The Salvation of Israel: Jews in Christian Eschatology from Paul to the Puritans

The Salvation of Israel explores Christianity's eschatological Jew, examining their role and characteristics at the end of days in the Christian imagination. It reveals the dual role of Jews, who are linked to the false messiah but also hold the key to the second coming of Jesus Christ. Through close readings of biblical commentary, theological texts, and Christian iconography, Cohen sheds light on the complex and often contradictory attitudes towards Jews in Christianity.

Format: Hardback
Length: 344 pages
Publication date: 01 August 2022
Publisher: Cornell University Press

The Salvation of Israel delves into Christianity's eschatological portrayal of Jews, examining their role and characteristics at the end of days in the Christian imagination. It explores the depth of Christian ambivalence regarding these Jews, spanning from Paul's Epistle to the Romans to late antiquity and the Middle Ages, and culminating in the Puritans of the seventeenth century. Jeremy Cohen argues that few aspects of a religion shed as much light on the character and self-understanding of its adherents as its expectations for the end of time. Eschatological beliefs not only express and mold an outlook toward nonbelievers but also situate them in an overall scheme of human history, conditioning interaction with them as that history unfolds. Cohen's close readings of biblical commentary, theological texts, and Christian iconography reveal the dual role of the Jews of the last days. On the one hand, they have been linked to the false messiah, the Antichrist, the agent of Satan and the exemplary embodiment of evil. On the other hand, Christianity has also hinged its hopes for the second coming on the enlightenment and repentance of the Jews, as prophesized by Paul. The Salvation of Israel offers a nuanced and insightful assessment of Christian attitudes toward Jews, spanning a vast historical scope from the ancient Mediterranean world of early Christianity to seventeenth-century England and New England. It highlights the inconsistency and complexity of these attitudes, contributing significantly to our understanding of Jewish-Christian relations.

Weight: 28g
Dimension: 229 x 152 x 22 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781501764721