ALL ISRAEL NEWS, co-founder and editor-in-chief of which is political analyst and author, Joel Rosenberg, is a web-based news service that covers news and events impacting Israel & the Middle East for the Evangelical world, according to its website. The following article is a synopsis of a review written by Dr. Ishay Rosen-Zvi, professor of rabbinic literature and Chair of the Department of Jewish Philosophy and Talmud at Tel-Aviv University, of Dr. Serge Ruzer’s recently-published book, The Writings of the New Testament as Jewish Literature. Ruzer is a leading scholar in the field of Comparative Religion at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

The All Israel News staff collaborative effort, published on April 25, 2025, noted that Rosen-Zvi praised the book because it was written in Hebrew and thus offered access to the writings of the New Testament to Israelis, most of whom “know almost nothing about common roots of Christianity and Judaism. ‘The Hebrew-speaking public needs this book now more than ever.’” The article focuses mainly on Rosen-Zvi’s appraisal of Ruzer’s treatment of the writings in the New Testament as they compare to similar ideas expressed in the “Jewish milieu of the 1st century,” especially to those found in the Dead Sea Scrolls.

The article concludes with the assessment of Rosen-Zvi that Ruzer’s “book marks a turning point in Hebrew scholarship. It is an indispensable read for all who want to understand the New Testament not as a foreign text outside their frame of reference, rather as a Jewish text that is rooted deep in the traditions, tensions and hopes of Judaism of the time of the Second Temple.“

I would suggest that an unspoken reason for the book’s importance, which of course is predicated on the author’s integrity, is that it provides an opportunity for those Israelis who would never own a copy of the New Testament for fear of reprisal to investigate the claim of Christianity that Yeshua is the Messiah and therefore equal with Yahwah Elohim. He is the Creator of all that is as well as being the Savior not only of the Gentiles, who claim to own that favor but who are only those who have been grafted into a believing Israel.

This article appeared on the German page of the All Israel News website [translated from German by LOC]:

Only a few people in Israel are interested in the Christian scriptures or in the deep, symbiotic connection between Judaism and Christianity.

In a detailed review, Professor Ishay Rosen-Zvi of the University of Tel Aviv recently introduced to Hebrew readers the new and extraordinary book, The Writings of the New Testament as Jewish Literature, by Dr. Serge Ruzer, a leading scholar of Comparative Religion at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Ruzer’s work traces the deep connections between the early Christian texts and the Jewish tradition and illuminates the rich presence of Hebrew and Jewish ideas in the New Testament.

According to Rosen-Zvi’s enthusiastic review, the book is not only a valuable academic contribution, rather a true milestone in the area of Jewish Studies. Instead of getting involved in apologetics or polemics, Ruzer concentrated on the theological ideas, which are mirrored in the various scriptures of the New Testament.

His work presents a broad spectrum of the ideas from the 1^st century A.D. with clarity and soberness and shows how deep these had been rooted in the Jewish milieu of the time, according to Rosen-Zvi. This approach makes the book not only academically meaningful, but also remarkably accessible for Hebrew-speaking readers.

Rosen-Zvi praises Ruzer’s confident handling of sources from the time of the Second Temple, especially of the Dead Sea scrolls. He points out striking parallels between figures of the New Testament – about Jesus – and the leader described in the Qumran writings: of a figure who suffers, is persecuted and definitively interprets the writing. Jesus, who in the synagogue reads from Isaiah and exegetes the reading as fulfilled, brings to remembrance, according to Rosen-Zvi, the eschatological expectations of Qumran.

The book shows in addition that the early Christian scriptures share profound structural similarities with sectarian Jewish thought – about the belief in a chosen remnant, the working of the Holy Spirit, apocalyptic hopes and the new interpretation of scripture. According to Rosen-Zvi, Ruzer shows convincingly, why the early church should be understood as one of many forms of expression of Judaism in the 1^st century.

Rosen-Zvi shows himself especially impressed by the differentiated presentation, how the first Christians handled the non-appearance of the end times. While some texts mirrored an urgent apocalyptic expectation, others stressed an inner transformation and the spiritual entry into the Kingdom of Heaven. Rosen-Zvi compares this with similar developments in the Qumran documents – further evidence of a common contextual relationship.

Indeed, beyond its scholarly value, Rosen-Zvi stresses that a Hebrew book like this has been written primarily for a Hebrew-speaking public. There is “nearly total” ignorance of the New Testament – and of Christianity overall – among Israeli students, he says. The majority learn only about persecutions, cross-carrying or hear occasionally in the news of churches selling land in Jerusalem – or, in case it is reported, of ultra-orthodox Jews spitting on priests in the Jewish Quarter. Rosen-Zvi says the Hebrew-speaking public needs this book now more than ever.

Finally, Rosen-Zvi appreciates the light that Ruzer throws not only on early Christianity, but also on the Rabbinic literature. He refers somewhat to the connection between the baptism stories of Jesus and later Midrashic representations of divine presence and repentance through water. Ruzer shows that theological concepts, which were later preserved in the Rabbinic tradition, were already to be found in early Christian writings of the 1^st century.

In the estimation of Rosen-Zvi, this book marks a turning point in Hebrew scholarship. It is an indispensable read for all who want to understand the New Testament not as foreign or outside the [Hebraic] frame of reference, rather as a Jewish text that is rooted deep in the traditions, tensions and hopes of Judaism of the time of the Second Temple.

All Israel News Staff

The colleagues of All Israel News are a team of journalists in Israel.