The bodies of God and the world of ancient Israel

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 Je...

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Bibliographic Details
Subtitles:The Bodies of God & the World of Ancient Israel
Main Author: Sommer, Benjamin D. 1964- (Author)
Format: Electronic Book
Language:English
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WorldCat: WorldCat
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Published: Cambridge Cambridge University Press 2009.
In:Year: 2009
Reviews:[Rezension von: Sommer, Benjamin D., The Bodies of God and the World of Ancient Israel] (2011) (Noonan, Benjamin J.)
[Rezension von: SOMMER, BENJAMIN D., The Bodies of God and the World of Ancient Israel] (2011) (Karwowski, Margaret Christi)
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Ancient Orient / Idea of God / Bodiliness / Israel (Antiquity)
B Ancient Orient / Idea of God / Presence of God / Sanctuary / Israel (Antiquity)
Further subjects:B God (Judaism) History of doctrines
B Polytheism
B Monotheism
B God (Judaism) ; History of doctrines
B God Biblical teaching
B God ; Biblical teaching
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Parallel Edition:Non-electronic
Description
Summary: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.
Item Description:Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015)
ISBN:0511596561
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1017/CBO9780511596568