One God, Two Powers, and the Rabbinic Rejection of Subordinationism
This article furthers our understanding of rabbinic theology through an examination of its characteristic modes of expression. I demonstrate that although the rabbinic literature frequently polemicizes against perceived deviant theologies, it refrains from explicit expressions of God’s unity. This d...
| Published in: | Journal for the study of Judaism |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Brill
2022
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| In: |
Journal for the study of Judaism
Year: 2022, Volume: 53, Issue: 3, Pages: 405-436 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Late Antiquity
/ Rabbinic literature
/ Jewish theology
/ Dualism
/ Monotheism
|
| IxTheo Classification: | BH Judaism FA Theology |
| Further subjects: | B
two powers
B Jewish Theology B Monotheism B Late Antiquity B binitarianism B Rabbinic Literature |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | This article furthers our understanding of rabbinic theology through an examination of its characteristic modes of expression. I demonstrate that although the rabbinic literature frequently polemicizes against perceived deviant theologies, it refrains from explicit expressions of God’s unity. This disinclination derives from the target and intent of rabbinic theological polemic. The rabbis’ opponents were not Christian binitarians who believed in multiple divine persons, but what I will refer to as Jewish subordinationists who believed in created divine agents through which God acts in the world. The rabbis were therefore less concerned with the ontological nature of God’s unity than they were with distancing all other beings from God’s sole sovereignty. My work provides additional textual support for the growing scholarly consensus that Jewish proponents of Logos theologies were among the rabbis’ earliest opponents, but it challenges the current convention that interprets these theologies in a primarily Christian binitarian context. |
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| ISSN: | 1570-0631 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal for the study of Judaism
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/15700631-bja10046 |