Biblical Criticism & History Forum - earlywritings.com

Joe, As far as I am concerned, aside from the idea that the TF could have roots in Origen (which I've never thought about before and will need to chew on, but doesn't seem out of the realm of possibility), you are preaching to the choir. So I'm curious what, if anything, you make of Goldberg's obser...

Andrew, Well, I essentially agree with you. I don't think everything in the Mishnah was handed down to the post-70 rabbis by the Pharisees. The Mishnah simply supports the idea that there was some kind of connection between the two sects, and the references you gave also seem to support this idea. A...

I fixed my post myself (I hope). I'm still new to this forum and getting used to the available user options. But my, how mortifying that was. I apologize to anyone who was offended by those crude remarks (I certainly was), and I've thoroughly scolded the person who tampered with the post.

John T wrote: "Jerome claims that Josephus wrote that the murder of James the Just was the downfall of Jerusalem. The question from Hawthrone is, where in the TF can that be found? My answer is, I can't find it, probably because it is no longer there. However, that does not mean it wasn't there...

Andrew, I noticed that Neusner writes in another book (Understanding the Talmud) that, "the facts of the Mishnaic law remain facts in the Talmud. They are rarely revised or drastically reshaped into something different from what, to the naked eye, their plain meaning appears to be. I cannot poi...

Andrew, Thank you for the references. I took another look at "In Quest" and also a fair look at Neusner's "An Introduction to Judaism," and made some notes. from what I've read, both books give me the impression that the authors see a connection between the Pharisees and Rabbinic...

Andrew, I appreciate your clarification. Though I did get this impression over the course of our conversation, initially I was responding to your statement that "Maccoby assumes that rabbinic argument in the Mishnah and later texts is Pharisaic. This is not necessarily true." As far as Mac...

Regarding the TF, I tend to lean towards the argument that Eusebius wrote it. He was the first to definitely cite it and it does seem to employ language that Eusebius is known to have used elsewhere. It also does seem strange that no one before him definitely cites it (whether a good, bad or neutral...

Regarding Origen's references to the fall of Jerusalem being due to the death of James, I agree with DC Hindley that Origen may have been confused about a passage in the Jewish War that says the same thing about Ananus. That he is confused is arguable given that he does not mention where in Josephus...

Andrew, Regardless of when the rabbis saw themselves as heirs of Pharisees, the fact remains that they did (and as far as I am aware, no one else has ever made a similar claim). Also as far as I am aware, no other sect has preserved any Pharisaic arguments. So if there is any connection between the ...