Two Gods in Heaven: Jewish Concepts of God in Antiquity

Peter Schäfer

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Two Gods in Heaven

Jewish Concepts of God in Antiquity

Translated by: and

Language: English

Published/Copyright: 2020

About this book

A book that challenges our most basic assumptions about Judeo-Christian monotheism

Contrary 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 common era and casting Judaism's relationship with Christianity in an entirely different light.

Drawing on an in-depth analysis of ancient sources that have received little attention until now, Peter Schäfer demonstrates how the Jews of the pre-Christian Second Temple period had various names for a second heavenly power—such as Son of Man, Son of the Most High, and Firstborn before All Creation. He traces the development of the concept from the Son of Man vision in the biblical book of Daniel to the Qumran literature, the Ethiopic book of Enoch, and the Jewish philosopher Philo of Alexandria. After the destruction of the Second Temple, the picture changes drastically. While the early Christians of the New Testament took up the idea and developed it further, their Jewish contemporaries were divided. Most rejected the second god, but some—particularly the Jews of Babylonia and the writers of early Jewish mysticism—revived the ancient Jewish notion of two gods in heaven.

Describing how early Christianity and certain strands of rabbinic Judaism competed for ownership of a second god to the creator, this boldly argued and elegantly written book radically transforms our understanding of Judeo-Christian monotheism.

Author / Editor information

Peter Schäfer is the Ronald O. Perelman Professor of Jewish Studies and professor of religion, emeritus, at Princeton University. His books include The Jewish Jesus: How Judaism and Christianity Shaped Each Other and The Origins of Jewish Mysticism (both Princeton).

Reviews

"This book is a must-have for all scholars of religions in antiquity. . . . Schäfer has collected decisive proof in the form of a wide range of Jewish texts from the Bible to the Bavli that are not only discussed, but provided in the form of extensive quotations that makes the book a handy reference work."---Lieve M. Teugels,, Journal for the Study of Judaism

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Frontmatter
i

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Contents
v

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Introduction: One God?
1

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Part I. Second Temple Judaism
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1. The Son of Man in the Vision of Daniel
17

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2. The Personified Wisdom in the Wisdom Literature
25

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3. The Divinized Human in the Self-Glorification Hymn from Qumran
33

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4. The Son of God and Son of the Most High in the Daniel Apocryphon from Qumran
38

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5. The Son of Man–Enoch in the Similitudes of the Ethiopic Book of Enoch
45

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6. The Son of Man–Messiah in the Fourth Book of Ezra
54

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7. The Firstborn in the Prayer of Joseph
59

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8. The Logos according to Philo of Alexandria
62

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Transition: From Pre-Christian to Post-Christian Judaism
65

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Part II. Rabbinic Judaism and Early Jewish Mysticism
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9. The Son of Man in the Midrash
69

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10. The Son of Man–Messiah David
81

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11. From the Human Enoch to the Lesser God Metatron
99

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Conclusion: Two Gods
134

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Abbreviations
139

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Notes
141

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Bibliography
165

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Index
173

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Publishing information

Pages and Images/Illustrations in book

eBook published on:

April 6, 2020

eBook ISBN:

9780691199894

Pages and Images/Illustrations in book

https://doi.org/10.1515/9780691199894

eBook ISBN: 9780691199894

Keywords for this book

Judaism; God; Rabbinic Judaism; Metatron; New Testament; Elohim; Daniel 7; Merkabah mysticism; Son of God; Christianity; Hekhalot literature; Hebrew Bible; Exegesis; Midrash; Ezekiel; Christology; Prayer of Joseph; Ancient of Days; Michael (archangel); Second Temple Judaism; Jews; Psalms; Apocryphon; Daniel Boyarin; Rabbinic literature; Monotheism; People of God; Book of Ezekiel; Baraita; Book of Wisdom; Righteousness; Book of Enoch; Rabbi; Literature; Mekhilta; Messiah in Judaism; Pseudepigrapha; Kabbalah; 3 Enoch; Israelites; Apotheosis; Teacher of Righteousness; Jewish mysticism; Religion; Antiochus IV Epiphanes; Zechariah (Hebrew prophet); Late Antiquity; Worship; Christian; Tradition history; Seven Heavens; Heavenly host; Wisdom literature; Melchizedek; Heresy; Septuagint; Second Temple period; Books of Samuel; Book of Daniel; Bible; Messiah; Polemic; Davidic line; Rabbi Ishmael; Incarnation (Christianity); Book of Revelation; Epistle to the Colossians; Trisagion; 11Q13; Richard Bauckham

Audience(s) for this book

For a non-specialist adult audience

Princeton University Press

Two Gods in Heaven

Overview

About this book

Author / Editor information

Reviews

Topics

Table of contents

Frontmatter

Contents

Introduction: One God?

1. The Son of Man in the Vision of Daniel

2. The Personified Wisdom in the Wisdom Literature

3. The Divinized Human in the Self-Glorification Hymn from Qumran

4. The Son of God and Son of the Most High in the Daniel Apocryphon from Qumran

5. The Son of Man–Enoch in the Similitudes of the Ethiopic Book of Enoch

6. The Son of Man–Messiah in the Fourth Book of Ezra

7. The Firstborn in the Prayer of Joseph

8. The Logos according to Philo of Alexandria

Transition: From Pre-Christian to Post-Christian Judaism

9. The Son of Man in the Midrash

10. The Son of Man–Messiah David

11. From the Human Enoch to the Lesser God Metatron

Conclusion: Two Gods

Abbreviations

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Bibliographic data