Enter your mobile number or email address below and we'll send you a link to download the free Kindle App. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

  • Apple
  • Android
  • Windows Phone
  • Android

To get the free app, enter your mobile phone number.
Download to your computer
Kindle Cloud Reader
Facebook Twitter Pinterest <Embed>
FREE Shipping on orders with at least $25 of books.
Only 12 left in stock (more on the way).
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
Inheriting Abraham: The L... has been added to your Cart
Want it tomorrow, Aug. 17? Order within and choose this date at checkout.
Ship to:
Select a shipping address:
To see addresses, please
or
Please enter a valid US zip code.
or
+ $3.99 shipping
Used: Like New | Details
Sold by LABYRINTH BOOKS
Condition: Used: Like New
Comment: All inventory in stock! Orders generally ship in 2 business days!

Sorry, there was a problem.

There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. Please try again.

Sorry, there was a problem.

List unavailable.
Have one to sell? Sell on Amazon
Flip to back Flip to front
Listen Playing... Paused   You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more
See all 2 images

Inheriting Abraham: The Legacy of the Patriarch in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (Library of Jewish Ideas) Paperback – October 26, 2014

by Jon D. Levenson (Author)
4.3 out of 5 stars 13 customer reviews
See all 3 formats and editions Hide other formats and editions
Price
New from Used from
Kindle
"Please retry"
$11.05
— —
Hardcover
"Please retry"
$20.72
$14.20 $7.45
Paperback
"Please retry"
$19.95
$9.98 $8.10
Contested Conventions: The Struggle to Establish the Constitution and Save the Union, 1787-1789 by Melvin Yazawa
Contested Conventions
The American Revolution in History | Learn more | See related books
$19.95 FREE Shipping on orders with at least $25 of books. Only 12 left in stock (more on the way). Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
click to open popover

Frequently Bought Together

  • Inheriting Abraham: The Legacy of the Patriarch in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (Library of Jewish Ideas)
  • +
  • The Love of God: Divine Gift, Human Gratitude, and Mutual Faithfulness in Judaism (Library of Jewish Ideas)
  • +
  • Sinai and Zion
Total price: $60.68
Buy the selected items together

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
This shopping feature will continue to load items. In order to navigate out of this carousel please use your heading shortcut key to navigate to the next or previous heading.
Back
  1. The Death and Resurrection of the Beloved Son: The Transformation of Child Sacrifice in Judaism and Christianity
    Jon D. Levenson
    4.2 out of 5 stars 12
    Paperback
    $28.00 Prime
  2. The Love of God: Divine Gift, Human Gratitude, and Mutual Faithfulness in Judaism (Library of Jewish Ideas)
    Jon D. Levenson
    5.0 out of 5 stars 5
    Hardcover
    $24.42 Prime
  3. HarperCollins Study Bible - Student Edition: Fully Revised & Updated
    Society of Biblical…
    4.5 out of 5 stars 195
    Paperback
    $29.15 Prime
  4. Abraham's Children: Jews, Christians and Muslims in Conversation
    Richard Harries
    Paperback
    $65.00 Prime
  5. Sinai and Zion
    Jon D. Levenson
    4.6 out of 5 stars 12
    Paperback
    $16.31 Prime
  6. Resurrection and the Restoration of Israel: The Ultimate Victory of the God of Life
    Jon D. Levenson
    4.0 out of 5 stars 5
    Paperback
    $28.80 Prime
Next
NO_CONTENT_IN_FEATURE
The latest book club pick from Oprah
"The Underground Railroad" by Colson Whitehead is a magnificent novel chronicling a young slave's adventures as she makes a desperate bid for freedom in the antebellum South. See more

Product Details

  • Series: Library of Jewish Ideas
  • Paperback: 264 pages
  • Publisher: Princeton University Press (October 26, 2014)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0691163553
  • ISBN-13: 978-0691163550
  • Product Dimensions: 5.7 x 0.8 x 9.7 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,174,578 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

    •  Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsIs My Abraham Your Abraham?--an elegant guide
By Eco-capitalist on November 25, 2012
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
Jon Levenson's excellent Inheriting Abraham unravels the myth of a common Abrahamic faith, joining historical analysis with an understanding of transcendent religious values. His approach to the biblical persona of Abraham is a refreshing contrast with both a narrow religious mentality and a "scientific" massacre of religious text. Levenson's prose style is a model of clarity and elegance.

Levenson asks penetrating questions about the religious psychodrama of Abraham's attempted sacrifice of Isaac, and while offering many intriguing explanations he is modest in not pretending to give final answers. His careful deconstruction of the misunderstandings about the concept of "chosen people" is illuminating for those who mistakenly believe that this idea implies some kind of superiority. Scattered here and there are nice touches of humor like "implanted like a microchip in his kidney" about the origin of Abraham's recognition of God.

It is instructive to learn about Paul's use of pre-Mosaic Abraham to argue for the irrelevance of Jewish law, a fundamental divergence of Christianity from Judaism. And for Christians, Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his beloved son prefigures the central Christian drama of the Divine sacrifice of Christ.

Islam's claim to Abraham as a Muslim, many centuries after the appearance of Abraham in the Biblical account, and its view of both Christianity and Judaism as perversions of the real Abraham, are helpful in understanding the basic gulf between the religions. While not ignoring some common ground, Levenson emphasizes the fundamental differences which make the idea of an umbrella Abrahamic faith unacceptable.Read more ›
Comment 26 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
4.0 out of 5 starsVery interesting and a good read
By Robert Little on January 3, 2013
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
This book is very interesting and makes you look at the subject of the old testament in a different light. I have read the bible cover to cover many times but will now read it differently, looking for some of the subtile relationships the characters display. However, you need to keep a good dictionary next to you while reading. I have a law degree and think I know the English language pretty well, but not like Mr. Levenson does.
Comment 11 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
5.0 out of 5 starsGreat book
By glauber on December 26, 2013
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
This will give you a great perspective on Abraham from the point of views of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Well written, readable, and very fair. It also contains one of the best appreciations i've seen of the theology of the Apostle Paul. Abraham is a perfect starting point for diving into each of those three religions.
Comment 5 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
5.0 out of 5 starsinteresting insights
By Michael Lewyn VINE VOICE on November 20, 2015
Format: Hardcover
This book contains a variety of insights into various religions' views of Abraham. For example:

*Rather than seeing God's covenant with Abraham and that of Sinai as identical, Levenson focuses on the differences between the two covenants. The Abrahamic covenant is unconditional but limited: as a matter of grace, the Jews get nationhood in some form. The Mosaic covenant is broader but very conditional indeed: the Jews actually get self-rule in Canaan, but only as long as the follow God's commandments. While Christians have occasionally argued about the role of Divine grace and human works, Judaism treats both as necessary.

*Levenson has an interesting insight into the Abraham/Isaac relationship. While some commentators point out that they never spoke after the Akedah (the almost-sacrifice of Isaac) Levenson points out that they never spoke before the Akedah either. And while Jews traditionally saw the entire story as about surrender to God's will, Christians saw Isaac as Jesus.

*Both Jews and Muslim legends emphasize Abraham's role as an idol-smasher (although the Biblical text, read literally, does not discuss Abraham's relations with idol-worshippers). By contrast, Christianity downplays this issue, not surprisingly given the Christian tradition of icons.

*Levenson discusses the idea (mentioned in the Mishnah, but expanding into the work of medieval Jewish commenators) that Abraham observed the whole Torah. Although one sage in the Talmud takes a maximalist position, another age, Shimi bar Chiyya, suggests that this view only applies to the seven Noahide laws (basically, a minimal set of ethical rules). This argument continues into the Middle Ages: while Rashi uses this idea to mold Abraham into a model rabbinic Jew, his grandson Rashbam asserts that this concept applies only to the moral commandments that are generally recognized by most of humanity.
Comment One person found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
4.0 out of 5 starsExcellent book
By P. Stern on June 28, 2016
Format: Paperback
A bravura performance and a pleasure to read. I wish all academics could write this lucidly, with just the right amount of background, detail, and speculation. My only note of caution is that this is really a book about the Jewish tradition, with Christianity thrown in for contrast and Islam making merely a brief, photo shop-style appearance.
Comment Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse
4.0 out of 5 starsThe Legacy of the Patriarch of Judiasm, Christianity & Islam
By Terry Jennrich on March 29, 2014
Format: Hardcover
Facinating book--thought provoking; well worth your time to read it. On page 80 (paragraph one) the author makes the point that God as described in the Torah in the passage where he rescinded his command to Abraham to sacrifice Issac does not sound like the all knowing God as the Greek philosphers described him to be, or the all knowing deity which later Christian Church bishops and scholars described Him to be. Levenson (our author) references both the Canaanite god and the Jewish God at pgs 115-117. But the author said It was Paul who said: those who have faith are decended from Abraham pg 153. But for Paul, keeping the Torah was not necessary pp150-153. It was Paul's belief and teachings which created the new Christian man pg 156-157. No matter which faction of Judism or Christianity discusses the idea of salvation, scholars say faith and good works are both necessary in Judism and Christianity for admission into the new world's afterlife pp 169-171.
Read p 171 last paragraph and footnote 45 chapter 5 pg 228. Levenson said Paul saw the Gospel as the only path to salvation by jews or gentiles. He did not believe the Torah and its norms would get you to heaven anymore. For Paul, only those people who are IN Christ are heirs to the Abrahamic promise of God. Those outside Jesus( outside the Christian Church) do not qualify pg 182-183.
The uncircumcised Abraham was considered righteous in the earlier Genesis tradition. However, the commandment of ritural circumcision was added to Genesis much later by the Priestly sources p 185, Galatians 5:6. For Paul , faith working thorough Love ,is all that matters now; circumcisian is irrelevant p185.
The author concluded his book by saying a neutral Abraham will not work.Read more ›
Comment One person found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No Sending feedback...
Thank you for your feedback.
Sorry, we failed to record your vote. Please try again
Report abuse

Set up an Amazon Giveaway

Inheriting Abraham: The Legacy of the Patriarch in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (Library of Jewish Ideas)
Amazon Giveaway allows you to run promotional giveaways in order to create buzz, reward your audience, and attract new followers and customers. Learn more about Amazon Giveaway
This item: Inheriting Abraham: The Legacy of the Patriarch in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (Library of Jewish Ideas)
Set up a giveaway

There's a problem loading this menu right now.

Learn more about Amazon Prime.

Pages with Related Products. See and discover other items: church history