The Holy Spirit Before Christianity

John R. Levison is W. J. A. Power Professor of Old Testament Interpretation and Biblical Hebrew at Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University.

1. The Emergence of the Spirit Recasting Exodus: The Font of Pneumatology 2. The Essence of the Spirit Retelling Exodus: The Precursors of Pneumatology 3. The Absence of the Spirit Recalling Exodus: The Dawn of Pneumatology 4. The Assurance of the Spirit Rekindling Exodus: The Force of Pneumatology 5. The Significance of the Spirit Rediscovering Exodus: The Future of Pneumatology

Here Levison has provided meticulous exegesis that demonstrates how already in the Scriptures of Israel one encounters 'not merely prolegomen[a] to pneumatology' but 'pneumatology proper' (155n5). Levison's work, alongside other important recent works that focus on agency and exegesis, contributes significantly to our understanding of the emergence of early Jewish and Christian belief in the Holy Spirit. This study should become an enduring point of reference for Old and New Testament scholars, historians of Second Temple Judaism and early Christianity, and systematic theologians working in pneumatology or trinitarian theology. --Steven Edward Harris "Pneuma: The Journal of the Society for Pentacostal Studies" Against the grain of much scholarship, this book argues for the emergence of the spirit of God as an independent agent centuries before Christianity. Levison presents clear arguments in welcoming prose. This is mature scholarship which makes an immediately tangible contribution. --Tyler Horton "Reading Religion" The Holy Spirit Before Christianity is a fascinating study and written in a lively fashion. I suspect it will provoke discussion and productive thinking among those interested in pneumatology. What makes this work perhaps most significant is that it forces readers to reckon with the tension between historical description - the historical moment when 'holy spirit' enters the script - and divine ontology - the theological prolegomena that affirms God's eternal existence as triune. --Andrew T. Abernethy "Scottish Journal of Theology" The Holy Spirit before Christianity serves as a vital text for interpreters of both the Hebrew Bible and New Testament. It impresses the reader with its research, detailed appendices, complex arguments, and thoroughly engaged exegesis. While the debate of pneumatological origins will doubtless remain, Levison provides an impressive and convincing case on why early pneumatology should be reconsidered. --T. Vollmer "Ephemerides Theologicae Lovanienses" Spread through various levels and with attention to an impressive range of cross-disciplinary dialogue partners, Levison has put in his debt readers of Exodus, Isaiah, and Haggai; readers of Christian scripture with theological interpretive interests; and all those who would know the Holy Spirit better. --Richard S. Briggs "Review of Biblical Literature" Any researcher with an interest in pneumatology, interpretations of the exodus tradition, exile, Isaiah, or Haggai will not want to miss this excellent book. --Timothy Rucker "Catholic Biblical Quarterly"