Jewish theologies of space in the scientific revolution: Henry More, Joseph Raphson, Isaac Newton and their predecessors

Abstract

Summary Theological speculations on God's relation to place and space were introduced into the Jewish tradition by the early rabbis, initially in response to the previous appearance of words like māqôm (place) in Biblical literature. In the Middle Ages, Jewish philosophers modified these rabbinical ideas in the context of Aristotelian, Neoplatonic, and anti-Aristotelian currents within Jewish thought. One development in medieval Jewish thought of special interest for the development of ideas of space was the rise of Cabala, which Christian thinkers of the Renaissance and early modern periods saw as a sacred and primeval deposit of wisdom akin to prisca theologia. Both Henry More and, under More's influence, Joseph Raphson made use of Cabalist ideas in developing their own theologies of space. Isaac Newton was aware of these Jewish ideas but for the most part repudiated them, while making some use of māqôm as an expression of God's omnipresence.