ABSTRACT
Hekhalot and Merkava literature reflects the creativity and imagination of nonTalmudic rabbinic thought during the first and second centuries CE, the texts vividly portraying the relationship between the practitioners of early Judaism and their God. Although authorship of these texts cannot be ascribed to any particular person, the source of inspiration is undoubtedly Talmudic.1 It is thought that the texts have their origin in Palestine, but there are also opinions that suggest a Babylonian source for both origins and redaction of the texts.2
