Jesus and Purity Halakhah: Was Jesus Indifferent to Impurity? (Coniectanea Biblica New Testament Series)

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......Page 6 Acknowledgements......Page 12 Foreword to the corrected reprint edition......Page 13 Initial Positions......Page 14 I.1 The idea of impurity......Page 15 I.2 Jesus’ attitude......Page 20 II.1 The historical Jesus and purity......Page 25 II.2 Continuity and authentic traditions......Page 38 II.3 The limits of historical reconstruction......Page 47 Summary: A case for the historical Jesus as conscious re-construction......Page 53 Law, Purity, and Body......Page 56 III.1 Evaluating legal issues......Page 57 III.2 Mark 7, hand-washing, and the impurity system......Page 73 Summary: A case for purity as a wide-spread concern in Second Temple Judaism......Page 99 IV.1 An alternative approach......Page 102 IV.2 Skin disease / “leprosy”......Page 111 IV.3 Bodily discharges......Page 140 IV.4 The corpse......Page 177 Summary: A case for Jesus’ attitude as seemingly indif-ferent......Page 210 Explanatory Models......Page 212 Chapter V Purity and morality......Page 213 V.1 Immorality and bodily defilement in ancient Judaism......Page 214 V.2 Jesus: inner and outer impurity......Page 235 V.3 John and Jesus: inner and outer purification......Page 244 Summary: A case for Jesus as part of a moral trajectory in Judaism......Page 274 VI.1 Common Judaisms......Page 276 VI.2 Social and regional differences......Page 286 VI.3 Centre and periphery......Page 298 Summary: A case for Jesus’ attitude as a reaction to a Galilean dilemma on purity......Page 310 Chapter VII Impurity and demonic threat......Page 313 VII.1 Demonology and impurity......Page 314 VII.2 Jesus as exorcist......Page 326 Summary: A case for Jesus as overruling impurity with the kingdom......Page 351 Concluding Reflections......Page 354 VIII.1 Reconstructing Jesus’ attitude to impurity......Page 355 VIII.2 Interpreting Jesus’ attitude to impurity......Page 358 VIII.3 Jesus then and now......Page 360 Bibliography Sources......Page 367 Literature......Page 373 Indices Author Index......Page 399 Subject Index......Page 402 Source index......Page 405 Thomas Kazen. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [354]-385) And Indexes.