Ioudaismos and ioudaizō in Paul and the Galatian Controversy: An Examination of Supposed Positions

Abstract

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The use of ἰουδαϊσμός in the literature of the Second Temple period until Paul’s time suggests a more specific meaning than Judaism in general and points to a perception of it under siege and in need of defence. Additionally, the verb ἰουδαΐζω describes the inclinations of non-Jews to the Jewish way of life. Both terms reflect two different ideas of Israel: one segregated from all other peoples, the other porous and more flexible. These ideas were at odds by the end of the Second Temple period and held by the groups of believers in Christ. Read in the foil of that conflict, the controversies that Paul faces in the letter to the Galatians show the continuity and discontinuity of his life after the revelation of the Son, and explain why he considered himself a faithful Judean but no longer ἐν τῷ Ἰουδαϊσμῷ.