The People, Not the Peoples
The Talmud Bavli’s “Charitable” Contribution to the Jewish-Christian Conversation in Mesopotamia
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 19525633 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Alyssa M Gray (Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2017 |
| Volume | 20 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 137-167 |
| Publication date | 2017-08-03 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Review of Rabbinic Judaism (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1568-4857 • E-ISSN: 1570-0704 |
| Publisher | Walter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE) |
| DOI | 10.1163/15700704-12341325 |
| OpenAlex | W2745153802 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 2 |
Bavli Baba Batra 10b–11a substantiates the existence of a “Jewish-Christian conversation” that took place in fourth-century Mesopotamia. This essay demonstrates that this sugya presents rabbinic responses to several Christian claims: (1) contra Aphrahat, God and Israel have a continuing and uniquely close relationship; (2) contra Aphrahat, Gentile charity is motivated by the desire for self-aggrandizement, the continuation of Gentile rule, and arrogance, and is thus sinful; (3) contra Aphrahat, Gentile charity is sinful because they only engage in it to revile Israel; moreover, Gentile charity does not atone for their sins; and (4) contra Aphrahat (who quotes Ezek. 15:4 and Isa. 58:11), it is not the Jews who will be dried out and burned up with fire; once Gentile charity ceases, it is the Gentile empires who will burn
Ancient history · Conversation · Demonization · Jewish studies · Judaism · Mesopotamia · Political science · Shalom · Sociology · Talmud · Theology · Archaeology and Historical Studies · Biblical Studies and Interpretation · Historical and Linguistic Studies · History · Law · Philosophy · Religious studies
| Citations per year | 0.14 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2019 - 2019 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |