Reading Romans Within Judaism: The Collected Essays Of Mark D. Nanos, Vol. 2
Cascade, 2018
Endorsements from the back cover:
“Over the years, Nanos has exposed many unexamined and problematic assumptions readers often bring to their reading of Paul. In this collection of essays, we are given a chance to trace how Nanos further developed his thoughts on Paul’s letter to the Romans since the publication of The Mystery of Romans (1996). Consider this, then, Nanos’s sequel to that award-winning monograph. Unlike most sequels, this one did not let me down.”
—Tat-siong Benny Liew, College of the Holy Cross
“The ‘Paul within Judaism’ approach is dedicated to reading Paul as a Jew, writing to congregations still affiliated with Diaspora synagogues, and rooting out Christian supersessionist assumptions wherever they appear in scholarship on the apostle. Meticulous exegetical and historical precision have been as characteristic of Nanos’s work as has the daring of his guiding hypotheses. These close readings of key aspects of Romans stand as testaments to his achievement and challenges to the research ahead.”
—Neil Elliott, author of The Arrogance of Nations: Reading Romans in the Shadow of Empire (2008)
“These essays will remind readers why Mark Nanos is rightly regarded as one of the chief architects of the Paul within Judaism perspective. Paradigm shifts in biblical studies often involve fresh, challenging, and credible exegetical insights, and one will find a plethora of them here. Even when I’m not fully convinced by a particular rereading, I always come away feeling like my hermeneutical horizons have been profitably expanded by what Mark has to say. I look forward to discussing these essays with students for years to come!”
—Mark D. Given, Missouri State University
Table of Contents
Preface | vii
Part I: A New Approach to Romans: Paul’s Synagogue Correspondence
1 To the Churches within the Synagogues of Rome | 3
Part II: Exegetical Support for Non-Jews within the Synagogues of Rome as Paul’s Target Audience
2 Some Problems with Reading Romans through the Lens of the Edict of Claudius | 23
3 The Jewish Context of the Gentile Audience Addressed in Paul’s Letter to the Romans | 40
4 A Rejoinder to Robert A. J. Gagnon’s “Why the ‘Weak’ at Rome Cannot Be Non-Christian Jews” | 65
Part III: A New Exegetical Approach to Rom 9–11 and Christian-Jewish Relations
5 Rom 9–11 from a Jewish Perspective on Christian-Jewish Relations | 103
6 “Broken Branches”: A Pauline Metaphor Gone Awry? (Rom 11:11–24) | 112
7 “Callused,” Not “Hardened”: Paul’s Revelation of Temporary Protection until All Israel Can Be Healed | 153
8 Rom 11 and Christian-Jewish Relations: Exegetical Options for Revisiting the Translation and Interpretation of This Central Text | 179
9 The Translation of Rom 11 since the Shoah: What’s Different? What’s Not? What Could Be? | 200
10 “The Gifts and the Calling of God are Irrevocable” (Rom 11:29): If So, How Can Paul Declare that “Not All Israelites Truly Belong to Israel” (9:6)? | 214
Part IV: Special Occasions
11 Challenging the Limits That Continue to Define Paul’s Perspective on Jews and Judaism | 237
12 Implications of Paul’s Hopes for the End of Days for Jews and Christians Today: A Critical Re-evaluation of the Evidence —co-authored with Philip Cunningham | 249
Appendix: Translating Rom 11:11—12:1a within Judaism: Literal-Oriented and Expanded Versions | 285
Index of Ancient Sources | 293
Reviews
By Kyle B. Wells, in Reviews of Biblical Literature, Nov., 2019.