This volume explores the poetic and philosophical boundaries between humanity and divinity across the Hebrew Bible, Graeco-Roman literature, and early Christian thought. Inspired by Psalm 8 and the verses of Sappho and Catullus, the title evokes the ancient tension between being human and almost divine.
Essays by leading scholars examine prophetic transmission, divine legitimization of power, asceticism, animal symbolism, and mystical emptinesstracing how ancient cultures conceptualized the divine-human interface. From Mesopotamian treaties and biblical naming to Latin hymnody and Indian mysticism, the volume traverses cultural and ontological boundaries.
Dedicated to Sten Hidal, whose pioneering work bridged Hebrew and Classical traditions, this collection honors his legacy by continuing the inquiry into what it means to be a little less than a god.
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Explores how ancient biblical, classical, and early Christian cultures conceptualized the boundary between humanity and divinity, through poetic, philosophical, and theological lenses.
Abbreviations
Introduction, Ola Wikander Lund University, Sweden and Blaenka Scheuer Lund
University, Sweden
1. On the Probability of Anonymous Transmission of Prophetic Speech in the
Hebrew Bible
David Davage, ALT School of Theology, Sweden; University of the Free State,
South Africa
2. Legitimization of Power: Divine Approval and Human Affirmation in
Esarhaddons Succession Treaty and Deuteronomy 13
Jessica Alm, Stockholm School of Theology / University College Stockholm,
Sweden
3. The Dog of Judah? Zoomorphic Framing of Caleb in Israelite Traditions
Blaenka Scheuer, Lund University, Sweden
4. Becoming Like the Virgin God: Jerome on Divinity, Humanity, and
Asceticism
Katarina Pålsson, Lund University, Sweden
5. Coal from the Altar: The Neo-Gallican Hymns Worthy Worship in
Flawless Latin
Anders Piltz, Lund University, Sweden
6. Thou Madest Him Almost unto an Indian Mystic Emptiness from Death
to the Undying in Qoheleth and Louis-Claude de Saint-Martin
Ola Wikander, Lund University, Sweden
Biblical Sources Index
Other Ancient Sources Index
About the Authors
Blaenka Scheuer is associate professor of Hebrew Bible Studies / Old Testament Exegesis at the Centre for Theology and Religious Studies, Lund University, Sweden.
Ola Wikander is a Senior Lecturer and Associate Professor of Old Testament Exegesis at the Centre for Theology and Religious Studies at lundf University, Sweden.
