Podcast Summary

New Books Network – Biblical Studies

Episode: Matthew V. Novenson, "Paul and Judaism at the End of History" (Cambridge UP, 2024)
Date: September 13, 2025
Host: Jonathan Lookadoo
Guest: Matthew V. Novenson

Episode Overview

This episode features Bible scholar Matthew V. Novenson discussing his latest book, "Paul and Judaism at the End of History." The conversation delves into the complexities surrounding the Apostle Paul’s stance toward Judaism, how Paul's understanding of time (eschatology) shapes his theology, and how scholars should rethink ingrained categories when analyzing Paul’s writings. Novenson challenges common assumptions and explores Paul’s unique conception of Judaism, law, identity, and the end of history within the broader scriptural and philosophical traditions.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Intractable Problem: Paul and Judaism

• Scholarly Puzzle: Paul appears both critical and supportive of the Law, causing scholarly confusion. Traditional readings are limited by modern religious categories separating Judaism and Christianity, which Paul himself did not necessarily share.
  • Quote:
    • "[Paul] wants to have it both ways, both to criticize, to say critical things about the Law, and yet to insist that he's actually affirming it." — Matthew Novenson [03:23]
• Proposal: Novenson suggests bracketing modern notions of "Judaism" and "Christianity" to reconsider what Paul was expressing in his own ancient context.

2. Paul's Understanding of Time (Eschatology)

• Paul's Present Eschatology: Unlike later thinkers who view the "end times" as a distant future, Paul believed that the eschaton—the end of history—was happening in his present.
  • Quote:
    • "Paul writes about what we call eschatology as if it’s present to him, as if it’s not something in the distant future…but about something that is happening right now in his own lifetime." — Matthew Novenson [05:55]
• Schweitzer’s Influence: Novenson draws on Albert Schweitzer, emphasizing that for Paul, Jesus’s resurrection signaled the beginning of the general resurrection and end times.
  • Quote:
    • "If he's just seen the risen Jesus, that means the resurrection is happening now in his generation. So that the eschaton, the end of everything, is not someday, but happening now." — Matthew Novenson [08:04]

3. The Term "Judaism" (Ioudaismos) in Paul

• Lexical Analysis: The word Ioudaismos is extremely rare, appearing in Galatians and a few Second Temple texts (e.g., 2 Maccabees) as a term for fervent, even militant Jewish sectarianism, not general Jewish religious practice.
  • Quote:
    • "It’s a fighting word. It’s about a kind of a sectarian and a quite strident program for the defense and promotion of a certain vision of what we would call Judaism." — Matthew Novenson [13:16]
• Implication: Paul’s reference to “Judaism” in Galatians doesn't mean Judaism as a whole, but a specific zealotry or party spirit, challenging traditional readings that see Paul as discarding Judaism altogether.

4. Jews, Gentiles, and Universalism in Paul

• Dual Claims: Paul both universalizes ("there is no Jew or Greek") and makes ethnic distinctions between Jews and Gentiles in moral/behavioral terms, reflecting the belief that the Law gave Jews moral advantage but, ultimately, everyone requires God’s transformative intervention.
  • Quote:
    • "He does mean [his ethnic chauvinism]. It's his actual assumption... Paul thinks there was the moment of God meeting the people Israel at Mount Sinai and giving God's word... made Israel morally continent... but the twist... is that God's ultimate plan is to show final and total mercy on everyone." — Matthew Novenson [21:02]
• Cosmic Redemption: Paul’s vision culminates in the entire world being redeemed and subjected to God, not merely Jews or Gentiles individually.

5. Liberty and Justice for All: Paul’s Moral Economy (Ch. 8)

• Grand Vision: Inspired by the phrase "liberty and justice for all," Novenson explores Paul’s belief that the Gospel brings freedom (eleutheria) and justice (dikaiosune) to everyone—Jews and Gentiles alike.
  • Quote:
    • "Liberty and justice for all is, in a word, it’s kind of what Paul says God is bringing about by sending the Son the Messiah." — Matthew Novenson [24:44]
• Beyond Forgiveness: Paul offers not just forgiveness, but true freedom from sin and death, and the promise of eternal life, aligning with God’s promises to Abraham and extending them universally.

6. Christ as the End (Telos) of the Law (Romans 10:4)

• Ambiguity of 'End': The Greek 'telos' means both "termination" and "goal," and Novenson argues that both senses are relevant.
• Comparative Traditions: Engages with Jewish mystics (e.g., Eliyahu Cohen) and Christian thinkers (e.g., Origen), who similarly grapple with the persistence of Law in the age to come—when sin and death cease to exist, the Law’s function is transformed, not simply abolished.
  • Quote:
    • "It’s not that there’s anything or that there ever was anything wrong with the law. It’s just that the law cannot be what it always was once human beings become... something different from what they were." — Matthew Novenson [36:57]
• Methodological Note: Later Jewish and Christian interpretive traditions share similar problems because they inherit the same Scriptures—leading to analogous theological wrestling even without direct cross-pollination.
  • Quote:
    • "Inasmuch as the Jewish and Christian traditions inherit the same corpus of scriptures... they have a lot of the same puzzles they have to solve." — Matthew Novenson [39:20]

7. Additional Topics in the Book

• Justification by Faith and Works
• Identity of Paul's Opponents
• Jewish Christianity & Legalism
• Transition to 'Spiritual Israel'
  • Novenson notes that, contrary to some claims, Paul himself does not say Christians are "the true Israel"—this develops later.

8. Current and Future Work

• Teaching: Courses on Judaism in the New Testament and Justin Martyr at Princeton.
• Next Project: Commentary on Paul's Letter to the Philippians.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Eschatology:
  "[For Paul], the end of everything, is not someday, but happening now... the normal rules do not apply." — Novenson [08:04]

• On Lexical Rarity:
  "It’s an exceedingly rare Greek word... And that observation began to strike me as more and more important." — Novenson [10:33]

• Paul’s Grand Vision:
  "That's what liberty and justice for all means in Pauline terms... actually live the immortal life of God himself with God." — Novenson [27:22]

• Nature of the Law’s End:
  "It’s not that there’s anything or that there ever was anything wrong with the law. It’s just that the law cannot be what it always was once human beings become... something different from what they were." — Novenson [36:57]

Key Timestamps

• [01:32] Introduction and Novenson’s academic background
• [03:23] The scholarly problem: Paul and the Law/Judaism as a "puzzle"
• [05:55] Paul's eschatology and Schweitzer's influence
• [10:33] Lexical analysis of "Judaism" (Ioudaismos) in Paul
• [18:01] Paul’s ethnic discourse: Jews vs. Gentiles, universalism vs. ethnocentrism
• [24:42] Liberty & Justice for All: Paul’s vision for transformation in Christ
• [31:06] “Christ is the end of the Law” (Romans 10:4) and interpretive traditions
• [39:11] Methodological reflection: Shared interpretive problems in Jewish/Christian traditions
• [42:28] Novenson’s current research (Philippians commentary)

Final Thoughts

Matthew V. Novenson’s "Paul and Judaism at the End of History" offers a radical reframing of Paul’s view of Judaism and the law, showing the importance of eschatology for understanding Paul’s claims. He urges scholars to set aside anachronistic categories and wrestle with Paul’s context, language, and expectation of an imminent end-time. The episode underscores the complexity, nuance, and ongoing significance of Pauline studies for understanding the origins of Christianity and its relationship with Judaism.