A revision of the author's thesis (doctoral)--Uppsala University, 1996.

Was Paul an anti-Semite? Was Paul a self-hating Jew? Was Paul misunderstood and wrongly accused? This is the debate that has been raging for almost two millennia. Paul's conundrum seeks to answer these questions through an analysis of his two most controversial passages 1 Thessalonians 2:13-16 and Romans 9:1-5. Amy Downey has sought to reconcile these passages through a conservative evangelical approach that not only considers the Jewish man, Paul, but also Paul the Apostle of Messiah Jesus. Downey considers the historical setting of the two passages, analyzes the exegesis of the passages in question, and seeks to respond to three separate but unique theological controversies that arise out of these letters. She finds defective three modern positions: (1) 1 Thess 2:13-16 as a "post-Pauline interpolation" likely expressive of Paul's anti-semitism; (2) the modern post-Holocaust theory of dual covenants, according to which "Gentiles are saved through Jesus and the Jews through the Law of Moses"; hence, all national Israel will be eschatologically saved; and (3) replacement theology (i.e., "God has rejected the Jews as His chosen people" and replaced them with believing Gentiles), traceable to the Epistle of Barnabas and Ignatius of Antioch and in effect bringing the "spiritual genocide" of the Jewish people and making Rom 9:1-5 inexplicable. Hopefully by the end of this book, the reader will be left with only one question, "Just how far was Paul willing to go to realize the salvation of the Jewish people?" Downey opts instead for "ethnic Israel's place in the covenant" and for salvation solely through the death and resurrection of the Messiah for both Jews and Gentiles, thus laying the foundation for urgently-needed present-day Christian witness to the Jewish people.

The Dictionary of Paul and His Letters is a one-of-a-kind reference work. No other resource presents as much information focused exclusively on Pauline theology, literature, background, and scholarship. This second edition is a thoroughly revised and updated version of the acclaimed 1993 publication. Since that groundbreaking volume was published, developments in Pauline studies have continued at a rapid pace, with diverse new scholars entering the conversation, new ideas and methods gaining attention, and fresh expressions of old topics shaping the present discussion. Those who enjoyed and benefited from the wealth in the first edition will find this new edition an equally indispensable and freshly up-to-date companion to study and research. Classic topics such as Christology, justification, hermeneutics, and book studies of individual epistles receive careful treatment by specialists in the field. Topics new to this edition—including Paul and politics, patronage, and interpretations from various historical and cultural perspectives—expand the volume's breadth and usefulness. Over 95% of the articles have been written specifically for this edition. This work bridges the gap between scholars and pastors, teachers and students, and all interested readers who want a thorough treatment of key topics in a summary format. In curating and compiling these articles, the editors have sought to make them comprehensive, accessible, and useful for those pursuing further research on particular subjects. Each article's bibliography, in addition, will serve a new generation of readers for years to come. The updated Dictionary of Paul and His Letters takes its place alongside the Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, 2nd ed., and the other volumes in the IVP Bible Dictionary Series as a unique presentation of the fruit of biblical studies—committed to Scripture, using the best of critical methods, and maintaining dialogue with both contemporary scholarship and the challenges facing the church. The reference volumes in the series provide in-depth treatment of biblical and theological topics in an accessible encyclopedia format, including cross-sectional themes, methods of interpretation, significant historical or cultural background, and each Old and New Testament book as a whole.

The 'Dictionary of Paul and his letters' is a one-of-a-kind reference work. Following the format of its highly successful companion volume, the 'Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels', this Dictionary is designed to bring students, teachers, ministers and laypeople abreast of the established conclusions and significant recent developments in Pauline scholarship. No other single reference work presents as much information focused exclusively on Pauline theology, literature, background and scholarship. In a field that recently has undergone significant shifts in perspective, the 'Dictionary of Paul and His Letters' offers a summa of Paul and Pauline studies. In-depth articles focus on individual theological themes (such as law, resurrection and Son of God), broad theological topics (such as Christology, eschatology and the death of Christ), methods of interpretation (such as rhetorical criticism and social-scientific approaches), background topics (such as apocalypticism, Hellenism and Qumran) and various other subjects specifically related to the scholarly study of Pauline theology and literature (such as early catholicism, the centre of Paul's theology, and Paul and his interpreters since F. C. Baur). Separate articles are also devoted to each of the Pauline letters, to hermeneutics and to preaching Paul today. The 'Dictionary of Paul and His Letters' takes its place alongside the 'Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels' in presenting the fruit of evangelical New Testament scholarship at the end of the twentieth century - committed to the authority of Scripture, utilising the best of critical methods, and maintaining dialogue with contemporary scholarship and challenges facing the church.

A renowned scholar calls for a change of direction for the study of Jesus in the 21st century.

Explores the continuing and contemporary relevance of the most important, and most controversial, figure of early Christianity.

What distinguishes the "new perspective on Paul" - and what lies beyond it? What are scholars saying about Paul and the Roman Empire or about the intersection between feminist and postcolonial interpretation of Paul? Magnus Zetterholm provides a clear and reliable guide to these and other lively issues in the contemporary study of Paul, surveying the history of the principal perspectives on Paul's relation to Judaism and the Jewish law and showing the relationships between answers given to those questions and the assumptions scholars bring to other issues as well. This is an indispensable handbook for the beginning student of the apostle and his thought.