Kabbalah: Three Thousand Years of Mystic Tradition

by Kenneth Hanson

Hebrew scholar and author of "Dead Sea The Untold Story" turns his attention to the enthralling history of Kabbalah--depicting how it has developed through three millennia to provide the mystic strain of Judaism and later of Christianity.

Genres: Nonfiction, Religion, Judaism

270 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Kenneth Hanson is an Associate Professor and Coordinator of the University of Central Florida Judaic Studies Program. He earned a Ph.D. in Hebrew Studies from the University of Texas at Austin in 1991. His many scholarly articles focus on the Second Jewish Commonwealth, the Dead Sea Scrolls, the historical Jesus, and Jewish Christianity. He has also published several books of popular scholarship, including: Dead Sea Scrolls: The Untold Story; Kabbalah: Three Thousand Years of Mystic Tradition; and Secrets from the Lost Bible. He has been interviewed multiple times on nationally syndicated radio, and his research was featured on the History Channel documentary, Banned from the Bible. He teaches a wide range of Judaic Studies courses, including the Hebrew language, the Hebrew Bible, Jewish history and culture, and the history of the Holocaust. He recently produced and narrated an award-winning documentary entitled The Druze: An Ethnic Minority in the Holy Land.

Reviews

[Theia Garcia · Rating 3 out of 5]

The historical background of Kabbalah given in this book is quite good, but the author gets rather preachy at times over his own personal spins on Kabbalah which are much less interesting or insightful

[William Crosby · Rating 5 out of 5]

An understandable overview accessible to those without any knowledge of the Kabbalah.

Examines the Kabbalah (a mystical approach to God) through history and ideology including its relationship with the Hebrew and Christian Bible (especially Ezekiel and Revelation), the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha, and the cultures of the times. Delves into the meaning of names, etymology, wordplay, numerology, and various legends (such as "the Watchers").


After discussing the different aspects of the Kabbalah, there is an historical account of various notable Kabbalists (including supposed messiahs) through the centuries and into the 20th century. States that Jesus and Paul were Kabbalists. Constantly relates various precepts of Kabbalah to modern physics.