Paradoxes in God's Garden - by Alex S Kohav & Ori Z Soltes (Hardcover)

About the Book

This book reflects on the paradoxes in ancient Israelite literature, with a focus on narratives of the garden of Eden. Contributions approach the subject not only from Jewish but also Christian and Buddhist perspectives and include new research on the nature of Israel's religion as well as science fiction approaches to biblical exegesis.

Book Synopsis

This edited collection offers new perspectives on perceived paradoxes in Israel's religious heritage, with a particular focus on the Garden of Eden narrative and descriptions of Israel's God. The chapters examine a number of themes related to these paradoxes, including (1) "knowledge" versus "life" (referencing the two Edenic trees); (2) paradoxes pertaining to knowledge in the biblical versus Socratic traditions and the Platonic "good" versus the apparent eschewing of the good-evil dichotomy in Garden of Eden; (3) difficulties implicating finitude versus infinity; (4) God's Edenic garden versus rabbinical "orchard," or Pardes, the traditional fourfold manner of Torah interpretation; (5) the question of the Sôd, or "secret" esoteric stratum or narrative channel within the text of the Torah; (6) the issue of idolatry; (7) the nature of Israel's deity; (8) a comparative glimpse of the Israelite God vis-à-vis relevant Christian and Buddhist glosses on divinity; and (9) science-fictional explorations of the biblical exegesis discourse. The volume's contributors are based in Canada; England; Poland; Israel; and the United States.

Review Quotes

""Paradoxes in God's Garden offers a collection of essays that revolve in a sort of whirling dance around the enigmatic nature of the Edenic narrative in the Book of Genesis. Some of the apparent paradoxes that have provoked scholarly discussions are described in the introduction by coeditor Ori Z. Soltes and in a chapter by Agata Bielik-Robson: knowledge and life; good and evil; liberation and limitation; finite life versus immortality; idolatry versus representation; and methods of memory formation and maintenance of traditions. Coeditor Alex Shalom Kohav introduces the idea of secret knowledge transmitted in the Torah and interpreted variously, by the initiated and the uninitiated (respectively, the priestly and rabbinical streams). Several chapters extend beyond the immediate focus on Eden to look at related issues. The question of knowledge in Genesis is compared by Ori Z. Soltes to the Platonic theory of knowledge as recollection (chapter 2). Michael T. Miller introduces an interesting argument of the distinction between the infinite status of perfect Being and the nature of divine Becoming, as contrasted to the absolute singularity of God, considered in Kevin Hart's chapter. Louis Hébert offers a comparison of (primarily) the Christian notion of God and the spiritual attributes that Buddhism, one of only two nontheistic traditional religions, associates with the buddhas. Finally, Elana Gomel discusses the theme of forbidden knowledge as it has been refracted and reflected through literary history, including modern science fiction. In this multifaceted and absorbing collection, interested readers will find a helpful resource in developing their own understanding of a narrative that has been central to Western and Middle Eastern cultures."" --Burton Voorhees, Athabasca University

About the Author

Alex S. Kohav teaches in the Department of Philosophy at Metropolitan State University of Denver.

Ori Z. Soltes teaches at Georgetown University across a range of disciplines, from theology and art history to philosophy and political history.