Department of Bible
Subject: "Fiery Flames His Servants": Divine Mediating Beings in the Bibilcal Temple Staff, Compared to the Religions of Mesopotamia and Iran.
Supervisor: Dr. Naphtali Meshel.
Abstract: This research project examines, through a new lens, several Biblical texts from various genres, dates, and geographic origins, and extracts from them a cultic perception so far unrecognized by scholars—a fixed presence of lesser divine beings in the Temple, appointed to mediate between the exalted God and His mortal worshipers. Comparison with Mesopotamian texts demonstrates that such a conception was standard throughout the Ancient Near East, and comparison to Iranian texts clarifies the phenomenological background from which such a conception could have emerged. The methodology of the project makes use of scholarly tools from various fields, such as Hebrew and Semitic linguistics, textual criticism, historical reading, and comparative religion. This research continues my MA thesis, which focused on the presence of divine mediating beings in the early Second Temple according to Zechariah 3–4.
Graduate of the Honors Program for Outstanding MA Students, 2016–2018