Jason A. Staples. <i>Paul and the Resurrection of Israel: Jews, Former Gentiles, Israelites</i>

What did Paul find wrong with Judaism—legalism? ethnocentrism? nothing? Why did Paul reject the works of the law as a path to life? Are believing gentiles incorporated fully into Israel such that they become Israelites, or are they still pagans, maybe ex-pagan pagans? Answering these questions will likely land Pauline exegetes in a specific camp—the New Perspective on Paul, the Old Perspective on Paul, the Apocalyptic Paul, or Paul within Judaism. This is, of course, not to say that there are no variations or disagreements within these particular camps, but there is enough overlap in order to plausibly categorize certain interpreters together. Jason Staples, on the other hand, is an outlier. On the one hand, his reading of Paul situates him squarely within Second Temple Judaism. On other hand, due to his insistence upon reading Paul within a particular Israelite-restoration-eschatology framework, his answers to the questions above put him at odds with most of the Paul-within-Judaism exegetes (e.g., Matthew Thiessen, Paula Fredriksen, and Matthew Novenson).In order to accurately interpret Paul’s letters, specifically the places where Paul’s arguments center upon the identity and relationship between Jews and Gentiles, one must have a solid grasp of what Paul means by “Israel” and must adequately account for the central role of Jewish restoration eschatology in Paul’s thinking. More specifically, Staples argues that Paul’s bedrock conviction is the connection between gentile inclusion within Israel on the basis of Israel’s full restoration in light of the death and resurrection of Jesus the Messiah. And “Israel” here is not another name for “Jew” but rather refers to the full twelve tribes, including the tribes of the northern kingdom who were assimilated into the gentile nations. Now that uncircumcised gentiles are embracing the Messiah, Paul argues that this fulfills the prophets’ hopes for the restoration, even the resurrection from the dead, of Israel.In chapter 1 (“The God of Jews Only?), Staples notes that over 70 percent of Paul’s uses of “Israel” language occur in Rom 9–11. Whereas numerous interpreters suggest that this is because Paul is using respectful honorific language to talk about the historical people of God, Staples instead argues that “Israel” refers to the entire twelve tribes of Israel, with “Jew” being a subset of (though not equivalent to) the larger group. Israel’s Prophets are rife with anticipations that when God restores Israel, he will act for all the people of Israel—all twelve tribes, reunifying both Northern and Southern Kingdoms. This act presumes that reunification and restoration is needed precisely because Israel has been unfaithful to God’s covenant and is now under the covenantal curses, the foremost of which is exile and scattering among the nations.Staples’s title of chapter 2 (“Paul and the Israel Problem”) is almost certainly deliberatively provocative as it directly counters the frequent claim of “Paul-within-Judaism” interpreters that it is the gentiles and not the Jews whom Paul sees as in need of salvation from sin and wickedness. What Israel is in need of is set forth in Israel’s Prophets, namely, a restored and new covenant that transforms hard hearts into soft hearts who can obey the Torah. This is why, Paul argues, the works of the law cannot justify; Israel has sinned and suffered the curse of exile and death. Rather, the restoration of the covenant, the hope of Israel, has taken place through the death and resurrection of the Messiah and he is the one who makes Torah-obedience possible.Staples next turns to “The Israel Problem and the Gentiles” in chapter 3. Going against the grain of much recent scholarship, Staples argues that Paul criticizes not only gentiles but also the Jewish people for idolatry and breaking the covenant in Rom 1:18–2:16. The echoes of Adam and Israel in this section of Romans demonstrates that Israel and the gentiles are subject to sin and death.Chapter 4 (“Salvation through Justification”) presents a controversial but well-argued claim that God’s judgment is impartial in that it is only those who do the Torah who will be justified (Rom 2:13). God’s gracious act in Christ Jesus, however, rather than trying to observe “the works of the law,” are the means whereby God transforms both Jews and gentiles into those who fulfill the Torah. Both Jew and gentile, by virtue of sharing in the Messiah’s death and resurrection, die to sin, receive the Spirit, and are capable then of doing justice and righteousness.In chapter 5 (“‘Not My People’”), Staples examines Rom 9 and reminds the reader of his earlier argument that Israel means the entire, full twelve-tribe people of God. Paul is not attempting to give an explanation for the succession of the gentile mission at the expense of Israel; rather, Paul is explaining God’s surprising work of restoring Israel by bringing the nations—those from the exiled ten tribes of Israel—into his people.Chapter 6 (“God’s Justice and the End of the Torah) is, in my view, one of the richest chapters of the book. Stated simply, Staples argues that in Rom 10 Paul counters the belief that Israel first needed to repent in order to “bring down the Messiah” (Rom 10:5–8) and receive restoration. Rather, God sends the Messiah in order to procure Israel’s repentance and justification. In the words of Staples: “Rather than Israel’s justness bringing the messiah, the messiah already came to make Israel just” (p. 236).Finally, in chapter 7 (“The Mystery of Israel’s Salvation”), Staples presents a lengthy and challenging reading of Rom11 and argues that Israel’s salvation and restoration requires that gentiles are ethnically transformed into Israelites.This is not a book that repackages well-known ideas with a few subtle changes. It is a book that requires sustained and serious engagement as it presents new arguments at almost every turn. Questions for which I thought I already had settled answers are now open again, including, for example the following. Does Israel’s restoration eschatology play as central a role in Paul’s reading of the Jewish Scriptures as Staples claims? Does Rom 1:18–32 really have Israel, rather than just (or at least primarily) gentiles as its target? Should Lev 18:5 (quoted in Rom 10:5) be read as a reference to the obedience of the Messiah who thereby receives resurrection life?