Abstract
The short biblical story of the blasphemer (Lev 24:10-23) received a unique mystical and mythical interpretation in the Zohar. When carefully examined, the zoharic homilies of the story reveal the hidden influences of Jewish polemic anti-gospel traditions. This essay exposes the strong link between the biblical blasphemer and Jesus, as well as between the blasphemer's mother and the Virgin Mary. In fact, the zoharic commentary on the blasphemer's biblical story provides a significant understanding of the Zohar's ambivalent attitude towards Jesus as Son of God - and of the Virgin Mary as linked to the Shekhinah.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 100-124 |
| Number of pages | 25 |
| Journal | Harvard Theological Review |
| Volume | 110 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 1 Jan 2017 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This essay was made possible thanks to the generous support of the Tikvah Fellowship at Princeton University (2011), the Fulbright Fellowship at Harvard University (2012), and the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture. This research has also been funded from the European Research Council's Starting Grant, "Theologies of Conversion to Christianity in Early Modern East-Central European Judaism" (TCCECJ), headed by Dr Pawel Maciejko (Hebrew University of Jerusalem), and the Lady Davis Fellowship Trust. Finally, I would like to thank Sara Tova Brody for her help in editing this essay.
Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © President and Fellows of Harvard College 2016.
RAMBI Publications
- Rambi Publications
- Jesus
- Bible -- Leviticus -- XXIV, 10-23 -- Criticism, interpretation, etc
- Zohar -- Criticism, interpretation, etc
- Blasphemy (Judaism)
- Judaism -- Relations -- Christianity -- History -- Middle Ages, 500-1500
- Polemics