This study marks a bold new departure in 2 Enoch studies. The book has long been regarded as one of the most baffling apocalypses to come down to us from antiquity. The present work argues that 2 Enoch was written by a 1st c. CE Samaritan author whose purpose was to incorporate the Enochic tradition into Samaritanism. By identifying Enoch as the “prophet like Moses” (Deut. 18:15, 18), both during his earthly past and in the eschatological future, the author of 2 Enoch hoped to combat the Dosithean heresy and also to persuade co-religionists to resume a full sacrificial cultus in the shadow of Mt. Gerizim.

Series: Compendia Rerum Iudaicarum ad Novum Testamentum Section 1 - The Jewish people in the first century Historial geography, political history, social, cultural and religious life and institutions Edited by S. Safrai and M. Stern in cooperation with D. Flusser and W.C. van Unnik Section 2 - The Literature of the Jewish People in the Period of the Second Temple and the Talmud Section 3 - Jewish Traditions in Early Christian Literature

The T&T Clark Encyclopedia of Second Temple Judaism provides a comprehensive reference resource of over 600 scholarly articles aimed at scholars and students interested in Judaism of the Second Temple Period. The two-volume work is split into four parts. Part One offers a prolegomenon for the contemporary study and appreciation of Second Temple Judaism, locating the discipline in relation to other relevant fields (such as Hebrew Bible, Rabbinics, Christian Origins). Beginning with a discussion of terminology, the discussion suggests ways the Second Temple period may be described, and concludes by noting areas of study that challenge our perception of ancient Judaism. Part Two presents an overview of respective contexts of the discipline set within the broad framework of historical chronology corresponding to a set of full-colour, custom-designed maps. With distinct attention to primary sources, the author traces the development of historical, social, political, and religious developments from the time period following the exile in the late 6th century B.C.E. through to the end of the Bar Kokhba revolt (135 C.E.). Part Three focuses specifically on a wide selection of primary-source literature of Second Temple Judaism, summarizing the content of key texts, and examining their similarities and differences with other texts of the period. Essays here include a brief introduction to the work and a summary of its contents, as well as examination of critical issues such as date, provenance, location, language(s), and interpretative matters. The early reception history of texts is also considered, and followed by a bibliography specific to that essay. Numerous high-resolution manuscript images are utilized to illustrate distinct features of the texts. Part Four addresses topics relevant to the Second Temple Period such as places, practices, historical figures, concepts, and subjects of scholarly discussion. These are often supplemented by images, maps, drawings, or diagrams, some of which appear here for the first time. Copiously illustrated, carefully researched and meticulously referenced, this resource provides a reliable, up-to-date and complete guide for those studying early Judaism in its literary and historical settings.

The Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible (DDD) is the single major reference work on the gods, angels, demons, spirits, and semidivine heroes whose names occur in the biblical books. Book jacket.

Across the ancient and medieval literature of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, one finds references to the antediluvian sage Enoch. Both the Book of the Watchers and the Astronomical Book were long known from their Ethiopic versions, which are preserved as part of Mashafa Henok Nabiy ('Book of Enoch the Prophet')--an Enochic compendium known in the West as 1 Enoch. Since the discovery of Aramaic fragments among the Dead Sea Scrolls, these books have attracted renewed attention as important sources for ancient Judaism. Among the results has been the recognition of the surprisingly long and varied tradition surrounding Enoch. Within 1 Enoch alone, for instance, we find evidence for intensive literary creativity. This volume provides a comprehensive set of core references for easy and accessible consultation. It shows that the rich afterlives of Enochic texts and traditions can be studied more thoroughly by scholars of Second Temple Judaism and early Christianity as well as by scholars of late antique and medieval religions. Specialists in the Second Temple period-the era in which Enochic literature first appears-will be able to trace (or discount) the survival of Enochic motifs and mythemes within Jewish literary circles from late antiquity into the Middle Ages, thereby shedding light on the trajectories of Jewish apocalypticism and its possible intersections with Jewish mysticism. Students of Near Eastern esotericism and Hellenistic philosophies will have further data for exploring the origins of 'gnosticism' and its possible impact upon sectarian currents in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Those interested in the intellectual symbiosis among Jews, Christians, and Muslims in the Middle Ages-and especially in the transmission of the ancient sciences associated with Hermeticism (e.g., astrology, theurgy, divinatory techniques, alchemy, angelology, demonology)-will be able to view a chain of tradition reconstructed in its entirety for the first time in textual form. In the process, we hope to provide historians of religion with a new tool for assessing the intertextual relationships between different religious corpora and for understanding the intertwined histories of the major religious communities of the ancient and medieval Near East.

Andrei A. Orlov examines the tradition about the seventh antediluvian patriarch Enoch, tracing its development from its roots in the Mesopotamian lore to the Second Temple apocalyptic texts and later rabbinic and Hekhalot materials where Enoch is often identified as the supreme angel Metatron. The first part of the book explores the imagery of the celestial roles and titles of the seventh antediluvian hero in Mesopotamian, Enochic and Hekhalot materials. The analysis of the celestial roles and titles shows that the transition from the figure of patriarch Enoch to the figure of angel Metatron occurred already in the Second Temple Enochic materials, namely, in 2 (Slavonic) Enoch, a Jewish work, traditionally dated to the first century CE. The second part of the book demonstrates that mediatorial polemics with the traditions of the exalted patriarchs and prophets played an important role in facilitating the transition from Enoch to Metatron in the Second Temple period.

This volume argues essentially that for the Book of Jubilees, a Jewish apocalyptic writing of the mid-second century BCE, the consummation of the ages will effect the restoration of sacred space and sacred time, so that all things correspond to God's original will for the creation on earth as in heaven.

The Life of Adam and Eve is the Latin version of a work believed to have been written in a Semitic language, as there are terms transliterated into the Greek, Latin, and Armenian versions from a Semitic language, however, it is not known positively which language as the original text is lost, and so far, no fragments have been found among the Dead Sea Scrolls that firmly be linked to it. The closest text discovered to date among the Dead Sea Scrolls would be the Genesis Apocryphon scroll, written in Aramaic and generally dated to between 37 BC to 50 AD. A number of references circumstantially date the source-text used for the Greek version, known as the Apocalypse of Moses, to the era when the Greeks ruled Judea, between 330 and 140 BC, however, the source-text for the Latin translation appears to have been older. One of the indicators that the Latin Life of Adam and Eve is older than the Apocalypse of Moses, is the dependency between the 72 'strokes' and 70 'wounds' that God sent to punish Adam. In the Apocalypse of Moses, there are 72, while in the Life of Adam and Eve, there are 70, and these numbers are significant. The number 70 was very significant in the Canaanite and later Israelite (early-Samaritan) religions, however, it was changed to 72 in the Jewish religion for numerological reasons during the late-Persian and early-Greek eras. The number 70 does appear to have continued to be important among the Samaritans until the Hasmoneans virtually wiped them out in 113 BC, after which only the number 72 was used by Jews and Samaritans. This provisionally dates the text to the Persian era, between 525 and 330 BC, however, it could also be a Samaritan text dating to as late as 113 BC. Both the Latin Life of Adam and Eve, and the Armenian Penitence of Adam, also include the curious reference to 'powers' (virtutes / զաւրութիւնք) being present with the angels. This is generally accepted as proof that either the Latin or Armenian translation was influenced by the other, however, the other option is that something that both the Latin and Armenian translators chose to translate as 'powers' was already in the Semitic source-texts they were using. The obvious Hebrew term for them to have been translating was Elohim, which Jews have traditionally translated the term as 'powers' as it is a plural form, and Jews only worship one God. The Greek scholars that translated the Septuagint at the Library of Alexandria translated the word Elohim as either God or gods, depending on the context, however, there is no reason for the Latin or Armenian scholars to have been dependent on Greek translation norms when translating directly from Hebrew or Aramaic into Latin or Armenian. If the powers in the Latin and Armenian translations were the Elohim in the Semitic source-texts, then this would place the origin of the text to the Persian era at the latest, and almost certainly to the early-Persian era (525 to 330 BC), before Ezra the Scribe reformed Judaism, as there were two Elohim present, and therefore, these Elohim would have to date to the Samaritan priesthood from before the time of Ezra.

The early Enoch literature does not refer to the Mosaic Torah or emphasize the distinctively Mosaic laws designed for Israel. But the book of Jubilees gives room to both Mosaic and Enochic traditions within the Sinaitic revelatory framework. What, then, should we make of such differences? / This question and related speculations were on the minds of scholars gathered from around the world at the fourth Enoch Seminar at Camaldoli, Italy, in July 2007. Four tendencies emerged from the discussion at the seminar. Some scholars claimed that Jubilees was a direct product of Enochic Judaism with subordinated Mosaic features. Some suggested that Jubilees was a conscious synthesis of Enochic and Mosaic tradition, yet remaining autonomous from both. Some asserted that Jubilees was essentially a Mosaic text with some Enochic influence. And others questioned the very existence of a gulf between Enochic and Mosaic traditions as competing forms of Judaism at the time of Jubilees. / Gabriele Boccaccini and Giovanni Ibba have carefully collected the countervailing views into this volume. What readers will find here is a lively debate among the most distinguished international specialists, together striving for a better understanding of a puzzling ancient document.