The New Testament and Hellenistic Judaism (review)

Book Reviews 161 University Press, in which he exhibits his complete familiarity with Jewish epigraphy and archaeology in the Diaspora. But Feldman's collection favors his natural instinct to write about topics rooted in the literary traditions of the rabbis or the classical tradition itself. His essay "Torah and Secular Culture: Challenge and Response in the Hellenistic Period" deals with the tensions inherent in the clash of those traditions. The learning and erudition ofFeldman comes through in every section ofthis book, which is beautifully printed and arranged. The author notes at the outset that it was Martin Hengel who suggested collecting articles for reprinting, and we are all indebted to Hengel for turning Feldman's attention to such a worthwhile endeavor. I am certain that all scholars of Jewish antiquity welcome this opportunity to have so many of Feldman's important writings available in so handy a form. Eric M. Meyers Department of Religion Duke University The New Testament and Hellenistic Judaism, edited by Peder Borgen and S0ren Giversen. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1997. 293 pp. $24.95. This volume of essays emerged from a 1992 conference by the same name held at the Faculty ofTheology at the University ofAarhus in Denmark. The central themes ofthe collection are set out in the introductory essay by S0ren Giversen, "The Covenant -Theirs or Ours?" These are: eschatological apocalyptism in the Jewish Diaspora; Philo and the New Testament; the interpretation of the Old Testament in the Jewish Diaspora and the New Testament; and New Testament themes in the light ofthe Jewish Diaspora. This list of concerns situates the volume in the particular trajectory ofNew Testament scholarship that probes the ways in which Judaism, in this case, Judaism of the Hellenistic Diaspora, provides a context for, and a key to understanding, early Christian literature. Like most conference volumes, this collection represents a variety of approaches andperspectives rather than acomprehensive surveyor asustainedargument. A number of articles are general studies. Nikolaus Walter's article, "Hellenistic Jews of the Diaspora at the Cradle of Primitive Christianity," examines the importance of Hellenistic Judaism for the development of early Christian thought and practice and concludes that there were varied relationships between Christians and Jews as well as a complex range of influences of Judaism on Christianity with respect to central symbols such as the Torah and activities such as evangelism. Methodological issues are the focus of Marinus de Jonge's article, "The So-called Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament and Early Christianity," which argues that an analysis of the history of 162 SHOFAR Fall 1999 Vol. 18, No. I Christian transmission of the pseudepigrapha must be undertaken before their contribution to our knowledge ofSecond Temple Judaism can be studied. Lars Hartman's article, "Guiding the Knowing Vessel of Your Heart," analyzes the use of the Bible in Alexandrian Jewish literature, with the exception of Philo, and suggests that there are many similarities between ways in which Alexandrian Jews and early Christians used the Bible. These similarities, however, should not obscure the differences, argues Hartman. Rather, it mustbe recognized that the typological exegesis in which Christians engaged went further than Jews were generally willing to go in their modes ofexegesis. Most of the articles focus on specific passages or terms. James H. Charlesworth suggests that "Son of David," normally considered one of the central Christian titles identifying Jesus as the messiah, is better understood as connecting Jesus, a wise exorcist and healer, with Solomon, who is also portrayed in these terms in Hellenistic Jewish texts such as the Testament ofSolomon. Although these texts postdate the New Testament, they may well reflect earlierexegetical traditions. Johannes Nissen's article, "The Distinctive Character of the New Testament Love Command in Relation to Hellenistic Judaism," argues that what is unique in Christian texts is not the content of the love command, which is also found in Jewish texts, or its particular forms as represented in the New Testament, but the relation ofthe command to Christ who calls forth a new community which makes love possible. In one of the most interesting contributions to this volume, Adela Yarbro Collins's essay, "Apotheosis and Resurrection," examines the ways in which the portrayal ofthe empty tomb in Mark...