Specializing in the ancient Near East and biblical studies since 1975

Jesus and Purity Halakhah

by Thomas Kazen

Was Jesus Indifferent to Impurity?

Coniectanea Biblica New Testament Series 38 What did Jesus think about Jewish practice regarding impurity? How did he relate to the inner-Jewish debates of his day concerning ritual purity and impurity? Did he discard the impurity concept altogether, or was it an obvious and natural part of his Jewish faith and life? Did he advocate another or different type of purity? Ritual or cultic purity was paramount in Jewish society and life during the Second Temple period, and differences in purity halakhah were one of the factors that distinguished various movements. Therefore, considering purity is crucial in any attempt to interpret the historical Jesus within his contemporary context. In the latest or third phase of historicalJesus study, researchers have given prominence to Jesus social and cultural context. In keeping with this goal, Thomas Kazen discusses the historical Jesus alongside what we know of Jewish purity halakhah of his time and explains Jesus attitude toward impurity. Kazen balances the work of New Testament scholars on Judaism and legal matters by incorporating the historical Jesus studies of Jewish scholars, seeking to engage students of the historical Jesus with the primary materials relating to legal matters.
Eisenbrauns, 2010. xii + 402 pages. English. Paper. ISBN: 978-1-57506-809-1. List Price: $44.95 http://www.eisenbrauns.com/item/KAZJESUSA

Table of Contents
Part One: Initial Positions I. Jesus and purity: An introduction I.1. The idea of impurity I.2. Jesus attitude II. Jesus and history: Problems and possibilities II.1. The historical Jesus and purity II.2. Continuity and authentic traditions II.3. The limits of historical reconstruction Part Two: Law, Purity, and Body III. Jesus and the law: Much debated conflict stories III.1. Evaluating legal issues III.2. Mark 7, hand-washing, and the impurity system IV. Jesus and defilement through contact: A neglected issue IV.1. An alternative approach IV.2. Skin disease / leprosy IV.3. Bodily discharges IV.4. The corpse Part Three: Explanatory Models V. Purity and morality V.1. Immorality and bodily defilement in ancient Judaism V.2. Jesus: Inner and outer impurity V.3. John and Jesus: Inner and outer purification VI. Purity and diversity VI.1. Common Judaisms VI.2. Social and regional differences VI.3. Centre and periphery VII. Impurity and demonic threat VII.1. Demonology and impurity VII.2. Jesus as exorcist Summary: A case for Jesus as overruling impurity with the kingdom Part Four: Concluding Reflections VIII. Reconstruction and interpretation VIII.1. Reconstructing Jesus attitude to impurity VIII.2. Interpreting Jesus attitude to impurity VIII.3. Jesus then and now Figures Fig. 1. Impurity bearers and contamination in the biblical system Fig. 2. The rabbinic system of impurity Fig. 3. The rabbinic system of impurity, adapted and simplified from Hannah K. Harrington Fig. 4. The interposition of liquid in the rabbinic system of impurity Pictures Miqveh with otsar near the synagogue at Jericho Miqveh near the synagogue at Gamla Stone vessels from the Second Temple period Papyrus Egerton 2, 1 recto Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 840, verso Miqveh from Jerusalem with remains of partition between stairs Double entrance to miqveh at Isawiya, near Jerusalem

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