The Invention of Religion: Faith and Covenant in the Book of Exodus

Jan Assmann

Published by Princeton University Press 2018

The Invention of Religion

Faith and Covenant in the Book of Exodus

Jan Assmann
Translated by: Robert Savage

https://doi.org/10.23943/9781400889235

Overview
Contents

About this book

A groundbreaking account of how the Book of Exodus shaped fundamental aspects of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam

The Book of Exodus may be the most consequential story ever told. But its spectacular moments of heaven-sent plagues and parting seas overshadow its true significance, says Jan Assmann, a leading historian of ancient religion. The story of Moses guiding the enslaved children of Israel out of captivity to become God's chosen people is the foundation of an entirely new idea of religion, one that lives on today in many of the world's faiths. The Invention of Religion sheds new light on ancient scriptures to show how Exodus has shaped fundamental understandings of monotheistic practice and belief.

Assmann delves into the enduring mythic power of the Exodus narrative, examining the text's compositional history and calling attention to distinctive motifs and dichotomies: enslavement and redemption; belief and doubt; proper worship and idolatry; loyalty and betrayal. Revelation is a central theme--the revelation of God's power in miracles, of God's presence in the burning bush, and of God's chosen dwelling among the Israelites in the vision of the tabernacle. Above all, it is God's covenant with Israel—the binding obligation of the Israelites to acknowledge God as their redeemer and obey His law—that is Exodus's most encompassing and transformative idea, one that challenged basic assumptions about humankind's relationship to the divine in the ancient world.

The Invention of Religion is a powerful account of how ideas of faith, revelation, and covenant, first introduced in Exodus, shaped Judaism and were later adopted by Christianity and Islam to form the bedrock of the world's Abrahamic religions.

Author / Editor information

Jan Assmann is honorary professor of cultural studies at the University of Konstanz and professor emeritus of Egyptology at the University of Heidelberg, where he taught for nearly three decades. He is the author of many books on ancient history and religion, including From Akhenaten to Moses, Cultural Memory and Early Civilization, and Moses the Egyptian.

Reviews

"Jan Assmann's latest book is a blockbuster—beautifully written, capacious, learned, and endlessly creative. It is sure to become a touchstone for scholars and readers interested in the Bible, the ancient world, and the history of monotheism, past and present."—Jonathan Sheehan, University of California, Berkeley

"In this bold reading of the Book of Exodus, Jan Assmann, one of the world's leading intellectuals, shows how Exodus preserves prebiblical Egyptian and Israelite memories while eliciting a ‘monotheism of loyalty’ that has defined much of Western religion."—David M. Carr, author of The Formation of the Hebrew Bible

"In this brilliant, imaginative, and comprehensive study of the Book of Exodus, Jan Assmann draws on his extensive and nuanced knowledge of ancient civilizations, cultural memory, and biblical texts to make the case that the Exodus story of the liberation of a people is also the story of the unprecedented invention of a radically new conception of religion—one that became the basis for Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The breadth and depth of Assmann's multifaceted explorations are dazzling."—Richard J. Bernstein, New School for Social Research

"Jan Assmann, one of Germany's most influential historians and intellectuals, breaks new ground in The Invention of Religion. It is a remarkable achievement, one that promises to spark controversy."—Jacob L. Wright, Emory University

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
CONTENTS Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
Illustrations Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	xi
Foreword Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	xv
Introduction Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
PART ONE. GENERAL FOUNDATIONS
CHAPTER ONE. Theme and Structure of the Book of Exodus Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	11
CHAPTER TWO. The Historical Background: Event and Remembrance Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	32
CHAPTER THREE. Textual History and the History of Meaning Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	55
PART TWO. THE EXODUS
CHAPTER FOUR. The Tribulations of the Israelites and the Birth of the Savior Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	93
CHAPTER FIVE. God Reveals His Name: Moses at the Burning Bush Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	117
CHAPTER SIX. Signs and Wonders: God Reveals His Power Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	138
PART THREE. THE COVENANT
CHAPTER SEVEN. The Calling of the People Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	181
CHAPTER EIGHT. Treaty and Law Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	204
CHAPTER NINE. Resistance Moses and the Violent Fate of the Prophets Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	253
CHAPTER TEN. The Institutionalization of Divine Presence Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	287
Conclusion Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	327
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	339
Bibliography Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	365
Illustration Credits Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	383
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	385