New Testament Studies
- New Testament Studies / Volume 55 / Issue 02 / April 2009, pp 218-246
- Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009
- DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0028688509000149 (About DOI), Published online: 10 March 2009
Articles
L'Identification de Jésus au Modèle du Hasid Charismatique Galiléen: Les Thèses de Geza Vermes et de Shmuel Safrai Revisitées
Dan Jafféa1
a1 Bar-Ilan University, 52900 Ramat-Gan, Israel email: danyaffe@smile.net.il
Abstract
Numerous studies have been undertaken with the objective of putting forward an identity of Jesus according to the Jewish movements of the end of the Second Temple period. Geza Vermes and Shmuel Safrai present an unusual thesis: they suggest that Jesus was a hasid, i.e. a charismatic Galilean prophet. They base themselves principally on the personalities of Hanina ben Dosa and Honi the Circlemaker to draw a behavioral model appropriate to Jesus according to the hasid model. This article explores the theses of these important scholars and refutes them, refusing to see the hasidim of the first centuries as a separate group from the general group of the Sages. Thus Jesus was considered to belong to one of the numerous Pharisee identities.
Keywords
- Hasid;
- Pharisee;
- Hanina ben Dosa;
- Honi the Circlemaker;
- Charismatic Galilean prophet
