Books by Thomas Kazen
Dirt, Shame, Status: Perspectives on Same-Sex Sexuality in the Bible and the Ancient World. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2024
A scholarly examination of same-sex sexuality in the Bible in the context of the ancient world
... more A scholarly examination of same-sex sexuality in the Bible in the context of the ancient world
Scriptural prohibitions of same-sex sexual acts (so-called “clobber passages”) are often used as prooftexts to support the oppression of LGBT communities in the West today. However, such interpretation of these scant references ignores critical sociohistorical context from the ancient world.
Analyzing a wealth of primary sources, Thomas Kazen brings biblical studies into conversation with the sexual norms and practices of the ancient world. Near Eastern, Greek, and Roman texts, including the Old and New Testaments, exhibit ancient concerns about hierarchy in sexual relationships. Examining references to sexuality through the lenses of power and subordination, honor and shame, and purity, Kazen sheds light on homophobic passages in the Bible. Special attention is given to the Levitical laws and the Pauline epistles. Ultimately, Kazen calls us to renegotiate the balance between our ancient heritage and our contemporary values.
Carefully researched and accessibly presented, Dirt, Shame, Status lends readers insight into the diverse cultural influences on the Bible. Kazen’s work offers an informed and important perspective on a controversial topic of perennial interest. Scholars, students, and all curious readers of Scripture will find this volume to be an indispensable resource for understanding complex ancient texts and contexts.
Table of Contents
Preface
List of Abbreviations
1. Homoeroticism and Human Sexuality
2. The Biblical Texts in Context
3. Impurity, Disgust, and Sex
4. Power and Subordination
5. Honor and Shame
6. Homoeroticism Then and Now
Notes on Sources
Bibliography
Indexes
[with Rikard Roitto,] Revenge, Compensation, and Forgiveness in the Ancient World: A Comparative Study of Interpersonal Infringement and Moral Repair. WUNT 515. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2024
Handling moral infringement is complicated and this was as true in antiquity as it is today. Shou... more Handling moral infringement is complicated and this was as true in antiquity as it is today. Should one retaliate, demand compensation, be merciful, ignore the infringement, or forgive? Thomas Kazen and Rikard Roitto compare how Greeks, Romans, Jews, and Christians in antiquity navigated different ideas, practices, and rituals for moral repair. How did they think about morality and did this affect ideas about moral repair? What practices of moral repair did they use, within and beyond the court? In what different ways did they involve the gods in interpersonal conflicts through ritual? Insights from contemporary research on human behaviour guide the comparative work, since, as the authors argue, human moral behaviour and cognition is the result of both innate and cultural factors.
Moral Infringement and Repair in Antiquity. Supplement 1: Emotions and Hierarchies, 2022
Moral Infringement and Repair in Antiquity, is a series of publications related to a project on D... more Moral Infringement and Repair in Antiquity, is a series of publications related to a project on Dynamics of Moral Repair in Antiquity, run by Thomas Kazen and Rikard Roitto between 2017 and 2021, and funded by the Swedish Research Council. The volumes contain stand-alone articles and serve as supplements to the main outcome of the project, the volume Interpersonal Infringement and Moral Repair: Revenge, Compensation and Forgiveness in the Ancient World, forthcoming on Mohr Siebeck in 2023.
Supplement 1: Emotions and Hierarchies, contains four articles and chapters by Thomas Kazen. Three of them are republished in accordance with the publishers' general conditions for author reuse. The fourth has not been published before.
1. Emotional Ethics in Biblical Texts: Cultural Construction and Biological Bases of Morality.
2. Viewing Oneself through Others' Eyes: Shame between Biology and Culture in Biblical Texts.
3. Law and Emotion in Moral Repair: Circumscribing Infringement.
4. Retribution and Repair in Voluntary Associations: Comparing Rule Texts from Qumran, Collegia, and Christ Groups.
Impurity and Purification in Early Judaism and the Jesus Tradition, 2021
This collection of essays by Thomas Kazen focuses on issues of purity and purification in early J... more This collection of essays by Thomas Kazen focuses on issues of purity and purification in early Judaism and the Jesus tradition. During the late Second Temple period, Jewish purity practices became more prominent than before and underwent substantial developments. These essays advance the ongoing conversation and debate about a number of key issues in the field, such as the relationship between ritual and morality, the role and function of metaphor, and the use of evolutionary and embodied perspectives. Kazen's research stands in constant dialogue with the major currents and main figures in purity research, including both historical (origin, development, practice) and cognitive (evolutionary, emotional, conceptual) approaches.
Kazen Etik och retorik i Jesustraditionen: Kognitiva och psyko-biologiska perspektiv, 2021
Etik och retorik i Jesustraditionen innehåller två essäer av Thomas Kazen, professor vid Enskilda... more Etik och retorik i Jesustraditionen innehåller två essäer av Thomas Kazen, professor vid Enskilda Högskolan Stockholm. De två essäerna behandlar på olika sätt Jesustraditionen -- berättelser om Jesus och utsagor som tillskrivs honom -- i Markus, Matteus och Lukas. Den första fokuserar på mänskligt beteende, den andra på det figurativa språket. Bägge låter kognitionsvetenskapliga perspektiv belysa textanalyserna utifrån övertygelsen att bibeltexterna blir mer begripliga när vi tar hänsyn till hur människan fungerar, hur hennes tänkande och känsloliv utvecklats, hur hennes kropp och intellekt hänger samman, hur hennes emotioner och beteenden interagerar och hur hennes språk och handlande hör ihop. "Empati, rättvisa och försoning" är Kazens installationsföreläsning vid THS 2011. "Kameler, gengångare och amputationer" bygger på föreläsningar om överdrifter i bergspredikan (Århus 2015) respektive i Jesustraditionen (THS 2016, San Antonio 2016).
The West has a history of oppression and vilification of homosexuals based on a mixture of religi... more The West has a history of oppression and vilification of homosexuals based on a mixture of religious and cultural beliefs. But the Bible passages that actually condemn same-sex sexuality are few and should be interpreted based on ancient social patterns and beliefs. Here, a selection of ancient and biblical texts is examined using the conceptual pairs of purity/impurity, authority/subordination and honour/shame.
The book is in Swedish, but an English translation is planned. A few sample pages are uploaded.
In this study of motives and arguments in Jesus’ halakic conflicts, Thomas Kazen suggests a way o... more In this study of motives and arguments in Jesus’ halakic conflicts, Thomas Kazen suggests a way out of the present methodological impasse in the use of traditional criteria of authenticity in historical Jesus research, at least when it comes to those Jesus traditions that relate to halakic issues. Kazen employs results from recent research on the development of halakah during the Second Temple period, in particular from Aharon Shemesh’s discussion of two models (developmental and reflective) for explaining halakic development within and between various Jewish movements, and three areas of tension for analyzing dissenting views (revelation vs . interpretation, Scripture vs . tradition, and nominalism vs. realism). Kazen revisits the Synoptic conflict narratives about Sabbath observance, purity rules and divorce practices, and discusses motives and arguments ascribed to Jesus, whether implicitly or explicitly, by the texts themselves, or by modern interpreters. By combining analyses of halakic development with tradition and redaction criticism, Kazen disentangles theological motives from reasonable historical explanations and suggests relative dates and contexts for motives and arguments often ascribed to Jesus. He questions interpretations which focus on unique individual or halakic authority and suggests that the earliest Jesus tradition appeals to the priority of human need and to creational intent, viewing revelation as based on plain reading and a realistic understanding of Scripture. Jesus’ stance is best explained within the framework of prophetic criticism and a traditional Israelite understanding of Torah. With this work the author contributes as much to our understanding of halakic development during the Second Temple and Tannitic periods as he does to our understanding of the historical Jesus and his relationship to contemporary movements.
This study pioneers the use of insights from cognitive sciences, such as evolutionary biology, ne... more This study pioneers the use of insights from cognitive sciences, such as evolutionary biology, neuroscience, and developmental psychology, as heuristic tools for interpreting ancient texts. The approach could be described as ‘psycho-biological’. The focus is on emotions in the various Pentateuchal legal collections. Kazen discusses the role of disgust, empathy, fear, and a sense of justice, for particular moral and ritual issues: purity and holiness; humanitarian concern for vulnerable categories; ethnocentrism and xenophobia; divine punishment and demonic threat; revenge, compensation, and ransom (kofer), together with removal (kipper) rites.
The book consists of two main parts, framed by an introductory chapter and a concluding discussion. In the first part, Kazen explores cognitive foundations, including biological and neuroscientific underpinnings for basic affects, and the role of culture in shaping both conventional morality and ritual behaviour. Four particular emotions are then outlined. In the second part, these insights from cognitive science are applied in analyses of particular texts. After an overview of the Pentateuchal legal collections, each of the four emotions is dealt with in a separate chapter. Kazen constantly relates a cognitive science approach to more traditional source and redaction-critical analysis, regarding them as complementary.
As a result, the Pentateuchal legal collections are seen as emotional texts, expressing strong affects—which influences our understanding of the character of Israelite ‘law’. Kazen suggests that interaction and conflict between various emotions can explain discrepancies and tensions between humanitarian concerns and ethnocentrism, and between empathy and justice. He also demonstrates that viewing emotions as common denominators contains a potential for solving some difficult and long-standing conundrums. He argues that a focus on the human embodied experience rather than on theological convictions and theoretical ideas may avoid some interpretative dead ends and open up new avenues for understanding ancient texts.
Thomas Kazen is Professor of Biblical Studies at Stockholm School of Theology, Sweden
In this volume of collected articles and papers on impurity and purification in early Judaism, Ka... more In this volume of collected articles and papers on impurity and purification in early Judaism, Kazen focuses primarily on questions of the impurity of discharges and the practice of hand-washing before meals. Kazen uses both literary and historical methods, as well as approaches based on cognitive science; the analysis covers texts from the Pentateuch, Qumran, the New Testament, and some Jewish Hellenistic authors.
Some chapters are based on unpublished papers, and others have been recently published in various journals; Yet others are specially written for this volume. Several of the essays relate to or complement each other, thus making this collection very convenient for the reader interested in the topic.
Reviews:
"The range of this collection means that it will be useful to scholars working in an equally wide range of areas, and it is certainly a valuable addition to the ever-expanding literature on purity in ancient Judaism."—D. W. Rooke in Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 35.5.
"This collection does well in positioning Kazen within the ongoing conversation of impurity and purification in early Judaism and the relationship of Jesus and purity. The topic of impurity has been a source of vibrant scholarship in recent years, and Kazen’s articles are a fine contribution to this conversation. This book is not for someone looking for a general introduction to impurity in early Judaism, but, for those with a general knowledge, it will be a welcome addition to current scholarship on diverse issues of impurity in early Judaism and on the relationship of Jesus to purity issues."—John W. Fadden, University of Denver/Iliff School of Theology in Review of Biblical Literature, September 2011.
What did Jesus think about Jewish practice regarding impurity? How did he relate to the inner-Jew... more What did Jesus think about Jewish practice regarding impurity? How did he relate to the inner-Jewish debates of his day concerning ritual purity and impurity? Did he discard the impurity concept altogether, or was it an obvious and natural part of his Jewish faith and life? Did he advocate another or different type of purity?
Ritual or cultic purity was paramount in Jewish society and life during the Second Temple period, and differences in purity halakhah were one of the factors that distinguished various movements. Therefore, considering purity is crucial in any attempt to interpret the historical Jesus within his contemporary context. In the latest or “third” phase of historical Jesus study, researchers have given prominence to Jesus’ social and cultural context. In keeping with this goal, Thomas Kazen discusses the historical Jesus alongside what we know of Jewish purity halakhah of his time and explains Jesus’ attitude toward impurity. Kazen balances the work of New Testament scholars on Judaism and legal matters by incorporating the historical Jesus studies of Jewish scholars, seeking to engage students of the historical Jesus with the primary materials relating to legal matters.
Edited books by Thomas Kazen
Öppna vyer - lång sikt: Festskrift till Owe Kennerberg (Stockholm: EHS, 2021), 2021
Öppna vyer - lång sikt betraktar det akademiska och religiösa landskapets vyer, men också naturen... more Öppna vyer - lång sikt betraktar det akademiska och religiösa landskapets vyer, men också naturens. Bokens bidrag handlar om den långa sikten bakåt i mänsklighetens historia, likaväl som visionerna framåt. Författarna, verksamma vid Enskilda Högskolan Stockholm, diskuterar teologiska och samhällsrelevanta frågor som på olika sätt relaterar till rektorn och vännen Owe Kennerberg. Med nyskrivna texter bidrar författarna i Öppna vyer - lång sikt till ett angeläget samtal om människans villkor i det förflutna, i nuet och i framtiden.
ISBN-13: 9789188906120
ISBN-13: 9789188906113
Articles and papers by Thomas Kazen
Journal of Ancient Judaism, 2024
In this essay I suggest that the attitudes toJewish law and the conflicting interpretations refle... more In this essay I suggest that the attitudes toJewish law and the conflicting interpretations reflected by the early Jesus tradition are best understood within a landscape of change, in which the character of torah as instruction, guidance, and description gradually morphed into a more prescriptive and judicial nomos. Although the tensions described in the sources usually concern Jesus and the Pharisees, a comparison with the legal interpretation in some of the texts from Qumran sheds light on the principled differences between the early Jesus movement’s understanding of the law’s character and function and that of its opponents. It is suggested that Jesus and his early followers saw no conflict between the Torah’s guidance and its pragmatic application, but objected to some interpretations associated with its transformation.
Please contact me for the full article
Journal for the Study of the New Testament, 2024
From what would John’s immersions purify? Considering texts from the Synoptics, Josephus, and 1QS... more From what would John’s immersions purify? Considering texts from the Synoptics, Josephus, and 1QS on purification, sin, and forgiveness, various options are outlined and disentangled with the help of conceptual metaphor theory, especially conceptual blending, and the theory of ritual form. Although John’s immersion was a ritual innovation, broadening ritual purification to include the removal of offensive acts and a change of behaviour by a physical water ritual, a conceptual blending analysis speaks strongly against immersion as a substitute for sacrifice and questions any confusion in relation to the priestly purity system. The theory of ritual form suggests an infrequent and high-arousal Special Agent ritual. Features reminiscent of pre-Hasmonean practices (river and ‘wilderness’ rather than miqveh), gave John’s rite a sense of genuineness and divine agency, making it attractive and emotionally satisfying. The eschatological setting of general purification in view of a divine encounter further contributed to the ritual’s success.
"Biblical Law and the New Testament." Pages 261-282 in Cambridge Companion to Law in the Hebrew Bible. Edited by Bruce Wells. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2024
"Malachi’s Metaphorical Divorce." Pages 116-137 in Metaphors in the Prophetic Literature of the Hebrew Bible and Beyond. Edited by David Davage, Mikael Larsson, and Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer. JAJSup 36. Paderborn: Brill Schöningh , 2023
This collection of articles is tightly focused on metaphors in the prophetic literature of the He... more This collection of articles is tightly focused on metaphors in the prophetic literature of the Hebrew Bible and their later afterlife in Jewish and Christian texts. The essays deal with a wide range of historical, literary, and methodological issues. First, several contributions employ metaphor theory in analysing the biblical texts, both conceptual frameworks such as blending theory and more traditional methods. Second, metaphors are studied both synchronically, that is, in relation to their current literary contexts, and diachronically, that is, mapping how they have been employed and re-interpreted in di ferent ways and di ferent texts throughout time. Third, other contributions read metaphors in light of theoretical frameworks such as feminist criticism, post-colonial theories, or power discourses that uncover aspects of signi cance often missed in historical studies. Finally, yet other contributions deal with the issue of how to translate metaphors in contemporary contexts.
"Retribution and Repair of Interpersonal Infringements in Voluntary Associations: Comparing Qumran, Greco-Roman collegia, and Early Christians." Pages 91-132 in Thomas Kazen, Moral Infringement and Repair in Antiquity, Supplement 1, Emotions and Hierarchies. Stockholm: Enskilda Högskolan Stockholm. , 2022
"Jesus’s Interpretation of the Torah." Pages 400–413 in The Jesus Handbook. Edited by Jens Schröter and Christine Jacobi. Translated by Robert Brawley. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2022
An authoritative handbook on Jesus, his world, the outcomes of his life, and the quests to locate... more An authoritative handbook on Jesus, his world, the outcomes of his life, and the quests to locate him in history. The Jesus Handbook is an indispensable reference work featuring essays from an international team of renowned scholars on the significance and meaning of the life of Jesus of Nazareth. Rooted in historical-critical methodology, it emphasizes a diversity of perspectives and provides a spectrum of possible interpretations rather than a single unified portrait of Jesus. The Handbook's dozens of authors-Jewish, Roman Catholic, and Protestant-all remain committed to the principle of interpreting the life of Jesus in context, while also giving due diligence to the implications of archaeological evidence and recent discourses in the hermeneutics of history. After an introduction that lays out the considerations of the task at hand, the authors survey the history of Jesus research and take a close look at the historical material itself-textual and otherwise. From this foundation, the Handbook then details the life of Jesus before at last exploring the reception and effects of Jesus's life after his death, especially in the first centuries CE. With this wealth of information available in a single volume, scholars and students of the New Testament and early Christianity-and anyone interested in the search for the historical Jesus-will find The Jesus Handbook to be a resource that they return to time and again for both its breadth and depth.
Prepublication version. The revised final version is published in Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 46.4 (2021): 545–560., 2021
The present article deals with the reciprocal relationship between law and emotion, but is also f... more The present article deals with the reciprocal relationship between law and emotion, but is also framed by an ongoing project in which I am involved, dealing with Dynamics of Moral Repair in Antiquity. "Moral repair" is used for all sorts of reparations of interpersonal infringements, ranging from revenge and compensation to reconciliation and forgiveness. Such infringements involve compromised integrity and the transgression of boundaries which are seen as part of a divinely constituted moral order. They can take a number of forms: sexual infringements, property infringements, personal violence, violations of status and honour, and various other types of transgression against the social and hierarchical order, which in the ancient world was almost always understood to be divinely sanctioned.
Impurity and Purification in Early Judaism and the Jesus Tradition (Atlanta: SBL Press, 2021). Pre-publication version, 2021
Chapter 10 in the volume Impurity and Purification in Early Judaism and the Jesus Tradition (Atla... more Chapter 10 in the volume Impurity and Purification in Early Judaism and the Jesus Tradition (Atlanta: SBL Press, 2021). Pre-publication version.
Certain types of skin disease were regarded as impure conditions, not only in Israel, but in many parts of the ancient world and people with skin disease were often isolated or excluded. This chapter discusses recent attempts to downplay skin disease contamination and exclusion in early Judaism. Based on evidence from the priestly legislation, Qumran, Josephus, and the gospels, I argue that people with skin disease were understood to transmit impurity by contact and were therefore isolated or excluded from human habitations. The fight against tendentious portrayals of Jesus against a dark foil of Second Temple Judaism, is not served by improbable historical reconstructions
Impurity and Purification in Early Judaism and the Jesus Tradition (Atlanta: SBL Press, 2021). Pre-publication version, 2021
Chapter 11 in the volume Impurity and Purification in Early Judaism and the Jesus Tradition (Atla... more Chapter 11 in the volume Impurity and Purification in Early Judaism and the Jesus Tradition (Atlanta: SBL Press, 2021). Pre-publication version.
Ritual purity is often seen as mainly of interest in relation to the holy and the cult, but historically people kept purity rules and engaged in purification rites in everyday life and far from the temple. This chapter discusses material (archaeological) evidence, Second Temple period textual evidence, and later rabbinic evidence, for purity being practised as part of ordinary life and not predicated on the temple and its cult. I argue that the temple-oriented view is not only wrong, but also distorts our interpretation of related matters.
Uploads
Books by Thomas Kazen
Scriptural prohibitions of same-sex sexual acts (so-called “clobber passages”) are often used as prooftexts to support the oppression of LGBT communities in the West today. However, such interpretation of these scant references ignores critical sociohistorical context from the ancient world.
Analyzing a wealth of primary sources, Thomas Kazen brings biblical studies into conversation with the sexual norms and practices of the ancient world. Near Eastern, Greek, and Roman texts, including the Old and New Testaments, exhibit ancient concerns about hierarchy in sexual relationships. Examining references to sexuality through the lenses of power and subordination, honor and shame, and purity, Kazen sheds light on homophobic passages in the Bible. Special attention is given to the Levitical laws and the Pauline epistles. Ultimately, Kazen calls us to renegotiate the balance between our ancient heritage and our contemporary values.
Carefully researched and accessibly presented, Dirt, Shame, Status lends readers insight into the diverse cultural influences on the Bible. Kazen’s work offers an informed and important perspective on a controversial topic of perennial interest. Scholars, students, and all curious readers of Scripture will find this volume to be an indispensable resource for understanding complex ancient texts and contexts.
Table of Contents
Preface
List of Abbreviations
1. Homoeroticism and Human Sexuality
2. The Biblical Texts in Context
3. Impurity, Disgust, and Sex
4. Power and Subordination
5. Honor and Shame
6. Homoeroticism Then and Now
Notes on Sources
Bibliography
Indexes
Supplement 1: Emotions and Hierarchies, contains four articles and chapters by Thomas Kazen. Three of them are republished in accordance with the publishers' general conditions for author reuse. The fourth has not been published before.
1. Emotional Ethics in Biblical Texts: Cultural Construction and Biological Bases of Morality.
2. Viewing Oneself through Others' Eyes: Shame between Biology and Culture in Biblical Texts.
3. Law and Emotion in Moral Repair: Circumscribing Infringement.
4. Retribution and Repair in Voluntary Associations: Comparing Rule Texts from Qumran, Collegia, and Christ Groups.
The book is in Swedish, but an English translation is planned. A few sample pages are uploaded.
The book consists of two main parts, framed by an introductory chapter and a concluding discussion. In the first part, Kazen explores cognitive foundations, including biological and neuroscientific underpinnings for basic affects, and the role of culture in shaping both conventional morality and ritual behaviour. Four particular emotions are then outlined. In the second part, these insights from cognitive science are applied in analyses of particular texts. After an overview of the Pentateuchal legal collections, each of the four emotions is dealt with in a separate chapter. Kazen constantly relates a cognitive science approach to more traditional source and redaction-critical analysis, regarding them as complementary.
As a result, the Pentateuchal legal collections are seen as emotional texts, expressing strong affects—which influences our understanding of the character of Israelite ‘law’. Kazen suggests that interaction and conflict between various emotions can explain discrepancies and tensions between humanitarian concerns and ethnocentrism, and between empathy and justice. He also demonstrates that viewing emotions as common denominators contains a potential for solving some difficult and long-standing conundrums. He argues that a focus on the human embodied experience rather than on theological convictions and theoretical ideas may avoid some interpretative dead ends and open up new avenues for understanding ancient texts.
Thomas Kazen is Professor of Biblical Studies at Stockholm School of Theology, Sweden
Some chapters are based on unpublished papers, and others have been recently published in various journals; Yet others are specially written for this volume. Several of the essays relate to or complement each other, thus making this collection very convenient for the reader interested in the topic.
Reviews:
"The range of this collection means that it will be useful to scholars working in an equally wide range of areas, and it is certainly a valuable addition to the ever-expanding literature on purity in ancient Judaism."—D. W. Rooke in Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 35.5.
"This collection does well in positioning Kazen within the ongoing conversation of impurity and purification in early Judaism and the relationship of Jesus and purity. The topic of impurity has been a source of vibrant scholarship in recent years, and Kazen’s articles are a fine contribution to this conversation. This book is not for someone looking for a general introduction to impurity in early Judaism, but, for those with a general knowledge, it will be a welcome addition to current scholarship on diverse issues of impurity in early Judaism and on the relationship of Jesus to purity issues."—John W. Fadden, University of Denver/Iliff School of Theology in Review of Biblical Literature, September 2011.
Ritual or cultic purity was paramount in Jewish society and life during the Second Temple period, and differences in purity halakhah were one of the factors that distinguished various movements. Therefore, considering purity is crucial in any attempt to interpret the historical Jesus within his contemporary context. In the latest or “third” phase of historical Jesus study, researchers have given prominence to Jesus’ social and cultural context. In keeping with this goal, Thomas Kazen discusses the historical Jesus alongside what we know of Jewish purity halakhah of his time and explains Jesus’ attitude toward impurity. Kazen balances the work of New Testament scholars on Judaism and legal matters by incorporating the historical Jesus studies of Jewish scholars, seeking to engage students of the historical Jesus with the primary materials relating to legal matters.
Edited books by Thomas Kazen
ISBN-13: 9789188906120
ISBN-13: 9789188906113
Articles and papers by Thomas Kazen
Please contact me for the full article
Certain types of skin disease were regarded as impure conditions, not only in Israel, but in many parts of the ancient world and people with skin disease were often isolated or excluded. This chapter discusses recent attempts to downplay skin disease contamination and exclusion in early Judaism. Based on evidence from the priestly legislation, Qumran, Josephus, and the gospels, I argue that people with skin disease were understood to transmit impurity by contact and were therefore isolated or excluded from human habitations. The fight against tendentious portrayals of Jesus against a dark foil of Second Temple Judaism, is not served by improbable historical reconstructions
Ritual purity is often seen as mainly of interest in relation to the holy and the cult, but historically people kept purity rules and engaged in purification rites in everyday life and far from the temple. This chapter discusses material (archaeological) evidence, Second Temple period textual evidence, and later rabbinic evidence, for purity being practised as part of ordinary life and not predicated on the temple and its cult. I argue that the temple-oriented view is not only wrong, but also distorts our interpretation of related matters.
Scriptural prohibitions of same-sex sexual acts (so-called “clobber passages”) are often used as prooftexts to support the oppression of LGBT communities in the West today. However, such interpretation of these scant references ignores critical sociohistorical context from the ancient world.
Analyzing a wealth of primary sources, Thomas Kazen brings biblical studies into conversation with the sexual norms and practices of the ancient world. Near Eastern, Greek, and Roman texts, including the Old and New Testaments, exhibit ancient concerns about hierarchy in sexual relationships. Examining references to sexuality through the lenses of power and subordination, honor and shame, and purity, Kazen sheds light on homophobic passages in the Bible. Special attention is given to the Levitical laws and the Pauline epistles. Ultimately, Kazen calls us to renegotiate the balance between our ancient heritage and our contemporary values.
Carefully researched and accessibly presented, Dirt, Shame, Status lends readers insight into the diverse cultural influences on the Bible. Kazen’s work offers an informed and important perspective on a controversial topic of perennial interest. Scholars, students, and all curious readers of Scripture will find this volume to be an indispensable resource for understanding complex ancient texts and contexts.
Table of Contents
Preface
List of Abbreviations
1. Homoeroticism and Human Sexuality
2. The Biblical Texts in Context
3. Impurity, Disgust, and Sex
4. Power and Subordination
5. Honor and Shame
6. Homoeroticism Then and Now
Notes on Sources
Bibliography
Indexes
Supplement 1: Emotions and Hierarchies, contains four articles and chapters by Thomas Kazen. Three of them are republished in accordance with the publishers' general conditions for author reuse. The fourth has not been published before.
1. Emotional Ethics in Biblical Texts: Cultural Construction and Biological Bases of Morality.
2. Viewing Oneself through Others' Eyes: Shame between Biology and Culture in Biblical Texts.
3. Law and Emotion in Moral Repair: Circumscribing Infringement.
4. Retribution and Repair in Voluntary Associations: Comparing Rule Texts from Qumran, Collegia, and Christ Groups.
The book is in Swedish, but an English translation is planned. A few sample pages are uploaded.
The book consists of two main parts, framed by an introductory chapter and a concluding discussion. In the first part, Kazen explores cognitive foundations, including biological and neuroscientific underpinnings for basic affects, and the role of culture in shaping both conventional morality and ritual behaviour. Four particular emotions are then outlined. In the second part, these insights from cognitive science are applied in analyses of particular texts. After an overview of the Pentateuchal legal collections, each of the four emotions is dealt with in a separate chapter. Kazen constantly relates a cognitive science approach to more traditional source and redaction-critical analysis, regarding them as complementary.
As a result, the Pentateuchal legal collections are seen as emotional texts, expressing strong affects—which influences our understanding of the character of Israelite ‘law’. Kazen suggests that interaction and conflict between various emotions can explain discrepancies and tensions between humanitarian concerns and ethnocentrism, and between empathy and justice. He also demonstrates that viewing emotions as common denominators contains a potential for solving some difficult and long-standing conundrums. He argues that a focus on the human embodied experience rather than on theological convictions and theoretical ideas may avoid some interpretative dead ends and open up new avenues for understanding ancient texts.
Thomas Kazen is Professor of Biblical Studies at Stockholm School of Theology, Sweden
Some chapters are based on unpublished papers, and others have been recently published in various journals; Yet others are specially written for this volume. Several of the essays relate to or complement each other, thus making this collection very convenient for the reader interested in the topic.
Reviews:
"The range of this collection means that it will be useful to scholars working in an equally wide range of areas, and it is certainly a valuable addition to the ever-expanding literature on purity in ancient Judaism."—D. W. Rooke in Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, 35.5.
"This collection does well in positioning Kazen within the ongoing conversation of impurity and purification in early Judaism and the relationship of Jesus and purity. The topic of impurity has been a source of vibrant scholarship in recent years, and Kazen’s articles are a fine contribution to this conversation. This book is not for someone looking for a general introduction to impurity in early Judaism, but, for those with a general knowledge, it will be a welcome addition to current scholarship on diverse issues of impurity in early Judaism and on the relationship of Jesus to purity issues."—John W. Fadden, University of Denver/Iliff School of Theology in Review of Biblical Literature, September 2011.
Ritual or cultic purity was paramount in Jewish society and life during the Second Temple period, and differences in purity halakhah were one of the factors that distinguished various movements. Therefore, considering purity is crucial in any attempt to interpret the historical Jesus within his contemporary context. In the latest or “third” phase of historical Jesus study, researchers have given prominence to Jesus’ social and cultural context. In keeping with this goal, Thomas Kazen discusses the historical Jesus alongside what we know of Jewish purity halakhah of his time and explains Jesus’ attitude toward impurity. Kazen balances the work of New Testament scholars on Judaism and legal matters by incorporating the historical Jesus studies of Jewish scholars, seeking to engage students of the historical Jesus with the primary materials relating to legal matters.
ISBN-13: 9789188906120
ISBN-13: 9789188906113
Please contact me for the full article
Certain types of skin disease were regarded as impure conditions, not only in Israel, but in many parts of the ancient world and people with skin disease were often isolated or excluded. This chapter discusses recent attempts to downplay skin disease contamination and exclusion in early Judaism. Based on evidence from the priestly legislation, Qumran, Josephus, and the gospels, I argue that people with skin disease were understood to transmit impurity by contact and were therefore isolated or excluded from human habitations. The fight against tendentious portrayals of Jesus against a dark foil of Second Temple Judaism, is not served by improbable historical reconstructions
Ritual purity is often seen as mainly of interest in relation to the holy and the cult, but historically people kept purity rules and engaged in purification rites in everyday life and far from the temple. This chapter discusses material (archaeological) evidence, Second Temple period textual evidence, and later rabbinic evidence, for purity being practised as part of ordinary life and not predicated on the temple and its cult. I argue that the temple-oriented view is not only wrong, but also distorts our interpretation of related matters.
Purity practices during the first century CE were widespread in Judaea and Galilee as part of everyday life and not limited to concerns relating to the temple cult. Developments in key water rites were partly triggered by concepts of graded impurity, to which an understanding of defilement via food also belonged. Certain rabbinic characteristics represent later developments and cannot be assumed for the time of Jesus. Hand impurity did not originate as a rabbinic decree to protect tĕrûmâ, and accusations against Pharisees for setting aside Scripture in favour of their own traditions did not originate with the historical Jesus, but suggest later polemics. Jesus' stance on purity is perhaps better characterized as prophetic than halakic.
Kasper Bro Larsen är professor i Nya testamentet vid Aarhus universitet och en produktiv forskare. Förutom ett stort antal forskningsartiklar och populärvetenskapliga texter som den här har han skrivit en monografi, Recognizing the Stranger (2008), om Jesusbilden i Johannesevangeliet, och redigerat samlingsvolymer om Johannesevangeliet, Romarbrevet och nordisk bibeltolkning. I sin forskning intresserar sig Bro Larsen också för bibelreception och den historiske Jesus.
Hans Jesus utkom ursprungligen på danska 2018, och finns nu på svenska i översättning av Thomas Kazen.
I sin forskning intresserar sig Lemos för transkulturella mönster och låter ofta sina analyser av antiken belysa beteenden och konflikter i dagens värld. ”Folkmord och mänskliga rättigheter” är en föreläsning som Lemos höll i Storkyrkan, maj 2019, inbjuden av Enskilda Högskolan Stockholm. ”Bågen och bössan”, en föreläsning Lemos höll vid konferensen ”God and Guns” på Fuller Teological Seminary i mars 2019, publiceras parallellt på engelska i en volym med samma namn på Westminster John Knox förlag.
Några exempelsidor ligger uppladdade. Boken kan köpas via olika nätbokhandlar.
http://www.kyrkanstidning.se/debatt/vi-ar-alla-skyldiga