Maccabean Martyr Traditions in Paul's Theology of Atonement: Did Martyr Theology Shape Paul's Conception of Jesus's Death?

In an age in which scholars continue to produce books on the nature and significance of Jesuss death books that often assume the Old Testament cult was the New Testament authors primary background for their conception of Jesuss death Jarvis J. Williams offers a fresh and novel contribution regarding both the nature of and background influences behind Pauls conception of Jesuss death. He argues that Pauls conception of Jesuss death both as an atoning sacrifice and as a saving event for Jews and Gentiles was significantly influenced by Maccabean Martyr Theology. To argue his thesis Williams engages in an intense exegesis of 2 and 4 Maccabees while also interacting with other Second Temple Jewish texts that are relevant to his thesis. Williams further interacts with relevant Old Testament texts and the key texts in the Pauline corpus. He argues that the authors of 2 and 4 Maccabees present the deaths of the Jewish martyrs during the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes IV as atoning sacrifices and as a saving event for Israel. He further argues that although the Old Testaments cultic language certainly influenced Pauls understanding of Jesuss death at certain junctures in his letters the Old Testament cult alone-which emphasized animal sacrifices-cannot fully explain why or even how Paul could conceive of Jesuss death a human sacrifice as both an atoning sacrifice and a saving event for Jews and Gentiles. Finally Williams highlights the lexical theological and conceptual parallels between Martyr Theology and Pauls conception of Jesuss death. Even if scholars disagree with Williamss thesis or methodology serious Pauline scholars interested in the background influences behind and the nature and significance of Jesuss death in Pauls theology will want to interact with this work.