Title

Questions of Self-Designation in the 'Ascension of Isaiah'

Author(s)

Meghan Henning, University of DaytonFollow
Tobias Nicklas, University of Regensburg

Document Type

Book Chapter

Publication Date

3-2-2016

Publication Source

'The Ascension of Isaiah': Studies in Early Christian Apocrypha

Abstract

The Question of the 'Parting of the Ways' between Jews and Christians has become a matter of debate again: Is it really appropriate to speak about two more or less coherent groups going two different ways from a certain point in history — perhaps after Paul's mission, after the destruction of the Second Temple (70 CE), or after the Bar-Kokhba War (132-135 CE)? Does the image of a tree with one root and two different trunks going into two different directions really fit what the extant sources tell us about the complexities of the past? Or shouldn't we distinguish between the situations at different geographical places and times, under different social and political circumstances, and of partly very different groups? Do categories like 'Jew', 'Christian', or 'pagan' help us to understand how real people and real groups understood themselves? Of course, we have to use 'categories' if we want to describe the past – we should, however, always be aware that our categories are likely not the categories of people living hundreds of years ago, and that, in any case, they are only heuristic tools which can even impede proper understanding, if we use them too schematically.

Description of book from publisher's websites: This book is one of the first modern collections of studies on important aspects of the Ascension of Isaiah, which occupies a special place among the early Christian writings due to its complicated origin and its relevance in regards of the early Christian self-understanding in respect of the Jews.

Inclusive pages

175-198

ISBN/ISSN

978-90-429-3199-2

Document Version

Published Version

Comments

The document available for download is made available with the permission of the publisher and the authors. Permission documentation on file.

Copyright

Copyright © 2016, Peeters Publishers

Publisher

Peeters Publishers

Volume

11

Place of Publication

Leuven, Belgium

eCommons Citation

Henning, Meghan and Nicklas, Tobias, "Questions of Self-Designation in the 'Ascension of Isaiah'" (2016). Religious Studies Faculty Publications. 137.
https://ecommons.udayton.edu/rel_fac_pub/137