ISBN:
0385482485
Language:
English
Pages:
XII, 291 S
,
Kt
,
22 cm
Edition:
1st ed., [Nachdr.]
Year of publication:
1998
Series Statement:
The hinges of history / by Thomas Cahill Vol. 2
Series Statement:
Cahill, Thomas The hinges of history.
DDC:
909/.04924
Keywords:
Judaism
;
History
;
To 70 A.D
;
Jews
;
History
;
To 70 A.D
;
Bible
;
O.T
;
History of Biblical events
;
Civilization
;
Jewish influences
;
Israel
;
Israeliten
;
Geschichte
Abstract:
The Gifts of the Jews reveals the critical change that made western civilization possible. Within the matrix of ancient religions and philosophies, life was seen as part of an endless cycle of birth and death; time was like a wheel, spinning ceaselessly. Yet somehow, the ancient Jews began to see time differently. For them, time had a beginning and an end; it was a narrative, whose triumphant conclusion would come in the future. From this insight came a new conception of men and women as individuals with unique destinies--a conception that would inform the Declaration of Independence--and our hopeful belief in progress and the sense that tomorrow can be better than today. As Thomas Cahill narrates this momentous shift, he also explains the real significance of such Biblical figures as Abraham and Sarah, Moses and the Pharaoh, Joshua, Isaiah, and Jeremiah
Abstract:
The Gifts of the Jews reveals the critical change that made western civilization possible. Within the matrix of ancient religions and philosophies, life was seen as part of an endless cycle of birth and death; time was like a wheel, spinning ceaselessly. Yet somehow, the ancient Jews began to see time differently. For them, time had a beginning and an end; it was a narrative, whose triumphant conclusion would come in the future. From this insight came a new conception of men and women as individuals with unique destinies--a conception that would inform the Declaration of Independence--and our hopeful belief in progress and the sense that tomorrow can be better than today. As Thomas Cahill narrates this momentous shift, he also explains the real significance of such Biblical figures as Abraham and Sarah, Moses and the Pharaoh, Joshua, Isaiah, and Jeremiah
Description / Table of Contents:
Introduction : the Jews are it -- The temple in the moonlight : the primeval religious experience -- Egypt : from slavery to freedom -- Sinai : from death to life -- Canaan : from tribe to nation -- Babylon : from many to one -- From then till now : the Jews are still it -- Notes and sources -- The books of the Hebrew bible -- Chronology -- Acknowledgments -- Index of Biblical citations -- General index.
Note:
Includes indexes
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