This study examines the concept of yetzer hara, or evil inclination. Analyzing the some one hundred and fifty appearances of the yetzer in rabbinic literature, Rosen-Zvi contends that the term should not be read under the traditional rubric of sexual desire, but rather in the context of ancient Jewish demonology.

Demonic Desires
"Yetzer Hara" and the Problem of Evil in Late Antiquity

Ishay Rosen-Zvi

2011 | 264 pages | Cloth $69.95
Religion | History
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Table of Contents

Introduction. The Riddle, or: How Did the Evil Yetzer Become a Mighty King?
Chapter 1. "The Torah Spoke Regarding the Yetzer": Tannaitic Literature
Chapter 2. Yetzer and Other Demons: Patristic Parallels
Chapter 3. Yetzer at Qumran: Proto-Rabbinic?
Chapter 4. Coming of Age: Amoraic Yetzer
Chapter 5. Refuting the Yetzer: The Limits of Rabbinic Discursive Worlds
Chapter 6. Sexualizing the Yetzer
Chapter 7. Weak Like a Female, Strong Like a Male: Yetzer and Gender
Afterword: Toward a Genealogy of the Rabbinic Subject

Notes
Bibliography
Index