tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2399009317202162227.post5661702425150687756..comments2023-04-26T09:41:11.714-05:00Comments on Another Reader's Review: Hebrew Rhetoric?Joshua Butcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05762961484152028177noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2399009317202162227.post-90452191009716170612006-01-17T15:00:00.000-06:002006-01-17T15:00:00.000-06:00"One of the conclusions that I find myself mo..."One of the conclusions that I find myself most sympathetic toward is the notion that Second Temple Judaism and early CE/AD Christianity do not develop upon a direct line from the OT/Hebrew Bible. I would be more conservative in my dating that Wylen, but the Intertestamental/Second Temple Period between the OT/Hebrew Bible and the NT/Rabbinic writings is significant and perhaps under emphasized by theologians in Christian and Jewish circles (at least outside of academia)."<br><br>Can you expound on this?GRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16436914663365631443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2399009317202162227.post-74484977142036297082006-01-17T21:49:00.000-06:002006-01-17T21:49:00.000-06:00Well, there is a significant gap between the close...Well, there is a significant gap between the close of the OT and the Maccabean revolt. With the resultant interpretive traditions that appear by the 1st century CE it seems likely that with the end of the prophets the ability to maintain a more cohesive authority of the Law diminished.<br><br>I suspect that one of the reasons why Jesus' interpretations were so authoritative was because they were cutting through some of the debates that were arising due to the partial fragmentation within Judaism under Roman rule.<br><br>I think Hellenism plays the primary role in the break between the OT and the 2nd Temple Period. There is no significant Western influence in the ANE during the OT, but with Alexander's conquests and the subsequent Roman conquests, a new cultural impact was introduced into the ANE.<br><br>The Israel of this period no doubt conformed in many ways, much like the Israel in the OT mirrored Canaanite practice. The differences between ANE and Hellenism have been underemphasized and understudied by Christian scholars in my opinion.<br><br>It is striking how much different Rabbinical Judaism and the Early Church are from each other and from the culture of the OT. The major theological question is whether theology should take historical/cultural factors into more account. I think they should.Joshua Butcherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07170136289087046248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2399009317202162227.post-7212859409682763072006-01-19T10:05:00.000-06:002006-01-19T10:05:00.000-06:00thank youthank youGRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16436914663365631443noreply@blogger.com