Paul and Rabbinic Judaism (1948 Davies), book

Paul and Rabbinic Judaism: Some Rabbinic Elements in Pauline Theology (1948) is a book by William D. Davies.

Abstract

Like Schweitzer and others who rejected Hellenism as a major factor in Paul's theology, Davies places Paul in a Jewish context, arguing that Paul’s theology was Palestinian and Pharisaic, or rabbinic, in orientation. Paul was essentially a rabbi who believed that Jesus was the Messiah. In this way Davies avoids the difficulty of pitting Christianity against Judaism. Davies rejected New Testament scholars such as Thackeray and Bultmann who argued that Paul was not a rabbinic Jew. Instead, Davies embraces the influence of the Pharisees on Paul and views it favorably. According to Davies, Paul’s messianic Judaism is a final and purest form of Judaism and not an anti-Judaism. Davies argued that several Pauline emphases – his Christology, his rejection of much of the law, his eschatology – were firmly grounded in first century Jewish thought. Davies does not bifurcate sharply between Hellenism and Judaism; Judaism, even Palestinian Judaism, was strongly Hellenistic in character. - Ronald Ruark, University of Michigan

Editions and translations

Published in London: SPCK, 1948. 2nd edition, with additional notes, London: SPCK, 1955, and New York: Harper, 1955. 3rd ed. 1970. 4th ed. 1980. Reissued ("Fiftieth Anniversary Edition") in Mifflintown, PA: Sigler, 1998, with a foreword by Ed Parish Sanders.