.., what Paul already knew about the Scriptures when he disappeared into Arabia for three years, since nothing is really known about that time in his life.
I've done some background reading in Logos but I'm still needing clarity on something.
Specifically, he is wondering what a Pharisee like Paul would have been all about where Scripture memorization is concerned.
My own take is that his extended Scriptural knowledge (which I do believe he did have) came from his sitting at the feet of the great teacher Gamaliel, as opposed to being a Pharisee, but I want to make sure I've understood what the Pharisees actually were, as I appear to be suffering from "death by sheer amount of resources"
at this point and told him I'd get back to him later today.
Is it accurate to say that they were a party (and religious movement, granted) in the same sense that Republicans or Democrats belong to a "party", so that his learning/memorization of the Scriptures would thus have come from his education, as opposed to his membership as a Pharisee?
i.e. to put it in "logical terms", while Paul was a student of the Scriptures who became a Pharisee, not all Pharisees were students of the Scriptures.
As well, if anyone knows of any resources where I could learn more about the role of Scripture memorization in the time of Christ (along with examples... ie. rabbi such and such was known to be able to recite the Torah by heart), that would *really help*! Whether they are Logos resources or not doesn't matter to me.
THANKS for any quick insights you can provide. 