Two Gods in Heaven - Jewish Concepts of God in Antiquity

"In this book Peter Schèafer 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, Schèafer 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, Schèafer 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"--

About the author

Peter Schäfer

Summary

A book that challenges our most basic assumptions about Judeo-Christian monotheismContrary to popular belief, Judaism was not always strictly monotheistic. Two Gods in Heaven reveals the long and little-known history of a second, junior god in Judaism, showing how this idea was embraced by rabbis and Jewish mystics in the early centuries of the

Product details

• Authors: Peter Schafer, Peter Schäfer
• Assisted by: Allison Brown (Translation), Brown Allison (Translation)
• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 03.03.2020
• EAN: 9780691181325
• ISBN: 978-0-691-18132-5
• No. of pages: 192
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > Antiquity; RELIGION / Judaism / General, HISTORY / Ancient / General, HISTORY / Jewish, RELIGION / Judaism / History, RELIGION / Judaism / Talmud, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Jewish Studies, RELIGION / Judaism / Theology, Theology, History of Religion, Jewish Studies, Judaism, Ancient History, Ancient history: to c 500 CE, Relating to Jewish people and groups, Social groups: religious groups and communities, Judaism: sacred texts and revered writings, Judaism: Sacred Texts, Judaism: theology