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Jewish Magic before the Rise of Kabbalah.

By: Contributor(s): Material type: TextTextSeries: Raphael Patai Series in Jewish Folklore and AnthropologyPublisher: Detroit, MI : Wayne State University Press, 2015Copyright date: ©2015Description: 1 online resource (602 pages)Content type:
  • text
Media type:
  • computer
Carrier type:
  • online resource
ISBN:
  • 9780814336311
Genre/Form: Additional physical formats: Print version:: Jewish Magic before the Rise of KabbalahDDC classification:
  • 398.2089924
Online resources:
Contents:
Cover -- Title Page -- Copyright -- Contents -- Plates follow page -- List of Plates -- Preface -- Introduction -- I. Research and Method -- 1. Magic and the Study of Religion -- Evolutionist Theories -- Sociology of Magic -- Magic, Religion, and Rationality in Anthropological Research -- 2. Magic, Mysticism, Religion, and Society: The Study of Early Jewish Magic -- Magic in the Greco-Roman World: Aims of the Research -- Religion, Magic, and Mysticism in Judaism in Late Antiquity and the Early Islamic Period -- Concluding Remarks -- 3. Religion, Magic, Adjuration, and the Definition of Early Jewish Magic -- Magic-Mageia: Introducing the Problem -- Magic and Religion: A Case of Family Resemblance -- From Magic to Jewish Magic -- 4. How to Do Things with Words: Speech Acts and Incantations -- Speech Act Theory -- Speech Act Theory and Magic Speech -- Performative Utterances and Acts of Adjuration: Early Jewish Magic as a Test Case -- II. Sources -- 5. Jewish Magic Literature: Magical Texts and Artifacts -- Performative Artifacts -- Instructional Literature: Magic Recipes and Treatises -- Concluding Remarks -- 6. Angels, Demons, and Sorceries: Beliefs, Actions, and Attitudes in Nonmagic Literature -- Second Temple Period Literature -- Hekhalot and Merkavah Literature -- Polemical Karaite Writings -- The Response of Rav Hai Gaon to the Sages of Kairouan -- Maimonides' Writings -- Concluding Remarks -- 7. Knowledge, Power, and Hegemony: Sorcery, Demonology, and Divination in Rabbinic Literature -- Sorcery -- Demons and the Evil Eye -- Divination -- Dreams and Their Interpretation -- Astrology -- Concluding Remarks -- Epilogue -- Bibliography -- Index of Sources -- General Index.
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Holdings
Item type Current library Call number Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Ebrary Online Books Ebrary Online Books Colombo Available CBERA00089
Ebrary Online Books Ebrary Online Books Jaffna Available JFEBRA00089
Ebrary Online Books Ebrary Online Books Kandy Available KDEBRA00089
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

"Magic culture is certainly fascinating. But what is it? What, in fact, are magic writings, magic artifacts?" Originally published in Hebrew in 2010, Jewish Magic Before the Rise of Kabbalah is a comprehensive study of early Jewish magic focusing on three major topics: Jewish magic inventiveness, the conflict with the culture it reflects, and the scientific study of both. The first part of the book analyzes the essence of magic in general and Jewish magic in particular. The book begins with theories addressing the relationship of magic and religion in fields like comparative study of religion, sociology of religion, history, and cultural anthropology, and considers the implications of the paradigm shift in the interdisciplinary understanding of magic for the study of Jewish magic. The second part of the book focuses on Jewish magic culture in late antiquity and in the early Islamic period. This section highlights the artifacts left behind by the magic practitioners--amulets, bowls, precious stones, and human skulls--as well as manuals that include hundreds of recipes. Jewish Magic before the Rise of Kabbalah also reports on the culture that is reflected in the magic evidence from the perspective of external non-magic contemporary Jewish sources. Issues of magic and religion, magical mysticism, and magic and social power are dealt with in length in this thorough investigation. Scholars interested in early Jewish history and comparative religions will find great value in this text.

Cover -- Title Page -- Copyright -- Contents -- Plates follow page -- List of Plates -- Preface -- Introduction -- I. Research and Method -- 1. Magic and the Study of Religion -- Evolutionist Theories -- Sociology of Magic -- Magic, Religion, and Rationality in Anthropological Research -- 2. Magic, Mysticism, Religion, and Society: The Study of Early Jewish Magic -- Magic in the Greco-Roman World: Aims of the Research -- Religion, Magic, and Mysticism in Judaism in Late Antiquity and the Early Islamic Period -- Concluding Remarks -- 3. Religion, Magic, Adjuration, and the Definition of Early Jewish Magic -- Magic-Mageia: Introducing the Problem -- Magic and Religion: A Case of Family Resemblance -- From Magic to Jewish Magic -- 4. How to Do Things with Words: Speech Acts and Incantations -- Speech Act Theory -- Speech Act Theory and Magic Speech -- Performative Utterances and Acts of Adjuration: Early Jewish Magic as a Test Case -- II. Sources -- 5. Jewish Magic Literature: Magical Texts and Artifacts -- Performative Artifacts -- Instructional Literature: Magic Recipes and Treatises -- Concluding Remarks -- 6. Angels, Demons, and Sorceries: Beliefs, Actions, and Attitudes in Nonmagic Literature -- Second Temple Period Literature -- Hekhalot and Merkavah Literature -- Polemical Karaite Writings -- The Response of Rav Hai Gaon to the Sages of Kairouan -- Maimonides' Writings -- Concluding Remarks -- 7. Knowledge, Power, and Hegemony: Sorcery, Demonology, and Divination in Rabbinic Literature -- Sorcery -- Demons and the Evil Eye -- Divination -- Dreams and Their Interpretation -- Astrology -- Concluding Remarks -- Epilogue -- Bibliography -- Index of Sources -- General Index.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2018. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.

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