Torah Praxis after 70 CE: Reading Matthew and Luke-Acts as Jewish Texts

by Isaac Wilk Oliver

In Torah Praxis after 70 CE , Oliver challenges conventional views of the Gospels of Matthew and Luke as well as the Acts of the Apostles. He reads the works not only against their Jewish “background” but also as early Jewish literature. In doing so, he questions the traditional classification of Luke-Acts as a “Greek” or Gentile-Christian text. To support his assertions, Dr. Oliver’s literary-historical investigation explores the question of Torah praxis in each book, citing evidence that suggests several ritual Jewish practices remained fixtures in the Jesus movement and that Jewish followers of Jesus played key roles in forming the ekklesia well into the first century CE.

550 pages, Paperback

Published June 20, 2023

Reviews

[David McDonald · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting look at Torah obedience in the early Jesus Movement as interpreted through Matthew and Luke-Acts. I really enjoyed how this book walked through many of the difficult passages in these texts.

Some of the arguments and conclusions drawn could have been cleaner if the author had considered to works of other scholars who also take a favourable stance to Torah observance by the early Jesus Movement like Hegg, Vanhoff etc.