Atonement: Jewish and Christian Origins.

This edited volume originated as a symposium entitled “Atonement: Sin, Sacrifice, and Salvation in Jewish and Christian Antiquity” as part of the St. Andrews Symposium for Biblical and Early Christian Studies. The symposium was hosted at the University of St. Andrews in June 2018. The title of the symposium indicates some of the key themes of the book and the main ways that this book defines the complex term atonement. As such, it focuses on conceptions of sin, sacrifice, and salvation to explore the broader notions of atonement in the Hebrew Bible, in early Jewish thought in the Second Temple period, and in its specific development in the NT itself.After a brief introduction, the book is divided into two parts. Part 1 has three chapters that “outline critical issues in the study of atonement and trace the development of atonement legislation in the Hebrew Bible” (p. xvii). Part 2 is more extensive with six chapters that “explore the intersection of anthropology, cosmology, and mediatorial figures in ancient Jewish and Christian atonement theologies” (p. xviii). Part 2 focuses predominantly on developments of atonement theories within Judaism in the Second Temple period and among Christians in the NT.While ch. 1 is located within the section of the book focused on the Hebrew Bible, Christian Eberhart’s scope extends past the Hebrew Bible to the Christ-event (and to early Christian theologians) as he explores sacrificial rituals and theories of atonement. In doing so, Eberhart sets the scene for the entire scope of the book rather than only part 1.Deborah Rooke in ch. 2 and David Wright in ch. 3 focus on atonement in the Pentateuch. Rooke examines how the Priestly source describes situations where an offender is “cut off” from the community (the karet penalty) and the rhetorical function of this penalty. Wright details how the Holiness school in Numbers builds on the Priestly source around regulations regarding the “sin” or “purification” offering (hattaʾt).In ch. 4, Carol Newsom begins part 2 of the book with her essay focused on shifts in Second Temple Judaism regarding views of sin as wrong actions done by a person to an issue of “innate and intractable human moral deficiency”(p. 70) which is characteristic of their personhood. Newsom’s discussion of anthropology and atonement within Second Temple Judaism not only traces its origins and progression but highlights the implications for these anthropological views. In ch. 5, Crispin Fletcher-Louis similarly explores Second Temple Judaism by examining the figure of the High Priest in Ben Sira 50 as an exploration in mediatorial figures and their impact on atonement theologies in the Second Temple period. But whereas Newsom suggests a negative anthropology, Fletcher-Louis points to a positive anthropology represented in the high priest figure, adding to the exploration of this key figure in Second Temple Judaism.N. T. Wright marks a shift in the book from a focus on Second Temple Judaism broadly to a focus on the NT with his examination in ch. 6 of the importance of correctly understanding the overarching narrative of Scripture in order to better understand atonement theologies in the NT. As Wright notes, his chapter extends elements of his previous work on atonement. To this, Wright adds greater emphasis on temple and cosmological considerations.Catrin H. Williams continues with explorations of NT theologies of atonement in ch. 7 as she analyzes the relationship between “seeing” and salvation in the Gospel of John and the use of the Hebrew Bible. Williams points to how “scripture quotations and allusions operate as part of John’s narrative design, particularly with regard to their rhetorical, christological, and—may we add—soteriological functions”(p. 131). Williams argues that John’s use of scriptural citation demonstrates that “the life-giving power of Jesus is seen and believed when he dies and yields the spirit (John 19:30)” and the Gospel also shows that “it is the risen Lord who confers the life-giving Spirit on others by breathing new life (20:22) into those with eyes to see” (154). Thus, John the Evangelist contributes to a vision of atonement by emphasizing the soteriological impacts of Jesus’s death, resurrection, and giving of the Spirit.In ch. 8, T. J. Lang moves the discussion from the Gospel of John in the previous chapter to a focus on Pauline depictions of atonement. Lang argues that Paul’s language in Ephesians points to an “economics of atonement” as Paul uses words associated with economics to conceptualize atonement with the language of sealing and redemption (p. 155). Lang uses a sociolinguistic analysis to identify these usages throughout Ephesians.Martha Himmelfarb provides the concluding chapter of the edited volume with her ch. 9, examining what occurs in the heavenly temple. Himmelfarb’s chapter explores this theme in Jewish writings of the Second Temple period and in NT texts. Himmelfarb compares the lack of cultic sacrifice and atonement language in early apocalypses (e.g., Book of Watchers) alongside depictions of angelic liturgies and compares this to the depictions of cultic sacrifice in other Second Temple and NT writings, notably the Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice, the Testament of Levi, Hebrews, and Revelation.A strength of this volume is the caliber of the contributors with consistently well-written essays. The majority of the essays are written by senior-level scholars whose work demonstrates the expanse of their knowledge and the depth of their experience. Meanwhile, the essays by more junior scholars are equally solid.Another strength of the volume is the way it not only explores atonement in the Hebrew Bible and NT but bridges the gap of Second Temple Judaism that informs the development of atonement theories across the Scriptures. This integration of Second Temple scholarship with biblical scholarship makes this volume uniquely helpful in its scope.As is common with edited volumes, the book does not provide a single coherent thesis regarding atonement. However, the editors note in their introduction that this was not their intent. Instead, the goal of the volume is to explore the theme of atonement in its multitudinous manifestations––“the marketplace of atonement” as the editors call it (p. xvi)––as it developed in Jewish and Christian communities with a focus on the themes of sin, sacrifice, and salvation. In this regard, the book is successful in its goals. However, the volume could be enhanced by a conclusion that drew together major themes and future trajectories of these essays. This would have added to the continuing relevance of this book and its overall helpfulness to its readers.The book is relatively well edited with a few exceptions. For example, the introduction incorrectly states that part 2 includes “seven essays,” but there are only six essays described in the subsequent paragraphs and present within the volume (p. xviii). This typographic error may indicate a different number of essays in an earlier draft of the manuscript or merely be a counting error.While the essays vary in their complexity, the overall tone of the book is academic, but with the goal of broader engagement. Some of the essays use transliteration and/or translation for much of the Greek and Hebrew, which allows for a wider variety of readers interested in the topic of atonement to find the book accessible. However, more editing toward consistency in this area in all chapters would have added to the volume’s accessibility. This book’s price is not overly exorbitant, but the cost could still be a consideration for some.Overall, the volume is a worthwhile purchase for those interested in a deeper knowledge of the origins and developments in atonement in the Hebrew Bible, Second Temple Judaism, and the New Testament.

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