The Reluctant Parting: How the New Testament's Jewish Writers Created a Christian Book

by Julie Galambush

Peeling away centuries of misinterpretation, The Reluctant Parting tells the painful story of how the New Testament authors fought—ultimately in vain—to preserve their legitimacy as members of the Jewish community. Biblical scholar Julie Galambush, a former Baptist minister who converted to Judaism, reveals the diversity within first-century Judaism and how an intra-Jewish debate about what it means to be Jewish included the followers of Jesus as one Jewish sect among many. Although other books have demonstrated the Jewishness of Jesus, none have grappled with the implications of the New Testament authors' identity as Jews. What would it mean to read this Christian scripture as it was meant to be read—as a collection of Jewish books? Through lively and accessible scholarship, Galambush identifies the distinctively Jewish goals of the New Testament authors and sheds new light on the common roots of modern Judaism and Christianity. The Reluctant Parting breaks new ground by exposing the volatile historical backdrop that produced the New Testament, offering rich rewards for both Jews and Christians wanting a fuller understanding of their inherited tradition.

Genres: Religion, History, Nonfiction, Judaism, Christianity, Jewish, New Testament

326 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Julie Galambush is an associate professor of religious studies at The College of William and Mary. She holds a Ph.D. in Old Testament studies from Emory University and a Master of Divinity from Yale Divinity School. Formerly an ordained American Baptist minister, Galambush is a convert to Judaism and a member of Temple Rodef Shalom in Falls Church, Virginia

Reviews

[Cathryn Conroy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an impressive book—from the scholarship to the prodigious research to the writing. That said, it isn't for everyone. (More on that below.)

Written by Julie Galambush, an ordained American Baptist minister who converted to Judaism and is a college professor of religious studies with a master's of divinity and a Ph.D. in the Old Testament, this book dissects and analyzes Christians' most sacred texts in a whole new way: as a Jewish reading of the New Testament. The author brings a powerful personal background and top-notch academic credentials to this complex task.

The idea is that by rereading the New Testament—from the four Gospels to the epistles to the confounding Book of Revelation—from the Jewish perspective in which they were written, it will give us a new way to understand and interpret what the first century writers meant. After all, these were Jewish writers (who believed Jesus was the messiah) who were writing for a largely Jewish audience (who may or may not have believed Jesus was the messiah) as this new faith that came to be called Christianity was first developing. Most important, all of these people—writers and audience—were Jews who were committed to remaining Jews.

As a Christian, it's impossible to read this book and not come away with forehead-slapping, eye-popping wonder: Is THAT what it means? Reading the New Testament with this historical background is truly a revelation of the best kind.

The frequent sidebars exploring a single topic are fascinating. These include such hot-button topics as the Virgin Birth, the Holy Spirit, Jesus's descent into hell, original sin, baptism of the dead, Samaritans, and more.

Who is this book for? While both Christian and Jewish readers will benefit from the book, I do think it is best read by those of any faith who are VERY familiar with the New Testament. A passing Sunday School knowledge isn't enough to fully appreciate the details and nuances. The ambitious reader might want to be a two-fisted reader with "The Reluctant Parting" in one hand and the New Testament in the other. That is, before—or even while—reading about the Gospels or Paul's letters in "The Reluctant Parting," read along in the Bible as well.

Bonus: The chapter on the confounding, perplexing, and very confusing Book of Revelation is worth the price of the book.

While this book is fascinating, it is also dense. It is a scholarly work that often gets deep into the weeds of theology—both Jewish and Christian. It's a book to be read slowly and seriously.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very well-written book from a Christianity-to-Judaism convert that very effectively reminds readers that Jews and Christians have not always been two separate groups. The first half of the book summarizes the gradual split of the Jesus sect from mainstream Judaism, while the second half takes the reader through the New Testament book-by-book. The second half of the book is definitely more "scholarly" feeling than the first half, which may lose the interest of the casual reader. For me, the chapters were brief enough to give an idea of the social context in which the books were written, without becoming too long and dry. In fact, I somewhat regret that in an effort to keep the entire book a reasonable length, Galambush was a bit too limited to give some sections of the New Testament the amount of attention I would have liked. All in all, a fascinating read for anyone who might take an interest in the relationship between Judaism and Christianity.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's an interest of mine, the Jewish/Christian split ("split" doesn't quite say, but it worked for Adrienne Rich in her "split at the root" about in part, being both Christian and Jewish). Anyway. The history here is quite interesting--about the centuries before and during the Common Era. Roman rule and Roman intolerance was even more of a player than I'd realized. Until the author commences on her scholarly and astute analysis of each book of the New Testament -- in other words, while the author is writing about the history I was fascinated. The exegesis is interesting enough, but of less interest to me. Anyway. This is a strong analysis of religion, culture, politics of the times.

[Rick Lee Lee James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Study

Amazing study of the Jewish roots of scripture and Christianity itself. Jesus never intended for the religions to part and this book explains how it is possible that Christianity truly was part of the Jewish faith. Strong scholarship and engaging writing makes for a terrific read.

[Jon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like Metzger's book, this work is essentially an introduction to the New Testament, providing summaries of each work and a short account of how it came to be. What differentiates this work is that it purports to provide a Jewish view of the New Testament. Galambush's thesis is that before the New Testament became Christian it was a Jewish work, one in which Jews debated Jews about the meaning of Judaism. It's a provocative thesis, one that I would have thought would have led to many more unique readings of the New Testament works than it did.

There are some valuable observations here but on the whole the work seems more an introduction to the New Testament to Jewish readers who would otherwise be unfamiliar or less familiar with the works, so it didn't offer as much new info to one familiar with the New Testament as I would have expected. Complicating this further if Galambush's standard Protestant reading of so much of Christian doctrine. With the author having been a Christian that converted to Judaism, I felt as if I were getting two rather distorted views of the scripture rather than a fresh read of it. Galambush takes the standard secular line on the late creation of most of the works of the New Testament, merges that with standard readings of Christian doctrine (e.g., harrowing of hell) that likely were not part of the NT authors' original intent, and then places all of that within Jewish arguments over what would have made for proper Jewish teaching at that time.

[Margie Dorn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a worthwhile read. It was well written, enlightening, and what I call “accessible “. I plan to use it in my discussion groups when it fits in topically.

[J.B. B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

a little hard to read, but great. i only read this up to the halfway point where it started going through the new testament line-by-line and i saw it as more of a reference book from there on, or for a religion scholar.

a must read for anyone who doesn't relaize how the bible was made or someone whom this would be their first exposure to reading religious works, objectively.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really awesome book for both Christians and Jews. Another biased one - Julie was my RelgStudies advisor. BUT this is a really accessible, clear expression of the nuances of the split between Judaism and Christianity from someone who's made that change in reverse. A really interesting read!

[Batya · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a must read for anyone who wants to understand the REAL CONTEXT of the New Testament.

[Ayelet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good information on history but I still need a basic background on the New Testament. Of course, it does help that I'm related to Julie so I can ask her questions:)

[Milt · Rating 3 out of 5]

dbg

[Anne O'brien · Rating 4 out of 5]

incredible book

[Barend van der Merwe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it. The book really provides an interesting perspective on the Bible and Christianity from the viewpoint of Judaism.