Paul and the Hermeneutics of Faith (T&T Clark Cornerstones)

"In recent years, scholars from both Christian and Jewish backgrounds have tried to rethink the relationship between earliest Christianity and its Jewish milieu; and Paul has emerged as a central figure in this debate. Francis Watson contributes to this scholarly discussion by seeing Paul and his Jewish contemporaries as, above all, readers of scripture. However different the conclusions they draw, they all endeavour to make sense of the same normative scriptural texts - in the belief that, as they interpret the scriptural texts, the texts will themselves interpret and illuminate the world of contemporary experience. In that sense, Paul and his contemporaries are standing on common ground. Far from relativizing their differences, however, it is this common ground that makes such differences possible. This book seeks to show how three distinct bodies of literature in fact constitute a single intertextual field. It is therefore necessary to dismantle artificial scholarly boundaries between the Pauline letters, other extant Jewish writings of the period, and the scriptural texts themselves. The method adopted is to set a Pauline and a non-Pauline reading of a scriptural text alongside one another, to compare the ways in which the different readings seek to realize the semantic potential of the scriptural text, and to construct communal identity on that basis. Contrary to the view that these early readers merely impose their own pre-existing viewpoints on the scriptural texts, it becomes clear that they are profoundly engaged in fundamental hermeneutical issues. In this new edition Watson provides a comprehensive new introduction to respond to critics of the previous edition, as well as numerous updates and refinements throughout the text."--Bloomsbury Publishing In recent years, scholars from both Christian and Jewish backgrounds have tried to rethink the relationship between earliest Christianity and its Jewish milieu; and Paul has emerged as a central figure in this debate. Francis Watson contributes to this scholarly discussion by seeing Paul and his Jewish contemporaries as, above all, readers of scripture. However different the conclusions they draw, they all endeavour to make sense of the same normative scriptural texts - in the belief that, as they interpret the scriptural texts, the texts will themselves interpret and illuminate the world of contemporary experience. In that sense, Paul and his contemporaries are standing on common ground. Far from relativizing their differences, however, it is this common ground that makes such differences possible. In this new edition Watson provides a comprehensive new introduction entitled 'A Response to My Critics' in which he directly engages with the critics of the previous edition. There is a substantial new Preface and two new Appendices, and the text has been fully revised throughout Cover page Halftitle page Series page Title page Copyright page Reviewers’ Comments on Paul and the Hermeneutics of Faith (1st edition): Contents From the Preface to the First Edition Preface to the Second Edition Introduction to the Second Edition 1. Apocalypse (J. L. Martyn) 2. Metanarrative (N. T. Wright) 3. Faith (Richard Hays) 4. Retrospection (Douglas Campbell) 5. Unconditionality (Troels Engberg-Pedersen) 6. Canon (Christopher Seitz) Abbreviations Introduction 1. A three-way conversation 2. The covenant and the law of life 3. Christ and scripture 4. Intertextual dynamics 5. The conflict of interpretations Part One Antithesis 1 Justification and Hermeneutics 1. The rhetoric of citation i. Citation and antecedent ii. The scriptural matrix 2. Antithetical hermeneutics i. The twofold scriptural testimony ii. The voice of the law iii. The law’s failed project iv. The law and the prophets 2 Reading the Twelve 1. The hermeneutics of the end i. The Book of the Twelve ii. The status of the Twelve iii. Interpreting the Twelve 2. The persecuted interpreter i. The reader who runs ii. Practising faith and Torah 3 The God of My Salvation 1. Writing and the book i. The Twelve and the canonical history ii. Salvation in question iii. Writing and hope 2. Living from the vision i. A new perspective ii. Faithfulness divine and human iii. Th e prophet and the apostle Part Two Promise 4 Genesis (1) 1. Deconstructing the hero i. Modelling piety ii. Moments of decision iii. The works of the fathers 2. The narrated promise i. The blessing of Abraham ii. The inheritance iii. The child of promise iv. Father of many nations 5 Genesis (2) 1. Works of faithful obedience i. In quest of the true God ii. Affliction and triumph iii. Priesthood iv. Circumcision v. The two sons 2. Nature and the patriarch i. The first book of the Laws ii. The gift edness of the soul iii. The queen of the virtues 3. The founder of religion and science i. The religious reformer ii. Abraham in Egypt Part Three The Wilderness 6 Exodus 1. The veiled text i. The writing of God ii. Why the letter kills iii. The deceptive veil iv. Within the sanctuary 2. The glory of Moses i. Moses’ descent(s) ii. The divine speech iii. The old and the new 7 Leviticus 1. The law of life i. The way of the commandments ii. Some false dichotomies 2. Moses rewritten 3. Law and immortality i. The ideal community ii. Inclusive eschatologies 8 Numbers 1. Death in the desert i. Forbidden desire ii. The Tombs-of-Desire iii. Resisting the God of Sinai iv. A living death 2. Narratives of judgment and salvation i. The Exodus paradigm ii. A harmony of Exodus and Genesis iii. A harmony of Exodus and Numbers iv. The demise of the holy nation Part Four Last Words 9 Deuteronomy (1) 1. The commandments of God (i) Deuteronomy 6.4b-5 (ii) Deuteronomy 13.6, etc. (iii) Deuteronomy 19.15 (iv) Deuteronomy 21.23 (v) Deuteronomy 25.4 2. Israel’s predicament (i) Deuteronomy 27.26 (ii) Deuteronomy 29.3 (4 EVV) (iii) Deuteronomy 30.11-14 3. Israel’s hope (i) Deuteronomy 32.5 (ii) Deuteronomy 32.17 (iii) Deuteronomy 32.21 (iv) Deuteronomy 32.35 (v) Deuteronomy 32.43 4. The return to the law 10 Deuteronomy (2) 1. The desolation of Zion 2. Moses, Daniel, and the End 3. For and against Moses 4. Paul and Ezra Conclusion APPENDIX I APPENDIX II 1. Did Paul identify Christ with the Suff ering Servant? 2. Isaiah 53 as lexical resource 3. Conclusion Bibliography Index of Primary Texts Index of Subjects A B C D E F G H I L M N O P R S T U V Index of Authors A B C D E F G H J K L M N O P R S T V W Z Francis Watson. Previous Edition: London: T & T International, 2004. Includes Bibliographical References And Indexes.