Images of the body in ancient Near Eastern civilizations are radically
different from body images today, which in turn creates significant
consequences for our understanding of the biblical notion of God's
human shape and the frequent and widespread misconceptions therein.
Andreas Wagner illuminates such frequent and widespread
misconceptions, and reveals the sometimes distant pictorial world of
ancient body images. He contrasts these with contemporary models and
makes the matter of the Old Testament concept of God's human form
accessible and clear.
Wagner begins by introducing readers to aspects of anthropomorphism,
the study of body parts, and Israel's basic understanding of the human
body. He then turns specifically to the body of God, analysing why and
how certain body parts are emphasized or regularly employed in the
biblical text when it tries to describe God. Wagner draws out the
theological aspects of the ways in which God's body is described as
well as considering the diverse range of ancient Near Eastern
perspectives on God, and the ways in which ancient cultures
constructed and understood deities. Wagner concludes by looking at how
the depiction of God in the Old Testament fits with the concept of
mankind made in God's image. Enhanced by over fifty illustrations,
_God's Body_ will lead the debate in biblical anthropomorphism for
years to come.
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The Anthropomorphic God in the Old Testament
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9780567655967
Publisert
2020
Utgave
1. utgave
Utgiver
Bloomsbury UK
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter