Date

8-2013

Department

Rawlings School of Divinity

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy

Chair

Leo Percer

Primary Subject Area

Religion, General; Religion, Biblical Studies; Religion, History of; Religion, Philosophy of; Literature, Middle Eastern; Language, Ancient; Jewish Studies; History, Middle Eastern; History, Church; History, Ancient

Keywords

Covenant, Election, Ephesians, Judaism, Paul, Romans

Disciplines

Ancient History, Greek and Roman through Late Antiquity | Ancient Philosophy | Biblical Studies | Christianity | Comparative and Historical Linguistics | Comparative Literature | Discourse and Text Linguistics | History | History of Christianity | History of Philosophy | History of Religion | History of Religions of Eastern Origins | Intellectual History | Jewish Studies | Linguistics | Near Eastern Languages and Societies | Philosophy | Reading and Language | Religion | Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion | Rhetoric and Composition | Semantics and Pragmatics | Syntax

Abstract

Paul's "doctrine" of election has remained a controversial and enigmatic topic for centuries. Few studies, however, have approached Paul's doctrine through the context of Second Temple Judaism. This study examines Paul's view of election through the lens of Second Temple Jewish texts written prior to 70 CE. In doing so, it is argued that the best framework through which to view Paul's discussion of election is through a primarily corporate model of election. While such a model is rooted in Judaism, Paul departs from his Jewish contemporaries in arguing that the locus of election is in God's Messiah, Jesus.

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