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In Search of the Hebrew People: Bible and Nation in the German Enlightenment (German Jewish Cultures) Kindle Edition

by Ofri Ilany (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

5.0 1 rating

Part of: German Jewish Cultures (6 books)

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A book that “could serve as an effective introduction to German history, biblical studies and modern nationalism, among other fields” (German History).

As German scholars, poets, and theologians searched for the origins of the ancient Israelites, Ofri Ilany believes, they created a model for nationalism that drew legitimacy from the biblical idea of the Chosen People. In this broad exploration of eighteenth-century Hebraism, Ilany tells the story of the surprising role that this model played in discussions of ethnicity, literature, culture, and nationhood among the German-speaking intellectual elite.

He reveals the novel portrait they sketched of ancient Israel and how they tried to imitate the Hebrews while forging their own national consciousness. This sophisticated and lucid argument sheds new light on the myths, concepts, and political tools that formed the basis of modern German culture.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Thanks to its erudition, the monograph could serve as an effective introduction to German history, biblical studies and modern nationalism, among other fields."―German History

"Ilany's book has much to offer to biblical scholars invested in understanding the development of their field, but also to scholars of 18th- and 19th-century Germany and to those interested in the relationship between the academy and the ideological process of nation building more broadly."―Reading Religion

"Recommended."―Choice

"Sound, well-informed, and original. No one seriously interested in the history of biblical criticism will be able to ignore this work."―Mark Somos, author of Secularism and the Leiden Circle

"lany's study is a significant, deeply erudite contribution to our understanding of eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century German culture and politics."―H-Judaic