Gods and Humans in the Ancient Near East

Gods have always lived among humans. But long ago, they also lived inside us, sharing their nature with mere mortals.

Tyson L. Putthoff (Author)

9781108490542, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 5 November 2020

350 pages
15 x 23 x 1.5 cm, 0.55 kg

'… a valuable contribution.' Mark A. Awabdy, Journal for the Study of the Old Testament

In this book, Tyson Putthoff explores the relationship between gods and humans, and between divine nature and human nature, in the Ancient Near East. In this world, gods lived among humans. The two groups shared the world with one another, each playing a special role in maintaining order in the cosmos. Humans also shared aspects of a godlike nature. Even in their natural condition, humans enjoyed a taste of the divine state. Indeed, gods not only lived among humans, but also they lived inside them, taking up residence in the physical body. As such, human nature was actually a composite of humanity and divinity. Putthoff offers new insights into the ancients' understanding of humanity's relationship with the gods, providing a comparative study of this phenomenon from the third millennium BCE to the first century CE.

1. Introduction: self, space and the divine embodiment model
2. Godlike bodies and radiant souls: divine embodiment in Ancient Egypt
3. Composite beings and sexy god-kings: the divinity of humanity in Mesopotamia
4. Metallic bodies and deification by ingestion: material embodiment in Hittite Anatolia
5. Yhwh and his theomorphic body: the 'Image of god' in Israelite anthropology
6. Divinity for all: the godlike self in Graeco-Roman thought
7. Conclusion: gods and humans, gods in humans.

Subject Areas: Ancient religions & mythologies [HRKP], Biblical studies & exegesis [HRCG], Classical history / classical civilisation [HBLA1]