The Bodies of God and the World of Ancient Israel PDF Download

Author: Benjamin D. Sommer
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139477781
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
Sommer utilizes a lost ancient Near Eastern perception of divinity according to which a god has more than one body and fluid, unbounded selves. Though the dominant strains of biblical religion rejected it, a monotheistic version of this theological intuition is found in some biblical texts. Later Jewish and Christian thinkers inherited this ancient way of thinking; ideas such as the sefirot in Kabbalah and the trinity in Christianity represent a late version of this theology. This book forces us to rethink the distinction between monotheism and polytheism, as this notion of divine fluidity is found in both polytheistic cultures (Babylonia, Assyria, Canaan) and monotheistic ones (biblical religion, Jewish mysticism, Christianity), whereas it is absent in some polytheistic cultures (classical Greece). The Bodies of God and the World of Ancient Israel has important repercussions not only for biblical scholarship and comparative religion but for Jewish-Christian dialogue.

Author: Alyssa Ayres
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780511595769
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 351

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Book Description

Author: Michael Wyschogrod
Publisher: Jason Aronson
ISBN: 9781568219103
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 620

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Book Description
The similarities and differences between Jewish and Christian teaching about God's presence in the world are discussed in great depth.

Author: Ronald Ernest Clements
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1498299407
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 176

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Book Description
The temple of Jerusalem became the center in ancient Israel of a whole group of concepts concerning the divine presence. It was regarded as the very dwelling place of God, the earthly throne of the heavenly King. In order to understand the origin of this belief, Dr. Clements examines the Canaanite notions of divine dwelling-places, and the early ideas of God's presence in Israel. The origins of the Israelite temple in Jerusalem are then considered, and the nature of its rites and symbolism. Particular attention is given to the relationship between the temple of the Davidic monarchy and its significance for the political history of the Israelite nation. The destruction of the temple in 586 BC severely challenged the traditional views about its meaning and led ultimately to great changes in the Jewish understanding of the divine presence. Jerusalem, and the religious ideas surrounding it, became increasingly part of an eschatological hope. Dr. Clements shows how this was important for the early Christian church, which rejected the Jerusalem temple, and which asserted that the divine presence had been revealed to man in Jesus Christ and was experienced in the church through the Holy Spirit.

Author: Mark S. Smith
Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
ISBN: 9780802839725
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 300

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Book Description
There is still much disagreement over the origins and development of Israelite religion. Mark Smith sets himself the task of reconstructing the cult of Yahweh, the most important deity in Israel's early religion, and tracing the transformation of that deity into the sole god - the development of monotheism.

Author: Susan Niditch
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0470656778
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 564

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Book Description
The Companion to Ancient Israel offers an innovative overview of ancient Israelite culture and history, richly informed by a variety of approaches and fields. Distinguished scholars provide original contributions that explore the tradition in all its complexity, multiplicity and diversity. A methodologically sophisticated overview of ancient Israelite culture that provides insights into political and social history, culture, and methodology Explores what we can say about the cultures and history of the people of Israel and Judah, but also investigates how we know what we know Presents fresh insights, richly informed by a variety of approaches and fields Delves into ‘religion as lived,’ an approach that asks about the everyday lives of ordinary people and the material cultures that they construct and experience Each essay is an original contribution to the subject

Author: Andreas Wagner
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 0567655962
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 207

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Book Description
Images of the body in ancient Near Eastern civilizations are radically different from body images today, which in turn creates significant consequences for our understanding of the biblical notion of God's human shape and the frequent and widespread misconceptions therein. Andreas Wagner illuminates such frequent and widespread misconceptions, and reveals the sometimes distant pictorial world of ancient body images. He contrasts these with contemporary models and makes the matter of the Old Testament concept of God's human form accessible and clear. Wagner begins by introducing readers to aspects of anthropomorphism, the study of body parts, and Israel's basic understanding of the human body. He then turns specifically to the body of God, analysing why and how certain body parts are emphasized or regularly employed in the biblical text when it tries to describe God. Wagner draws out the theological aspects of the ways in which God's body is described as well as considering the diverse range of ancient Near Eastern perspectives on God, and the ways in which ancient cultures constructed and understood deities. Wagner concludes by looking at how the depiction of God in the Old Testament fits with the concept of mankind made in God's image. Enhanced by over fifty illustrations, God's Body will lead the debate in biblical anthropomorphism for years to come.

Author: William G. Dever
Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
ISBN: 0802863949
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 361

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Book Description
This richly illustrated, non-technical reconstruction of "folk religion" in ancient Israel is based largely on recent archaeological evidence, but also incorporates biblical texts where possible.

Author: Bob Becking
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 0567232123
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 232

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Book Description
The view of ancient Israelite religion as monotheistic has long been traditional in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, religions that have elaborated in their own way the biblical image of a single male deity. But recent archaeological findings of texts and images from the Iron Age kingdoms of Israel and Judah and their neighbourhood offer a quite different impression. Two issues in particular raised by these are the existence of a female consort, Asherah, and the implication for monotheism; and the proliferation of pictorial representations that may contradict the biblical ban on images. Was the religion of ancient Israel really as the Bible would have us believe? This volume provides a comprehensive introduction to these issues, presenting the relevant inscriptions and discussing their possible impact for Israelite monotheism, the role of women in the cult, and biblical theology.

Author: Mark S. Smith
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 0300209223
Category : Anthropomorphism
Languages : en
Pages : 244

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Book Description
6. The Royal City and Its Gods -- Epilogue: Ancient Theorizing About Anthropomorphism and Space -- Notes -- Subject Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- Y -- Z -- Index of Modern Authors -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- X -- Y -- Z -- Index of Ancient Sources