Grace and Agency in Paul and Second Temple Judaism Novum Testamentum, Supplements Executive Editors David P. Moessner (Forth Worth) Margaret M. Mitchell (Chicago) Editorial Board H.W. Attridge (New Haven) C. Breytenbach (Berlin) J.K. Elliott (Leeds) C.R. Holladay (Atlanta) D. Marguerat (Lausanne) M.J.J. Menken (Tilburg) J.C. Thom (Stellenbosch) P. Trebilco (Dunedin) VOLUME 157 The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/nts Grace and Agency in Paul and Second Temple Judaism Interpreting the Transformation of the Heart By Kyle B. Wells LEIDEN | BOSTON Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Wells, Kyle B. (Kyle Brandon), 1980–  Grace and agency in Paul and Second Temple Judaism : interpreting the transformation of the heart / by Kyle B. Wells.   pages cm. — (Supplements to Novum Testamentum, ISSN 0167-9732 ; Volume 157)  Includes bibliographical references and index.  ISBN 978-90-04-27728-1 (hardback : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-90-04-27732-8 (e-book)  1. Bible. Epistles of Paul—Criticism, interpretation, etc. 2. Bible. Epistles of Paul—Relation to the Old Testament. 3. Paul, the Apostle, Saint—Theology. 4. Grace (Theology)—Biblical teaching. I. Title.  BS2650.52.W45 2014  227’.06—dc23 2014026701 This publication has been typeset in the multilingual ‘Brill’ typeface. With over 5,100 characters covering Latin, ipa, Greek, and Cyrillic, this typeface is especially suitable for use in the humanities. For more information, please see brill.com/brill-typeface. issn 0167-9732 isbn 978-90-04-27728-1 (hardback) isbn 978-90-04-27732-8 (e-book) Copyright 2015 by Koninklijke Brill nv, Leiden, The Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Brill Nijhoff, Global Oriental and Hotei Publishing. All rights reserved. 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Contents Acknowledgements  ix 1 Introduction  1 1.1 Paul, Grace, and Agency  1 1.2 Method of Investigation  9 Part 1 Jewish Scriptures: Restoration Agency in Deuteronomy, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel 2 Deuteronomy 30: God and Israel in the Drama of Restoration  25 2.1 Reading 1: The Priority of Israel in Restoration  26 2.2 Reading 2: Divine Priority in Restoration  28 2.3 Conclusion  39 3 Heart Transformation in the Prophets: Jeremiah and Ezekiel  41 3.1 The Heart and Its Transformation in the Book of Jeremiah  41 3.2 Ezekiel and the Recreation of Moral Agents  53 3.3 Conclusion  61 Part 2 Early Jewish Interpretation and Theology 4 The Septuagint  65 4.1 Introduction  65 4.2 Initiative and Agency  65 4.3 Heart Operation  67 4.4 Conclusion  71 5 The Dead Sea Scrolls  73 5.1 Introduction  73 5.2 Scriptural Engagement  75 5.3 The Sectarian Community: Larger Considerations  107 5.4 Summary and Conclusions  126 vi contents 6 The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha  134 6.1 Baruch  134 6.2 Jubilees  147 6.3 Second Baruch  163 6.4 Fourth Ezra  173 6.5 Summary and Conclusion  187 7 Philo  188 7.1 Introduction  188 7.2 Deuteronomy 30 and Restoration  188 7.3 Philo and Heart-Circumcision  200 7.4 Conclusion  204 Part 3 Paul 8 Paul’s Reading of Deuteronomy 30 in Romans 2:17–29  209 8.1 Introduction: Establishing the Connection  209 8.2 The Way to Life and Fulfilling the Commands  211 8.3 Heart-Circumcision and the Reconstitution of the Moral Agent  215 8.4 Conclusion  221 9 Paul’s Reading of Restoration: Further Considerations  224 9.1 Romans 7:5–6: A Critical Link  224 9.2 Moral Agents in Eschatological Contrast  225 9.3 Life in the Flesh: Moral Agents in the Old Aeon  227 9.4 New Creation: The Reconstitution of the Human Agent in Christ  253 9.5 Summary and Conclusions  275 10 Paul’s Reading of Restoration Outside Romans  276 10.1 Competency and the New Covenant: 2 Corinthians 3:5–6  276 10.2 Brief Excursus on Letter/Spirit Contrast  278 10.3 Heart-Circumcision and Worship in Spirit: Philippians 3:3  282 10.4 The Circumcision of Christ: Colossians 2:11–12  284 10.5 Summary and Conclusions  288 contents vii Part 4 Conclusions 11 Conclusions  293 11.1 Conclusions Regarding Paul’s Reading of Scripture  293 11.2 Conclusions Regarding the Pauline Integration of Grace and Agency  295 11.3 Implications for Pauline Theology  301 11.4 Implications for Paul and Judaism  307 Bibliography  313 Index of Ancient Literature  346 Index of Names  366 Select Index of Subjects  373 Acknowledgements This work would not have been possible without the efforts of many, whom I now have the privilege of recognising. The thoughts behind this project were seminally formed under the winsome instruction of the faculty at Covenant Theological Seminary. Their refusal to play off grace and obedience in either theory or practice set me thinking on precisely how the two topics integrate. A particular word of thanks goes to David Chapman, Jack Collins, Greg Perry, and Jay Sklar for their encouragement throughout this process. The project itself was guided by many sage minds. The bulk of the research for this project took place while pursuing a Ph.D. at Durham University. I could not have found a better secondary supervisor than Loren T. Stuckenbruck. His expertise in the Jewish materials proved to be of incalculable value; his interac- tion with me went beyond the call of duty. Prof. Stuckenbruck, along with Matthias Henze, Jason Maston, Joshua Moon, and Preston Sprinkle, kindly pro- vided me with pre-published material. Seulgi Byun, William Kynes, Jonathan Moo, and N.T. Wright read portions of the thesis and provided feedback. Surprisingly, however, none would take credit for any mistakes that might remain. I would also like to thank Robert Gundry for kindly reading the manuscript in its entirety. Dr. Gundry gave me encouragement as well as a substantial les- son in English grammar. My examiners, Lutz Doering and Richard Bell, and the anonymous readers at Brill, all made helpful comments that have contributed to the final version of this work. There are a few others to mention: Matt Day for research assistance, Ryan Kelley for the indexing, Liv Leonard for proof- reading, and Molly Riley for helping to retrieve books in a timely manner. Little did I know when I arrived in Durham what a tremendous privilege it would be to study under Prof. John M.G. Barclay. It is hardly imaginable that one could acquire a better supervisor. I could speak of his proficiency as a scholar: his comprehensive knowledge of the field, his keen ability to read texts, his aptness to cut to the heart of complex subjects, and his skilful employ- ment of language. These things are widely known, however, as his own work speaks for itself. Perhaps unknown to most are his untiring labours as a super- visor. I could speak of the late hours he spent re-reading chapters that he had already read several times over, of how he investigated the primary and sec- ondary sources to ensure that he was interacting with my work in the most informed way, of how he would send recommendation letters at a few days notice without even a hint of being inconvenienced. I could even speak of the hours upon hours of joyous and stimulating conversation we spent in dialogue