Ontological aspects of early Jewish anthropology : : the malleable self and the presence of God / / by Tyson L. Putthoff.

• Author: Putthoff, Tyson L.
• Place / Publishing House: Leiden ;, Boston : : Brill.; c2017.
• Year of Publication: 2017
• Language: English
• Series: The Brill Reference Library of Judaism 53.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (xxii, 312 pages) :; illustrations.
• Notes: "This book is a revision of my doctoral thesis, completed at Durham University"--Acknowledgements.

In Ontological Aspects of Early Jewish Anthropology , Tyson L. Putthoff explores early Jewish beliefs about how the human self reacts ontologically in God’s presence. Combining contemporary theory with sound exegesis, Putthoff demonstrates that early Jews widely considered the self to be intrinsically malleable, such that it mimics the ontological state of the space it inhabits. In divine space, they believed, the self therefore shares in the ontological state of God himself. The book is critical for students and scholars alike. In putting forth a new framework for conceptualising early Jewish anthropology, it challenges scholars to rethink not only what early Jews believed about the self but how we approach the subject in the first place.

Table of Contents

Preliminary Material -- Introduction: The Self and the Mystical Experience -- Aseneth, the Anti-Eve: The Re-created Self in an Egyptian Jewish Tale -- Philo’s Bridge to Perfection: De opificio mundi and the End of the Self -- God’s Anthropomorphous House: The Self-constructed Temple at Qumran -- When Disciples Enter Heavenly Space: Self-transformation in Bavli Sotah 49a -- Transformed by His Glory: Self-glorification in Hekhalot Zutarti -- Conclusion: Towards a Mimetic Anthropology of Early Judaism -- Bibliography -- Index of Authors -- Index of Sources -- Index of Subjects.