The Prestige of the Pagan Prophet Balaam in Judaism, Early Christianity and Islam

The Prestige of the Pagan Prophet Balaam in Judaism, Early Christianity and Islam PDF Author: George H. van Kooten
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9047433130
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 349

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Book Description
This volume deals with the pagan prophet Balaam who figures in the book of Numbers. By the very nature of his stature as a non-Israelite, pagan prophet, the figure of Balaam raises important questions with regard to the nature of prophecy and the relation between the Israelite God and the pagan nations. The conflicting stories and potent oracles of Balaam in Numbers 22-24 and other parts of the Jewish Scriptures prompted extensive reflection on this ambiguous figure. Thus the leading perspective developed in this volume is the often simultaneous praise and criticism of Balaam as a prestigious pagan prophet throughout ancient Judaism, early Christianity and the early Koranic commentaries. The papers are clustered in four sections which deal with (1) Balaam in the Old Testament and the Ancient Near East, and comparable figures in Ancient Greece; (2) Balaam in Ancient Judaism; (3) Balaam in the New Testament & Early Christianity; and (4) Balaam in the Koran and early Koranic commentaries. The reception of this enigmatic figure can be characterized as the simultaneous praise and criticism of a pagan prophet. The book is particularly useful as it also contains Émile Puech’s newly reconstructed text, translation and commentary of the first combination of the Deir ‘Alla inscriptions which contain an excerpt of the book of the historical Balaam. Combined with the other papers, the volume pictures a fascinating continuum between paganism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

The Prestige of the Pagan Prophet Balaam in Judaism, Early Christianity and Islam

The Prestige of the Pagan Prophet Balaam in Judaism, Early Christianity and Islam PDF Author: George H. van Kooten
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9047433130
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 349

Get Book

Book Description
This volume deals with the pagan prophet Balaam who figures in the book of Numbers. By the very nature of his stature as a non-Israelite, pagan prophet, the figure of Balaam raises important questions with regard to the nature of prophecy and the relation between the Israelite God and the pagan nations. The conflicting stories and potent oracles of Balaam in Numbers 22-24 and other parts of the Jewish Scriptures prompted extensive reflection on this ambiguous figure. Thus the leading perspective developed in this volume is the often simultaneous praise and criticism of Balaam as a prestigious pagan prophet throughout ancient Judaism, early Christianity and the early Koranic commentaries. The papers are clustered in four sections which deal with (1) Balaam in the Old Testament and the Ancient Near East, and comparable figures in Ancient Greece; (2) Balaam in Ancient Judaism; (3) Balaam in the New Testament & Early Christianity; and (4) Balaam in the Koran and early Koranic commentaries. The reception of this enigmatic figure can be characterized as the simultaneous praise and criticism of a pagan prophet. The book is particularly useful as it also contains Émile Puech’s newly reconstructed text, translation and commentary of the first combination of the Deir ‘Alla inscriptions which contain an excerpt of the book of the historical Balaam. Combined with the other papers, the volume pictures a fascinating continuum between paganism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

International Review of Biblical Studies / Internationale Zeitschriftenschau Fur Bibelwissenschaft Und Grenzgebiete

International Review of Biblical Studies / Internationale Zeitschriftenschau Fur Bibelwissenschaft Und Grenzgebiete PDF Author: Bernhard Lang
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004172548
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 569

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Book Description
Formerly known by its subtitle "Internationale Zeitschriftenschau für Bibelwissenschaft und Grenzgebiete", the International Review of Biblical Studies has served the scholarly community ever since its inception in the early 1950's. Each annual volume includes approximately 2,000 abstracts and summaries of articles and books that deal with the Bible and related literature, including the Dead Sea Scrolls, Pseudepigrapha, Non-canonical gospels, and ancient Near Eastern writings. The abstracts - which may be in English, German, or French - are arranged thematically under headings such as e.g. "Genesis", "Matthew", "Greek language", "text and textual criticism", "exegetical methods and approaches", "biblical theology", "social and religious institutions", "biblical personalities", "history of Israel and early Judaism", and so on. The articles and books that are abstracted and reviewed are collected annually by an international team of collaborators from over 300 of the most important periodicals and book series in the fields covered.

Balaam in Text and Tradition

Balaam in Text and Tradition PDF Author: Jonathan Miles Robker
Publisher: Mohr Siebeck
ISBN: 3161563557
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 416

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Book Description
The figure Balaam has interested exegetes and scribes for millennia. Jonathan Miles Robker examines the different versions of the literary character Balaam as attested in biblical and epigraphic literature. By contrasting the distinct information about Balaam presented in the various sources (the plaster inscription from Della, Numbers 22-24; 31; Deuteronomy 23; Joshua 13; 24; Judges 11; Micah 6; and Nehemiah 13), the author seeks to trace the development of characterizations of Balaam from the oldest available material to the youngest in the Hebrew Bible. In this way, Jonathan Miles Robker advances discourse about the literary and tradition-historical development of the texts that became the Hebrew Bible. Beyond the text of the Hebrew Bible, he also traces the continued development of Balaam's characterization through the texts of Qumran and the New Testament. To this end, the author contributes discussions of the history of religion in Antiquity.

The Eerdmans Encyclopedia of Early Christian Art and Archaeology

The Eerdmans Encyclopedia of Early Christian Art and Archaeology PDF Author: Finney
Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
ISBN: 0802890164
Category : Art, Early Christian
Languages : en
Pages : 822

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Book Description
More than 400 distinguished scholars, including archaeologists, art historians, historians, epigraphers, and theologians, have written the 1,455 entries in this monumental encyclopedia--the first comprehensive reference work of its kind. From Aachen to Zurzach, Paul Corby Finney's three-volume masterwork draws on archaeological and epigraphic evidence to offer readers a basic orientation to early Christian architecture, sculpture, painting, mosaic, and portable artifacts created roughly between AD 200 and 600 in Africa, Asia, and Europe. Clear, comprehensive, and richly illustrated, this work will be an essential resource for all those interested in late antique and early Christian art, archaeology, and history. -- Provided by publisher.

Balaam's God

Balaam's God PDF Author: Jonathan Ammon
Publisher: Lowerlight Books
ISBN:
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 194

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Book Description
A renowned diviner. An approaching and victorious army. A divine encounter. A talking donkey. And the message of Yahweh reigning as King. Balaam is well known as the primary example of a false prophet in the New Testament. But he wasn't a false prophet in the way that many of us would define them today. His story remains shocking and often misunderstood. While many remember the story of the talking donkey from the book of Numbers, few remember Balaam's incredible insights and battle of wills with Yahweh the Creator of the Universe. Balaam's God reveals the depths of Balaam's powers, the source of his accurate insight, and the weaknesses that led him astray. Balaam's reputation within the New Testament is as one of the worst false prophets in all of history. Yet his history outside of the New Testament is as one of the greatest diviners in all of antiquity. Balaam is a mysterious figure, yet the biblical text and context reveal the nature of his gifts and powers as well as the nature of his character. And there are important connections between Balaam and both the true and false prophets of today. Balaam's story doesn't end after his last oracle in the book of Numbers. It continues into the book of Revelation and even into our current day. In these pages you will discover the secrets to Balaam's communication with God, how God turned wrong divination into pure prophecy, and how to turn from Balaam's ways to a true mouthpiece of Yahweh.

The Grotesque Body in Early Christian Discourse

The Grotesque Body in Early Christian Discourse PDF Author: Istvan Czachesz
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317544048
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 280

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Book Description
Early Christian apocryphal and conical documents present us with grotesque images of the human body, often combining the playful and humorous with the repulsive, and fearful. First to third century Christian literature was shaped by the discourse around and imagery of the human body. This study analyses how the iconography of bodily cruelty and visceral morality was produced and refined from the very start of Christian history. The sources range across Greek comedy, Roman and Jewish demonology, and metamorphosis traditions. The study reveals how these images originated, were adopted, and were shaped to the service of a doctrinally and psychologically persuasive Christian message.

Roads to Paradise: Eschatology and Concepts of the Hereafter in Islam (2 vols.)

Roads to Paradise: Eschatology and Concepts of the Hereafter in Islam (2 vols.) PDF Author: Sebastian Günther
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004333150
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 1549

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Book Description
Roads to Paradise: Eschatology and Concepts of the Hereafter in Islam offers a multi-disciplinary study of Muslim thought on paradise, death, and the hereafter. It promises to become the definitive reference work on Islamic eschatology.

The Star of Bethlehem and the Magi

The Star of Bethlehem and the Magi PDF Author: George H. van Kooten
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004308474
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 718

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Book Description
This book reports the results of the first ever multidisciplinary scientific conference dealing with the Star of Bethlehem, presenting the views of renowned specialists in astronomy, the ancient near-eastern and Greco-Roman worlds, and the history of science and religion.

Animals and Animality in the Babylonian Talmud

Animals and Animality in the Babylonian Talmud PDF Author: Beth A. Berkowitz
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108540031
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 239

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Book Description
Animals and Animality in the Babylonian Talmud selects key themes in animal studies - animal intelligence, morality, sexuality, suffering, danger, personhood - and explores their development in the Babylonian Talmud. Beth A. Berkowitz demonstrates that distinctive features of the Talmud - the new literary genre, the convergence of Jewish, Christian, and Zoroastrian cultures, the Talmud's remove from Temple-centered biblical Israel - led to unprecedented possibilities within Jewish culture for conceptualizing animals and animality. She explores their development in the Babylonian Talmud, showing how it is ripe for reading with a critical animal studies perspective. When we do, we find waiting for us a multi-layered, surprisingly self-aware discourse about animals as well as about the anthropocentrism that infuses human relationships with them. For readers of religion, Judaism, and animal studies, her book offers new perspectives on animals from the vantage point of the ancient rabbis.

The Rise of the Early Christian Intellectual

The Rise of the Early Christian Intellectual PDF Author: Lewis Ayres
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN: 3110608634
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 285

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Book Description
The study of the growth of early Christian intellectual life is of perennial interest to scholars. This volume advances discussion by exploring ways in which Christian writers in the second century did not so much draw on Hellenistic intellectual traditions and models, as they were inevitably embedded in those traditions. The volume contains papers from a seminar in Rome in 2016 that explored the nature and activity of the emergent Christian intellectual between the late first century and the early third century. The papers show that Hellenistic scholarly cultures were the milieu within which Christian modes of thinking developed. At the same time the essays show how Christian thinkers made use of the cultures of which they were part in distinctive ways, adapting existing traditions because of Christian beliefs and needs. The figures studied include Papias from the early part of the second-century, Tatian, Irenaeus, and Clement of Alexandria from the later second century. One paper on Eusebius of Caesarea explores the Christian adaptation of Hellenistic scholarly methods of commentary. Christian figures are studied in the light of debates within Classics and Jewish studies.