This book concerns the history of the Bible, Christianity, Rabbinic
Judaism, and theological-political thought in the West. Its operation
is threefold. First, it shows that the biblical text can be read as a
theological-political narrative about a god who strives to be
recognized as such by a group of people. Second, it reconstructs the
history of the conversation that took place around this narrative from
the fourth century BCE to the beginning of the Middle Ages, showing
how it was dependent on social and political circumstances, rather
than on theological notions. Lastly, it distinguishes between two
strands of the conversation—the Christian and the Rabbinic—that
carried the narrative through the Middle Ages and explains why the
latter offered a more advanced interface with the political reality
than the former. This book introduces a reading of the biblical
narrative that takes seriously the difference between the two creation
stories that begin the Book of Genesis and considers them as referring
to two distinct divinities. This reading reveals in the Bible an
overarching narrative about the god Yhwh, who tries to impose himself
as the sovereign of Israel by claiming that he is the same god as
Elohim—the benevolent creator of the perfect world.
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A Historical Defense of Rabbinic Knowledge
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9781793655042
Publisert
2022
Utgave
1. utgave
Utgiver
Bloomsbury USA
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter