Renaissance-Reformation Christian-Hebraica: First Steps in Interfaith Dialogue

FAIN: FT-13801-78

Jerome Friedman
Kent State University (Kent, OH 44242-0001)

To write a book length manuscript concerning the neglected phenomenon of Renaissance-Reformation Christian-Hebraica and the points of intellectual contact between 15th and 16th century Christians and Jews. Christian-Hebraica is the use of Jewish and rabbinic religious sources by Christians, this was a contributing feature of the Protestant departure from the Roman Catholic Church, entailed extensive retranslation and reinterpretation of the Old Testament, and necessitated intellectual cooperation with Jewish scholars opposing Christianity in all forms. The Jewish sources, the Hebrew teachers serving as intermediaries and how Jewish sources were integrated in Christian thought will be examined.