Messiah and Scripture

Paul's 'In Christ' Idiom in Its Ancient Jewish Context

by J. Thomas Hewitt

Book cover: Messiah and Scripture

Extent: 305 pages

Publisher: Mohr Siebeck

Subjects: Biblical Studies

Series: Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 2.Reihe

Series volume number: 522

Language: English

Paperback (Published)

(July 2020)

ISBN: 9783161592287

9.09 x 6.06 inches

Price: $124.00

Out of stock

J. Thomas Hewitt examines Paul’s development and uses of the expression “in Christ,” or “in messiah,” with reference to conventions of ancient Jewish messiah discourse. While messiah speculation in antiquity does not evince a widespread, coherent messianic ideology, ancient Jewish messiah texts do share a common trait – the creative reappropriation of scripture for portraying messiahs. Ancient Jewish messiah discourse is thus both traditional, being shaped by the idioms and imagery of scripture, and innovative, as those materials are recast in novel depictions and expressions. As a participant in this interpretative enterprise, Paul found resources in scriptural traditions concerning Abraham’s seed and Daniel’s heavenly man for generating his own distinctive conceptions of messiahship, conceptions he often articulated with his hallmark expression “in Christ.”

  • By (author) J Thomas Hewitt