The Faces of the Chariot

David Halperin traces how Jewish interpreters from the Second Temple period through rabbinic literature and the Hekhalot texts read Ezekiel's vision of the divine chariot. He argues that synagogue exegesis rather than ecstatic experience drove much of Merkavah literature. A large, provocative Mohr Siebeck study for readers of early Jewish mysticism. It remains a standard reference on chariot exegesis.