A transparent illusion : : the dangerous vision of water in Hekhalot mysticism : a source-critical and tradition-historical inquiry / / C. R. A. Morray-Jones.

• Superior document: Supplements to the Journal for the Study of Judaism ; Volume 59
• VerfasserIn: Morray-Jones, Christopher R. A.,
• Place / Publishing House: Leiden : : Brill,, [2002]; ©2002
• Year of Publication: 2002
• Language: English
• Series: Supplements to the Journal for the study of Judaism ; Volume 59.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource.

In Jewish hekhalot mysticism, one who ascends to the heavenly temple may see something which looks like - but is not - water. Should he be deceived by this illusion, he betrays his unworthiness and exposes himself to retribution. Detailed examination of the water vision discovers that its real objec...

Table of Contents

• Intro
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• Abbreviations
• I. The Dangerous Utterance in "Four Entered Paradise
• 1. "Four Entered Paradise" in the Talmudic Sources and Canticles Rabbah
• 2. "Four Entered Paradise" in the Hekhalot Recensions
• 3. Source- and Redaction-Critical Observations on "Four Entered Paradise" and the Origins of the "Ascent to Paradise" Tradition
• 4. The Water Vision Episode in "Four Entered Paradise" according to ms. New York of Hekhalot Zuṭarti
• 5. The Cosmic Temple
• II. The [Arabic Text] Story and the Water Vision Episode: The Status Quaestionis
• III. The Water Vision Episode and its Context in Hekhalot Rabbati and Hekhalot Zuṭarti
• 1. The Sources
• 2. The One .... Like [Arabic Text]
• 3. The Keepers of the Gate and the Saying: "(Do Not) Enter!
• 4. The Keepers of the Gate in the Ascent of Rabbi Neḥunya b. Ha-Qanah
• 5. The Strange Expression: "Because ....
• 6. The Beginning of the Water Vision Episode: Textual Problems and Relationships
• 7. Conclusion: The Water Vision Episode and the Paradise Tradition
• IV. The Celestial Pavement and the "Ascent Midrash" in Hekhalot Zuṭarti
• 1. The Hekhalot Zuṭarti Literary Tradition
• 2. The Chaos Waters Theme
• 3. The Celestial Paving Stones
• 4. The Celestial Pavement in Midrashic and Biblical Tradition
• 5. The Ascent Midrash
• 6. Structural Analysis of the Ascent Midrash in Hekhalot Zuṭarti
• V. The Celestial Pavement and the Waters of Impurity
• 1. Some Jewish and Christian Apocalyptic Sources
• 2. The Origins of Hekhalot Zuṭarti
• 3. The Form of the Question
• 4. The Palace Above the Waters
• 5. The Waters of Impurity in the Qumran Scrolls
• 6. The Book of Revelation
• 7. Waters of Purity and Impurity
• VI. Some Gnostic and Christian Sources
• 1. The Waters of Materiality
• 2. The Realm of Air and Light.
• VII. Temple Veils and Celestial Firmaments
• 1. The Enthronement of Sabaoth
• 2. Jewish Traditions about the Tabernacle and its Curtains
• 3. "Veil" as the Name of the First Heaven
• 4. The Veils of the Temple
• 5. The Curtain Before the Throne
• 6. The Locations of the Veils in Jewish and Gnostic Sources
• VIII. The Faces of the Chariot
• 1. The Ascent Continues (Massekhet Hekhalot, 28)
• 2. A Passage in ms. New York of Hekhalot Zuṭarti and the Sabaoth Enthronement Scene
• 3. Multiplying the Faces
• 4. Ben Sira, the Enthronement of Sabaoth, and Hekhalot Zuṭarti
• IX. The Stuff of Heaven
• 1. The Calf, the Levites, and the Waters
• 2. The Waters and the Heavenly Tablets
• 3. The Angelic Priesthood
• 4. The Heavenly Tablets and the Sea of Torah
• 5. The Celestial Substance
• X. Concluding Observations
• 1. The Date of Origin of Hekhalot Zuṭarti
• 2. Hekhalot Mysticism and [Arabic Text]
• 3. Dualism and Priestly Purity
• Appendix Solomon and the Queen of Sheba
• 1. The Legend Cycle of Solomon and the Queen
• 2. The Glass Palace Tale in Targum Sheni to Esther
• 3. The Glass Palace Tale in the Qur'ān
• 4. The Queen's Hairy Legs in Recent Jewish Folklore
• 5. The Queen's Hairy legs in the Tales of Ben Sira
• 6. The Muslim Commentators
• 7. The Subjugation of the Hairy Queen
• 8. Lilith
• 9. Lilith and the Queen of Sheba
• 10. The Queen of Sheba in the Zohar
• 11. The Problem of the Origin of the Demonic Queen
• 12. Lilith and the Hairy Demons in Isa. 34:14
• 13. A Problem of Difference
• 14. The Queen of Sheba in Christianity
• 15. The Queen of Sheba in the First to Third Centuries CE
• 16. The Demon Queen in the Job Targum
• 17. Rabbi Jonathan and the Queen of Sheba
• 18. The Queen, the Glass Palace, and her Hairy Legs: A Survey and Assessment of the Evidence.
• 19. An Early Eighteenth-Century Yemenite Jewish Version of the Tale
• 20. Concluding Observations
• Bibliography
• Index of Primary Sources
• Index of Modern Scholars.