Front cover image for Beholders of divine secrets : mysticism and myth in Hekhalot and merkavah literature

Beholders of divine secrets : mysticism and myth in Hekhalot and merkavah literature

"Beholders of Divine Secrets provides a fascinating exploration of the enigmatic Hekhalot and Merkavah literature, the Jewish mystical writings of late antiquity. Vita Daphna Arbel delves into the unique nature of the mystical teachings, experiences, revelations, and spiritual exegesis presented in this literature. While previous scholarship has demonstrated the connection between Hekhalot and Merkavah mysticism and parallel traditions in Rabbinical writings, the Dead Sea Scrolls, apocalyptic, early Christian, and Gnostic sources, this work points out additional mythological traditions that resonate in this literature. Arel suggests that mythological patterns of expression, as well as themes and models rooted in Near Eastern mythological traditions are employed, in a spiritualized fashion, to communicate mystical content. The possible cultural and social context of the Hekhalot and Merkavah mysticism and its composers is discussed."--Jacket
eBook, English, ©2003
State University of New York Press, Albany, N.Y., ©2003
Criticism, interpretation, etc
1 online resource (xii, 250 pages)
9781417537419, 9780791457238, 9780791457245, 9780791486856, 1417537418, 0791457230, 0791457249, 0791486850
56408508
Based on a doctoral thesis submitted to the Hebrew University, Jerusalem in 1997
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