When Christians Were Jews: The First Generation

by Paula Fredriksen

Overview

A compelling account of Christianity’s Jewish beginnings, from one of the world’s leading scholars of ancient religion

How did a group of charismatic, apocalyptic Jewish missionaries, working to prepare their world for the impending realization of God’s promises to Israel, end up inaugurating a movement that would grow into the gentile church? Committed to Jesus’s prophecy—“The Kingdom of God is at hand!”—they were, in their own eyes, history’s last generation. But in history’s eyes, they became the first Christians.
 
In this electrifying social and intellectual history, Paula Fredriksen answers this question by reconstructing the life of the earliest Jerusalem community. As her account arcs from this group’s hopeful celebration of Passover with Jesus, through their bitter controversies that fragmented the movement’s midcentury missions, to the city’s fiery end in the Roman destruction of Jerusalem, she brings this vibrant apostolic community to life. Fredriksen offers a vivid portrait both of this temple‑centered messianic movement and of the bedrock convictions that animated and sustained it.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780300248401
Publisher:	Yale University Press
Publication date:	08/06/2019
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	280
Sales rank:	221,093
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Paula Fredriksen, Aurelio Professor of Scripture emerita at Boston University, is Distinguished Visiting Professor of Comparative Religion at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Table of Contents

Maps ix

Prologue 1

1 Up to Jerusalem 7

The Gospels, Jesus, and Jerusalem 14

Paul and the Temple 23

The Essenes and the Temple 29

Popular Prophets and the Temple 32

2 God's Holy Mountain 43

The Tables of the Moneychangers 43

The Feasts of the Jews 52

The Politics of Prophecy 67

3 From Miracle to Mission 74

Resurrection and Redemption 74

Kingdom and Community 88

The Prousia That Failed 99

4 Beginning from Jerusalem 108

The Meanings of "Messiah" 109

The Whole House of Israel 123

Israel and the Nations 140

5 The Ends of the Ages 144

The Battle of the Gods 147

The Image of God and the Son of Man 162

The Mountain of Fire 171

Epilogue 183

Acknowledgments 193

Timeline 195

Notes 199

Bibliography 229

Indexes 239

Names and Places 239

Ancient Documents and Authors 245

Subjects 256

Editorial Reviews

Prof Fredriksen offers a vivid portrait both of this temple-centred messianic movement and of the bedrock convictions that animated it and sustained it.”—John Singleton, Methodist Recorder

“A fascinating book about a crucial moment in Jewish history”—Jonathan Kirsch, Jewish Journal

“Rewarding”—Aaron Howard, Jewish Herald Voice (Houston)

“A succinct account of the earliest stage of what became Christianity . . . thought-provoking . . . intriguing . . . Fredriksen is always stimulating and writes with a verve that makes the ancient time come alive.”—Larry W. Hurtado, Marginalia

“A lucid and straightforward narrative. . . . Fredriksen’s style is enviably readable.”—Andrew S. Jacobs, Bryn Mawr Classical Review

“[A] deeply learned engagement with ancient sources that can be read by a total novice or a colleague.”—Andrew Jacobs, Bryn Mawr Classical Review

“Complex and fascinating . . . easy for non-scholars to read . . . Anyone interested in Judaism in the first century C.E., or in the early history of Christianity, will find this book a welcome addition.”—Rabbi Rachel Esserman, The Reporter (Vestal, NY)

“A significant contribution . . . When Christians Were Jews is an inviting introduction into this important period that will stimulate and challenge readers of all backgrounds and faith traditions.”—Malka Z. Simkovich, Christian Century

“An accessible synthesis of [Fredriksen’s] scholarly work, focused on the first four decades of the church . . . [with] erudition and elegant prose.”—Brad East, Los Angeles Review of Books

“Admirable.”—R.E. Winn, Choice

“Crisp, accessible . . . [an] excellent book”—Noah Benjamin Bickart, Jewish Review of Books 

"[Fredriksen] argues persuasively. . . The book is a page-turner."—Harry O. Maier, Journal of Church and State

“A scintillating, original, and brilliantly concise synthesis.”—Jack Miles, author of God: A Biography

“A characteristically lucid, focused and beautifully-written argument. Fredriksen sits the early Christian movement firmly within Judaism, revealing it as radically eschatological, variegated, evolving—and far less critical of ancestral customs and norms than is traditionally imagined.”—Joan E. Taylor, author of What Did Jesus Look Like?

“Engaging, provocative, and admirably lucid, this account of the Jewish origins of earliest Christianity will force readers at all levels to reconsider their assumptions and rethink their views.”—Bart D. Ehrman, author of Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium

“Eloquent, informed, and provocative, this book offers a necessary corrective to a number of prevailing views of Jesus, Paul, and the Gospel writers. Paula Fredriksen advances the studies of both Judaism and Christianity.”—Amy-Jill Levine, author of Short Stories by Jesus: The Enigmatic Parables of a Controversial Rabbi

“Paula Fredriksen tells with brio the gripping story of the early Jewish followers of Jesus and their expectations of the end. She traces with empathy and scholarly precision their changing perspectives as events unfolded in ways unanticipated.”—Martin Goodman, author of A History of Judaism

From the Publisher

Winter 2018

Fredriksen (emerita, Aurelio Professor of Scripture, Boston Univ.; Paul: The Pagans' Apostle) has made a career out of bringing alive the ancient Jewish roots of Christianity. This work continues that effort by telling the story of the formative years that saw Jesus come to prominence, most significantly, the impact of his death on the nascent Christ-centered community in Palestine. Because "the future imposes itself on the past," Fredriksen argues, people may read ancient church history without proper context. The author focuses on cooperation between the Apostle Paul and the Jerusalem church headed by James and Peter. However, she scrupulously avoids the terms Christian and church, as modern misconceptions. She asserts that Paul never viewed Jesus as God; such divinization had to wait for the imperial councils of the fourth and fifth centuries. Resurrection of the dead was already part of Jewish belief long before Jesus. Thus, calling this first Jerusalem generation anything other than Jews domesticates the theological and historical validity of their lives. VERDICT An intriguing challenge to biblical history that will be compelling to readers interested in Christianity's Jewish beginnings.—Sandra Collins, Byzantine Catholic Seminary Lib., Pittsburgh

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