Jesus in the Talmud
By: Peter Schäfer
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Published: 2007
Place of publication: Princeton, N.J
Language: eng
Number of pages: 210
ISBN-13: 9780691129266
Subjects: Jesus Christ -- Jewish interpretations; Talmud -- Criticism, interpretation, etc; Bible. -- N.T. -- Controversial literature -- History and criticism; Rabbinical literature -- History and criticism
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."--Jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [191]-201) and index
Table of contents: title: Jesus' family; title: The son/disciple who turned out badly; title: The frivolous disciple; title: The Torah teacher; title: Healing the in name of Jesus; title: Jesus' execution; title: Jesus' disciples; title: Jesus' punishment in hell; title: Jesus in the Talmud