Judaism as "Mystery" - The Hidden Agenda?
It has long been considered an established fact that Hellenistic Judaism not only conducted missionary propaganda, but also, in the process, adopted some of the concepts and terminology of the competing mystery cults. This article raises the question whether similar phenomena can also be detected in...
| Published in: | Hebrew Union College annual / Jewish Institute of Religion |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Print Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
College
1981
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| In: |
Hebrew Union College annual / Jewish Institute of Religion
|
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Judaism
/ Mysticism
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| RelBib Classification: | BH Judaism |
| Parallel Edition: | Electronic
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| Summary: | It has long been considered an established fact that Hellenistic Judaism not only conducted missionary propaganda, but also, in the process, adopted some of the concepts and terminology of the competing mystery cults. This article raises the question whether similar phenomena can also be detected in Palestinian Judaism. A number of rabbinic passages are examined here, in which the Community of Israel is presented as "the Lord's vineyard," inaccessible to outsiders, and in which the Greek word, mysterion, is variously applied to the God of Israel, circumcision, the Paschal sacrifice, and the Oral Torah. Specifically, an attempt is made to understand Seder Eliyahu Rabbah, ch. 8, ed. Friedmann, p. 43, Leviticus Rabbah 32:4 (end), ed. Margulies, p. 745, and Canticles Rabbah II, vii, 1. While Palestinian Judaism in Late Antiquity was definitely not a mystery cult, it did, when competing on the market place of ideas, adopt some of the trappings of its competitors — particularly within contexts which would affect the would-be proselyte. |
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| ISSN: | 0360-9049 |
| Contains: | In: Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Hebrew Union College annual / Jewish Institute of Religion
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