Benporat explains why Puritans attempted to apply biblical judicial laws to early American society, including laws concerning adultery, the Sabbath, and criminal punishment. He unpacks the distinction between moral, ceremonial, and judicial law and shows how Puritan thinkers wrestled with the relationship between the Old and New Testaments.

The conversation also challenges the popular myth that Puritans were essentially “quasi-Jews.” Although Puritans were deeply fascinated by Hebrew Scripture and Jewish texts, their views of contemporary Jews were shaped by Christian supersessionism and a strong desire for Jewish conversion.

Finally, Benporat examines Puritan eschatology and the restoration of Israel, exploring why some scholars see connections between Puritan thought and later Christian Zionism. The episode concludes by considering what Puritanism can teach us about biblical interpretation, Christian nationalism, theocracy, Jewish-Christian relations, and the enduring Hebraic roots of Christianity.

For Dr. Yisroel Benporat’s website Click Here

Helpful Resources: “How Far Moses Judicialls Bind Mass[achusetts]” (ca. 1643), “John Cotton’s Treatise on the Duration of the Lord’s Day” (1611) , “Legislating the Lord’s Day”

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