizing activity among non-Jews in Palestine and the Greco-Roman Diaspora leading up to and during the beginnings of the Christian era. He enters the debate by interacting with other works on the topic (Scott McKnight, Martin Goodman, John Dickson, Rodney Stark, John Barclay) and offers reasons why some researchers prefer one perspective over another. Based on evidence from forced conversions during the Maccabean period, Qumran, the Gospels, Palestinian inscriptions, and rabbinic literature, Bird asserts that no significant proselytizing activity occurred in Second Temple Palestine. He further examines the New Testament; Josephus and Philo; and Apologetic-Propagandistic, early Christian, Greek, and Latin literature and concludes that Jewish missionary activity during the Diaspora occurred only as isolated incidents. Those teaching and doing research in the area of ancient Judaism and the beginnings of Christianity will appreciate Bird's well-documented study. The inclusion of short extracts of primary sources with English translations makes the material more accessible to college and seminary students.

✦ Table of Contents

Cover......Page 1
Title......Page 2
CONTENTS......Page 4
PREFACE......Page 6
ABBREVIATIONS......Page 8
1. INTRODUCTION......Page 16
EXCURSUS: "JEWS" AND ''JUDAISM''......Page 28
2. DEFINING "MISSION" AND "CONVERSION" IN THE ANCIENT WORLD......Page 32
The Problem with Definitions......Page 33
Defining Conversion in Judaism......Page 36
Conversion and Circumcision......Page 39
Adherence and Conversion......Page 55
Women and Conversion......Page 57
CONCLUSION......Page 58
EXCURSUS 1: GOD-FEARERS......Page 59
EXCURSUS 2: PROSELYTISM AND DEMOGRAPHICS......Page 67
FORCED CONVERSIONS IN PALESTINE......Page 70
QUMRAN......Page 76
MATTHEW 23:15......Page 81
INSCRIPTIONS FROM PALESTINE......Page 85
RABBINIC LITERATURE......Page 87
SOCIORELIGIOUS CONTEXT OF THE DIASPORA......Page 92
PAGAN ATTRACTION TO JUDAISM......Page 98
JOSEPHUS......Page 108
PHILO......Page 118
APOLOGETIC-PROPAGANDISTIC LITERATURE......Page 124
GREEK AND LATIN LITERATURE......Page 136
5. EVIDENCE FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT AND EARLY CHRISTIAN LITERATURE......Page 148
AN EARLY JEWISH CHRISTIAN MISSION TO GENTILES......Page 149
MISSIONARY COMPETITION BETWEEN JEWS AND CHRISTIANS......Page 155
CONCLUSION......Page 163
6. CONCLUSION......Page 164
APPENDIX: SOURCE BOOK ON GENTILE CONVERSIONS AND JEWISH MISSIONARY ACTIVITY......Page 172
1. JEWISH NOVELLAS......Page 174
2. THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS......Page 176
3. JOSEPHUS......Page 177
4. PHILO......Page 182
5. NEW TESTAMENT......Page 185
6. PAGAN AUTHORS......Page 186
7. INSCRIPTIONS......Page 189
8. RABBINIC LITERATURE......Page 190
BIBLIOGRAPHY......Page 192
INDEX OF MODERN AUTHORS......Page 208
INDEX OF SUBJECTS......Page 212
INDEX OF ANCIENT SOURCES......Page 214
Back Cover......Page 224