Zur Krise der Gerechtigkeit im frühen Judentum: Reflexionen über das Entstehungsmilieu des frühen Christentums

Jesus’ word about self degradation is part of a polemical context: By this word Jesus and the early Jesus movement criticize Jewish opponents who within the Palestinian Jewish society claimed succesfully a position of honour that was founded on religious ideals. The broader context of these polemics was an Early Jewish discourse on righteousness which is first of all attested in the Assumption of Moses and in the Testament of Abraham. This discourse is labelled here with the term “crisis of righteousness”. This crisis of righteousness becomes manifest in two ways: On the one hand, the righteousness of well situated people regarded as righteous is debated (in the Ass Mos), and on the other hand, the ideal of righteousness in itself, is relativized (in the Test Abr). In the synoptic Jesus tradition, both strategies find parallels. One important reason for the crisis of righteousness in Early Judaims may have been the behaviour of those who maintained and represented the ideal of the well situated righteous one: They probably ignored social conflicts associated with their ideals and lifestyle. This is demonstrated by a contra-intentional reading of the Testament of Job inspired by the hermeneutics of suspicion.