The Wisdom of Alfred Edersheim
Gleanings from a 19th Century Jewish Christian Scholar
David Mishkin
THE WISDOM OF ALFRED EDERSHEIM
Gleanings from a 19th Century Jewish Christian Scholar
Copyright © 2008 David Mishkin. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical publications or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher. Write: Permissions, Wipf and Stock Publishers, 199 W. 8th Ave., Suite 3, Eugene, OR 97401.
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Dedicated to Norm Fuller – Pastor, friend, man of God and all-around good guy who helped make this book possible.
Introduction
I first discovered Alfred Edersheim about twenty years ago. I was taking a ‘Life of Christ’ course and one of the required texts was The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah. As a Jew who was a new believer in Jesus, I was amazed and delighted. I devoured it. Here was another Jewish believer from a century earlier – a professor from Oxford, no less – who was considered the leading authority on Jewish history and customs in the early Christian era! And in the midst of his scholarly discussions, he wrote in the most descriptive, imaginative and passionate way. He was a scholar with a pastor’s (and a poet’s) heart.
The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah is an unparalleled commentary on the Gospels. Spanning over 1,000 pages, Edersheim’s interaction with history and scripture abounds with references from ancient sources. He was thoroughly acquainted with the works of Philo, Josephus, Rabbinic and Apocryphal literature, and the Greek and Roman writings of the Classical period. They all seem second nature to him in their original languages. His scholarship remains remarkably relevant today, even though a number of archaeological finds in the last century have altered the playing field of this area of study. The Dead Sea Scrolls, for example, were not even discovered until 58 years after his death.
More recently, some of Edersheim’s other books have become of interest in Christian circles. There is now more of a desire among believers – both Jewish and Gentile alike – to study the Jewish roots of our Christian faith. And Edersheim was uniquely qualified to teach us, having been an expert in both Jewish and Christian studies. He wrote many volumes in a variety of genres, including novels. Most of these books are extremely rare and hard to find. This is why, I believe, it is time for such a book as this. It is meant to be an encyclopedia as well as a celebration of his writings. There are similar collections from great men of faith by the likes of C.S. Lewis, Charles Spurgeon, Oswald Chambers and A.W. Tozer. The words of Alfred Edersheim are every bit as topical, interesting and inspiring. They will also help us in understanding his own life and times. Interestingly, he was somewhat skeptical about traditional biographies.
There is to observant minds a peculiar taint about many religious biographies. They may be exceedingly well meant, and very devoutly written. But, viewed as biographies, they are simply not true. The statement may seem startling; it is only too correct. Who has ever met such people in real life? And thankful we are that the answer will be in the negative; since otherwise no hope of being Christians would be left to us, not to any persons living outside printed books. For, assuredly, there is not a warp without a woof, nor light without shadow, nor yet a life without failings, foibles, and the thousand and one little things which give to character its individuality, and to life its peculiarity, but which are carefully left out of so many biographies.1
In fact, he was specifically asked by his children to write his biography. They thought it would be quite interesting to many people. In response he quipped:
No. I have played the dancing-bear long enough in my life before the eyes of people, to wish to do it when I am dead.2
It will be helpful for the reader to keep in mind the time and place of his writings. The language used is very much that of Victorian England, and specifically consistent with religious writings of the period. By today’s standards he can seem pietistic or overly dramatic. And remember, English was not his first language, nor even his second or third. He did not even begin to learn English until he was studying medicine at the University of Budapest. His tone, especially when dealing with Jesus’ relationship with the Synagogue (and rabbinic law in general), can appear too polemical in some of his writings. But this too must be taken in its context.
None loved Israel so intensely, even unto death, as Jesus of Nazareth; none made such withering denunciations as He of Jewish Traditionalism, in all its branches, and of its Representatives. It is with Traditionalism, not the Jews, that our controversy lies.3
The quotes below are arranged alphabetically by category, with some longer portions in the appendices. The quotes mostly fall into one of several camps. Many are devotional comments, bringing to light lessons of faith and practice for followers of Jesus. He seems to have a special fondness for the providence of God, the Kingdom of God, and issues of growth and service for believers. However, he is probably best known for his biblical and theological commentaries. Many of the quotes offer insight to various aspects of Biblical history, Jewish studies and scholarly research. Another area which interested Edersheim was apologetics; defending and proclaiming the faith in response to critical scholarship. Finally, many of the quotes relate to the Jewish / Christian debate, and have value for understanding the Jewish background of the respective topics. These include views about messianic prophecies, the teachings of the rabbis, and the issue of atonement.
1. Elisha, 174
2. Tohu, 141
3. LTJM, xviii
His Life
There is relatively little written about the life of Alfred Edersheim. The best source of information comes from Tohu-Va-Vohu, a collection of his writings which was published a year after his death. His daughter, Ella, compiled some of his unpublished thoughts and added some basic facts about his life. All other attempts to recreate his biography have borrowed heavily from this. Another good source is the memoir of Edersheim’s contemporary, Adolph Saphir. Several dictionaries and encyclopedias1 also provide an entry for him, but usually include the same brief information from the above sources. There are several books which chronicle the lives of Jewish believers in Jesus,2 but here too the information on him is limited. The study of missions history, especially the Scottish Mission to the Jews (see below), has been helpful to the discussion. And in the early 1990s, there were two important studies written about Edersheim. One was an article which appeared in the Michigan Theological Journal3 and the other was a paper given at a missions conference.4
The Rev. Dr Alfred Edersheim was born into a Jewish home in Vienna on March 7, 1825, the youngest of four children. His