A challenging, engaging work of scholarship that sheds new light on ancient Hebrew conceptions of the divine.
A biblical scholar sets out to recover the Bible’s clear image of God as a corporeal being, with a physical form both resembling the human body yet also magnificently superior to it.
Stavrakopoulou, a professor of ancient religion and the Hebrew Bible at the University of Exeter, argues that Judaism and, later, Christianity spiritualized the God of ancient Israel through the centuries. In so doing, once clearly anthropomorphic passages of Scripture were given completely allegorical meanings. As the author notes in the conclusion, “the real God of the Bible was an ancient Levantine deity whose footsteps shook the earth, whose voice thundered through the skies and whose beauty and radiance dazzled his worshippers.” The author presents a lengthy and well-researched tome that draws on multiple ancient sources and archaeological findings to rediscover the physicality of ancient gods and especially the bodily nature of the God of Israel. Stavrakopoulou explores this God one part at a time: feet and legs, genitals, torso, arms and hands, and, finally, head. She explores a remarkable range of Scripture in which Israel’s God is described in fully anthropomorphic terms—and often with attributes of character and action more akin to a god of Olympus than the God of modern Abrahamic religions. The God Stavrakopoulou reveals is a warrior and a lover who lives in close proximity to his people. At times, the author’s rejection of allegorical interpretations of this God is unyielding—e.g., her treatment of scriptural descriptions of God fathering his believers through his lover. Nonetheless, Stavrakopoulou provides a refreshing look at ancient Scripture and the people behind it, reminding readers that the concept of “God” in the 21st century is a world away from that of the earliest people of Israel.
A challenging, engaging work of scholarship that sheds new light on ancient Hebrew conceptions of the divine.Pub Date: Jan. 25, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-525-52045-0
Page Count: 608
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2021
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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