Description
Book SynopsisWhen we think of heaven, we generally conjure up positive, blissful images. Heaven is, after all, where God is and where good people go after death to receive their reward. But how and why did Western cultures come to imagine the heavenly realm in such terms? Why is heaven usually thought to be up there, far beyond the visible sky? And what is the source of the idea that the post mortem abode of the righteous is in this heavenly realm with God? Seeking to discover the roots of these familiar notions, this volume traces the backgrounds, origin, and development of early Jewish and Christian speculation about the heavenly realm -- where it is, what it looks like, and who its inhabitants are. Wright begins his study with an examination of the beliefs of ancient Israel''s neighbors Egypt and Mesopotamia, reconstructing the intellectual context in which the earliest biblical images of heaven arose. A detailed analysis of the Hebrew biblical texts themselves then reveals that the Israelites w
Trade ReviewThis well organized volume synthesizes a large corpus of technical scholarship, making it an eminently useful work. * Choice *
Table of Contents1. Ancient Egyptian Traditions ; 2. Ancient Mesopotamian Traditions ; 3. Israelite Traditions ; 4. Persian, Greek, and Roman Traditions ; 5. Early Jewish and Christian Traditions I: The Persistence of Biblical or Ancient Near Eastern Models ; 7. Early Jewish and Christian Traditions III: Common Themes & Motifs ; 8. Later Developments in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic Images
