The Apostle to the Foreskin - Circumcision in the Letters of Paul

This volume offers a comprehensive examination of circumcision and foreskin in the undisputed Pauline epistles. Historically, Paul's discourse on circumcision has been read through the lens of Paul's supposed abandonment of Judaism and conversion to 'Christianity.' Recent scholarship on Paul, however, has challenged the idea that Paul ever abandoned Judaism. In the context of this revisionist reading of Paul, Ryan Collman argues that Paul never repudiates, redefines, or replaces circumcision. Rather, Paul's discourse on circumcision (and foreskin) is shaped by his understanding of ethnicity and his bifurcation of humanity into the categories of Jews and the nations-the circumcision and the foreskin. Collman argues that Paul does not deny the continuing validity (and importance) of circumcision for Jewish followers of Jesus, but categorically refuses that gentile believers can undergo circumcision. By reading this language in its historical, rhetorical, epistolary, and ethnic contexts, Collman offers a number of new readings of difficult Pauline texts (e.g., Rom 4:9-12; Gal 5:1-4; Phil 3:2-3).

About the author

Ryan D. Collman, University of Edinburgh, Scotland.

Product details

• Authors: Ryan D. Collman
• Publisher: De Gruyter
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 21.10.2024
• EAN: 9783111627991
• ISBN: 978-3-11-162799-1
• No. of pages: 246
• Dimensions: 155 mm x 15 mm x 230 mm
• Weight: 537 g
• Series: Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Religion/theology > Christianity; Beschneidung, Römerbrief, Paulus, Paulusbriefe, Judaism, auseinandersetzen, New Testaments, Paperback Project, REL040030 RELIGION / Judaism / History, REL006220 RELIGION / Biblical Studies / New Testament, Circumcision, Foreskin, Pauline Epistles, Paul within Judaism