Paul Foster, «Is Q a 'Jewish Christian' Document?», Vol. 94 (2013) 368-394
Recent research has generated different hypotheses concerning the social location of Q. This discussion commences with an examination of scholarship on the phenomenon of 'Jewish Christianity' and theories concerning the social location of Q. Next, meta-level questions are addressed, concerning how social location is determined from a text. The discussion then considers four areas mentioned in Q that might be of potential significance for determining social location. These are references to synagogues, the law, Gentiles, and unbelieving Israel. In conclusion, the inclusive perspectives may suggest that the document had a more positive attitude toward Gentiles than is often stated.
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IS Q A “JEWISH CHRISTIAN†DOCUMENT?
tween defining the Jewish aspect of Jewish Christianity either in terms
of praxis or ethnic origin. Despite the more frequent adoption of the
former, the latter alternative may better represent the understanding of
groupings in late antiquity. Advocating this position, Skarsaune states:
In so doing, we are in agreement with the ancient sources. Those
sources never speak about “Jewish Christians†in an ideological
sense. They do, however, divide Christians into two categories by
an ethnic criterion. There are Christians (or believers in Jesus) from
the Jews and from the Gentiles 38.
Such a categorization based on ethnic considerations rather than
on practices is supported in antiquity beyond the confines of Jewish
and Christian religious communities. In a well-known story Sue-
tonius relates how Domitian employed invasive techniques to es-
tablish liability for paying the fiscus Judaicus. He recounts:
Domitian’s agents collected the tax on Jews with a peculiar lack
of mercy; and took proceedings not only against those who kept
their Jewish origins a secret in order to avoid the tax, but against
those who lived as Jews without professing Judaism. As a boy, I
once remember attending a crowded Court where an imperial agent
had a ninety year old man inspected to establish whether or not he
had been circumcised 39.
Roman authorities do not appear to have been concerned as to
whether this nonagenarian was a practicing Jew; in fact for taxation
purposes even non-professing Jews appear to have been classed as
Jewish 40. If a male bore the physical mark of ethnic Jewish origin,
then during the reign of Domitian he appears to have been considered
Jewish regardless of adherence or praxis.
SKARSAUNE, “Jewish Believers in Jesus in Antiquityâ€, 4.
38
Suetonius, Dom. 12.2.
39
See further P. FOSTER, “Vespasian, Nerva, Jesus and the Fiscus Judai-
40
cus’, Israel’s God and Rebecca’s Children. Christology and Community in
Early Judaism and Christianity (eds. D.B. CAPES ‒ A.D. DECONICK ‒ H.K.
BOND ‒ T.A. MILLER) (Waco, TX 2007) 303-320, 454-458.
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