Journal: Westminster Theological Journal
Volume: WTJ 82:1 (Spring 2020)
Article: Predestinarian Election In Second Temple Judaism And Its Relevance To Pauline Theology
Author: Robert J. Wiesner

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Predestinarian Election In Second Temple Judaism And Its Relevance To Pauline Theology

Robert J. Wiesner

Robert J. Wiesner is the pastor of Kenmore Baptist Church in Kenmore, NY. He holds a ThM in New Testament studies from Dallas Theological Seminary.

In his 2015 book, The Chosen People, A. Chadwick Thornhill argues, based on his analysis of election discourse in Second Temple Jewish literature, that the apostle Paul never presents election as the divine determination of individuals for eschatological salvation. Thornhill suggests that election in Second Temple Judaism is primarily conditional, usually presented in corporate categories, and never in terms of divine predestination. Therefore, he judges it unlikely that Paul held to predestinarian election. In response, this article offers a careful examination of three Second Temple texts that do present election in predestinarian terms, which were not given due weight in Thornhill’s study. It is argued that Sirach, though less consistently than others, can be read in deterministic terms, especially 33:7–15. Less controversially, the divine predestination of individuals to either salvation or judgment is explicit at Qumran. This teaching is seen transparently in the Treatise on the Two Spirits (1QS 3:13–4:26) and the Thanksgiving Hymns (1QH^a, esp. lines 7 and 9). These writings present election in terms of God’s determination before creation who will and who will not be a member of the covenant and an heir of eschatological life. Even the conditional actions of covenant membership (e.g., repentance) are presented as consequences of God’s prior determination and effectual enablement. In the analysis of these texts, Pauline passages are noted where the analysis of the Second Temple sources will prove relevant in exegesis.

In his book comparing Paul’s theology of election to that in Second Temple Judaism, A. Chadwick Thornhill observes that our sources most often present election as “primarily conditional.”1 By this he means election is

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usually viewed as conditioned on covenant obedience and membership in the elect community. Important to Thornhill’s case is his observation that rather than focusing on individuals when election is discussed, “More often the texts … concentrate on the ‘collective’ of the elect.”2 This happens commonly using various corporate metaphors and “the remnant motif.” For example, Thornhill observes, rightly, that the sect at Qumran saw its community alone as the faithful remnant of Israel—the true Israel....