Subject: OT AND NT (Merkavah mysticism)

From: [email-masked] (William L. Petersen)
Date: Wed, 31 Jan 1996 14:23:11 -0500

On Jan. 31, Bradley Harrison wrote:

>To what extent has the Merkavah mystical tradion has ifluenced the NT. What
>was the first century Christian heavenly cosmology. Was Christ God? Or was
>he the Mediator, a metatron. Was He the Torah incarnate an object of the
>Merkavah mystical tradition. As this tradition was discovered within early
>rabbinic texts and Qumran as well as many non-cannonical texts. 
>
>Bradley Harrison
>Phila. PA
>MA JS Gratz College  
>
>
There are a number of sources which discuss the (possible) connections:
see, for example, Alan Segal's recent book *Paul the Convert*, in the index,
under "Merkabah"--there are a number of references.  See also in the index
of Jarl Fossum, *The Name of God and the Angel of the Lord*.  The topic also
crops up *passim* in *Gershom Scholem's Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism. 50
Years After*, a volume edited by P. Schaefer and J. Dan (Tuebingen: JCB
Mohr, 1993).  See also G. Quispel's various essays, collected as *Gnostic
Studies* (2 vols.).

--Petersen, Penn State University