Enoch Seminar – June 10, 2025 | Session Theme: Paul within Judaism

Why This Conference Matters

The New Testament within Judaism conference, hosted by the Enoch Seminar, brings together leading scholars to reframe the New Testament within their original Jewish contexts. This approach challenges centuries of Christian supersessionist readings and opens up new pathways for Jewish-Christian understanding.

At Bridge Builders Forum, we see this work as essential. Recovering Paul’s Jewish identity is not only a matter of historical accuracy but a vital tool for dismantling antisemitic interpretations and advancing more faithful, respectful engagement between Christians and Jews. What follows is a summary of key insights from Day One of the conference.

Introduction

·      A growing body of scholarly works has emerged in the past 10 years that frames the New Testament within Judaism.

o   Matthew within Judaism – Anders Runesson

o   Mark within Judaism – John Van Maaren

o   John within Judaism – Wally Cirafesi

o   Luke/Acts – Isaac Oliver

o   Paul within Judaism – Magnus Zetterholm and Mark Nanos

o   Within Judaism – recent volume/collection by Anders Runesson and Karin Hedner-Zetterholm

·      What do we mean when we say, “within Judaism”?

o   We are discussing how other Jews would have understood these texts at the time they were written.

·      A significant question: How can a text be “within Judaism” yet also be used (historically) in anti-Judaism ways?

Mark Nanos

·      Paul’s texts promote a Jewish way of life.

·      Paul’s communities were synagogue sub-groups.

·      Would Paul’s target audience perceive his instructions as Jewish ideas?

·      Exegetical work with the texts is key. As is the translation work.

·      Interpretations are embedded within translations.

·      In Galatians 1, Paul uses language that shows he was a Pharisee. However, translations often obscure this point. Most translations give the impression that Paul’s Jewish way of life was “former.” Yet, the language more likely refers to an earlier stage of it.

·      “Erga Nomou” is typically translated as “works of the law,” which tends to pit Paul’s gospel against Torah. “Erga nomou” can also be translated as “customary rites” or “rites of a custom,” which more accurately conveys what Paul opposed. In other words, Paul did not oppose Torah; rather, he opposed the non-Biblical custom or rite of ethnic transformation through proselyte conversion for Gentiles.

Pierluigi Piovanelli

·      Romans is a continuation of Galatians.

·      Romans represents a struggle between Peter and Paul – or other apostolic colleagues.

Crispin Fletcher-Louis

·      Wrote a book on Philippians, The Divine Heartset

·      Few Jewish Christ-followers in Philippi

·      Sees the letter as primarily representing Greek themes.

·      Paul’s “hymn” in Philippians 2 includes various Hellenistic concepts.

Kathy Ehrensperger

·      If Paul is not “within Judaism,” then what else would he be within?

·      He advocated for the singular worship of the God of Israel, so how could he not be within Judaism?

·      Paul self-identifies as a Jew/Israelite and thus, within and among Jews.

·      What criteria do we use to identify a text as being part of Judaism? One criterion is whether a text advocates for exclusive allegiance to the God of Israel. Another is the authoritative guidance to which the text refers. In Paul’s case, he refers to the Hebrew Scriptures.

·      The difference (and complicating factor) with Paul is that he created Jewish discourse for non-Jews.

·      What changes when we read Paul within Judaism? In this context, we are reading Paul prior to the split between Judaism and Christianity.

Jason Staples

·      Paul was clearly a Jewish figure.

·      But defining within Judaism is more difficult.

·      What does it mean to be within Jewish thought and behavior, and who clarifies those boundaries?

·      Would Paul be comfortable in an ancient synagogue? How about a modern one?

·      A benefit of Paul within Judaism is that it challenges the “Christian Paul.”

·      He was not “within Christianity” as we know it.

·      But he wasn’t necessarily within Judaism as we know it either.

·      Is the text or author from a community that identifies or is understood as Jewish?

·      Is the text or author situated within the historical people of Israel?

·      We must situate ourselves within the norms of the 2nd Temple period to understand his letters.

·      Paul continued to subject himself to the discipline of the synagogue (2 Cor 11), thus he seemed to situate himself within that context.

Jakub Pogonowski

·      Scholarly consensus is that Torah is not for Gentiles.

·      Galatians can be read within Judaism.

·      Nomos should not always be translated as Torah.

·      Erga Nomou/works of the law does not refer simply to Torah. Instead, it refers to extrabiblical requirements pertaining to non-Jews. In this way, Paul was not opposed to the Torah for Gentiles. He was against certain extrabiblical customs imposed upon his in-Christ Gentiles.

·      In other words, Paul’s criticism of erga nomou centered around a halachic debate regarding Gentiles. It was not a debate about whether Torah should be observed.

·      Paul does not negate the Torah. He negates improper interpretations of it.

Paul Sloan

·      Paul reasons from Torah.

·      When an author leverages Jewish authoritative sources, though one may disagree with the claims of the author, it nonetheless can be understood as a Jewish text.

·      How would other Jews of the time have evaluated Paul’s texts? We don’t know.

·      PwJ scholars do not see NT Wright and John Barclay’s readings of Paul as “within Judaism” readings. However, Wright and Barclay still see Paul in Jewish terms. So, where do we draw the line?

·      A significant line in this discussion is the continuing validity of Law/Torah observance.

·      The PwJ school sees Torah observance as a key demarcation for this label – “within Judaism.”

Giulio Mariotti

·      The options in Paul’s day were Jewish or Gentile, not Jewish or Christian.

·      In those terms, Paul was Jewish and within Judaism.

Discussion

·      There are challenges with the label “within Judaism.”

·      But the label at least helps us to frame Paul’s ongoing fidelity to a Jewish way of life.

·      1 Thessalonians 2:14-16 is a significant passage for examining Paul's relationship within Judaism.

o   Did Paul write these verses? Many scholars argue that it is an interpolation. However, no manuscript evidence backs this view. In other words, we don’t have early manuscripts that lack this text.

o   Several scholars highlighted what is known as “the antisemitic comma” at the end of verse 14, which gives the impression of a broader condemnation of “the Jews” as opposed to condemning a subset of Jews, namely, those Jews “who killed the Lord Jesus” (see the beginning of verse 15).

o   Ryan’s extra note: Check out my 5-minute video on this text and question: https://youtu.be/iH4NX_qn5Fw?si=QOwQQLnO8okao4_J

o   As Mark Nanos reads it, this text appears to be an understandable vent from Paul in light of the pushback he was receiving.

o   Jason Staples sees this as being written by Paul, but in a restrictive sense. In other words, 1 Thess 2:14-16 is addressed to a subset of Jews…and certainly is not addressed to all Jews, regardless of time and location.

o   Paul Sloan sees this text as “intramural” rhetoric which parallels intra-Jewish critical expressions found in the Dead Sea Scrolls.

o     Mark Nanos highlighted that a critical point in this discussion is the kind of Judaism we are talking about. When Nanos discusses Paul within Judaism, it is Pharisaic, Torah-observant Judaism. But some are using and applying the term Paul within Judaism in describing a Paul who was lite on Torah-observance.