Messiah and the Throne
Jewish Merkabah Mysticism and Early Christian Exaltation Discourse
by Timo Eskola
(Paperback) (Out of print)
(July 2001)
ISBN: 9783161476419
Price: $88.00
Out of stock
Did Jewish throne mysticism, the so-called ‘merkabah mysticism’, influence the emergence and formation of the earliest exaltation Christology? The author presents resurrection Christology as a part of Jewish Christian merkabah tradition. Christ’s exaltation was described as a heavenly journey that culminated in his enthronement on the divine throne of glory. Christian writers did exploit the symbolic world, the images and metaphors of Second Temple Judaism. The exaltation discourse that they present, however, is completely new. A simple typological explanation is unable to explain the nature of early Christology. Christ was not depicted as a heavenly angelic figure or an exalted patriarch. He was described as the enthroned Son of God whose reign is eternal. By exploiting linguistic and literary methods Eskola reconstructs the narrative structure of christological statements. Several different narratives were discerned, each one of which expresses one form of a so-called Christian merkabah tradition. In the New Testament, Christ’s resurrection has been interpreted in terms of exaltation discourse, cultic discourse, and judicial discourse. Each one of these produced a different narrative about the exalted Christ. Further, the new approach sheds light for instance on the idea of the so-called adoptionist Christology. There was no concept of adoption in early Jewish Christian exaltation Christology. Exalted Christ on the throne of Glory was not considered merely as a pious Jew making a heavenly journey, but as the divine Savior of the world. The intertextual transformation of Jewish concepts underlined the Lordship of Christ as a heavenly king. The confessing of Christ as Lord realized simultaneously the core of traditional Jewish devotion – faith in and faithfulness to God as a heavenly King.
- By (author) Timo Eskola
Other Titles in this Series
The Sabbath and the Sanctuary
Access to God in the Letter to the Hebrews and its Priestly Context
Volume 349
Geschichte des Gottesvolkes und christliche Identitat
Eine kanonisch-intertextuelle Auslegung der Stephanusepisode Apg 6,1-8,3
Volume 279
Christ the Ideal King
Cultural Context, Rhetorical Strategy, and the Power of Divine Monarchy in Ephesians
Volume 313
The Death of the Soul in Romans 7
Sin, Death, and the Law in Light of Hellenistic Moral Psychology
Volume 256
The Characterisation of Jesus the Davidic Shepherd in Mark’s Gospel
A Narrative Analysis through the Lens of Metalepsis
Volume 626
The Strength Needed to Enter the Kingdom of God
An Exegetical and Theological Study of Luke 16:16 in Context
Volume 485
Earliest Christian History
History, Literature, and Theology. Essays from the Tyndale Fellowship in Honor of Martin Hengel
Volume 320
Relationale Ontologie bei Paulus
Die ontische Wirksamkeit der Christusbezogenheit im Denken des Heidenapostels
Volume 326
Fellowship and Food in the Kingdom
Eschatological Meals and Scenes of Utopian Abundance in the New Testament
Volume 234
Das unschuldige Blut im Matthausevangelium
Zur geschichtstheologischen Deutung des Todes Jesu
Volume 578
Virtue Ethics in the Letter to Titus
An Interdisciplinary Study. Kontexte und Normen neutestamentlicher Ethik / Contexts and Norms of New Testament Ethics. Volume XII
Volume 560
Emotion, Narration und Ethik
Zur ethischen Relevanz antizipatorischer Emotionen in Parabeln des Matthaus-Evangeliums. Kontexte und Normen neutestamentlicher Ethik / Contexts and Norms of New Testament Ethics. Band XI
Volume 498
The Historical Jesus’ Death as ‘Forgiveness of Sins’
A Comparative Study of Paul and Matthew
Volume 467
Similar Books
Punning in Odd or Elegant Constructions in Jeremiah
The Convergence of Linguistics, Rhetoric, and Textuality in the Hebrew Text of Jeremiah
Shame in the Worlds of the Hebrew Bible and Akkadian Texts
A Linguistic Study and Its Implications
Volume 33
The Therapeutae as the Best Paradigm for the Contemplative Life
A Contextual Reading of Philo of Alexandria's De Vita Contemplativa
Parola di Dio, di uomo e di Re
L'assoluta verità della Bibbia nella dottrina cattolica di Bacchisio Raimondo Motzo
Wie JHWH spricht
Die temporelle Steuerung von Verbalaussagen in den Reden nach den Gottesspruchformeln
Breaking New Ground in John
Imagery, Parables, Characters, Christology, and Ethics in the Fourth Gospel
Volume 531
But the Wise Shall Understand
Reuse of Prophecies, Chronotope, and Merging of Eschatological Horizons in Daniel 10-12
Creation Concepts and Creation Care
Perspectives from Early Judaism, Early Christianity, and Beyond. Kontexte und Normen neutestamentlicher Ethik / Contexts and Norms of New Testament Ethics XVII
De-colonising the Biblical Narrative. Volume 4
The Colonial Worldview of the Book of Joshua
Volume 4
Paul and Sacrifice in Corinth
Rethinking Paul's Views on Gentile Cults in 1 Corinthians 8 and 10
Volume 623
The Characterisation of Jesus the Davidic Shepherd in Mark’s Gospel
A Narrative Analysis through the Lens of Metalepsis
Volume 626
