This volume from distinguished Pauline scholar Joseph A. Fitzmyer contains several important essays on the Apostle Paul’s mission and teaching. Examine major issues such as Paul’s characteristic language, his Jewishness, and his relationship to the book of Acts. Also included is an insightful view of Paul’s opinion on preaching, and suggestions for preaching Pauline topics.
“The Mishnah also uses the root ktb in both nominal and verbal forms, but not one of the examples listed by Metzger parallels any of the usages of the Qumran literature. This reveals, then, that Paul’s introductory formulas, which have far more parallels to the Qumran formulas than to the Mishnaic, imitate a contemporary Palestinian mode of quoting Scripture. This raises the question, therefore, Why is the Pauline mode of introducing Old Testament quotations closer to the Qumran sectarian mode than to the Pharisaic-rabbinic mode of the Mishnah?” (Page 31)
“Now what is striking about these introductory formulas is that, although they use the verbs ‘write’ and ‘say’ as do the formulas in the later rabbinic tradition of the Mishnah, the actual formulas in the Qumran literature are much different from the Mishnaic.” (Page 30)
“Undoubtedly, still other items could be added to the foregoing list of Pauline ideas that have been found to have counterparts in these sectarian Jewish writings. What does one make of them? The parallels are there, and we may be misled by parallelomania.” (Page 32)
“As for me, I belong to wicked humanity, to the assembly of perverse flesh; my iniquities, my transgressions, my sins together with the wickedness of my heart belong to the assembly doomed to worms and walking in darkness’” (Page 24)
“Indeed, most of Paul’s teaching about God, his theology, is clearly derived from his Jewish background, echoing in many respects the Old Testament itself.” (Page 5)