The Image of Bar Kokhba in Traditional Jewish Literature

False Messiah and National Hero

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Judaism, History, Reference
Cover of the book The Image of Bar Kokhba in Traditional Jewish Literature by Richard  G. Marks, Penn State University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Richard G. Marks ISBN: 9780271075471
Publisher: Penn State University Press Publication: December 27, 1993
Imprint: Penn State University Press Language: English
Author: Richard G. Marks
ISBN: 9780271075471
Publisher: Penn State University Press
Publication: December 27, 1993
Imprint: Penn State University Press
Language: English

Bar Kokhba led the Jewish rebellion against Rome in 132–135 A.D., which resulted in massive destruction and dislocation of the Jewish populace of Judea. In early rabbinic literature, Bar Kokhba was remembered in two ways: as an imposter claiming to be the Messiah and as a glorious military leader whose successes led Rabbi Akiba, one of the great rabbinic authorities of Jewish tradition, to acclaim him the Messiah. These two earliest images formed the core of most later perceptions of Bar Kokhba, so that he became the prototypical false messiah and the paradigmatic rebel of Jewish history.

The Image of Bar Kokhba in Traditional Jewish Literature is a history of the perceptions that later Jewish writers living in the fourth through seventeenth centuries formed of this legendary hero-villain whose actions, in their eyes, had caused enormous suffering and disappointed messianic hopes.

Richard Marks examines each writer's account individually and in the context of its period, exploring particularly political and religious implications. He builds a history of images and looks at larger patterns, such as the desacralizing of traditional imagery. His findings raise timely political questions about Bar Kokhba's image among Jews today.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Bar Kokhba led the Jewish rebellion against Rome in 132–135 A.D., which resulted in massive destruction and dislocation of the Jewish populace of Judea. In early rabbinic literature, Bar Kokhba was remembered in two ways: as an imposter claiming to be the Messiah and as a glorious military leader whose successes led Rabbi Akiba, one of the great rabbinic authorities of Jewish tradition, to acclaim him the Messiah. These two earliest images formed the core of most later perceptions of Bar Kokhba, so that he became the prototypical false messiah and the paradigmatic rebel of Jewish history.

The Image of Bar Kokhba in Traditional Jewish Literature is a history of the perceptions that later Jewish writers living in the fourth through seventeenth centuries formed of this legendary hero-villain whose actions, in their eyes, had caused enormous suffering and disappointed messianic hopes.

Richard Marks examines each writer's account individually and in the context of its period, exploring particularly political and religious implications. He builds a history of images and looks at larger patterns, such as the desacralizing of traditional imagery. His findings raise timely political questions about Bar Kokhba's image among Jews today.

More books from Penn State University Press

Cover of the book After Identity by Richard  G. Marks
Cover of the book Liberty, Property, and Privacy by Richard  G. Marks
Cover of the book Democracy Without Decency by Richard  G. Marks
Cover of the book Experiment in Occupation by Richard  G. Marks
Cover of the book Imagining the American Polity by Richard  G. Marks
Cover of the book Elephant House by Richard  G. Marks
Cover of the book Imagining the Kibbutz by Richard  G. Marks
Cover of the book Gothic Feminism by Richard  G. Marks
Cover of the book American Trajectories by Richard  G. Marks
Cover of the book Challenges for Rural America in the Twenty-First Century by Richard  G. Marks
Cover of the book Evan Pugh’s Penn State by Richard  G. Marks
Cover of the book The Complete Plays of Jean Racine by Richard  G. Marks
Cover of the book Conscience and Other Virtues by Richard  G. Marks
Cover of the book Five Chapters on Rhetoric by Richard  G. Marks
Cover of the book Blacks and the Quest for Economic Equality by Richard  G. Marks
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy