The Impact of Yom Kippur on Early Christianity

The Day of Atonement from Second Temple Judaism to the Fifth Century

by Daniel Stokl Ben Ezra

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Extent: 445 pages

Publisher: Mohr Siebeck

Subjects: Religious Studies

Series: Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament

Series volume number: 163

Language: English

Hardback (Published)

(December 2003)

ISBN: 9783161480928

Price: $168.00

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The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) was the most important festival of late-antique Judaism, but its influence on Christianity was not generally recognized. Daniel Stokl Ben Ezra here not only reveals the profound influence of Yom Kippur on early Christianity up to the fifth century but also offers the first detailed analysis of the festival itself. He examines the rituals of and the concepts underlying Yom Kippur in various types of Second Temple and rabbinic Judaism. In detailed analyses of many New Testament and extra-canonical writings, as well as Gnostic and early mystical texts, the author portrays the sweeping influence of the high priest, Holy of Holies, blood sacrifice and scapegoat ritual on early Christian thought and practice. In the final part he examines Christian exegesis of Leviticus 16, Christian-Jewish polemics and the impact of Yom Kippur on Christian liturgy.

Part One: Yom Kippur in Early Jewish Thought and Ritual Introduction1. The Names of Yom Kippur2. The Rituals of Yom Kippur3. Imaginaires of Yom Kippur Part Two: The Impact of Yom Kippur on Early Christianity in the First and Second Centuries 4. Yom Kippur in the Early Christian Imaginaire 5. Yom Kippur Imagery in Gnosticism and in Early Christian Mysticism6. Yom Kippur in Jewish Christian Legends Part Three: The Impact of Yom Kippur on Early Christianity from the Third to the Fifth Centuries 7. Christian Exegesis of Leviticus and the Polemics against the Contemporary Yom Kippur8. Yom Kippur and the Christian Autumn FestivalsGeneral conclusions

  • By (author) Daniel Stokl Ben Ezra