Pub Date : 2022-09-01DOI: 10.1177/09518207221085652
A. Sheppard
After discussing issues surrounding the distinction between Christian and Jewish apocryphal/pseudepigraphic texts, this paper suggests that the composition of (Joseph and) Aseneth could have been stimulated by the shift to a matrilineal definition of inherited Jewish status, datable to the second-century C.E. It is further argued that this text cannot have originated in either Christian or rabbinic Jewish circles, but most probably belongs in a mystically inclined, fringe Jewish group, perhaps identifying themselves as “god-fearers” (theosebeis), and possibly influenced by Valentinian Gnosticism. The paper accepts a view of the text as tending toward syncretism in its spirituality and notes the importance of erotic and novelistic features in the narrative.
{"title":"Aseneth: A tale from the religious frontier","authors":"A. Sheppard","doi":"10.1177/09518207221085652","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09518207221085652","url":null,"abstract":"After discussing issues surrounding the distinction between Christian and Jewish apocryphal/pseudepigraphic texts, this paper suggests that the composition of (Joseph and) Aseneth could have been stimulated by the shift to a matrilineal definition of inherited Jewish status, datable to the second-century C.E. It is further argued that this text cannot have originated in either Christian or rabbinic Jewish circles, but most probably belongs in a mystically inclined, fringe Jewish group, perhaps identifying themselves as “god-fearers” (theosebeis), and possibly influenced by Valentinian Gnosticism. The paper accepts a view of the text as tending toward syncretism in its spirituality and notes the importance of erotic and novelistic features in the narrative.","PeriodicalId":14859,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha","volume":"32 1","pages":"75 - 98"},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2022-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48170699","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-09-01DOI: 10.1177/09518207221115929
Megan R Remington, Julia Smith
The Animal Apocalypse (1 En. 85–90) provides some of the most vivid imagery in Second Temple literature. In reference to the descent of the Watchers allegorized as stars, the narrative invokes the simile “they let out their phalluses like stallions” three times. Beyond the simile’s allusion to the oracle in Ezek 23:20, the stallion phallus remains largely unexplored. Our investigation demonstrates the associations of stallions with “aggressive virility” and foreignness based on the Hebrew Bible and contemporary Hellenistic and early Jewish literature. Moreover, we show the Animal Apocalypse’s innovative emphasis on the violent nature of the sexual acts, a feature absent in Gen 6 and the Book of Watchers, and argue for the episode’s contextualization with other early Jewish texts in which sexual violence is present. By spotlighting the stallion-phallused stars with their foreign genitalia, the Animal Apocalypse highlights anxieties surrounding communal boundary crossing and its violent repercussions.
{"title":"The phallus in our stars: Sexual violence in the Animal Apocalypse","authors":"Megan R Remington, Julia Smith","doi":"10.1177/09518207221115929","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09518207221115929","url":null,"abstract":"The Animal Apocalypse (1 En. 85–90) provides some of the most vivid imagery in Second Temple literature. In reference to the descent of the Watchers allegorized as stars, the narrative invokes the simile “they let out their phalluses like stallions” three times. Beyond the simile’s allusion to the oracle in Ezek 23:20, the stallion phallus remains largely unexplored. Our investigation demonstrates the associations of stallions with “aggressive virility” and foreignness based on the Hebrew Bible and contemporary Hellenistic and early Jewish literature. Moreover, we show the Animal Apocalypse’s innovative emphasis on the violent nature of the sexual acts, a feature absent in Gen 6 and the Book of Watchers, and argue for the episode’s contextualization with other early Jewish texts in which sexual violence is present. By spotlighting the stallion-phallused stars with their foreign genitalia, the Animal Apocalypse highlights anxieties surrounding communal boundary crossing and its violent repercussions.","PeriodicalId":14859,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha","volume":"32 1","pages":"57 - 74"},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2022-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46330007","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-09-01DOI: 10.1177/09518207221075738
K. Siegismund
4QVisions of Amram has often been presented as a text that stands for human choice or some kind of “free choice” theology. The basis for this interpretation is an intriguing passage that most scholars—with a few notable exceptions—read as an invitation to Amram to choose his own position in relation to two beings who are described as the rulers of light and darkness, respectively. Taking its cue from Perrin’s call for a skeptical stance toward the dominant reading, the article reexamines the passage and its context and questions the standard interpretation from various angles. It discusses the surviving text of the passage, finds the usual reconstruction problematic, and proposes a number of other possible reconstructions. It argues that other parts of the composition are not concerned with the notion of human choice. Rather, deterministic thoughts seem to play a more prominent role, especially if 4Q542 (Testament of Qahat) is seen as part of the work, as has been recently proposed. In addition, the article gives a critical evaluation of the suggested resemblance between Visions of Amram and the Avestan Yasna 30. Various aspects of the relationship between human choice and divine determinism are discussed, leading to the conclusion that choice is often less “free” than it may seem to be.
{"title":"Did Amram have a choice? Divine determinism and human choice in 4QVisions of Amram","authors":"K. Siegismund","doi":"10.1177/09518207221075738","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09518207221075738","url":null,"abstract":"4QVisions of Amram has often been presented as a text that stands for human choice or some kind of “free choice” theology. The basis for this interpretation is an intriguing passage that most scholars—with a few notable exceptions—read as an invitation to Amram to choose his own position in relation to two beings who are described as the rulers of light and darkness, respectively. Taking its cue from Perrin’s call for a skeptical stance toward the dominant reading, the article reexamines the passage and its context and questions the standard interpretation from various angles. It discusses the surviving text of the passage, finds the usual reconstruction problematic, and proposes a number of other possible reconstructions. It argues that other parts of the composition are not concerned with the notion of human choice. Rather, deterministic thoughts seem to play a more prominent role, especially if 4Q542 (Testament of Qahat) is seen as part of the work, as has been recently proposed. In addition, the article gives a critical evaluation of the suggested resemblance between Visions of Amram and the Avestan Yasna 30. Various aspects of the relationship between human choice and divine determinism are discussed, leading to the conclusion that choice is often less “free” than it may seem to be.","PeriodicalId":14859,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha","volume":"32 1","pages":"18 - 38"},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2022-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45184237","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-09-01DOI: 10.1177/09518207221116286
Aryeh Amihay
This paper examines a single chapter of the Vitae Prophetarum (Lives of the Prophets) to explore elements that could be classified as Jewish or Christian. Setting aside the overt Christian glosses, this study explores two major themes: one is the report that Jeremiah was stoned to death by his people, the other that Jeremiah concealed the ark and the law in a rock for future times. Each of these traditions can be presented as either Jewish or Christian, through context of biblical literature as well as later patristic or rabbinic texts. This study concludes that the ambiguous nature of the text is due to a deliberate effort to appeal to a dual audience, providing insight on the purpose of the author, as well as reorienting the debate over the date of the Vitae Prophetarum.
{"title":"The stones and the rock: Jewish and Christian elements in Vita Jeremiah","authors":"Aryeh Amihay","doi":"10.1177/09518207221116286","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09518207221116286","url":null,"abstract":"This paper examines a single chapter of the Vitae Prophetarum (Lives of the Prophets) to explore elements that could be classified as Jewish or Christian. Setting aside the overt Christian glosses, this study explores two major themes: one is the report that Jeremiah was stoned to death by his people, the other that Jeremiah concealed the ark and the law in a rock for future times. Each of these traditions can be presented as either Jewish or Christian, through context of biblical literature as well as later patristic or rabbinic texts. This study concludes that the ambiguous nature of the text is due to a deliberate effort to appeal to a dual audience, providing insight on the purpose of the author, as well as reorienting the debate over the date of the Vitae Prophetarum.","PeriodicalId":14859,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha","volume":"32 1","pages":"39 - 56"},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2022-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44029714","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-06-01DOI: 10.1177/09518207211059490
M. Stone
This article examines the relationship between Enoch’s ontological state and the types of information that are revealed to him. Concentrating on two Enochic works, the Book of the Watchers and the Book of Dream Visions, this question is pursued both internally, that is within the works, and in a comparative fashion. Differences were discerned in the presentation of the seer in these two works.
{"title":"Enoch’s revelations?","authors":"M. Stone","doi":"10.1177/09518207211059490","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09518207211059490","url":null,"abstract":"This article examines the relationship between Enoch’s ontological state and the types of information that are revealed to him. Concentrating on two Enochic works, the Book of the Watchers and the Book of Dream Visions, this question is pursued both internally, that is within the works, and in a comparative fashion. Differences were discerned in the presentation of the seer in these two works.","PeriodicalId":14859,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha","volume":"31 1","pages":"249 - 263"},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2022-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46524163","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-06-01DOI: 10.1177/09518207211033206
Vincent Hirschi
This article argues that Pseudo-Philo carefully crafted the sequence of events and the speeches in Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum (L.A.B.) 49 so as to create connections with Hannah’s story. Through this, the reader is invited to compare the various reactions of the people with those of Hannah, so that Hannah’s role as an exemplar for the people is highlighted. The two stories follow a similar trajectory of disappointments and encouragements but show a marked contrast in protagonists’ attitudes and relationships to God. Faced with similar trials, Hannah succeeds where the people fail. The article also shows that the elements of L.A.B.’s version of Hannah’s story that are not found in the biblical text are nonetheless inspired by hints present in it, showing that Pseudo-Philo grounded his retelling of the story in a close reading of the text.
{"title":"The literary function of Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum 49 in Hannah’s story: Hannah and the people as inverted mirror images","authors":"Vincent Hirschi","doi":"10.1177/09518207211033206","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09518207211033206","url":null,"abstract":"This article argues that Pseudo-Philo carefully crafted the sequence of events and the speeches in Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum (L.A.B.) 49 so as to create connections with Hannah’s story. Through this, the reader is invited to compare the various reactions of the people with those of Hannah, so that Hannah’s role as an exemplar for the people is highlighted. The two stories follow a similar trajectory of disappointments and encouragements but show a marked contrast in protagonists’ attitudes and relationships to God. Faced with similar trials, Hannah succeeds where the people fail. The article also shows that the elements of L.A.B.’s version of Hannah’s story that are not found in the biblical text are nonetheless inspired by hints present in it, showing that Pseudo-Philo grounded his retelling of the story in a close reading of the text.","PeriodicalId":14859,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha","volume":"31 1","pages":"306 - 317"},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2022-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47955639","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-06-01DOI: 10.1177/09518207221081475
Ruth Margaret Henderson
Although much has been written on the biblical influences on the Book of Tobit, little scholarly attention has been paid to the similarities between the books of Jonah and Tobit, apart from the common term “great fish.” The following study draws attention to the similarities between these two books in terms of their date, narrative strategy, genre, background, worldview, and ideology, and in particular, their use of the unique term “great fish.” The motif of the fish is of great significance in both books, as it sheds light on the exilic background of both works.
{"title":"Jonah and Tobit: A developing understanding of the meaning of exile","authors":"Ruth Margaret Henderson","doi":"10.1177/09518207221081475","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09518207221081475","url":null,"abstract":"Although much has been written on the biblical influences on the Book of Tobit, little scholarly attention has been paid to the similarities between the books of Jonah and Tobit, apart from the common term “great fish.” The following study draws attention to the similarities between these two books in terms of their date, narrative strategy, genre, background, worldview, and ideology, and in particular, their use of the unique term “great fish.” The motif of the fish is of great significance in both books, as it sheds light on the exilic background of both works.","PeriodicalId":14859,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha","volume":"31 1","pages":"287 - 305"},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2022-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46913891","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-06-01DOI: 10.1177/09518207211059474
J. Coogan
Several Greek catena manuscripts preserve material from Jubilees, offering valuable witness to the largely lost Greek version of the book. Yet how did material from this Second Temple composition become part of a late ancient Christian anthology? This article interrogates the transmission of Jubilees material in catena manuscripts of Genesis. Rather than offering direct witness to Greek manuscripts of Jubilees, this material had already been appropriated and restructured before the compilers of catena manuscripts collected and reorganized it around the textual frame of Greek Genesis. Two conduits account for the availability of this material: the use of Jubilees among late ancient chronographers and a widespread genealogical tradition, derived from Jubilees, that names the wives of biblical patriarchs. In late antiquity, the Book of Jubilees often circulated not as a unified composition but as individual units which were assimilated into other structuring frameworks, whether the schemata of chronographers or the (margins of) the Greek Bible itself. The late ancient reception of Jubilees thus foreshadows the atomism of modern text-critical appropriations. The conclusions of this article invite similar exploration for other Second Temple texts.
{"title":"The reception of Jubilees in Greek catena manuscripts of Genesis","authors":"J. Coogan","doi":"10.1177/09518207211059474","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09518207211059474","url":null,"abstract":"Several Greek catena manuscripts preserve material from Jubilees, offering valuable witness to the largely lost Greek version of the book. Yet how did material from this Second Temple composition become part of a late ancient Christian anthology? This article interrogates the transmission of Jubilees material in catena manuscripts of Genesis. Rather than offering direct witness to Greek manuscripts of Jubilees, this material had already been appropriated and restructured before the compilers of catena manuscripts collected and reorganized it around the textual frame of Greek Genesis. Two conduits account for the availability of this material: the use of Jubilees among late ancient chronographers and a widespread genealogical tradition, derived from Jubilees, that names the wives of biblical patriarchs. In late antiquity, the Book of Jubilees often circulated not as a unified composition but as individual units which were assimilated into other structuring frameworks, whether the schemata of chronographers or the (margins of) the Greek Bible itself. The late ancient reception of Jubilees thus foreshadows the atomism of modern text-critical appropriations. The conclusions of this article invite similar exploration for other Second Temple texts.","PeriodicalId":14859,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha","volume":"31 1","pages":"264 - 286"},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2022-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46823565","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-03-01DOI: 10.1177/09518207211041310
M. Stone
In this paper, I seek to isolate and seek out criteria for understanding the social functioning of esotericism in the period of the Second Temple. In addition to clarifying what is meant by “esoteric,” several other terms are considered: mystery and secret being the chief among them. The understanding of the terminology in studies of Western esotericism is investigated from a comparative perspective. The outcome of this research is then confronted with some esoteric groups of the Second Temple Period such as Therapeutai and Essenes. For the Essenes, the advantage of having both insider and outsider reports of their activity is stressed.
{"title":"Esoterica Iudaica Antiqua: Some reflections","authors":"M. Stone","doi":"10.1177/09518207211041310","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09518207211041310","url":null,"abstract":"In this paper, I seek to isolate and seek out criteria for understanding the social functioning of esotericism in the period of the Second Temple. In addition to clarifying what is meant by “esoteric,” several other terms are considered: mystery and secret being the chief among them. The understanding of the terminology in studies of Western esotericism is investigated from a comparative perspective. The outcome of this research is then confronted with some esoteric groups of the Second Temple Period such as Therapeutai and Essenes. For the Essenes, the advantage of having both insider and outsider reports of their activity is stressed.","PeriodicalId":14859,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha","volume":"31 1","pages":"165 - 183"},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2022-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41956189","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-03-01DOI: 10.1177/09518207211032881
Shlomo Zuckier
Within the Hebrew Bible, the phrase reah nihoah (ריח ניחוח), “a pleasing smell,” appears frequently throughout accounts of sacrifice, referring in a most literal sense to the smell of an offering burnt on the altar and offered up “to the Lord.” Throughout multiple Second Temple Jewish texts, both the incidence and meaning of this term shift considerably. Some texts essentially erase the term from sacrificial discourse; others “spiritualize” it, employing reah nihoah in contexts other than physical sacrifices; yet others conflate the “pleasing smell” language with other sacrificial technical terms such as “acceptability” and “atonement.” This article examines the manifold shifts in meaning of reah nihoah in Ancient Jewish texts, considering various biblical translations, Hellenistic works, materials from Qumran, and New Testament texts. After considering how these texts interpret the biblical reah nihoah, it considers possible impetuses for this shift as well as its ramifications.
{"title":"Nothing to sniff at: Odorless Reah Nihoah in early biblical interpretation","authors":"Shlomo Zuckier","doi":"10.1177/09518207211032881","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/09518207211032881","url":null,"abstract":"Within the Hebrew Bible, the phrase reah nihoah (ריח ניחוח), “a pleasing smell,” appears frequently throughout accounts of sacrifice, referring in a most literal sense to the smell of an offering burnt on the altar and offered up “to the Lord.” Throughout multiple Second Temple Jewish texts, both the incidence and meaning of this term shift considerably. Some texts essentially erase the term from sacrificial discourse; others “spiritualize” it, employing reah nihoah in contexts other than physical sacrifices; yet others conflate the “pleasing smell” language with other sacrificial technical terms such as “acceptability” and “atonement.” This article examines the manifold shifts in meaning of reah nihoah in Ancient Jewish texts, considering various biblical translations, Hellenistic works, materials from Qumran, and New Testament texts. After considering how these texts interpret the biblical reah nihoah, it considers possible impetuses for this shift as well as its ramifications.","PeriodicalId":14859,"journal":{"name":"Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha","volume":"31 1","pages":"184 - 214"},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2022-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47571637","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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