The Evil Inclination in Early Judaism and Christianity

Ishay Rosen-Zvi

doi:10.1017/9781108557153

One of the central concepts in rabbinic Judaism is the notion of the Evil Inclination, which appears to be related to similar concepts in ancient Christianity and the wider late antique world. The precise origins and understanding of the idea, however, are unknown. This volume traces the development of this concept historically in Judaism and assesses its impact on emerging Christian thought concerning the origins of sin. The chapters, which cover a wide range of sources including the Bible, the Ancient Versions, Qumran, Pseudepigrapha and Apocrypha, the Targums, and rabbinic and patristic literature, advance our understanding of the intellectual exchange between Jews and Christians in classical Antiquity, as well as the intercultural exchange between these communities and the societies in which they were situated.

‘This broad and erudite volume will be of value to scholars of the Dead Sea Scrolls.’

Matthew Goff Source: Dead Sea Discoveries

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Contents

The Evil Inclination in Early Judaism and Christianity
pp i-ii
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The Evil Inclination in Early Judaism and Christianity - Title page
pp iii-iii
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Copyright page
pp iv-iv
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Contents
pp v-vi
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Acknowledgments
pp vii-vii
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Contributors
pp viii-x
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1 - Introduction
pp 1-12
- By J. K. Aitken, H. M. Patmore, I. Rosen-Zvi
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2 - Reconsidering the Semantics of the “Inclination” (yeṣer) in Classical Biblical Hebrew
pp 13-32
- By Noam Mizrahi
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3 - The “Inclination” (yeṣer) as Rendered in the Septuagint
pp 33-48
- By James K. Aitken
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4 - “Fleshly Spirit” and “Vessel of Flesh” in 4QInstruction and the Thanksgiving Hymns
pp 49-64
- By Benjamin Wold
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5 - Theological Anthropology in the Enochic Tradition
pp 65-94
- By Loren Stuckenbruck
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6 - The Perils of Philosophical Persuasion: Philo on the Origin of Moral Evils
pp 95-114
- By Sharon Weisser
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7 - The Evil Inclination (yeṣer ha-ra‘) in Tannaitic Literature: Demonic Desires and Beyond
pp 115-125
- By Ishay Rosen-Zvi
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8 - Conflicting Intrapersonal Powers in Paul’s Letters
pp 126-142
- By Daniel Schumann
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9 - The “Two Inclinations” and the Double-Minded Human Condition in the Letter of James
pp 143-158
- By George van Kooten
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10 - An Evil Inclination in the Early Targums to the Pentateuch and Prophets?
pp 159-175
- By Hector M. Patmore
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11 - “Gnostic” Theologies of Evil
pp 176-185
- By Timothy Pettipiece
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12 - The Rabbinic “Inclination” (yeṣer) and the Christian Apocrypha
pp 186-200
- By Monika Pesthy-Simon
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13 - Origen on the Origin of Sin
pp 201-211
- By Riemer Roukema
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14 - Augustine on the Diabolical Suggestion of Sin
pp 212-231
- By Sophie Lunn-Rockliffe
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15 - Jerome and the “Inclination” (yeṣer): The Evidence of the Vulgate
pp 232-246
- By C. T. R. Hayward
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16 - Rabbinic Inclinations and Monastic Thoughts: Evagrius Ponticus’ Doctrine of Reasoning (logismoi) and Its Antecedents
pp 247-261
- By Augustine Casiday
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17 - “Inclination” (yaṣrā) in the Syriac Tradition
pp 262-279
- By David G. K. Taylor
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18 - Evil, Sin, and Inclination (yeṣer) in Jewish and Christian Poetic Disputes between the Body and Soul
pp 280-293
- By Ophir Münz-Manor
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19 - The Wizard of Āz and the Evil Inclination: The Babylonian Rabbinic Inclination (yeṣer) in Its Zoroastrian and Manichean Context
pp 294-314
- By Yishai Kiel
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20 - The Evil Inclination in the Targums to the Writings
pp 315-330
- By Leeor Gottlieb
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References
pp 331-357
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Index of Names
pp 358-359
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Index Locorum
pp 360-372
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