
Magic in the Ancient Eastern Mediterranean
Cognitive, Historical, and Material Perspectives on the Bible and Its contexts
Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht (Publisher)
1st Edition
Published on 14. December 2020
Book
Hardback
331 pages
978-3-525-52218-9 (ISBN)
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€165.00
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Description
Magic in the Ancient Eastern Mediterranean: Cognitive, Historical, and Material Perspectives brings together articles with the shared conviction that the category of magic remains useful in religious studies and provides new insights to biblical and related texts and artifacts. Historically, magic has been considered in both scholarly and popular discourse to be questionable, obscure, and potentially subversive. 19th century scholars of religion viewed magical beliefs and practices as primitive and inferior compared to Judeo-Christian forms of worship, which were considered true "religion". More recently, the category has been defended especially by scholars of the cognitive science of religion, who find it useful for delineating a set of beliefs and practices fundamental to all forms of religion. The volume joins current scholarship in refraining from using the concept as an othering device and in arguing that it can still serve as a helpful analytical tool. In addition to analyzing the discourse on magic in both ancient literature and modern scholarship, the articles provide individual examples of how literary and material culture attest to the existence of magical beliefs and practices in sources from the Ancient Near East to the Byzantine Period.
The book is divided into three parts. The contributions in the first part approach magic from the theoretical perspective of cognitive studies, ritual studies, and cultural evolution, while the rest of the book focuses on how magic and magicians are understood in ancient sources. The second part discusses a specific set of textual material dealing with blessings and curses. The third part of the volume discusses the world of various destructive celestial beings, from which one and one's loved ones had to be defended, as well as the multitude of protective beings such as angels.
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Series
Edition
1. Edition 2021
Language
English
Place of publication
Göttingen
Germany
Illustrations
with 55 fig.
Dimensions
Height: 23.7 cm
Width: 16 cm
Thickness: 2.7 cm
File size
5,84 MB
Weight
689 gr
ISBN-13
978-3-525-52218-9 (9783525522189)
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Nina Nikki | Kirsi M. J. Valkama
Magic in the Ancient Eastern Mediterranean
Cognitive, Historical, and Material Perspectives on the Bible and Its contexts
E-Book
12/2020
1st Edition
Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht
€180.00
Available for download
Persons
Editor
Dr. Nina Nikki is a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Biblical Studies at the University of Helsinki.
ISNI: 0000 0004 3703 4730
ISNI: 0000 0004 3703 4730
Dr. Kirsi Valkama is a university lecturer at the University of Helsinki.
Contributions
Dr. Nina Nikki is a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Biblical Studies at the University of Helsinki.
Dr. Kirsi Valkama is a university lecturer at the University of Helsinki.
Izaak J. de Hulster (PhD, Utrecht) is Privatdozent at the Universities of Göttingen and Helsinki and a research fellow at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein (South Africa). He is also an acquisitions editor in theology for Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht (De Gruyter Brill).
Hanna Tervanotko, Ph.D, Th.D., is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Helsinki with a second affiliation at KU Leuven, Belgium.
Rick Bonnie has a PhD in Archaeology and is a University Researcher at the University of Helsinki.
ISNI: 0000 0001 6565 3414
ISNI: 0000 0001 6565 3414