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Bloom, Harold : Jesus And Yahweh: The Names Divine

Riverhead Books, New York, New York, U.S.A., 2005

ISBN 9781573223225

8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Book. Book Condition: Fine. Binding: Hardcover. Jacket: Fine

Signed by Harold Bloom

Bloom, Harold : Jesus And Yahweh: The Names Divine

Riverhead Books, New York City, NY, 2005

ISBN 1573223220

First Edition / First Printing. Fine in Fine Dust Jacket. 240 pages. The author's book-length account on subject. While he has written about Christianity before, this is Harold Bloom's very first full-fledged exploration of the Jesus narrative. The First Hardcover Edition. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions. Published in a small and limited first print run as a hardcover original only. The First Edition is now scarce. Presents Harold Bloom's "Jesus And Yahweh: The Names Divine". One of his most brilliant and beautiful books. His compelling literary re-creation of Jesus as himself and in relation to Yahweh, that is, his continuity and discontinuity with the Jewish tradition. Based upon meticulous readings of abstruse scholarly texts that contradict one another, Bloom contrasts (he prefers the verb "divines", as in flashes of inspiration) the historical Jesus of Nazareth with the theological Jesus Christ, and in essence, finds nothing in common between them. On the contrary, the two figures are exact opposites. "Jesus" is the later Greek version of the original "Yeshua", which modern Jews have turned into and still use as "Joshua". Yeshua of Nazareth was, in Bloom's estimation, the greatest rabbi/genius since Moses, courageous, incorruptible, and fully committed to the restoration of ancient Jewish tradition at a time of profound turbulence and despair among the Jewish people. Yeshua of Nazareth will therefore not recognize himself at all in The Gospels, which were written centuries later, pragmatically and effectively transforming him into Jesus Christ, the founder of a new religion that broke away from monotheistic Judaism. Jesus Christ is a fascinating literary figure in his own right, worshipped as one God in the Holy Trinity (God The Father, God The Son, and God The Holy Spirit). Together with his mother, the Virgin Mary, they make up the Roman Catholic quartet. For more than two thousand years, this quartet has remained the core figures of polytheistic Christianity, the most vibrant, most influential, and most powerful religion the world has ever seen. As such, for Bloom, the so-called "Judaeo-Christian tradition" is not so much a myth as a farce. The book has infuriated and outraged both Jews and Christians alike. Bloom is a proud Jew even though he sees his people's destiny being uncertain at best as the Second Coming is not forthcoming. He does not believe in Jesus Christ, Shakespeare being his true God. And when he describes the Jesus narrative as the greatest literary mis-reading in human history, Bloom is poignantly (rather than polemically) alluding to his ground-breaking thesis about the anxiety of influence, the remarkable insight about literary creation that is the basis of his lifelong, overarching theme about the literary (rather than philosophical) struggle between "authority" and "personality": "The New Testament is frequently a strong mis-reading of the Hebrew Bible, and certainly it has persuaded multitudes" (Harold Bloom). Whereas "The Book of J" is joyful and exuberant, the tone of "Jesus And Yahweh" is elegiac. An absolute "must-have" title for Harold Bloom collectors. This copy is very prominently and beautifully signed in black ink-pen on the title page by Harold Bloom. It is signed directly on the page itself, not on a tipped-in page, as copies available online are. This title is a classic. As far as we know, this is the only such title-page signed copy of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright, a pristine beauty. Please note: Copies available online have serious flaws, are subsequent printings, or are remainder-marked. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A rare signed copy thus. The greatest literary critic of our time. A fine collectible copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER HAROLD BLOOM TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 1573223220.

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Bloom, Harold : Jesus and Yahweh: The Names Divine

New York: Riverhead, 2005.

8vo. 238 pp. Near fine to fine in gilt-lettered black boards with near fine dust jacket.

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