Hekhalot Literature in Translation - (Supplements to the Journal of Jewish Thought and Philosophy) by James Davila (Hardcover)

About the Book

The Hekhalot literature is a motley collection of Hebrew and Aramaic documents dealing with mystical themes pertaining especially to God's throne-chariot. This volume presents English translations of an eclectic text with critical apparatus of most of the major Hekhalot texts.

Book Synopsis

The Hekhalot literature is a motley collection of textually fluid and often textually corrupt documents in Hebrew and Aramaic which deal with mystical themes pertaining especially to God's throne-chariot (the Merkavah). They were composed between late antiquity and the early Middle Ages, with roots in earlier traditions and a long and complex subsequent history of transmission.

This volume presents English translations of eclectic critical texts, with a full apparatus of variants, of most of the major Hekhalot documents: Hekhalot Rabbati; Sar Torah; Hekhalot Zutarti; Ma'aseh Merkavah; Merkavah Rabba; briefer macroforms: The Chapter of R. Nehuniah ben HaQanah, The Great Seal-Fearsome Crown, Sar Panim, The Ascent of Elijah ben Avuyah, and The Youth; and the Hekhalot fragments from the Cairo Geniza.

About the Author

James R. Davila, Ph.D. (1988), Harvard University, is Professor of Early Jewish Studies at the University of St Andrews. His books include Descenders to the Chariot: The People behind the Hekhalot Literature (2001) and The Provenance of the Pseudepigrapha (2005).