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Reading Romans in Context: Paul and Second Temple Judaism by Ben C. Blackwell
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

[T]his book compiles articles from several scholars going chapter by chapter through Paul’s letter to the Romans in light of the literature and historical context of second temple Judaism. The authors compare and contrast the letter with writings from the Qumran community and the Apocryphal books, etc. to see what influence they may have had on Paul’s thinking.

Overall it was a good read. The book is insightful at times and also conjecturing and speculative at others. I don’t agree with the views of some that we have to read Paul through this particular lens in order to rightly understand him. However, this setting was a part of his milieu and does inform our understanding of the socio-historical setting of the New Testament.

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