Restoration Eschatology in Early Judaism and Paul's Gentile Mission Jason Andrew Staples A ...

779 Pages·2016·6.19 MB·English

Reconstructing Israel: Restoration Eschatology in Early Judaism and Paul’s Gentile Mission

Jason Andrew Staples

A dissertation submitted to the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in
partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department
of Religious Studies (Ancient Mediterranean Religions).

Chapel Hill
2016

Approved by:

Bart D. Ehrman

David A. Lambert

Zlatko Pleše

Anathea Portier-Young

J. Ross Wagner
©2016
Jason Andrew Staples
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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ABSTRACT

Jason Andrew Staples: Reconstructing Israel: Restoration Eschatology in Early Judaism and
Paul’s Gentile Mission
(Under the direction of Bart D. Ehrman)
This study examines how the concept of “Israel” was constructed and contested among
Jews, Samaritans, and (eventually) Christians in the Second Temple period. It explores how
varying understandings of Israelite identity and expectations of Israel’s glorious eschatological
restoration set the boundaries between Jews and Samaritans, various Jewish sects, and eventually
Jews and Christians. Beyond that, the study demonstrates that hopes for Israel’s restoration were
not only central to the origins of Christianity but were also paradoxically instrumental to the
inclusion of gentiles in the primitive church as evidenced in the letters of the apostle Paul.
The first part of the study demonstrates that, contrary to the assumptions of most modern
scholarship, the terms “Israelite” and “Jew” were not synonymous in most Jewish literature from
the Second Temple Period. Rather, the most common view reflected in these sources is that the
Jews are only a subset of the larger body of Israel, namely the descendants of the southern
kingdom of Judah. Samaritans, by contrast, were not Jews but considered themselves Israelites,
with different Jewish groups having varying responses to this claim. Moreover, in many
instances, the continued distinction between “Jews” and “Israelites” seems to reflect continuing
hopes for a future restoration of reconstituted twelve-tribe Israel including the northern tribes of
Israel scattered by the Assyrians in the eighth century BCE.
The second part of the study examines how Paul participates in this discourse concerning
Israelite identity, arguing that Paul similarly understands “Israel” to denote a group larger than
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“the Jews” and expects the restoration of all twelve tribes of Israel. Specifically, Paul appears to
believe that many from the northern tribes intermarried among the gentiles, thus becoming “not
my people” (=gentiles; Rom 9:25–26). In consequence, Paul claims that the incorporation of
gentiles into the eschatological assembly through his gospel is the only proper means for the
restoration of “all Israel” (Rom 11:26), including not only the Jews (=Judah) but all twelve tribes
of Israel.

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To my parents, Mark and Brenda
קידצ ומתב ךלהתמ
וירחא וינב ירשׁא
(Prov 20:7)

And to Kari
הרכמ םינינפמ קחר
הלעב בל הב חטב
(Prov 31:10b–11a)

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Qohelet assures us that there is a time for everything under heaven—even finishing a
dissertation. Now that this time has come, I owe thanks to many whose generosity, support, and
assistance enabled the completion of this study.
First, I would like to express my deep gratitude to my director, Bart D. Ehrman, who was
not only willing to oversee such a massive study but was extremely supportive throughout, even
when it was evident that the project was outgrowing its initial scope. His insatiable curiosity,
incisive mind, passion for clear writing and communication, and especially his generosity and
good humor have exemplified what it means to be an exemplary advisor, educator, and scholar.
Many thanks are also due to the other members of my dissertation committee, David
Lambert, Zlatko Pleše, Anathea Portier-Young, and Ross Wagner. Each provided invaluable
constructive criticism and support. I am especially indebted to Anathea Portier-Young, who
provided exceptionally detailed comments and corrections, many of which rescued me from
potentially embarrassing gaffes.
Jodi Magness and Douglas Campbell also deserve special thanks, as each read and
critiqued early chapter drafts and were valuable conversation partners throughout the process.
Paula Fredriksen and Robert Jewett also provided especially helpful feedback on early material;
their enthusiasm for the project and constructive criticisms were instrumental in pushing this
study forward. The many deficiencies that remain in this work are of course my own.
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This study owes its inception to insights first gained in Bill Lyons’ Hebrew Bible
Prophets class at Florida State University in the spring of 2003, and I continue to owe Bill—now
a dear friend—a great debt for his example and encouragement.
I am deeply grateful to David B. Levenson for his tireless training and mentorship while I
was at Florida State, without which I would have been unlikely to pursue this path, and for his
continued friendship and assistance on numerous occasions.
Thanks are also due to Nicole Kelly, Eibert Tigchelaar, Matthew Goff, Joel Marcus,
James Crenshaw, Richard Hays, Shannon Burkes, Randall Styers, John Marincola, and Svetla
Slaveva-Griffin (whose Neoplatonism seminar continues to have an impact that would be
difficult to overstate), each of whom had a formative role in my training and ultimately this
project.
I owe gratitude to many others for their generosity, feedback, constructive criticism,
encouragement, and general willingness to tolerate me as I have chattered on about a seemingly
unending project. I am especially indebted to Stephen Carlson, Benjamin L. White, Sonya
Cronin, Jason Combs, T.J. Lang, Nathan Eubank, Mark Goodacre, Matthew Grey, Mark Nanos,
Scott Hahn, Tim Cupery, Lauren Leve, Ilyse Morgenstein-Fuerst, Andrew Aghapour, Leif
Tornquist, Michael Barber, and Fr. Gregory (Joshua) Edwards and Jim Hayes.
This long and tortuous journey has only been possible thanks to the support and many
sacrifices of my family. The constant encouragement and generosity of my sister and brother-in-
law, Stephanie and Erik Rostad, has been appreciated more than they could know. They have
truly strengthened feeble knees. Thanks also to Alan, Debbie, Natalie, Holly, Dillon, and Carly
Brown for welcoming me into their family and for all their encouragement through this project.
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I owe everything to my parents, Mark and Brenda Staples, who instilled in me a deep
love and respect for the Bible while also training me to turn over every stone in the quest for
truth and to question everything, no matter how firmly established or widely believed. They have
been unwaveringly supportive as they watched their son stay in school far longer than they could
have imagined. This project was possible only because I am standing on their shoulders.
Finally, words cannot express how indebted and grateful I am to Kari, my γνήσιος
σύζυγος, whose love and devotion have been a constant source of strength as we have endured
flood, fire, multiple surgeries, and a dissertation over the past six years. Kari has been patient
beyond measure when my work has been all-consuming and has selflessly lifted me up when my
spirits were low. The making of many books is endless, and excessive study is exhausting, but
her love is more precious than the world itself. May I one day be worthy of it.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................... XVI
LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................................... XVII
ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................................................. XVIII
PART I: PAUL, ISRAELITES, JEWS, AND HEBREWS ............................................................ 1
INTRODUCTION: PAUL, ISRAEL, AND GENTILES ............................................................ 2
Who are Paul’s (Former) Gentiles? ........................................................................................ 11
Who is Paul’s Israel? .............................................................................................................. 14
Option 1: Israel = the Church ............................................................................................. 15
Option 2: Israel = the Jews ................................................................................................. 16
Empirical Ethnicity? ........................................................................................................... 21
An Additional Complication: “Jews” or “Judaeans”? ........................................................... 25
Ἰουδαῖος: Not Strictly Geographic ..................................................................................... 26
Modern Concerns and Antisemitism .................................................................................. 29
Ethnicity and Religion ........................................................................................................ 34
Ancient Jews ....................................................................................................................... 42
Objective and Approach ......................................................................................................... 45
Social Memory, Interpretation, and Identity Formation ..................................................... 48
On Reconstructing “Biblical Israel” ................................................................................... 53
Outline and Thesis .............................................................................................................. 59
CHAPTER 1: JEWS AND ISRAELITES: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ΙΣΡΑΗΛ AND
ΟΙ ΙΟΥΔΑΙΟΙ ............................................................................................................................ 64
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The Insider/Outsider Model and the Influence of Nazi Germany .......................................... 72
Ἰσραηλίτης vs. οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι in Josephus ................................................................................. 80
Conclusion: A Partitive Model for “Jews” and “Israelites” ................................................... 90
CHAPTER 2: HEBREW: NEITHER JEW NOR ISRAELITE ................................................ 92
Ἑβραιος in Josephus .............................................................................................................. 95
Ἑβραῖος in Other Early Jewish Sources ............................................................................... 101
Ἑβραιος in the New Testament ............................................................................................ 105
Conclusions: Ἑβραῖος .......................................................................................................... 108
PART II: THE CONSTRUCTION OF ISRAEL AND RESTORATION ESCHATOLOGY ... 111
CHAPTER 3: ISRAEL, JUDAH, AND RESTORATION ESCHATOLOGY ....................... 112
Samarians/Samaritans: The Other Israelites ........................................................................ 116
Post-exilic Yehud, Biblical Israel, and Restoration Eschatology ........................................ 126
Israelite Restoration Eschatology ..................................................................................... 128
The Paradox of the Yehudim and Israel’s Scriptures ....................................................... 133
Between Disaster and Restoration: Prophetic Restoration Eschatology .............................. 135
Book of the Twelve: From Not My People to My People ................................................ 137
Isaiah: Destruction, Return, Reunion ................................................................................ 142
Jeremiah: A New Covenant with Israel and Judah ........................................................... 151
Ezekiel: Can These Bones Live? ...................................................................................... 154
The Perpetual Hope of Eschatological Israel ....................................................................... 158
Excursus: Unity and Diversity in Early Judaism ................................................................. 161
CHAPTER 4: THE CONSTRUCTION OF BIBLICAL ISRAEL AND EARLY JEWISH
IDENTITY: CONNECTING PRESENT TO PAST ............................................................... 164
Deuteronomy and Restoration Eschatology ......................................................................... 170
Former Prophets: Loss of Identity ........................................................................................ 175
Joshua-Judges ................................................................................................................... 178
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