Abstract

The concepts of biblical time and history were unique in the ancient world and were adopted by western civilization. In the Hebrew Bible, there is a straight line of movement from the story of creation, Adam, Abraham and the Covenant, Exodus to the concept of the Messiah. This linear history is continued in the New Testament in the story of Jesus as the Messiah, his life and death, and the concept of the second coming of the Messiah. For the Bible as a whole, each event is unique; there is no repetition. Time is real and the story moves forward in time, Professor Konvitz argues. From their early philosophers and historians to the Stoics, Greek thinkers believed in the cyclical nature of time and history, with some arguing for reincarnation and others, prototypical social scientists, seeing repetition of patterns in human behavior