Ancient Jewish Magic

A History
Erscheinungsjahr 2011
ISBN: 978-0-521-87457-1
Verlag: Cambridge University Press

Buch, Englisch, 496 Seiten, Format (B × H): 157 mm x 235 mm, Gewicht: 946 g

This is a pioneering history of ancient Jewish magic, from the Second Temple to the rabbinic period. It is based both on the ancient magicians' own compositions (and products) in Aramaic, Hebrew, and Greek, and on the descriptions and prescriptions of non-magicians, in an effort to reconstruct a historical picture that is as balanced and nuanced as possible. The book's main focus is on the cultural make-up of ancient Jewish magic, with special attention paid to processes of cross-cultural contacts and borrowings between Jews and non-Jews and to inner-Jewish creativity. Another major issue is the place of magic within Jewish society at the time, contemporary Jewish attitudes to magic and the identity of its practitioners. Throughout, it seeks to explain the methodological underpinnings of all sound research in this demanding field, and to point out areas where further research is likely to prove fruitful.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Bohak, Gideon

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Jüdische Studien Jüdische Studien Jüdische Spiritualität & Mystik (Kabbala, Chassidismus)
• Geisteswissenschaften Jüdische Studien Geschichte des Judentums Geschichte des Judentums: Biblische & Klassische Periode

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1. Jewish magic: a contradiction in terms?; 2. Jewish magic in the Second Temple period; 3. Jewish magic in late antiquity - the 'insider' evidence; 4. Non-Jewish elements in late-antique Jewish magic; 5. How 'Jewish' was ancient Jewish magic?; 6. Magic and magicians in rabbinic literature; Epilogue.

Über Autor(innen)

Bohak, Gideon
Gideon Bohak teaches in the Department of of Jewish Culture, University of Tel Aviv. He is author of Joseph and Aseneth and the Jewish Temple in Heliopolis (1996).