The Likeness of the Image: Adamic Motifs and Anthropology in Rabbinic Traditions about Jacob's Image Enthroned in Heaven

The present article analyzes the various texts concerning Jacob's image engraved on the throne of glory. It compares the Jacob texts with previous traditions regarding Adam's special status as the image of God or the equivalent of a cultic representation of an ancient Near Eastern king or of a Roman emperor. The Jacob texts reveal a similar anthropology that emphasizes the dichotomy of humanity. On one hand the earthliness of the functionality of the human body is associated with angelic opposition, and, on the other, the body's divine likeness gives rise to angelic veneration. The investigation of the two traditions demonstrates a conspicuous dependence of the Jacob texts on the Adamic traditions.