On Human Nature in Early Judaism

Download or read book On Human Nature in Early Judaism written by Jeffrey P. García and published by Brill Schoningh. This book was released on 2020-11-13 with total page 341 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is an analysis of early Jewish thought on human nature, specifically, the complex of characteristics that are understood to be universally innate, and/or God-given, to collective humanity and the manner which they depict human existence in relationship, or lack thereof, to God.Jewish discourse in the Greco-Roman period (4th c. BCE until 1st c. CE) on human nature was not exclusively particularistic, although the immediate concern was often communal-specific. Evidence shows that many of these discussions were also an attempt to grasp a general, or universal, human nature. The focus of this work has been narrowed to three categories that encapsulate the most prevalent themes in Second Temple Jewish texts, namely, creation, composition, and condition.