Mission-Commitment in Ancient Judaism and in the Pauline Communities: The Shape, Extent and Background of Early Christian Mission

The extent to which Jewish and Christian communities of the first century evidenced ‘proselytising’ tendencies has been hotly contested in recent research, with scholars tending either to deny outright or affirm emphatically the presence of ‘mission’ in the synagogue or the church. Through a thorough historical and philological examination of Second Temple Jewish literature and the epistles of Paul, John P. Dickson offers a carefully nuanced picture of the shape and extent of mission-commitment in Judaism and early Christianity. Particularly significant is the author’s contention that the mission outlook of the apostle Paul - both in his self-conception and in his expectations of converts - was shaped decisively by his Jewish heritage.