Description
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. First introduced in Exodus, new ideas of faith, revelation, and above all covenant transformed basic assumptions about humankind's relationship to the divine and became the bedrock of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
About the Author
Jan Assmann is honorary professor of cultural studies at the University of Konstanz and professor emeritus of Egyptology at the University of Heidelberg. He is the author of many books, including Cultural Memory and Early Civilization and Moses the Egyptian.
Book Information
ISBN 9780691203195
Author Jan Assmann
Format Paperback
Page Count 416
Imprint Princeton University Press
Publisher Princeton University Press