The Changing Character of the Torah

What is it about?

During the Second Temple period, we find competing groups advocating conflicting interpretations of Jewish law. This state of affairs can be explained as a result of an ongoing transformation of the role and character of the Torah under Hellenistic influence. From being understood as instruction, guidance, and description, the Torah gradually morphed into a more prescriptive and judicial nomos. The Jesus tradition describes the resulting tensions around legal interpretation primarily as a conflict between the early Jesus movement and the Pharisees. However, a comparison with some of the texts from Qumran gives a clearer picture of the interpretive differences between various groups. It is argued that Jesus and his early followers retained an understanding of the Torah as guidance and instruction, rather than judicial law, and therefore saw no conflict between the law and its pragmatic application.

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