A Jew to the Jews: Jewish Contours of Pauline Flexibility in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23. Second Edition

David J. Rudolph raises new questions about Pauls view of the Torah and Jewish identity in this post-supersessionist interpretation of 1 Corinthians 9:19-23. Pauls principle of accommodation is considered in light of the diversity of Second Temple Judaism and Jesus example and rule of accommodation. Rudolphs fresh and refreshing approach to these verses which focuses on table fellowship and the kinds of accommodation a good guest would make at the table of a host is illuminating and to my mind very persuasive. Particularly interesting is Rudolphs suggestion that Pauls practice of table fellowship with different groups of people was based on Jesus practice of table fellowship with all sorts of Jews. This coheres with recent tendencies to see Paul as more dependent on the traditions about Jesus than has conventionally been thought. It gives strong and contextually relevant content to the exhortation with which Paul closes this section of 1 Corinthians: Be imitators of me as I am of Christ (11:1). . . . Jewish identity was inseparable from practice of the Mosaic law. A truly Jewish Paul must be a Torah-observant Paul. Rudolphs argument for such a Paul is a key piece in what seems to me to look like an increasingly plausible argument: that in the early Christian movement generally it was taken for granted that Jewish Christians would continue to observe Torah as Jesus did--and in the way Jesus did. . . . [A]ll of us who want to understand Paul and his role in the early Christian movement need to grapple with the issues Rudolph explores in this significant study. --Richard Bauckham Professor Emeritus of New Testament Studies University of St. Andrews Scotland; Senior Scholar at Ridley Hall Cambridge The Jewish identity of the Apostle Paul has returned to the limelight. Where mainstream scholarship tended to prefer in 1 Corinthians 9 a Paul who observes Jewish law only sporadically as an instrument to advance his mission among Jews and Gentiles this groundbreaking study breaks with that picture of the apostle as a chameleon and opportunist. In its place David Rudolphs learned argument proposes to restore the integrity of the apostles voice as a consistently Jewish missionary to Gentiles as well as to Jews. A provocative and compelling argument! --Markus Bockmuehl Dean Irelands Professor of the Exegesis of Holy Scripture University of Oxford Rudolphs detailed carefully argued and masterful reevaluation of 1 Corinthians 9 invites scholars to reevaluate their understanding of not only one passage but of Paul more generally both in the letters and Acts. Scholarship in the past half-century has increasingly recognized Pauls Jewishness while often continuing to maintain his distance from Judaism; Rudolph contends for a more consistent approach: Paul continued to be a faithful Jew. --Craig S. Keener F. M. and Ada Thompson Professor of Biblical Studies Asbury Theological Seminary In this monograph a revised edition of his award-winning doctoral thesis David Rudolph presents a comprehensive treatment of a much-debated passage in First Corinthians where Paul seems to relativize his Jewish identity (1 Cor 9:19-23). Far from supporting a traditional portrait of a Torah-free Paul Rudolph argues that the position of the self-identified Apostle to the Gentiles builds on the similar strategy of Jesus to practice commensality with all sinners and righteous alike as he tries to win all--ordinary Jews strict Jews and Gentile sinners--for Christ. This is a major contribution to Pauline research which locates Paul firmly within Judaism. It is essential reading for all students of Paul as well as for those interested in the relationship between the Jesus movement and other forms of Judaism. --Anders Runesson Professor of New Testament University of Oslo Traditionally 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 has been one of the key texts for proving that Paul refuted Judaism and converted to Christianity