The Invention of Religion : : Faith and Covenant in the Book of Exodus / / Jan Assmann.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Princeton University Press Complete eBook-Package 2018
• VerfasserIn: Assmann, Jan,
• TeilnehmendeR: Savage, Robert.
• Place / Publishing House: Princeton, NJ : : Princeton University Press, , [2018]; ©2018
• Year of Publication: 2018
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (424 p.) :; 40 b/w illus.

A groundbreaking account of how the Book of Exodus shaped fundamental aspects of Judaism, Christianity, and IslamThe Book of Exodus may be the most consequential story ever told. But its spectacular moments of heaven-sent plagues and parting seas overshadow its true significance, says Jan Assmann, a leading historian of ancient religion. The story of Moses guiding the enslaved children of Israel out of captivity to become God's chosen people is the foundation of an entirely new idea of religion, one that lives on today in many of the world's faiths. The Invention of Religion sheds new light on ancient scriptures to show how Exodus has shaped fundamental understandings of monotheistic practice and belief.Assmann delves into the enduring mythic power of the Exodus narrative, examining the text's compositional history and calling attention to distinctive motifs and dichotomies: enslavement and redemption; belief and doubt; proper worship and idolatry; loyalty and betrayal. Revelation is a central theme--the revelation of God's power in miracles, of God's presence in the burning bush, and of God's chosen dwelling among the Israelites in the vision of the tabernacle. Above all, it is God's covenant with Israel-the binding obligation of the Israelites to acknowledge God as their redeemer and obey His law-that is Exodus's most encompassing and transformative idea, one that challenged basic assumptions about humankind's relationship to the divine in the ancient world.The Invention of Religion is a powerful account of how ideas of faith, revelation, and covenant, first introduced in Exodus, shaped Judaism and were later adopted by Christianity and Islam to form the bedrock of the world's Abrahamic religions.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- CONTENTS -- Illustrations -- Foreword -- Introduction -- PART ONE. GENERAL FOUNDATIONS -- CHAPTER ONE. Theme and Structure of the Book of Exodus -- CHAPTER TWO. The Historical Background: Event and Remembrance -- CHAPTER THREE. Textual History and the History of Meaning -- PART TWO. THE EXODUS -- CHAPTER FOUR. The Tribulations of the Israelites and the Birth of the Savior -- CHAPTER FIVE. God Reveals His Name: Moses at the Burning Bush -- CHAPTER SIX. Signs and Wonders: God Reveals His Power -- PART THREE. THE COVENANT -- CHAPTER SEVEN. The Calling of the People -- CHAPTER EIGHT. Treaty and Law -- CHAPTER NINE. Resistance Moses and the Violent Fate of the Prophets -- CHAPTER TEN. The Institutionalization of Divine Presence -- Conclusion -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Illustration Credits -- Index