A comprehension of Paul's understanding of the law and justification has been a perennial problem for historians and theologians. The need for further clarity has given rise to this collection of essays by an international list of esteemed scholars who seek, in the first of two volumes, to illuminate the complexities of the Judaism of Jesus' (and Paul's) day. Was it a legalistic religion that taught one could be justified before God by obeying law? Was it even one religion, or was it a collection of traditions with some similarities and many dissimilarities?

A second volume is forthcoming...

This volume is the second part of a comprehensive evaluation of the "new perspective" that has dominated much Anglo-American thought, amongst biblical specialists, for a quarter of a century. The first volume grappled with and evaluated the new perspective's understanding of Palestinian Judaism; this volume evaluates the appropriateness of new perspective categories to the principal writings of Paul, including technical discussion of justification and other crucial words and expressions - all set within the context of the current debates.

Since 1977, the lines of inquiry developed by P.E. Sanders, James D.G. Dunn, N.T. Wright and others, have generated the 'New Perspective' on Paul. This perspective is profoundly tied to a certain reading of the literature of second temple Judaism which then in turn shapes what is now the dominant reading of Paul. This volume brings together an array of specialists to examine afresh the various corpora of the period. The authors analyze the highly diverse literature to determine to what extent 'covenantal nomism' is a suitable way for its categorization. The way this literature speaks of the...