Winter 2024 Shapiro Lecture with Dr. Joel Kaminsky

Sibling Rivals: How the Idea of Chosenness Unites and Divides Jews and Christians

The idea that God specially chose the people of Israel is central to the theology of the Hebrew Bible yet is among the most maligned and misunderstood biblical concepts. This talk aims to introduce major aspects of the Hebrew Bible’s election theology by highlighting how early Christian and ancient rabbinic sources adopted various facets of the biblical idea of chosenness in unique and at times inverse ways, leaving Jews and Christians both united and divided by the scriptural heritage they share.

Download: Handout for Prof. Joel Kaminsky’s talk

Dr. Joel Kaminsky

Dr. Joel Kaminsky is the Morningstar Family Professor of Jewish Studies and a professor of Bible in the Religion Department at Smith College where he has taught since 1997. His research explores the intersection between narrative and theological currents in the Hebrew Bible and Rabbinic literature and seeks to illuminate the distinct ways that Jews and Christians over the past two millennia have interpreted the Hebrew Bible.