Samuelson-Revelation and the God of Israel.pdf

REVELATION AND THE GOD OF ISRAEL

Revelation and the God of Israel explores the concept of revelation as it

emerges from the Hebrew Scriptures and is interpreted in Jewish

philosophy and theology. The ﬁrst part is a study in intellectual

history that attempts to answer the question, what is the best pos-

sible understanding of revelation? Norbert M. Samuelson draws

on his extensive knowledge of western philosophy and explores the

conception of the God of revelation as classical or medieval Jewish

philosophers such as Maimonides and modern Jewish theologians

suchasBuberandRosenzweigsubsequentlyinterpretedit.Thesec-

ond part is a study in constructive theology which asks whether it

is reasonable to afﬁrm belief in revelation. Here Samuelson focuses

on the challenges given from a variety of contemporary academic

disciplines, including evolutionary psychology, political ethics, ana-

lytic philosophy of religion, and source-critical studies of the Bible.

This important book offers a unique approach to theological ques-

tions and fresh solutions to them and will appeal to those interested

in the history of philosophy, religious thought, and Judaism.

is the Harold and Jean Grossman Chair

of Jewish Studies and Full Professor of Jewish Philosophy in the

Religious Studies Department at Arizona State University. He is

an internationally renowned scholar of Jewish philosophy and the

author of six books including Judaism and the Doctrine of Creation

(Cambridge,

) and most recently A User’s Guide to Franz

Rosenzweig’s Star of Redemption (

articles and is the co-editor of three collected volumes of essays.

Professor Samuelson is the founder and secretary of the Academy

of Jewish Philosophy.

). He has published over