Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

corpus-paul - Re: Sanders and the "New" Perspective (Galatians 2:14-21 and 4QMMT)

corpus-paul AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Corpus-Paul

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: "Karl P. Donfried" <kdonfrie AT email.smith.edu>
  • To: Corpus-paul <corpus-paul AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: Sanders and the "New" Perspective (Galatians 2:14-21 and 4QMMT)
  • Date: Sat, 28 Jul 2001 15:22:02 -0400


Roy,

The use of halakot in the rabbinic literature considerably latter than
the DSS carries with it presuppositions that I do not find evident in
the scrolls. Talmon comments that "yahad's final dissent from the
emerging brand of Pharisaic Judaism at the turn of the era constitutes
the climax of the lengthy confrontation of these two streams [i.e. the
prophetic and the rationalist]." Is it not anachronistic to emphasize
in Second Temple Judaisms descriptive legal precepts resulting from
study and legislation over against prescriptive observance of the Law?
As Qimron has remarked “MMT deals with the observance of commandments,
not with the manner in which they are deduced…” (DJD X 133n23) and that
strikes me as a significant difference between the scrolls and the
substantially later rabbinic materials. As a result I find no evidence
whatsoever to support your concluding statement: “I think 4QMMT (and
Galatians 2?) is evidence that before the terminology of
halakha/halakhot was clearly established the same type of material was
called, by some groups at least, ‘works of the Law.’” Part of the
problem that I have with Sanders and Dunn is that they are creating a
description of Second Temple Judaisms which do not exist within the time
frame of those Judaisms.

Karl



"Roy E. Ciampa" wrote:
>
> Karl,
>
> Where do we find the term halakhot being used as it is in rabbinic
> literature before the appearance of rabbinic literature. I am not saying
> that the authors of 4QMMT called their positions halakhot, but that the
> types of positions and concerns and issues they call "works of the Law" are
> precisely what later rabbinic Judaism called halakha.
>
> I think 4QMMT (and Galatians 2?) is evidence that before the terminology of
> halakha/halakhot was clearly established the same type of material was
> called, by some groups at least, "works of the Law."
>
> Roy
>
> --------------------------------------------------
> Dr. Roy E. Ciampa
> IBP-ESETE
> Rua Castelo Picão, 13
> 2670 Sto. Antão do Tojal
> Portugal
>
> Tel:
>
> +351 (21) 982 1319 (home/casa)
> +351 (21) 974 9047 (office/gabinete)
> +351 (91) 974 0151 (cell/TM)
>
> E-mail:
>
> RoyCiampa AT mail.telepac.pt
> Roy_Ciampa AT compuserve.com
>
> ---
> You are currently subscribed to corpus-paul as: kdonfrie AT smith.edu
> To unsubscribe send a blank email to $subst('Email.Unsub')

--


Karl P. Donfried
Elizabeth A. Woodson Professor
of Religion and Biblical Literature
Neilson Library A10
Smith College
Northampton, MA 01063

kdonfrie AT smith.edu
413 585-3669 (phone)
413 256-6202 (fax)




Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page