My publications to date have focused on the (re)interpretation of Paul's letters. The working hypothesis I am testing involves reading Paul's letters as if written by a Jew who remained Torah observant after he became convinced that Jesus was the Christ, and of a calling to take that message to the nations. So far this proposition has been confirmed by my research on these letters. In addition, I find it likely that the communities to which he wrote Romans and Galatians consisted of Jewish subgroups operating within the Jewish communities (i.e., synagogues) in those areas, although his "target" audiences--those to whom he was directing his comments, albeit probably in the midst of members of these groups not similarly targeted--were non-Jewish people.

It is important to recognize, when taking this approach, that these Jewish communities were themselves minority communities within these population centers. Thus some of the actions that members of these subgroups were taking, specifically, because of the claim that their non-Jewish members (i.e., Gentiles, pagans) had full-member standing apart from proselyte conversion and were no longer to practice idolatry, probably represented a threat to the fragile minority Jewish community's members and their leaders. It disrupted the status quo, not only based on Jewish tradition, but also on the basis of the expectations and regulations of the larger non-Jewish communities within which the Jewish communities functioned. Relationships between and among Jewish and non-Jewish communal members involved a variety of personal, political, and occupational norms and expectations worked-out over many generations. Non-Jewish members of these Jewish subgroups (i.e., ekklêsiai, churches, synagogues) claiming to be no longer "pagans," that is, for example, to have the right to abstain from familial and civic cult (idolatry) on the terms reserved for Jewish communal members--yet without becoming proselytes, the long-standing rite reserved for accomplishing such identity transformation--would have been especially disruptive.

Paul's letters seem to me to respond to the predictable resistance his addressees would meet to such claims. For these non-Jews would likely be welcomed by the Jewish communities (within which the smaller Christ-believing Jewish subgroups existed) to the degree that they were willing to understand themselves on the prevailing terms of identification. Either they are to be recognized as guests, even friends who remain nevertheless beholden to the expectations and norms of the dominant non-Jewish communities with which they are identified, or, if they persist in wanting to be accounted members of the minority Jewish communities, they can undertake the rite of proselyte conversion. That represents a course providing identity transformation agreeable according to both Jewish and "pagan" membership identity norms, instead of the marginalization currently being experienced when their identity claims are disputed, and expected rights denied. Paul's concern is, on the one hand, in Galatians, to redress the persuasiveness of the appeal to such traditional social policy as good news for non-Jews seeking membership, since it reportedly guarantees the desired result according to Israel's Scriptures, and always has, but on the other hand, in Romans, to check an incipient resentment gaining ground, because of continued resistance to that news. Recognizing these very different social developments provides a basis for understanding the very different ways that Paul responds to the different "urgencies of the moment" with these two letters. However, this approach to the difference between them (employing Social Identity Theory) provides a way to recognize a shared thread running through them; namely, Paul the apostle of this coalition's perceived need to address non-Jews who are variously seeking to negotiate the psychological as well as social marginalization resulting from challenges to their claims based on the news of Jesus Christ--in Galatia, considering proselyte conversion to gain acceptance, but in Rome, rejecting not only the terms of acceptance, but the right of those who uphold them to claim standing as the people of God.

It is in wresting with these socio-rhetorical tensions that we gain insight into Paul's theology and teaching, including his development of the truths embodied in Israel's confession of the Shema. Cenral to Paul's mission is upholding the principle that the communities of Christ-believers represent the hopes of Israel and the nations of the age to come, when the One Lord of Israel will be also known as the One God of all humankind, which time Paul claims to have dawned. Thus while difference remains in the present age, for example, between Jews and Gentiles, and between men and women, the discrimination generally indulged in this age is to no longer reign in the communities of those who share his faith that the awaited age has begun. Hence, Jewish believers in Christ (such as is Paul!) remain faithful to Torah-observance, while non-Jews do not become Jews (i.e., proselytes) or obliged to observe the Torah of Jews (as proselytes are), except to the degree expected of those from the nations who turn from the worship of idols and the kind of behavior inappropriate for those who have turned to the Creator God. They are to live as "righteous Gentiles" or "God-fearers." It seems to me that it is the working out the tensions resulting from this thoroughly Jewish theology when applied to the dynamics of communal life for these mixed Jewish subgroups challenging long-standing terms of identification and ways of relating to each other according to the status quo (i.e., prevailing Jewish and Roman as well as Greek and other, e.g., local Celtic and Phyrgian norms of the present age) that accounts for the rhetorical concerns and details addressed in Paul's letters to the Romans and Galatians.

Basically, my research is continuing to inform and test the hypothesis that Paul's letters represent intra- or inter-Jewish correspondence, that they deal with tensions arising within (intra) as well as between (inter) Jewish groups and subgroups; however, that those tensions may have as much to do with concerns posed by the non-Jewish communities within which they dwell, of which they are a part. These letters should therefore be interpreted anew, since to date they have been largely when not entirely approached as "Christian," however anachronistic that term may be recognized to be for Paul (who never used the terminology, but addressed Jews and non-Jews). His letters have usually been understood and used in ways that accentuate a perceived break from Jewish identity and Judaism's historical beliefs, values, and behavior for both the writer, Paul, and his addressees. This construction has resulted in a voice that has historically been invoked to perpetuate negative valuations of Jewish people and the various Judaisms of the first century (not to mention thereafter), including beliefs, intentions, and actions--on supposed "Christian" versus "Jewish" terms. Moreover, Paul's voice (traditionally St. Paul's or The Apostle Paul's inspired voice) has often been appropriated as though beyond moral censorship--even when interpreted in ways that clearly harm other humans, behavior toward others that Paul otherwise clearly proscribes in agreement with the teaching and spirit of Torah.

Paul's voice, however interpreted, represents only one side of a conversation, often polemical, perhaps misrepresenting the "other" person or group's point of view, motives, or activities, at least from their own--and his rhetorical approach implies his addressees' own--perspective. Great care should be taken to construct the other probable voices and points of view before privileging and internalizing Paul's as unquestionable or right, as though beyond the need for critical analysis and moral challenge. This is especially the case when applying it to later circumstances, such as contemporary ones, since he wrote to specific cases in a particular time, within a particular cultural milieu, one in which slavery was normal, for example, and most women did not participate in public life on the same terms as men. I would really like to hear that voice and share what I find with others, Jews and Christians and people of other convictions too, to measure what it might contribute to helping humans live respectfully, not least to advancing Jewish/Christian relations in the years to come.

Published Work

"Paul and Judaism." In Codex Pauli. Rome: Società San
Paolo, 2009, 54-55 [Sample pages (Sfoglia) 28/29 on Codex Pauli web site].

"Paul and Judaism: Why Not Paul's Judaism?" Pages 117-60 in Mark Given, ed., Paul Unbound: Other Perspectives on the Apostle (Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 2009).

"The Myth of the 'Law-Free' Paul Standing Between Christians and Jews." In Studies in Christian-Jewish Relations [SCJR] 4.1 (2009): 1-21.

"Paul's Reversal of Jews Calling Gentiles 'Dogs' (Philippians 3:2): 1600 Years of an Ideological Tale Wagging an Exegetical Dog?" In Biblical Interpretation 17.4 (2009): 448-482.

"New or Renewed Covenantalism?: A Response to Richard Hays' '"Here We Have No Lasting City": New Covenantalism in Hebrews.'" In The Epistle to the Hebrews and Christian Theology. Edited by R.J. Bauckham, D.R. Driver, T.A. Hart and N. MacDonald. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2009, 183-88.

"Le relazioni christiano-giudaiche." In Paulus: An International Magazine on Saint Paul 1.12 (June, 2009) 271-73 (English version submitted as "Romans 9—11 from a Jewish Perspective on Christian-Jewish Relations").

"The Polytheist Identity of the 'Weak,' And Paul's Strategy to 'Gain' Them: A New Reading of 1 Corinthians 8:1—11:1." In Paul: Jew, Greek, and Roman. Edited by Stanley E. Porter. Pauline Studies 5; Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2008, 179-210.

"Intruding 'Spies' and 'Pseudo-Brethren': The Jewish Intra-Group Politics of Paul’s Jerusalem Meeting (Gal. 2:1-10)." In Paul and His Opponents. Edited by Stanley E. Porter. Vol. 2 of Pauline Studies; Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2005, 59-97.

Guest Editor and "Introduction," Paul Between Jews and Christians, a special issue of Biblical Interpretation 13.3 (2005).

"How Inter-Christian Approaches to Paul’s Rhetoric Can Perpetuate Negative Valuations of Jewishness – Although Proposing to Avoid that Outcome." In Biblical Interpretation 13.3 (2005) 255-69.

Editor, The Galatians Debate: Contemporary Issues in Rhetorical and Historical Interpretation. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 2002. [For reviews>> For More Information, Introductory Chapter, and Table of Contents Go to Hendrickson>

"Introduction." Pages xi-xli in The Galatians Debate. Edited by Mark Nanos. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 2002. [Read at Hendrickson>>]

"What Was at Stake in Peter's 'Eating with Gentiles' at Antioch?" Pages 282-318 in The Galatians Debate. Edited by Mark Nanos. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 2002.

The Irony of Galatians: Paul's Letter in First-Century Context. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2002. [For reviews>> For More Information and Table of Contents Go To Fortress>>]

"Challenging the Limits That Continue to Define Paul's Perspective on Jews and Judaism." Pages 212-24 in Reading Israel in Romans: Legitimacy and Plausibility of Divergent Interpretations. Vol. 1: "Romans Through History and Cultures: Receptions and Critical Interpretations." Edited by Cristina Grenholm and Daniel Patte. Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International, 2000. [More from Trinity Press International>>]

"The Inter- and Intra-Jewish Contexts of Paul and the Galatians." Pages 146-59 in Paul and Politics: Ekklesia, Israel, Imperium, Interpretation. Edited by Richard Horsley. Trinity Press International, 2000. Reprinted in The Galatians Debate. Edited by Mark Nanos. Hendrickson, 2002, 396-407). [More from Trinity Press International>> More from Hendrickson>>]

"Covet, Covetousness." Page 292 in Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible. Edited by David N. Freedman, A. C. Myers, and A. B. Beck. Eerdmans, 2000.

The Intra-Jewish Context of Galatians: Identifying the Players and Situation Implied in Paul's Letter of Ironic Rebuke." Ph.D. Dissertation at University of St. Andrews, Scotland, 2000.

"The Jewish Context of the Gentile Audience Addressed in Paul's Letter to the Romans." Catholic Biblical Quarterly 61 (1999) 283-304.

"Response" to reviews of The Mystery of Romans by N. Elliott, S. Stowers, and E. E. Johnson at the 1997 SBL Annual Meeting. Critical Review of Books in Religion [CRBR], 1998.

The Mystery of Romans: The Jewish Context of Paul's Letter. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1996. (Winner of The 1996 National Jewish Book Award for Jewish/Christian Relations). [For reviews>> For More Information and Table of Contents Go To Fortress>>]

Current Publishing Projects

Romans: A Jewish Perspective: Commentary and Translation (2011/12).

Paul Between Christians and Jews (2011/12).

Rival or Representative? Re-evaluating Paul's Perspective on the Jerusalem Church (2012/13).

"A Jewish View." In Four Views on Paul. Edited by Michael Bird (Counterpoints; Zondervan, 2012).

"Jews and Christians in Rome." In Romans: Resources for Biblical Studies Series. Edited by Jerry Sumney (SBL and Brill, 2011).

"Paul's Relationship to Torah in Light of His Strategy 'to Become Everything to Everyone' (1 Corinthians 9:19-22)." In New Perspectives on Paul and the Jews. Eds. Reimund Bieringer and Didier Pollefeyt (Leuven: Peeters, 2010).

"Paul and the Jewish Tradition: The Ideology of the Shema." In Celebrating Paul. Festschrift in Honor of J. A. Fitzmyer and J. Murphy-O'Connor. Ed. Peter Spitaler (CBQMS; Washington D.C.: Catholic Biblical Association of America, forthcoming 2010).

"Romans." Introduction and annotations for The Jewish Annotated New Testament. Eds. Marc Brettler and Amy Jill Levine (Oxford University Press, forthcoming). 

"Paul and Judaism." In The Jewish Annotated New Testament. Eds. Marc Brettler and Amy Jill Levine (Oxford University Press, forthcoming).

"Galatians." In Oxford Bibliographies Online, Oxford University Press, 2010.

"'Broken Branches': A Pauline Metaphor Gone Awry? (Romans 11:11-24)." In Romans 9—11 at the Interface Between the 'New Perspective on Paul' and Jewish-Christian Dialog. Eds. Ross Wagner and Florian Wilk (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, forthcoming 2010), 339-376.

"Galatians." In Blackwell's Companion to the New Testament (edited by David Aune; Blackwell, forthcoming 2010, 455-74).

"'Callused,' Not 'Hardened': Paul's Revelation of Temporary Protection Until All Israel Can Be Healed." In Reading Paul in Context: Explorations in Identity Formation. Eds. Kathy Ehrensperger and J. Brian Tucker (London and New York: T&T Clark, forthcoming 2010).

Professional Papers and Lectures

2010c (forthcoming):"Images of Jews and Judaism in Paul's Letter to the Romans: Challenging Translation Decisions That Subvert Paul's Message" (King Lecture, Washburn University, Topeka, KS, Wed., April 14, 7:30pm)

2010b (forthcoming):"'Callused,' Not 'Hardened': Paul's Revelation of Temporary Protection Until All Israel Can Be Healed" (Central States SBL, St. Louis)

2010a (forthcoming): "Response to Pheme Perkins' 'The Letter to the Romans as It Relates to Current Catholic Understanding of the Relation of the Church to the Jewish People'" (Consultation on Jewish-Catholic Relations: Interpreting Scripture and Current Self-Understanding, Georgetown University, Feb. 28 – March 2)

2009e: "Did Paul Observe Torah in Light of His Strategy 'to Become Everything to Everyone' (1 Corinthians 9:19-23)?" (Paper presented in the Pauline Epistles section of the Society of Biblical Literature at the Annual Meeting, New Orleans, Nov. 22)

2009d: "'Broken Branches': A Pauline Metaphor Gone Awry?" (Paper presented in the Ancient Jewish-Christian Relations section of the Society of Biblical Literature, Annual Meeting, New Orleans, Nov. 21)

2009c: "What Was at Stake in Peter's 'Eating with Gentiles' in Antioch?" (Discussion at Westar Institute, Santa Rosa, Cal., Oct. 16; Voting results)

2009b: "Paul's Relationship to Torah in Light of His Strategy 'to Become Everything to Everyone' (1 Corinthians 9:19-22)" (Paper to be presented for New Perspectives on Paul and the Jews: Interdisciplinary Academic Seminar, Katholieke Universiteit, Leuven, Belgium, Sept. 14-15)

2009a:"When in Rome, Would the Paul of 'All Things to All People' (1 Cor 9:19-23) Do as the Romans Do?" (Paper to be presented for Paul and Pauline Literature, International Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature, Rome, Italy, July 1)

2008f:"Paul's Reversal of Jews Calling Gentiles 'Dogs' (Philippians 3:2): 1600 Years of an Ideological Tale Wagging an Exegetical Dog?" (Paper presented in the Early Jewish Christian Relations session of the Annual Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature, Boston, Mass., Nov. 23)

2008e: "The Myth of the 'Law-Free' Paul Standing Between Christians and Jews" (Paper presented as a guest at the Evangelical Theological Society Annual Meeting, Providence, RI, Nov. 21)

2008d: "Paul and the Jewish Tradition" (Paper presented at Villanova University, Philadelphia, Oct. 23, as part of the Jubilee Year of the Apostle St. Paul seminar series)

2008c: "The Polytheist Identity of the 'Weak,' And Paul's Strategy to 'Gain' Them: A New Reading of 1 Corinthians 8:1—11:1." (Paper presented in a Seminar at Lund University, Sweden, May 6)

2008b: "'Broken Branches': A Pauline Metaphor Gone Awry? (Romans 11:11-32)" (Paper presented at an International Symposium: "Romans 9—11 at the Interface Between the 'New Perspective on Paul' and Jewish-Christian Dialog," Göttingen, Germany, May 3)

2008a: "Rethinking the 'Paul and Judaism' Paradigm: Why Not 'Paul's Judaism'?" (Paper presented at McMaster University, March 12; University of Toronto, March 13; Lund University, Sweden, May 7; Linköping University, Sweden, May 8)

2007c:"'Have Paul and His Communities Left Judaism for Christianity?': A Review of the Paul-Related Chapters in Jewish Believers in Jesus and Jewish Christianity Revisited." (Review paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature, in the Jewish Christianity Consultation, San Diego, November 19, 2007)

2007b: "'But this knowledge is not in everyone' (1 Cor 8:7): Who Were the 'Weak' in Corinth, and What Was the Harm Paul Feared They Would Suffer?" (Paper presented at an International Conference: "Saint Paul the Apostle and Corinth," 1950 Years Since the Writing of the Epistles to the Corinthians, Sept. 24, 2007)

2007a: "Paul's Reversal of Jews Calling Gentiles 'Dogs' (Philippians 3:2): 1600 Years of an Ideological Tale Wagging an Exegetical Dog?" (Paper at Central States SBL, St. Louis, March 25, 2007. Title of lecture at University of Helsinki, Finland, May 14, 2007, and Gothenburg University, Sweden, May 22, 2007)

2006d: "You say 'Judaizers,' I say, 'Why so?': The Context Implied by Paul's Name-Calling in Philippians 3" (Paper presentation for discussion of the Philippians Section of the Paul and Politics Pre-SBL Meeting, Washington D.C., November 17)

2006c: "The Dead Sea Scrolls and Christian/Jewish Relations," Visiting Scholar Series at Rockhurst University, 7:00pm, Tuesday, Oct. 24, Mabee Theater.

2006b: "New or Renewed Covenantalism?: A Response to Richard Hays' '"Here We Have No Lasting City": New Covenantalism in Hebrews'" at the St. Andrews Conference on The Epistle to Hebrews and Christian Theology, July 18-22.

2006a: "Us and Them: The Promise and Limits of Abrahamic Descent," in the KU Hall Lecture Series: "Abraham's Children: Exploring the Shared Heritage of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam," KU Edwards Campus, Overland Park, KS, March 7, 2006.

2005d: "How The Label 'Jewish Christianity' Limits Investigation of the Category We Seek to Understand" (A response to three papers in the "Jewish Christianity" session at the SBL Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, November 19)

2005c: "A Torah-Observant Paul?: What Difference Could it Make for Christian/Jewish Relations Today?" (Annual Presentation to the Christian Scholars Group on Christian-Jewish Relations, sponsored by the Center for Christian-Jewish Learning at Boston College, June 4-6)

2005b: "A Jewish Paul? What Difference Would It Make for Jewish/Christian Relations Today?” Revised for Annual Lecture for the "Center for Jewish-Christian Studies and Relations" at General Theological Seminary, March 8, 2005.

2005a: "Rethinking the 'Paul and Judaism' Paradigm" (Paper presented in a postgraduate seminar at Yale University, March 3, 2004)

2004d: Response to "Galatians and Images of Empire" papers by Brigitte Kahl and Davina C. Lopez (Paul and Politics Section, SBL Annual Meeting, San Antonio, Texas, November 20)

2004c: “A Jewish Paul? What Difference Would It Make for Jewish/Christian Relations Today?” Public Lecture sponsored by the Department of Theology and Religious Studies, in partnership with the Center for Arts and Letters and the Thomas More Center for the Study of Catholic Thought and Culture, Rockhurst University, Kansas City, Missouri, October 26.

2004b: "What Does 'Present Jerusalem' (Gal 4:25) in Paul's Allegory Have to do with the Jerusalem of Paul's Time, or the Concerns of the Galatians?" (SBL Central States Meeting, St. Louis, March 29)

2004a: "Paul and Judaism" (SBL Central States Meeting, St. Louis, March 28)

2003: "How Inter-Christian Approaches to Paul’s Rhetoric Can Perpetuate Negative Valuations of Jewishness – Although Proposing to Avoid that Outcome" (SBL Annual Meeting, Atlanta; Early Jewish/Christian Relations Section).

2002: "Review of The Jesus Movement: A Social History of Its First Century." Ekkehard W. Stegemann and Wolfgang Stegemann. Translated by O. C. Dean, Jr.. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1999. (SBL Annual Meeting, Toronto; Social Science Criticism of the NT Section).

2001b: "Life in the Diaspora Synagogues: A Response" (Respondent to Papers by Carsten Claussen, Magnus Zetterholm, and Judith Lieu on the topic of "Life in the Diaspora Synagogues," a section of "The Ancient Synagogue: From the Beginning to about 200 CE," An International Conference at Lund University, Sweden, Oct. 14-17).

2001a: "The Local Context of the Galatians: Toward Resolving a Catch-22" (SBL Annual Meeting, Denver; Paul and Politics Section).

1999: "'O foolish Galatians, who has cast the evil eye [of envy] upon you?' (Gal. 3:1a-b): What the dynamics of Paul's accusation imply about the social context and message of Galatians" (SBL Annual Meeting, Boston; Social Science Criticism of the NT Section).

1998b: "The Inter- and Intra-Jewish Political Contexts of Paul and the Galatians" (SBL Annual Meeting, Orlando; Paul and Politics Section).

1998a: "Challenging the Limits that Continue to Define Paul's Perspective on Jews and Judaism: A response to papers by William S. Campbell and Guenter Wasserberg" (SBL Annual Meeting, Orlando; Interpretation of Romans Section).

1997c: "Response to N. Elliott, S. Stowers, and E. E. Johnson reviews at a session on The Mystery of Romans" (SBL Annual Meeting, San Francisco; Early Jewish-Christian Relations Section; papers and response were published in CRBR, 1998).

1997b: "Intruding 'Spies' and 'Pseudo'-brethren: The Intra-Jewish context of 'Those of repute' in Jerusalem (Gal. 2:1-10)" (International Research Consultation in Birmingham, England entitled "Ideology, Power and Interpretation").

1997a: "Intruding 'Spies' and 'Pseudo'-brethren: The Intra-Jewish Context of 'Those of Repute' in Jerusalem (Gal. 2:1-10)" (Mid-Central States SBL Regional Meeting, Kansas City, MO) and (North Central SBL Regional Meeting, Minn./St. Paul).

1996c: "Some Problems with Reading Romans Through the Lens of the Edict of Claudius" (Mid-Central States SBL Regional Meeting, St. Louis).

1996b: "Why was Gentile Circumcision so Unacceptable to Paul?: The Role of the Shema in Paul's Gospel" (Mid-Central States SBL Regional Meeting, St. Louis).

1996a: "Springing Luther's Trap: The Identity of the Weak in Romans" (North Central SBL Regional Meeting, Minn./St. Paul).

1995b: "It Takes Real Jews to Make Real Sense of Romans" (Southwest SBL Regional Meeting, Dallas).

1995a: "Springing Luther's Trap: The Identity of the Weak in Romans" (Mid-Central States SBL Regional Meeting, Tulsa).

Book Reviews by Mark D. Nanos

Jacob Neusner and Alan J. Avery-Peck, eds., Encyclopedia of Religious and Philosophical Writings in Late Antiquity: Pagan, Judaic, Christian (Leiden: Brill, 2007) RBL (4-3-2009).

Justin K. Hardin, Galatians and the Imperial Cult: A Critical Analysis of the First-Century Social Context of Paul's Letter (WUNT 2.237; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2008): RBL (4-19-2009).

Todd A. Wilson, The Curse of the Law and the Crisis in Galatia (WUNT 2.225; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2007): Biblical Interpretation (forthcoming).

Nancy Calvert-Koyzis, Paul, Monotheism and the People of God: The Significance of Abraham for Early Judaism and Christianity (JSNTS 273; London and New York: T&T Clark International): RBL (8/8/2005); JBL 124.4 (2005) 775-78.

David Odell-Scott, Paul's Critique of Theocracy: A/Theocracy in Corinthians and Galatians (JSNTS 250; London and New York: T&T Clark International): BibInt. 13.4 (2005) 438-41.

Richard A. Horsley, Jesus and Empire: The Kingdom of God and the New World Disorder (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2003): Interpretation 59.3 (2005) 308-9.

Jerome I. Gellman, Abraham! Abraham! Kierkegaard and the Hasidim on the Binding of Isaac (Aldershot, England and Burlington, Vermont: Ashgate, 2003): Religious Studies Review 30.2-3 (2004) 147.

Athol Dickson, The Gospel According to Moses: What my Jewish Friends Taught me about Jesus (Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2003): Religious Studies Review 30.1 (2004) 34.

Basil S. Davis, Christ as Devotio: The Argument of Galatians 3:1-14 (Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 2003): CBQ 67 (2005) 335-37.

S. A. Cummins, Paul and the Crucified Christ in Antioch: Maccabean Martyrdom and Galatians 1 and 2 (SNTSMS 114; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001): BibInt. 12.1 (2004) 113-16..

Stephan K. Davis, The Antithesis of the Ages: Paul's Reconfiguration of Torah (CBQMS 33; Washington, DC: The Catholic Biblical Association of America, 2002): CBQ 65 (2003) 119-20. Read the Review>>

James D. G. Dunn, ed., Paul and the Mosaic Law (Rev. Ed.; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2001): Dialog 40.3 (2001) 240-42; alternate version of the review in RBL (10/07/2002). Read the Review>>

Jerry L. Sumney, "Servants of Satan", "False Brothers" and Other Opponents of Paul (JSNTSS 188; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1999): JBL 120.3 (2001) 578-81; RBL (2/19/2001). Read the Review>>

Johann D. Kim, God, Israel, and the Gentiles: Rhetoric and Situation in Romans 9—11 (SBLDS 176; Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 1999): CBQ 63 (2001) 152-54. Read the Review>>

Mark Reasoner, The Strong and the Weak: Romans 14.1—15.13 in Context (SNTSMS 103; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999): JBL 120.1 (2001) 178-80; RBL (6/20/2000). Read the Review>>

Christopher Bryan, Preface to Romans: Notes on the Epistle in Its Literary and Cultural Setting (Oxford, et al: Oxford University Press, 2000): RBL (7/13/2000). Read the Review>>

Roy E. Ciampa, The Presence and Function of Scripture in Galatians 1 and 2 (WUNT 2.102; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1998): CBQ 62 (2000) 140-42. Read the Review>>

Charles H. Cosgrove, Elusive Israel: The Puzzle of Election in Romans (Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 1997): JBL 119:1 (2000) 149-51; RBL (3/01/2000). Read the Review>>

Jonas Holmstrand, Markers and Meaning in Paul: An Analysis of 1 Thessalonians, Philippians and Galatians (Coniectanea Biblica. NTS 28; Translated by Martin Naylor; Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell International, 1997): BibInt. 8.4 (2000) 435-37.

Editors Siân Jones & Sarah Pearce, Jewish Local Patriotism and Self-Identification in the Graeco-Roman Period (JSPSS: 31; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1998): BibInt. 7.4 (1999) 457.

Sam K. Williams, Galatians (Abingdon New Testament Commentaries; Nashville: Abingdon, 1997): CBQ 60 (1999) 782-83. Read the Review>>

Brendan Byrne, S. J., Romans (Sacra Pagina 6; Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press/Michael Glazier, 1996): CBQ 60 (1998) 558-60. Read the Review>>

Gerhardsson, Birger, The Shema in the New Testament: Deut 6:4-5 in Significant Passages (Lund: Novapress, 1996): BibInt. 6 (1998) 446-48.

Stanley K. Stowers, A Rereading of Romans: Justice, Jews, and Gentles (New Haven & London: Yale University Press, 1994): Theology 98 (1995) 392-94.

Peter D. Gooch, Dangerous Food: 1 Corinthians 8-10 in Its Context (Ontario, Canada: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 1993): Journal of Beliefs and Values 16 (1995) 30-32.

Krister Stendahl, Final Account: Paul's Letter to the Romans (Minneapolis, Fortress Press, 1995): Journal of Beliefs and Values 15 (1995) 27-28.

1997-Present: reviewer of numerous booknotes for Jewish Book World.