Overview

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.

Full Product Details

Author:   Alex S. Kohav ,  Ori Z. Soltes ,  Agata Bielik-Robson ,  Ori Z. Soltes
Publisher:   Lexington Books
Imprint:   Lexington Books/Fortress Academic
ISBN:  

9781666969801

ISBN 10:   166696980
Pages:   250
Publication Date:   15 October 2024
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Forthcoming
Availability:   Not yet available  
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Table of Contents

Introduction: Paradise, Paradox, the Infinite Inscrutable God, and the Idolatry of Human Interpretation Ori Z. Soltes Part One: Paradisiacal Paradoxes Chapter 1: The Tree of the Finite Life: Judaism and the Affirmation of Finitude Agata Bielik-Robson Chapter 2: Lost in the Garden of God and Good: Knowledge and Its Paradoxes from Genesis to Meno and Cratylus to Levinas Ori Z. Soltes Chapter 3: Mystical Gardening in Jewish Lore: YHWH’s Garden of Eden versus the Rabbinical Orchard of PaRDeS Alex Shalom Kohav Part Two: God, God’s Name, God’s Torah Chapter 4: Torah, God, and Idol Kevin Hart Chapter 5: Metaphysics of the Name in Israelite Thought: The Hebrew Conception of God’s Nature Michael T. Miller Chapter 6: A Comparative Analysis of God and the Buddhas Louis Hébert Part Three: A Science-Fictional Afterword Chapter 7: Taboo Knowledge or Knowledge of Taboo? Expulsion from Eden and Science Fiction Literature Elana Gomel

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Author Information

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.

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