Torrey Seland, «Saul of Tarsus and Early Zealotism. Reading Gal 1,13-14 in Light of Philo’s Writings», Vol. 83 (2002) 449-471
One of the most consistent features in the portraits of Saul of Tarsus in the Acts of the Apostles and in the letters accredited to Paul, is the fervent zeal of his youth. The zeal of the young Saul has been dealt with in several studies, drawing on the issue of zealotry in Palestine, but the conclusions reached are rather diverse. The present study suggests that the often overlooked phenomenon of zealotry in the writings of Philo of Alexandria should also be considered. The material from Philo does not support the view that the early zealots formed any consistent movement or party, but that they were vigilant individuals who took the Law in their own hands when observing cases of gross Torah transgressions.
It represents a tradition of how to characterize violent zeal. Hence Paul is here aligning himself with predecessors of venerable individual ‘zealots’67. This does not, however, make him a member of a zealot ‘movement’ or ‘party’68. But he saw himself as acting out the model of Phinehas, being zealous for the Law, even to the extent of using violence against overt perpetrators, thus becoming a persecutor of the early Christians 69. We shall elaborate a little on the issue of the severity of Paul’s zeal in the next section.
4. o#ti kaq' u(perbolh_n e)di/wkon th_n e)kklhsi/an tou= qeou= kai_ e)po/rqoun au)th/n
The verb diw/kein does not by itself denote violent actions; it may be used in the sense of ‘pursue’ or even ‘follow’. But it may also denote ‘persecute’, and the contexts thus become important to determine the more exact meaning of the expressions concerned.
When it comes to the expressions used in Philo’s Spec.1,54-57 and 2,252-3, there is little doubt that the punishments he considers to be carried out by the zealots on the spot are violent death. In Spec. 1,54, the measures to be enforced is stated very briefly: "They shouldsuffer the utmost penalties" (tai=j a)nwta/tw timwri/aij o)fei/lousi kola/zesqai). This expression is very short, but it is most probable that the punishment it signifies is death. This interpretation can be supported by several observations: first, by the expression tai=j a)nwta/tw timwri/aij as used in other Philonic texts70, then by the description of the practice and legitimation which follow in 1,55-5771, and lastly from the description of the capital punishment to be