The Evil Inclination in Early Judaism and Christianity

Explores the origins and development of the Jewish belief in the 'Evil Inclination' and the impact on early Christian thought.

Aimed at those interested in the thought of early Judaism and early Christianity, and especially the relations between the two, this book focuses on the specific Jewish concept of the evil inclination and how that concept developed in its cultural context.One of the central concepts in rabbinic Judaism is the notion of the Evil Inclination, which appears to be related to similar concepts in ancient Christianity and the wider late antique world. The precise origins and understanding of the idea, however, are unknown. This volume traces the development of this concept historically in Judaism and assesses its impact on emerging Christian thought concerning the origins of sin. The chapters, which cover a wide range of sources including the Bible, the Ancient Versions, Qumran, Pseudepigrapha and Apocrypha, the Targums, and rabbinic and patristic literature, advance our understanding of the intellectual exchange between Jews and Christians in classical Antiquity, as well as the intercultural exchange between these communities and the societies in which they were situated.