Other worlds and their relation to this world : early Jewish and ancient Christian traditions / / edited by Tobias Nicklas ... [et al.].

• Superior document: Supplements to the Journal for the study of Judaism ; v. 143
• TeilnehmendeR: Nicklas, Tobias, 1967-
• Year of Publication: 2010
• Language: English
• Series: Supplements to the Journal for the study of Judaism ; v. 143.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (414 p.)
• Notes: Proceedings of a conference held Mar. 21-23, 2007 at Radboud University.

Is there a future after death and what does this future look like? What kind of life can we expect, and in what kind of world? Is there another, hopefully better world than the one we live in? The articles collected in this volume, all written by leading experts in the field, deal with the question how ancient Jewish and Christian authors describe “otherworldly places and situations”. They investigate why various forms of texts were created to address the questions above, how these texts functioned, and how they have to be understood. It is shown how ancient descriptions of the “otherworld” are taking over and reworking existing motifs, forms and genres, but also that they mirror concrete problems, ideas, experiences, and questions of their authors and the first readers.

Table of Contents

Preliminary Material / T. Nicklas , J. Verheyden , E. M.M. Eynikel and F. Garcia Martinez -- Approaching Afterlife Imagery: A Contemporary Glance At Ancient Concepts Of Otherworldly Dimensions / Daria Pezzoli-Olgiati -- The \'God Of Heaven\' In Persian And Hellenistic Times / Stefan Beyerle -- The Heavenly Temple, The Prison In The Void And The Uninhabited Paradise: Otherworldly Sites In The Book Of The Watchers / Kelley Coblentz Bautch -- Four Worlds That Are \'Other\' In The Enochic Book Of Parables / George W.E. Nickelsburg -- The \'Otherworld\' And The Epistle Of Enoch / Loren T. Stuckenbruck -- The Otherworld In The Dead Sea Scrolls / John J. Collins -- The Character Of The City And The Temple Of The Aramaic New Jerusalem / Eibert Tigchelaar -- The Heavenly World And Its Relationship To This World According To Rabbinic Literature: Some Main Outlines / Beate Ego -- Between Heaven And Earth: Liminal Visions In 4ezra / Hindy Najman -- Omnia Mutantur, Nihil Interit? Virgil’s Katabasis And The Ideas Of The Hereafter In Ovid’s Metamorphoses / Meinolf Vielberg -- The Otherworld And The New Age In The Letters Of Paul / Adela Yarbro Collins -- The Otherworld And This World In 2 Cor 12:1–10 In Light Of Early Jewish Apocalyptic Tradition / Albert Hogeterp -- The Rich, The Poor, And The Promise Of An Eschatological Reward In The Gospel Of Luke / Outi Lehtipuu -- Diesseits aus der Sicht des Jenseits: Die Sendschreiben der Offenbarung des Johannes (Offb 2–3) / Tobias Nicklas -- Asceticism And Otherworlds In The Acts Of Paul And Thecla / Korinna Zamfir -- Orphic, Roman, Jewish And Christian Tours Of Hell: Observations On The Apocalypse Of Peter / Jan N. Bremmer -- Hell In The Latin Vision Of Ezra / Richard Bauckham -- Himmlischer Aufstieg im Apokryphon des Jakobus (NHC I,2) / Boudewijn Dehandschutter -- Purgatory: Worldly Functions Of An Otherworldly Notion / Andreas Merkt -- \'The Holy Contest\': Competition For The Best Afterlife In The Apocalypse Of Paul And Late Antique Egypt / Kirsti Barrett Copeland -- Index Of Texts / T. Nicklas , J. Verheyden , E. M.M. Eynikel and F. Garcia Martinez -- Subject Index / T. Nicklas , J. Verheyden , E. M.M. Eynikel and F. Garcia Martinez.