The Book of Job in Medieval Jewish Philosophy

The Book of Job in Medieval Jewish Philosophy PDF Author: Robert Eisen
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198038291
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 337

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Book Description
Medieval Jewish philosophers have been studied extensively by modern scholars, but even though their philosophical thinking was often shaped by their interpretation of the Bible, relatively little attention has been paid to them as biblical interpreters. In this study, Robert Eisen breaks new ground by analyzing how six medieval Jewish philosophers approached the Book of Job. These thinkers covered are Saadiah Gaon, Moses Maimonides, Samuel ibn Tibbon, Zerahiah Hen, Gersonides, and Simon ben Zemah Duran. Eisen explores each philosopher's reading of Job on three levels: its relationship to interpretations of Job by previous Jewish philosophers, the way in which it grapples with the major difficulties in the text, and its interaction with the author's systematic philosophical thought. Eisen also examines the resonance between the readings of Job of medieval Jewish philosophers and those of modern biblical scholars. What emerges is a portrait of a school of Joban interpretation that was creative, original, and at times surprisingly radical. Eisen thus demonstrates that medieval Jewish philosophers were serious exegetes whom scholars cannot afford to ignore. By bringing a previously-overlooked aspect of these thinkers' work to light, Eisen adds new depth to our knowledge of both Jewish philosophy and biblical interpretation.

The Book of Job in Medieval Jewish Philosophy

The Book of Job in Medieval Jewish Philosophy PDF Author: Robert Eisen
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0198038291
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 337

Get Book Here

Book Description
Medieval Jewish philosophers have been studied extensively by modern scholars, but even though their philosophical thinking was often shaped by their interpretation of the Bible, relatively little attention has been paid to them as biblical interpreters. In this study, Robert Eisen breaks new ground by analyzing how six medieval Jewish philosophers approached the Book of Job. These thinkers covered are Saadiah Gaon, Moses Maimonides, Samuel ibn Tibbon, Zerahiah Hen, Gersonides, and Simon ben Zemah Duran. Eisen explores each philosopher's reading of Job on three levels: its relationship to interpretations of Job by previous Jewish philosophers, the way in which it grapples with the major difficulties in the text, and its interaction with the author's systematic philosophical thought. Eisen also examines the resonance between the readings of Job of medieval Jewish philosophers and those of modern biblical scholars. What emerges is a portrait of a school of Joban interpretation that was creative, original, and at times surprisingly radical. Eisen thus demonstrates that medieval Jewish philosophers were serious exegetes whom scholars cannot afford to ignore. By bringing a previously-overlooked aspect of these thinkers' work to light, Eisen adds new depth to our knowledge of both Jewish philosophy and biblical interpretation.

The Book of Job

The Book of Job PDF Author: Mark Larrimore
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 069120246X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 296

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Book Description
The life and times of this iconic and enduring biblical book The book of Job raises stark questions about the meaning of innocent suffering and the relationship of the human to the divine, yet it is also one of the Bible's most obscure and paradoxical books. Mark Larrimore provides a panoramic history of this remarkable book, traversing centuries and traditions to examine how Job's trials and his challenge to God have been used and understood in diverse contexts, from commentary and liturgy to philosophy and art. Larrimore traces Job's reception by figures such as Gregory the Great, William Blake, and Elie Wiesel, and reveals how Job has come to be viewed as the Bible's answer to the problem of evil and the perennial question of why a God who supposedly loves justice permits bad things to happen to good people.

When Bad Things Happen to Good People

When Bad Things Happen to Good People PDF Author: Harold S. Kushner
Publisher: Random House Digital, Inc.
ISBN: 0805241930
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
Offers an inspirational and compassionate approach to understanding the problems of life, and argues that we should continue to believe in God's fairness.

Joseph Albo on Free Choice

Joseph Albo on Free Choice PDF Author: Shira Weiss
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190684437
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 233

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Book Description
Scripture is replete with narratives that challenge a variety of philosophical concepts; including morality, divine benevolence, and human freedom. Free choice, a significant and much debated concept in medieval philosophy, continues to be of great interest to contemporary philosophers and others. However, scholarship in biblical studies has primarily focused on compositional history, philology, and literary analysis, not on the examination of the philosophy implied in biblical texts. In this book, Shira Weiss focuses on the Hebrew Bible's encounter with the philosophical notion of free choice, as interpreted by the fifteenth-century Spanish Jewish philosopher Joseph Albo in one of the most popular Hebrew works in the corpus of medieval Jewish philosophy: Albo's Examining narratives commonly interpreted as challenging human freedom--the Binding of Isaac, the Hardening of Pharaoh's Heart, the Book of Job, and God's Choice of Israel--Albo puts forward innovative arguments that preserve the concept of free choice in these texts. Despite the popularity of The Book of Principles, Albo has been commonly dismissed as an unoriginal thinker. As a result, argues Weiss, the major original contribution of his philosophy-his theory of free choice as explained in unique exegetical interpretations-has been overlooked. This book casts new light on Albo by demonstrating both the central importance of his views on free choice in his philosophy and the creative ways in which they are presented.

Spinoza and Medieval Jewish Philosophy

Spinoza and Medieval Jewish Philosophy PDF Author: Steven M. Nadler
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107037867
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 249

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Book Description
The first of its kind, this essay collection offers an extensive examination of Spinoza's relationship to medieval Jewish philosophy.

A Companion to Job in the Middle Ages

A Companion to Job in the Middle Ages PDF Author:
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004329641
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 497

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Book Description
The biblical book of Job is a timeless text that relates a story of intense human suffering, abandonment, and eventual redemption. It is a tale of profound theological, philosophical, and existential significance that has captured the imaginations of auditors, exegetes, artists, religious leaders, poets, preachers, and teachers throughout the centuries. This original volume provides an introduction to the wide range of interpretations and representations of Job—both the scriptural book and its righteous protagonist—produced in the medieval Christian West. The essays gathered here treat not only exegetical and theological works such as Gregory’s Moralia and the literal commentaries of Thomas Aquinas and Nicholas of Lyra, but also poetry and works of art that have Job as their subject.

A History of Jewish Philosophy in the Middle Ages

A History of Jewish Philosophy in the Middle Ages PDF Author: Colette Sirat
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521397278
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 502

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Book Description
This comprehensive survey of medieval Jewish philosophy provides in-depth coverage for such major figures as Saadiah Gaon, Maimonides, Abraham Ibn Ezra, Judah Halevi, Abraham Ibn Daoud and Gersonides.

We Find Ourselves Put to the Test

We Find Ourselves Put to the Test PDF Author: James Crooks
Publisher: McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP
ISBN: 0773554386
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 164

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Book Description
Does the world we inhabit offer us hospitality or indifference? This question is central to the spiritual literature of all cultures. In We Find Ourselves Put to the Test James Crooks returns to the Bible’s book of Job to explore the enduring relevance of that question and its philosophical dimensions. Beginning with the puzzle of Job’s famous stoicism and nihilism in the face of loss, Crooks explores the contradictions of suffering as dramatized in the dialogue between Job and his friends. How is it that the friends’ attempt to comfort Job with a rational explanation of his misfortune devolves seamlessly into victim blaming? How is it that Job’s own renunciation of life at the nadir of his pain converts into an intellectual patience that outlasts the advocates of rational explanation? We Find Ourselves Put to the Test gives a portrait of the suffering protagonist looking into the heart of a creation that is, by necessity, both indifferent and hospitable. A philosophical exploration of one of the most enigmatic books in the Bible, We Find Ourselves Put to the Test goes beyond critical interpretation and suggests a way of reading the book of Job that is animated by a consideration of the reader’s narratives and communities, and the limits of his or her own understanding.

The Book of Job in Medieval Jewish Philosophy

The Book of Job in Medieval Jewish Philosophy PDF Author: Robert Eisen
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0195171535
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 337

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Book Description
Analyzes the history of the interpretation of the "Book of Job" by medieval Jewish exegetes. The author offers an examination of commentaries on Job written by six major thinkers. He looks at the relationship between the commentaries and their antecedent sources, as well as their relationship to the broader context of medieval Jewish thought.

Where Shall Wisdom be Found?

Where Shall Wisdom be Found? PDF Author: Susan E. Schreiner
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 9780226740430
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 292

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Book Description
Through countless retellings, from the Talmud to Archibald MacLeish and since, the story of Job has been a fixture in the cultural imagination of the West, captivating the human imagination and forcing its readers to wrestle with the most painful realities of human existence. In this study, Susan E. Schreiner analyzes interpretations of the Book of Job by Gregory the Great, Maimonides, Thomas Aquinas, and particularly John Calvin. Reading Calvin's interpretation against the background of his medieval predecessors, she shows how central Job is to Calvin's struggles with some basic theological issues. Calvin and his predecessors put forth a variety of explanations for Job's wisdom, focusing on discussions of suffering, inferiority, enlightenment, union with the Active Intellect, immortality, providence, and faith. The one unifying feature of these precritical Joban commentaries is a concern with intellectual perception - in particular, with what Job saw or understood. What did the friends, who defended God, misperceive? Why did they not see the situation correctly? How does one explain Job's perceptual superiority over his friends? These texts raise basic questions about the human capacity for knowledge: Can suffering, particularly inexplicable suffering, elevate human understandings about God and self? Can humans truly perceive the workings of providence in their personal lives? Are evil and injustice a reality that we must confront before finding wisdom? In her final chapter, Schreiner shows that such concerns are not abandoned in modern critical commentaries and literary transformations of the Joban legend. Her study concludes by tracing the trajectory of these concerns through thewide array of twentieth-century interpretations of Job, including modern biblical commentaries, the work of Carl Jung, and literary transfigurations by Wells, MacLeish, Wiesel, and Kafka. The result is a compelling demonstration of the vital insights the history of exegesis can yield for contemporary culture.