Two gods in heaven: Jewish concepts of God in antiquity
"In this book Peter Schäfer casts light on the common assumption that Judaism from its earliest formulations was strictly monotheistic. Over and over again in the Hebrew Bible the biblical writers insist upon the idea that there is one and only one God. But the biblical text is multifarious and...
| Main Author: | |
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| Contributors: | |
| Format: | Print Book |
| Language: | English |
| Subito Delivery Service: | Order now. |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Princeton
Princeton University Press
[2020]
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| In: | Year: 2020 |
| Reviews: | [Rezension von: Schäfer, Peter, 1943-, Two gods in heaven : Jewish concepts of God in antiquity] (2021) (Teugels, Lieve M., 1965 -)
[Rezension von: Schäfer, Peter, 1943-, Two gods in heaven : Jewish concepts of God in antiquity] (2020) (Madigan, Patrick) |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Idea of God
/ Polytheism
/ Early Judaism
/ Rabbinic literature
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| Further subjects: | B
God (Judaism)
History of doctrines
B Christianity and other religions Judaism B Monotheism B Son of God (Judaism) |
| Online Access: |
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Aggregator) |
| Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
Electronic Electronic |
| Summary: | "In this book Peter Schäfer casts light on the common assumption that Judaism from its earliest formulations was strictly monotheistic. Over and over again in the Hebrew Bible the biblical writers insist upon the idea that there is one and only one God. But the biblical text is multifarious and contains many sources that subvert from within the strong monotheistic thesis. Old Canaanite deities such as Baal and El, although pushed to the edges, prove stubbornly persistent. They come to the forefront in, for example, the famous "Son of Man" of chapter 7 of the Book of Daniel. In sum, Schäfer argues that monotheism was an ideal in ancient Judaism that was consistently aspired to, but never fully achieved. Through close textual analysis of the Bible and certain key post-biblical sources, Schäfer tracks the long history of a second, younger, subordinate God next to the senior Jewish God YHWH. One might expect that with early Christianity's embrace of this idea (in the form of Jesus Christ), Judaism would have abandoned it utterly. But the opposite was the case. Even after Christianity usurps the original Jewish notion of a second, younger God, certain post-biblical Jewish circles-in particular early Jewish mystical circles-maintained and revived it with the archangel "Metatron," a controversial figure whose very existence is questioned and fiercely debated by the rabbis of the Babylonian Talmud. This book was originally published in Germany by C.H. Beck Verlag in 2016"-- |
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| Item Description: | Includes bibliographical references and index |
| ISBN: | 0691181322 |