The early history of heaven
By: J. Edward Wright.
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2000
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 318
Subjects: Heaven -- Judaism -- History of doctrines; Heaven -- Christianity -- History of doctrines -- Early church, ca. 30-600; Heaven -- Comparative studies; Literature, Ancient -- History and criticism; Apocalyptic literature -- History and criticism
Genres: Comparative studies.
Description: "Edward Wright traces the origins and development of images of the heavenly realm in the ancient Near East, early Judaism, and Christianity. He begins by examining the beliefs of ancient Israel's neighbors in Egypt and Mesopotamia, reconstructing the intellectual context in which the earliest biblical images of heaven arose.

He shows how the biblical authors and editors transformed common Near Eastern images of heaven to conform to their own strictly monotheistic beliefs and their refusal to allow any physical images of God."--BOOK JACKET. "Wright reads between the lines of the Bible, examines several unusual archaeological artifacts, and explores a host of non-traditional Jewish and Christian materials to reconstruct the rich variety of early images of the heavenly realm."--BOOK JACKET.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 279-310) and indexes.