Meditation and the Bible by Aryeh Kaplan

An innovative interpretation of the Bible, at the same time solidly based both on the text itself and on ancient Kabbalistic teachings. One of the greatest mysteries of the Bible that contains the methods used by the Prophets to reach their exceptional states of consciousness. Practically all the biblical texts were written by the Prophets while they were in such states, however there is hardly any mention of how they reached them. In this remarkable work, Aryeh Kaplan draws from the full spectrum of Kabbalistic literature, including numerous unpublished ancient manuscripts, to show that meditation played a key role in the methods used by the Prophets. All sources are cited and many of the most important texts are translated verbatim. Combining ancient Kabbalistic teachings with modern research on meditation theory, the author explores such areas as prophetic posture, the mystery of the Cherubim, the role of music, as well as the various disciplines and mantras employed by the Prophets. . His interpretation of Ezekiel's vision, paradigm of mystical experience, as well as the main source of all subsequent Kabbalistic teachings, stands out for its importance. In addition, the biblical sources of the Ten Sephirot and the Four Universes are analyzed in detail. In the last section, "Archaeology of the Word", he attempts to reconstruct the biblical vocabulary used to describe mystical methods and higher states of consciousness. This section alone promises to revolutionize contemporary biblical scholarship.