Within Judaism? - by Karin Hedner Zetterholm & Anders Runesson (Hardcover)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

This book charts the shifting boundaries of Judaism from antiquity to the modern period to bring clarity to what scholars mean when they claim that ancient texts or groups are "within Judaism" as well as exploring how rabbinic Jews, Christians, and Muslims have constructed Judaism to form their own identities.

Review Quotes

The value of this book lies in the fact that it gathers together a diverse array of perspectives from "within Judaism." This movement has drawn traction over the past 25 years. Viewing Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions from previously overlooked perspectives can provide insightful conceptual and historical information that readers unfamiliar with "within Judaism" approaches may find useful. Additionally, readers who are already familiar with some topics can benefit from seeing how related analyses are applied to other topics. This is a book that you will return to again and time again.

This collection is valuable for bringing together in one place a wide range of different approaches to "within Judaism." Readers already familiar with certain topics can benefit from seeing how related analyses are applied to other topics, and those new to "within Judaism" approaches can encounter the fruitful conceptual and historical insights that can come from looking at Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions from previously-neglected perspectives.

This is a really remarkable book. Even as debates over situating New Testament texts "within Judaism" continue to roil biblical studies, Hedner Zetterholm, Runesson, and their outstanding contributors pause to theorize the question itself, to explore what is at stake, and for whom, and to point to promising ways forward. The authors of the twenty-five chapters are expert guides to a difficult but extremely important field of research. This will be a book to come back to again and again.

About the Author

Karin Hedner Zetterholm is associate professor of Jewish Studies at Lund University.
Anders Runesson is professor of New Testament at the University of Oslo.