Jesus in the Talmud

Name: Jesus in the Talmud
Brand: NewSouth Books
SKU: 9780691143187
Price: 73.99 NZD
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By Peter Schäfer

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Summary

Peter Schäfer explores the numerous and often disparaging references to Jesus found in the Talmud, the foundational text of rabbinic Judaism in late antiquity. The book reveals how the rabbis used the New Testament narratives to challenge Christian claims, particularly mocking the virgin birth, disputing Jesus' messianic status, and defending his execution as deserved. Schäfer demonstrates that these Talmudic stories engage in a sophisticated and deliberate anti-Christian polemic that parodies Gospel accounts, especially from Matthew and John. Differentiating between Babylonian and Palestinian sources, he illustrates how historical context shaped these counter-narratives, emphasising the relative freedom of the Babylonian Jewish community versus the oppression under Christian rule in Palestine.
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Format: Paperback / softback

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Jesus in the Talmud

$73⁹⁹

Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book is well suited for readers interested in religious studies, particularly the complex historical interactions between Judaism and Christianity in late antiquity. It appeals to scholars, theology students, and thoughtful general readers who seek a deeper understanding of how religious communities construct and contest their sacred narratives.

Examines how the rabbis of the Talmud read, understood, and used the New Testament Jesus narrative to assert, ultimately, Judaism's superiority over Christianity.

Peter Schafer's remarkable volume on Jesus' enigmatic place in Talmudic literature is a work of erudition and depth. It will bring deeper knowledge to students and teachers of Judaism and Christianity. -- Elie Wiesel When the premiere 'Christian-Hebraist' of our era turns his attention to Jesus in the Talmud, everyone interested in ancient history and modern interreligious dialogue must take notice. Peter Schafer carefully sifts through all of the literary evidence from that great monument of late-fifth-century Babylonian Jewish culture with fresh eyes and striking insights. His final chapter, focused on why the Babylonian Talmud could sustain such anti-Christian rhetoric, is a scholarly tour de force. -- Rabbi Burton L. Visotzky, Jewish Theological Seminary From the opening pages of Jesus in the Talmud the reader senses that something new and important is about to be unfolded. It is, and the unfolding of it is pure Schafer: straightforward and plain-speaking, argued densely, yet with great clarity, provocative, but finally persuasive. And yes, exciting too. -- F. E. Peters, author of "The Children of Abraham" This is an exceptionally engaging book. Professor Schafer has subjected to close scrutiny all the passages relating to Jesus in the Talmudic and other rabbinic literature produced in Palestine and in Babylonia in late antiquity. His aim is to use them to discover the rabbis' attitude to Christianity. While the force of the argument suggests this book should be mainly of interest to students of rabbinic Judaism, I believe that the subject matter will ensure that it has a much wider readership. It sheds light in places on the way the gospel traditions evolved particularly in Palestinian and Syriac-speaking Christianity. -- Nicholas de Lange, University of Cambridge

Description

Scattered throughout the Talmud, the founding document of rabbinic Judaism in late antiquity, can be found quite a few references to Jesus—and they're not flattering. In this lucid, richly detailed, and accessible book, Peter Schäfer examines how the rabbis of the Talmud read, understood, and used the New Testament Jesus narrative to assert, ultimately, Judaism's superiority over Christianity.

The Talmudic stories make fun of Jesus' birth from a virgin, fervently contest his claim to be the Messiah and Son of God, and maintain that he was rightfully executed as a blasphemer and idolater. They subvert the Christian idea of Jesus' resurrection and insist he got the punishment he deserved in hell—and that a similar fate awaits his followers.

Schäfer contends that these stories betray a remarkable familiarity with the Gospels—especially Matthew and John—and represent a deliberate and sophisticated anti-Christian polemic that parodies the New Testament narratives. He carefully distinguishes between Babylonian and Palestinian sources, arguing that the rabbis' proud and self-confident countermessage to that of the evangelists was possible only in the unique historical setting of Persian Babylonia, in a Jewish community that lived in relative freedom. The same could not be said of Roman and Byzantine Palestine, where the Christians aggressively consolidated their political power and the Jews therefore suffered.

A departure from past scholarship, which has played down the stories as unreliable distortions of the historical Jesus, Jesus in the Talmud posits a much more deliberate agenda behind these narratives.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Esteemed scholar Peter Schäfer receives high praise for his meticulous research and balanced analysis. David Novak of New Republic highlights the book's value not only to specialists but also to Jews and Christians seeking to understand and overcome historical animosities. He notes Schäfer’s work as both a compelling story and a hopeful pathway toward improved interfaith relations, acknowledging the virulence of the sources while appreciating the nuanced scholarly treatment. The book is commended for revealing the Talmud's sophisticated engagement with New Testament texts through subtle and precise counter-narratives.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780691143187

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 13 September 2009

Country: United States

Imprint: Princeton University Press

Illustration: 1 halftone.

Audience: Tertiary education, Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Width: 152.0mm

Height: 235.0mm

Weight: 340g

Pages: 232

Collections

Non-Fiction Peter Schäfer Religion & Spirituality

About the Author

Peter Schfer is Ronald O. Perelman Professor of Judaic Studies and Director of the Program in Judaic Studies at Princeton University. His books include Mirror of His Beauty: Feminine Images of God from the Bible to the Early Kabbalah (Princeton) and Judeophobia: Attitudes toward the Jews in the Ancient World, which has been translated into several languages.

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