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.
own actions as purifying. Donaldson and Hare have, better than most others, emphasized the sociological aspects of how the early Christians were perceived. The Judaisms at the time were generally tolerant; but to "strain the limits of tolerance with respect to Israel’s identifying symbols and boundary markers was to pose a socio-theological threat" ... Persecution arises not because a group holds ideas at variance with the norm, but because it does so in ways that threaten social cohesion"81. Paul most probably saw the early Christians as representing such a threat, and acted as a zealot, "trying to destroy" their groups (Gal 1,13.23). That such a violent behavior was both possible and plausible is further corroborated by Philo’s emphasis on considering such actions of reprisals ‘a religious duty’82. Such an attitude is also echoed in John 16,2 where a tradition is transmitted that Jesus warned his disciples that "the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God"83.
Hence the evidence of fervent zeal present in the works of Philo as demonstrated in the present study is interesting for understanding zeal in the first century CE; as such it is also illuminating when considering the nature of the zeal of the young Saul’s persecutions of the early followers of Jesus of Nazareth.