Word and image in medieval Kabbalah : the texts, commentaries, and diagrams of the Sefer Yetsirah

The Sefer Yetsirah (the Book Of Creation ) Is A Core Text Of The Early Kabbalah, Yet Scholars Have Struggled To Establish Even The Most Basic Facts About The Work. This Project Attempts To Discover The Ways In Which Diagrams Accompanying The Text And Its Commentaries Show Trends In The Development Of The Kabbalistic Tradition As A Whole. Cover 1 Title 10 Copyright 11 Dedication 12 Contents 14 List of Figures 16 1. Word and Image in Medieval Kabbalah: Interpreting Diagrams from the Sefer Yetsirah and its Commentaries 17 2. Situating the Text 37 3. Genre as Argument in the Sefer Yetsirah: A New Look at Its Literary Structure 54 4. Thinking in Lines and Circles 79 5. The Letterforms: How Did He Combine Them? 102 6. Golem Diagrams: Golem Making, Astrology, and Messianism 118 7. Conclusions 153 Notes 166 Index 196 Index of Ancient and Medieval Sources 205 Front Matter....Pages i-xv Word and Image in Medieval Kabbalah: Interpreting Diagrams from the Sefer Yetsirah and its Commentaries....Pages 1-20 Situating the Text....Pages 21-37 Genre as Argument in the Sefer Yetsirah: A New Look at Its Literary Structure....Pages 39-63 Thinking in Lines and Circles....Pages 65-87 The Letter forms: How Did He Combine Them?....Pages 89-104 Golem Diagrams: Golem Making, Astrology, and Messianism....Pages 105-139 Conclusions....Pages 141-153 Back Matter....Pages 155-197 The Sefer Yetsirah (the Book of Creation) is a core text of the early kabbalah, yet has remained something of a mystery. Scholars have struggled to establish the most basic facts about the work: its dating, its place of origin, and especially its meaning. The words and images of Sefer Yetsirah raise crucial questions about the history of kabbalah, and about scholarly categories for understanding it