E. P. SANDERS

PAUL AND

PALESTINIAN

JUDAISM

A Comparison of Patterns of Religion

Fortress Press

Minneapolis

Biblical quotations when taken from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyrighted 1946, 1952, © 1971, 1973 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., are used by permission.

First American Edition by Fortress Press 1977

Copyright © 1977 by SCM Press Ltd., London and Fortress Press, Philadelphia

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 76-62612

Hardcover ISBN 0-8006-0499-7

Paperback ISBN 0-8006-1899-8

In memory of

Susan Phillips

July 2 1947–September 26 1975

CONTENTS

Preface

Abbreviations

INTRODUCTION

1. Paul and Judaism in New Testament scholarship

2. The holistic comparison of patterns of religion

Purpose of the study

Difficulties of the comparison

Addendum: patterns and trajectories

3. Sources

PART ONE PALESTINIAN JUDAISM

I TANNAITIC LITERATURE

1. The persistence of the view of Rabbinic religion as one of legalistic works-righteousness

2. The use of Rabbinic material

Pharisees and Rabbis

Date and authenticity

The eclectic use of Tannaitic material

3. The nature of Tannaitic literature

Tannaitic literature and Tannaitic religion

4. The election and the covenant

The theme of gratuity

The election and the explanations of it

The enduring validity of the covenantal promises

God’s side of the covenant: commandments and blessings

5. Obedience and disobedience; reward and punishment

The requirement of obedience

The burden of obedience

Disobedience as sin and guilt

Reward and punishment

6. Reward and punishment and the world to come

God’s justice and retribution in the world to come

Weighing fulfilments and transgressions at the judgment

7. Salvation by membership in the covenant and atonement

All Israelites have a share in the world to come

The Sadducees

The ‛amme ha-’arets

Atonement

Summary

8. Proper religious behaviour: zakah and tsadaq

zakah

Tsadaq

9. The Gentiles

10. The nature of religious life and experience

Studying and doing and the presence of God

Prayer and the time of death

11. Conclusion

II THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS

1. Introduction

2. The covenant and the covenant people

The covenant

The members of the covenant and its enemies

3. Election and predestination

4. The commandments

5. Fulfilment and transgression; the nature of sin; reward and punishment

The requirement of fulfilment

Destruction of the wicked

Sin as transgression

Punishment for intra-covenantal transgression

Reward, the requirement of perfection and man’s nothingness

6. Atonement

7. The righteousness of God and the righteousness of man

8. The religious life

9. Conclusion

Appendix 1: The authorship and Sitz im Leben of the Hodayot

Appendix 2: 1QS ...