Human, Dirk J.2023-02-022023-02-0220232022-07-24*A2023https://repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/89093Dissertation (MTh (Old Testament Studies))--University of Pretoria 2022.An examination of Jewish messianism and mysticism from 500 BCE up to and including the seventeenth-century advent of Shabbatai Tzvi and the Sabbatian movement. The study shows that outbreaks of messianic fervour are usually preceded by some form of mysticism, and the more intense the mysticism the more intense the messianism. This is juxtaposed against the rationalist approach of Maimonides who developed the idea of a natural progression of humankind towards a messianic era without an apocalyptic or supernatural component.en© 2022 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria.Jewish MessianismSabbatianismJewish MysticismKabbalahUCTDDissertationu20822783