that we should not return to the earlier distortions of first-century Judaism. This thesis shares with Thurén’s work a concern to establish the precise relationship between boasting and obedience to Torah. We have seen, then, the key issues concerning boasting raised by modern scholarship. Is boasting simply a Jewish “feeling of superiority,” or is it confidence in vindication at the eschaton? It will be seen later that the latter is often the context for the former. Second, is boasting in relation