Filled with the Spirit
Author John R. Levison ISBN 9780802877666 Binding Trade Paper Publisher WM B. Eerdmans Publishing Company Publication Date October 06, 2009 Size 152 x 229 mm
Containing meticulous, up-to-date scholarship yet written in a flowing, enjoyable style, this comprehensive book takes readers on a journey through a breathtaking array of literary texts, encompassing
Containing meticulous, up-to-date scholarship yet written in a flowing, enjoyable style, this comprehensive book takes readers on a journey through a breathtaking array of literary texts, encompassing the literature of Israel, early Judaism, the Greco-Roman world, and the New Testament. John R. Levison’s skill with ancient texts—already demonstrated in his acclaimed The Spirit in First-Century Judaism—is here extended to a myriad of other expressions of the Spirit in antiquity.
“An impressive and provocative study that is sure to be a significant voice in the evolving discussions regarding the Spirit of God in the literatures of early Israel, Second Temple Judaism, and early Christianity.”
— Review of Biblical Literature
“Levison has provided a compelling, eloquent, sensitive reading of texts related to God’s Spirit. . . . Filled with the Spirit is a category-altering book with the potential to reshape how one ministers and lives as a spirit-empowered agent in the world.”
— Word and World
“There are many books on the Holy Spirit, but few historical studies of the development of pneumatology (as the study of the Spirit is called), and this is a good and subtle one. It takes the reader into ancient Jewish and pagan texts as well as the Bible, and shows how variegated and complex was the background against which Paul could speak of ‘the fruits of the Spirit.’”
— Church Times
“An impressive study.”
— Journal of Ancient Judaism
“A remarkable read.”
— Themelios
“[Here is a new book that will become, and perhaps already has become, the benchmark and starting point for all future studies of the Spirit. The effusiveness of the endorsements match what I have seen in the book: a full study of the evidence in the Old Testament, the Jewish literature, Greco-Roman materials, and the New Testament, and a comprehensive re-evaluation of the state of the art. . . . This book is eloquent and exceptional. Buy it and read it.”
— Scot McKnight in Jesus Creed
“Levison’s scholarly book is worth buying for the wealth of his research on Greco-Roman literature, for his extensive use of the Qumran writings that cast light on the biblical texts, and for multiple precious insights into both testaments, all presented in a delightful, engaging style.”
— Catholic Biblical Quarterly
“This insightful and meticulous research is addressed to fellow scholars, but graduate students and pastors will find that it rewards patient application. It deserves a prize.”
— The Bible Today
“In this scholarly tour de force—breathtaking in its scope, depth, and erudition—Levison opens up new vistas of interpretation beyond all our settled categories in both Judaism and Christianity. . . . Texts in Levison’s hands witness to the surging of the vitality of the creator who refuses to let creation wither and close. This rich and generative study will surely not only be defining for time to come but will also evoke much new interpretive work.”
— Walter Brueggemann
“John R. Levison undertakes an impressive task here. In the wake of no less a scholar than Hermann Gunkel, he follows the concept of being filled with the Spirit through Israelite, Jewish, and early Christian literatures—and he does so with a thorough knowledge of the sources and their problems and with a constant eye on the deep transformations that the concept underwent in Hellenistic Judaism under the influence of Greek ideas of possession and inspiration. The result is a fascinating contribution to the contemporary study of Mediterranean religions that takes its interdisciplinary approach seriously and situates Hellenistic Judaism and early Christianity in their much wider context of Jewish and Greco-Roman traditions of religion and thought.”
— Fritz Graf
“Jack Levison’s Filled with the Spirit is a magisterial overview of the changing view of the Spirit in the Hebrew Bible, early Judaism, and early Christianity. Levison treats the Jewish material not just as background for early Christianity but as a subject of study in its own right. He also makes excursions into the Greco-Roman world to explain the increased interest in ecstasy in the period between the Testaments. This is a lively and engaging study and a first-rate contribution to the history of religion.”
— John J. Collins
“Levison has brought us a broad and provocative study of the spirit in Israelite and in early Jewish and Christian literature. . . . Deserves to be read closely and appreciated for its innovations.”
— Alan F. Segal
“Filled with the Spirit has many virtues, but two deserve special mention. First, Levison treats a wider array of biblical and other ancient sources on the spirit than any predecessor, and does so with uniformly deep knowledge and insight. Second, he persuasively shows how ideol
View Review quote
— Review of Biblical Literature
“Levison has provided a compelling, eloquent, sensitive reading of texts related to God’s Spirit. . . . Filled with the Spirit is a category-altering book with the potential to reshape how one ministers and lives as a spirit-empowered agent in the world.”
— Word and World
“There are many books on the Holy Spirit, but few historical studies of the development of pneumatology (as the study of the Spirit is called), and this is a good and subtle one. It takes the reader into ancient Jewish and pagan texts as well as the Bible, and shows how variegated and complex was the background against which Paul could speak of ‘the fruits of the Spirit.’”
— Church Times
“An impressive study.”
— Journal of Ancient Judaism
“A remarkable read.”
— Themelios
“[Here is a new book that will become, and perhaps already has become, the benchmark and starting point for all future studies of the Spirit. The effusiveness of the endorsements match what I have seen in the book: a full study of the evidence in the Old Testament, the Jewish literature, Greco-Roman materials, and the New Testament, and a comprehensive re-evaluation of the state of the art. . . . This book is eloquent and exceptional. Buy it and read it.”
— Scot McKnight in Jesus Creed
“Levison’s scholarly book is worth buying for the wealth of his research on Greco-Roman literature, for his extensive use of the Qumran writings that cast light on the biblical texts, and for multiple precious insights into both testaments, all presented in a delightful, engaging style.”
— Catholic Biblical Quarterly
“This insightful and meticulous research is addressed to fellow scholars, but graduate students and pastors will find that it rewards patient application. It deserves a prize.”
— The Bible Today
“In this scholarly tour de force—breathtaking in its scope, depth, and erudition—Levison opens up new vistas of interpretation beyond all our settled categories in both Judaism and Christianity. . . . Texts in Levison’s hands witness to the surging of the vitality of the creator who refuses to let creation wither and close. This rich and generative study will surely not only be defining for time to come but will also evoke much new interpretive work.”
— Walter Brueggemann
“John R. Levison undertakes an impressive task here. In the wake of no less a scholar than Hermann Gunkel, he follows the concept of being filled with the Spirit through Israelite, Jewish, and early Christian literatures—and he does so with a thorough knowledge of the sources and their problems and with a constant eye on the deep transformations that the concept underwent in Hellenistic Judaism under the influence of Greek ideas of possession and inspiration. The result is a fascinating contribution to the contemporary study of Mediterranean religions that takes its interdisciplinary approach seriously and situates Hellenistic Judaism and early Christianity in their much wider context of Jewish and Greco-Roman traditions of religion and thought.”
— Fritz Graf
“Jack Levison’s Filled with the Spirit is a magisterial overview of the changing view of the Spirit in the Hebrew Bible, early Judaism, and early Christianity. Levison treats the Jewish material not just as background for early Christianity but as a subject of study in its own right. He also makes excursions into the Greco-Roman world to explain the increased interest in ecstasy in the period between the Testaments. This is a lively and engaging study and a first-rate contribution to the history of religion.”
— John J. Collins
“Levison has brought us a broad and provocative study of the spirit in Israelite and in early Jewish and Christian literature. . . . Deserves to be read closely and appreciated for its innovations.”
— Alan F. Segal
“Filled with the Spirit has many virtues, but two deserve special mention. First, Levison treats a wider array of biblical and other ancient sources on the spirit than any predecessor, and does so with uniformly deep knowledge and insight. Second, he persuasively shows how ideol
John R. (Jack) Levison is W. J. A. Power Professor of Old Testament Interpretation and Biblical Hebrew at Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University. His other books include Fresh Air: The Holy Spirit for an Inspired Life and The Spirit in First-Century Judaism.
View Biographical note