Kingdom of Priests, A
Ancestry and Merit in Ancient Judaism (Jewish Culture …
Martha Himmelfarb
296 pages | ~8 hrs
Kingdom of Priests, A
Ancestry and Merit in Ancient Judaism (Jewish Culture and Contexts)
By Martha Himmelfarb
When God declared the Israelites would become "a kingdom of priests and a holy nation" at Mount Sinai, these words carried a profound paradox that would echo through centuries of religious thought. How can an entire people be priestly when priests traditionally represent a select few? What does it truly mean for a nation to embody holiness?
Martha Himmelfarb explores these compelling questions by examining how ancient Jewish communities grappled with fundamental tensions in their spiritual identity. If holiness comes through birth rather than merit, how do people and priests alike achieve genuine sanctity? When some religious leaders fall short of their calling, how does a community reconcile ideals with reality? Most importantly, what practical steps can transform a people into the kingdom of priests they were called to become?
Drawing from diverse Second Temple period texts including the Book of Watchers, Jubilees, Dead Sea Scrolls, Philo of Alexandria's writings, and the Book of Revelation, Himmelfarb traces how different communities approached these enduring spiritual challenges. She reveals how rabbinic Judaism eventually emphasized ancestral descent as the key to belonging among the chosen people, particularly as early Christianity questioned whether Abraham's lineage alone could ensure salvation.
This scholarly exploration offers valuable insights for anyone seeking to understand how religious communities define themselves, pursue holiness, and navigate the complex relationship between calling and reality in spiritual life.
What You'll Discover
- ✓ Explore Joden
- ✓ Explore Priester
- ✓ Explore Pseudepigraphen
- ✓ Explore RELIGION
- ✓ Explore Identität
- ✓ Explore Criticism, interpretation
- ✓ Explore Judaism
- ✓ Explore Dead Sea scrolls
Topics
Details
- Published
- 2006
- Publisher
- University of Pennsylvania Press
- ISBN-13
- 9780812239508
- ISBN-10
- 0812239504
- Pages
- 296
- Language
- EN
