Matthew within Sectarian Judaism

“How Jewish is Matthew’s Gospel? Kampen takes this perennial question and answers it with nuance and sophistication. . . . A helpful volume for considering neglected angles of Matthew’s Gospel. This book is recommended for those who are seeking an informed analysis of the First Gospel’s relationship to sectarian literature.”—Charles Nathan Ridlehoover, Catholic Biblical Quarterly

“The book is ideal for doctoral students, professors, and scholars interested in Matthew specifically or Second Temple Judaism more generally.”—Matthew S. Rindge, Horizons

“Kampen’s reading of Matthew as a sectarian text offers a new and insightful approach that is well-informed and compelling.”—Daniel M. Gurtner, Religious Studies Review

“Combining detailed knowledge of Second Temple texts with careful sociological analysis, Kampen offers new insights not only into Matthean legislative and communal identity, Christology and eschatology, but also into post-70 Galilean life within its Roman context. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in the First Gospel and late-first-century Jewish life.”—Amy-Jill Levine, Vanderbilt University

“Drawing on his decades of engagement with both Matthew and the Dead Sea Scrolls, Kampen provides an authoritative and compelling reading of the Gospel of Matthew as the product of a sectarian community fully located ‘within Judaism.’”—Terence L. Donaldson, Wycliffe College

“This original work of expert scholarship sheds interesting new light on ancient Jewish sectarianism. This book should become the new standard-bearer for the thesis of a sectarian Jewish Matthew.”— Matt Jackson-McCabe, author of Jewish Christianity Reconsidered

“Since Papias, the church has understood Matthew’s Gospel as the ‘Jewish Gospel,’ but from a Christian perspective. In this excellent study, John Kampen skillfully opens up a historical Galilean context in which Matthew makes first-century Jewish sense. Reading Matthew as a ‘Jewish Gospel’ now means something entirely different than the Church Fathers could have imagined!”—Anders Runesson, author of Divine Wrath and Salvation in Matthew

“In this highly original and perceptive book, John Kampen sheds new light on Matthew’s Gospel, especially with regard to the Sermon on the Mount, the Gospel’s conception of community, and its undeniable polemical aspects. Anyone interested in understanding Matthew within its original social historical context will want to read this book and engage its arguments carefully.”—Mark Allan Powell, Trinity Lutheran Seminary