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Prophecy

The History of an Idea in Medieval Jewish Philosophy

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Part of the book series: Amsterdam Studies in Jewish Philosophy (ASJT, volume 8)

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Table of contents (9 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xi
  2. Introduction

    • Howard Kreisel
    Pages 1-26
  3. The Book of Beliefs and Opinions

    • R. Saadiah Gaon
    Pages 27-93
  4. The Kuzari

    • R. Judah Halevi
    Pages 94-147
  5. The Guide of the Perplexed

    • R. Moses Ben Maimon
    Pages 148-315
  6. The Wars of the Lord

    • R. Levi Ben Gershom
    Pages 316-424
  7. The Light of the Lord

    • R. Hasdai Crescas
    Pages 425-485
  8. The Book of Principles

    • R. Joseph Albo
    Pages 486-543
  9. Tractatus Theologico-Politicus

    • Baruch Spinoza
    Pages 544-586
  10. Epilogue

    • Howard Kreisel
    Pages 587-640
  11. Back Matter

    Pages 587-671

About this book

More than any other topic, prophecy represents the point at which the Divine meets the human, the Absolute meets the relative. How can a human being attain the Word of God? In what manner does God, when conceived as eternal and transcendent, address corporeal, transitory creatures? What happens to God's divine Truth when it is beheld by minds limited in their power to apprehend, and influenced by the intellectual currents of their time and place? How were these issues viewed by the great Jewish philosophers of the past, who took the divine communication and all it entails seriously, while at the same time desired to understand it as much as humanly possible in the course of dealing with a myriad of other issues that occupied their attention?

This book offers an in-depth study of prophecy in the thought of seven of the leading medieval Jewish philosophers: R. Saadiah Gaon, R. Judah Halevi, Maimonides, Gersonides, R. Hasdai Crescas, R. Joseph Albo and Baruch Spinoza. It attempts to capture the `original voice' of these thinkers by looking at the intellectual milieus in which they developed their philosophies, and by carefully analyzing their views in their textual contexts. It also deals with the relation between the earlier approaches and the later ones. Overall, this book presents a significant model for narrating the history of an idea.

Reviews

"This is an excellent study. This study is recommended for specialists in medieval Jewish Philosophy but it should also be of interest to students in other areas of the history of Jewish thought."
(Religious Studies Review, 28:4, October 2002)

Authors and Affiliations

  • Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel

    Howard Kreisel

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Prophecy

  • Book Subtitle: The History of an Idea in Medieval Jewish Philosophy

  • Authors: Howard Kreisel

  • Series Title: Amsterdam Studies in Jewish Philosophy

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-0820-4

  • Publisher: Springer Dordrecht

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

  • Copyright Information: Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2001

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-0-7923-7124-3Published: 31 July 2001

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-1-4020-1181-8Published: 28 February 2003

  • eBook ISBN: 978-94-010-0820-4Published: 06 December 2012

  • Series ISSN: 2213-4077

  • Series E-ISSN: 2542-8772

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XI, 671

  • Topics: Medieval Philosophy, History of Philosophy, Religious Studies, general, History, general

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 169.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 249.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access