How can one think of the one good God as one with the evil one? And is evil an innate disposition of man or the price of his maturity and freedom of will? Based on biblical images and figures, the present book invites you to take a historical tour of Jewish literature, ranging from rabbis of late antiquity to contemporary Israeli poetry, thus bringing to light a wealth of answers that go far beyond the Hebrew Bible. A study on the theology, culture and mentality history of Judaism. The analysis is designed as an interplay between the Old Testament template and Jewish reception, an exegetical game in which not only the Holy Scriptures inspire the post-biblical literature, but conversely also the later Jewish literary creation puts the biblical texts in a new and often unfamiliar light. The reception often follows the overriding developments in the history of the spirit, such as the significant step from the ancient and medieval fullness of god to the modern and (post) modern godlessness. So the theological question goes hand in hand with the anthropological one: Evil as an innate disposition of man or as the price of his maturity and free will? The following texts can often redesign the biblical basic text beyond recognition and set it up fundamentally changed, surprising and even diametrically opposed statements. A study on the theology, culture and mentality history of Judaism.