could add, “Has God rejected his people? By no means! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin” (Rom. 11:1). When he defends himself to the sectarians at Corinth, he bristles at their charges, “Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I” (2 Cor. 11:22). Paul viewed himself as a devoted Jew—sincerely committed to matters central to Jewish identity and life. In the first century it would have been impossible