Project Details
Projekt
Discourses about the Halakhah in early Judaism and Christianity: Who should eat when and where in whose company?
Applicant
Professorin Dr. Christina Eschner
Subject Area
Protestant Theology
Term
Funded in 2012
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 213331873
Research on the Halakhah is usually directed towards the possible soteriological meaning of the Halakhah. Nevertheless, a critical review of the sources shows that this one-sided view of the Halakhah solely as a means of salvation is not entirely correct. This is because the main supporting documents are not centered around the general importance of the law, but much rather focus on specific questions which originate from certain behaviors and actions of Jesus and his disciples. The discourses about the Halakhah concentrate on questions concerning divorce (Mark 10:1-12; Luke 16:16-18/Matt 5:31-32; Matt 19:1-9), the Sabbath (Luke 14:5/Matt 12:11-12; Mark 2:23-3:6; Luke 13:10-17; 14:1-6) and meals. The topic of food is broadly debated since there are rules concerning prohibited and permitted food (Acts 15:20. 23-29; 1 Cor 8-10; Rom 14), the permitted way of food intake (Luke 11:39/Matt 23:25-26; Mark 7:1-23) and table fellowship (Mark 2:14-17; Luke 7:33-35/Matt 11:18-19; Acts 10-11). These halakhic discourses show that the question of the law is first and foremost a question of practical ethics. The debates about the law in early Christianity correspond to early Jewish discourses about the law as far as they are both concentrating on the Sabbath, food and purity requirements, marital matters and the dealing with Gentiles. The goal of these studies is the examination of the halakhic discourses occuring in the synoptic tradition in the context of evidenced statements on specific questions of the Halakhah concerning daily life in Judaism in order to discuss the early Christian practice of the law in a wider context. Since the questions concerning marriage as well as the Sabbath have been studied extensively before, the focus of this work will lie on the complex of food.
DFG Programme
Research Fellowships
International Connection
United Kingdom
