as indicating God’s grace and of repentance as providing continuing access to forgiveness has been held either accurately to represent Judaism (the covenant conception receded in late Judaism) or to reveal ignorance of it. Jewish arrogance may be seen as under attack by Paul in the discussion of boasting in Rom. 3:27–4:5, and it has been maintained that smug self-satisfaction (as well as uncertainty of salvation) is evidenced in Rabbinic literature. Our analysis of Rabbinic and other Palestinian