< Back to previous page

Project

Identity formation in the Jewish Thought-World and Paul’s Letter to the Romans

This project seeks to illuminate the potential for Paul’s understanding of early Christian identity formation within the Second Temple “thought-world” to which he belonged. Primarily focused on Romans 8-11, the project considers the integration of important themes within this densely packed passage, such as; election, the spirit/flesh dualism, vocation, participation, ethics, adoption, eschatology, and universalism. Special attention will be given to identity concepts from Paul’s Jewish “thought-world” to discover where his thinking is consistent with his Jewish milieu, as well as ways it may have evolved beyond the Jewish traditions that influenced his thinking. Attention will be given to what might have motivated such changes. The aim of the project will be to explore Paul’s understanding of identity through his rhetoric in Rom 8-11 by comparing these concepts to their use and development in the Hebrew Bible, other Second Temple Jewish texts, and the corresponding Hellenistic texts of Paul’s time.

Date:1 Oct 2019 →  1 Oct 2023
Keywords:Identity, Early Christianity, Judaism, Paul's Letter to the Romans
Disciplines:Biblical studies
Project type:PhD project