The Spirit within Me: Self and Agency in Ancient Israel and Second Temple Judaism

Carol A. Newsom

Published by Yale University Press 2021

The Spirit within Me

Self and Agency in Ancient Israel and Second Temple Judaism

Carol A. Newsom
Edited by: John Collins

In the series The Anchor Yale Bible Reference Library

https://doi.org/10.12987/9780300262964

Overview
Contents

About this book

The first full-length study of the evolution of self and agency in ancient Israelite anthropology

Conceptions of “the self” have received significant recent attention in philosophy, anthropology, and cultural history. Scholars argue that the introspective self of the modern West is a distinctive phenomenon that cannot be projected back onto the cultures of antiquity. While acknowledging such difference is vital, it can lead to an inaccurate flattening of the ancient self.

In this study, Carol A. Newsom explores the assumptions that govern ancient Israelite views of the self and its moral agency before the fall of Judah, as well as striking developments during the Second Temple period. She demonstrates how the collective trauma of the destruction of the Temple catalyzed changes in the experience of the self in Israelite literature, including first‑person-singular prayers, notions of self‑alienation, and emerging understandings of a defective heart and will. Examining novel forms of spirituality as well as sectarian texts, Newsom chronicles the evolving inward gaze in ancient Israelite literature, unveiling how introspection in Second Temple Judaism both parallels and differs from forms of introspective selfhood in Greco‑Roman cultures.

Author / Editor information

Newsom Carol A. :

Carol A. Newsom is the Charles Howard Candler Professor Emerita of Old Testament at Candler School of Theology, Emory University and the editor of the acclaimed Women’s Bible Commentary.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Preface Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
1. The Self in Israelite Culture: A Preliminary Overview Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
2. Agency in Biblical Narrative Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	23
3. Moral Agency in Israelite Perspective: Three Case Studies Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	48
4. Sin-Consciousness, Self-Alienation, and the Construction of Interiority Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	81
5. Rational Agency and the Birth of the Human: Genesis 2–3 and Its Early Interpretation Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	116
6. The Hodayot of the Maskil and the Subjectivity of the Masochistic Sublime Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	143
Conclusion Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	170
List of Abbreviations Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	181
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	187
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	231
Subject Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	251
Ancient Source Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	259
Hebrew Key Word Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	277

Language: English
Publisher: Yale University Press
Pages
- Main content: 288

eBook

Published: December 21, 2021
ISBN: 9780300262964