The halakah of Jesus of Nazareth according to the Gospel of Matthew

The Halakah of Jesus of Nazareth according to the Gospel of Matthew was originally published in 1986 by the University Press of America. Phillip Sigal, a noted rabbi and New Testament scholar, authored the work as a rigorous academic exploration into the Jewish roots of Christian theology. The text functions as a critical examination of how the Jesus of the Matthean Gospel relates to the evolving Jewish legal tradition of the first century, specifically concerning the interpretation and application of the Torah.

The design and scholarly intent behind the work reflect Sigal’s broader mission to bridge the gap between Jewish studies and New Testament scholarship. By framing Jesus’s teachings within the context of contemporary halakhic debates, Sigal challenged prevailing academic trends of his time that often sequestered the two fields. The book is recognized for its dense, academic prose and has since become a standard reference for scholars interested in the intersection of early Christian history and rabbinic jurisprudence.