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The Early History of Heaven

by J. Edward (Associate Professor of Hebrew Bible and Early Judaism Wright

  • Paperback
  • 336 pages
  • Publisher: Oxford University Press
  • 15.3 x 22.9 x 2 cm

£28.50

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When we think of "heaven," we generally conjure up positive, blissful images. Heaven is, after all, where God is and where good people go after death to receive their reward. But how and why did Western cultures come to imagine the heavenly realm in such terms? Why is heaven usually thought to be "up there," far beyond the visible sky? And what is the source of the idea that the post mortem abode of the righteous is in this heavenly realm with God?;Seeking to discover the roots of these familiar notions, this volume traces the backgrounds, origin, and development of early Jewish and Christian speculation about the heavenly realm - where it is, what it looks like, and who its inhabitants are. The author begins his study with an examination of the beliefs of ancient Israel's neighbours Egypt and Mesopotamia, reconstructing the intellectual context in which the earliest biblical images of heaven arose. A detailed analysis of the Hebrew biblical texts themselves then reveals that the Israelites were deeply influenced by images drawn from the surrounding cultures. Wright goes on to examine Persian and Graeco-Roman beliefs, thus setting the stage for his consideration of early Jewish and Christian images, which he shows to have been formed in the struggle to integrate traditional biblical imagery with the newer Hellenistic ideas about the cosmos. In a final chapter Wright offers a brief survey of how later Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions envisioned the heavenly realms.
The Early History of Heaven and In the Footsteps of the Savior
In the Footsteps of the SaviorThe Early History of Heaven

  • Author

    J. Edward (Associate Professor of Hebrew Bible and Early Judaism Wright

  • Book Format

    paperback

  • Publisher

    Oxford University Press

  • Published

    April 2002

  • Weight

    500g

  • Page Count

    336

  • Dimensions

    15.3 x 22.9 x 2 cm

  • ISBN

    9780195152302

  • ISBN-10

    0195152301

  • Eden Code

    18495

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