Divine Mysteries in the Enochic Tradition

Divine Mysteries in the Enochic Tradition PDF

Author: Andrei A. Orlov

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG

Published: 2023-07-24

Total Pages: 319

ISBN-13: 3111202968

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The book represents an in-depth investigation of acquisition, cultivation, and transmission of divine mysteries in Jewish apocalyptic and mystical accounts by focusing on the developments found in early Enochic writings. These accounts deal both with revelations unveiled by God and angels to the patriarch Enoch and with illicit transmission of divine knowledge by the rogue group of the fallen angels, known as the Watchers. Orlov argues that the map of otherworldly knowledge revealed to Enoch inversely mirrors the map of illicit revelations given by the fallen Watchers to humankind. The study suggests that one of the possible objectives for the parallelism is that, by revealing to Enoch the same divine mysteries that were earlier transmitted by the Watchers, God attempts to mitigate the corruption caused by the fallen angels’ illicit instructions. This book will be of interest not only for scholars specializing in historical and religious areas, but also for experts in the fields of anthropology, philosophy, sociology, psychology, and gender theory; it discusses several aspects of early and late Jewish religious epistemologies that elucidate the ideological context for the construction and affirmation of social roles and identities in various Jewish milieus.

Divine Mysteries in the Enochic Tradition

Divine Mysteries in the Enochic Tradition PDF

Author: Andrei A. Orlov

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG

Published: 2023-07-24

Total Pages: 264

ISBN-13: 3111201929

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

The book represents an in-depth investigation of acquisition, cultivation, and transmission of divine mysteries in Jewish apocalyptic and mystical accounts by focusing on the developments found in early Enochic writings. These accounts deal both with revelations unveiled by God and angels to the patriarch Enoch and with illicit transmission of divine knowledge by the rogue group of the fallen angels, known as the Watchers. Orlov argues that the map of otherworldly knowledge revealed to Enoch inversely mirrors the map of illicit revelations given by the fallen Watchers to humankind. The study suggests that one of the possible objectives for the parallelism is that, by revealing to Enoch the same divine mysteries that were earlier transmitted by the Watchers, God attempts to mitigate the corruption caused by the fallen angels’ illicit instructions. This book will be of interest not only for scholars specializing in historical and religious areas, but also for experts in the fields of anthropology, philosophy, sociology, psychology, and gender theory; it discusses several aspects of early and late Jewish religious epistemologies that elucidate the ideological context for the construction and affirmation of social roles and identities in various Jewish milieus.

Beholders of Divine Secrets

Beholders of Divine Secrets PDF

Author: Vita Daphna Arbel

Publisher: SUNY Press

Published: 2003-10-23

Total Pages: 268

ISBN-13: 9780791457238

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A wide-ranging exploration of the Hekhalot and Merkavah literature, a mystical Jewish tradition from late antiquity, including a discussion of the possible cultural context of this material's creators.

The Enoch-Metatron Tradition

The Enoch-Metatron Tradition PDF

Author: Andrei A. Orlov

Publisher: Mohr Siebeck

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 404

ISBN-13: 9783161485442

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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.

From Creation to Abraham

From Creation to Abraham PDF

Author: John Day

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2021-11-18

Total Pages: 286

ISBN-13: 0567703118

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John Day investigates disputed points of interpretation within Genesis 1-11, expanding on his earlier book From Creation to Babel with 11 stimulating essays. Day considers the texts within their Near Eastern contexts, and pays particular attention to the later history of interpretation and reception history. Topics covered include the meaning of the Bible's first verse and what immediately follows, as well as what it means that humanity is made in the image of God. Further chapters examine the Garden of Eden, the background and role of the serpent and the ambiguous role of Wisdom; the many problems of interpretation in the Cain and Abel story, as well as what gave rise to this story; how the Covenant with Noah and the Noachic commandments, though originally separate, became conflated in some later Jewish thought; and the location of 'Ur of the Chaldaeans', Abraham's alleged place of origin, and how this was later misinterpreted by Jewish, Christian and Islamic sources as referring to a 'fiery furnace of the Chaldaeans'. These chapters, which illuminate the meaning, background and subsequent interpretation of the Book of Genesis, pave the way for Day's forthcoming ICC commentary on Genesis 1-11.

Sibyls, Scriptures, and Scrolls

Sibyls, Scriptures, and Scrolls PDF

Author: Joel Baden

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2016-10-11

Total Pages: 1538

ISBN-13: 9004324747

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This volume, a tribute to John J. Collins by his friends, colleagues, and students, includes essays on the wide range of interests that have occupied John Collins’s distinguished career.

Divine Scapegoats

Divine Scapegoats PDF

Author: Andrei A. Orlov

Publisher: SUNY Press

Published: 2015-02-10

Total Pages: 354

ISBN-13: 1438455836

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Explores the paradoxical symmetry between the divine and demonic in early Jewish mystical texts. Divine Scapegoats is a wide-ranging exploration of the parallels between the heavenly and the demonic in early Jewish apocalyptical accounts. In these materials, antagonists often mirror features of angelic figures, and even those of the Deity himself, an inverse correspondence that implies a belief that the demonic realm is maintained by imitating divine reality. Andrei A. Orlov examines the sacerdotal, messianic, and creational aspects of this mimetic imagery, focusing primarily on two texts from the Slavonic pseudepigrapha: 2 Enoch and the Apocalypse of Abraham. These two works are part of a very special cluster of Jewish apocalyptic texts that exhibit features not only of the apocalyptic worldview but also of the symbolic universe of early Jewish mysticism. The Yom Kippur ritual in the Apocalypse of Abraham, the divine light and darkness of 2 Enoch, and the similarity of mimetic motifs to later developments in the Zohar are of particular importance in Orlov’s consideration.

The Mystery of God

The Mystery of God PDF

Author: C. C. Rowland

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 717

ISBN-13: 9004175326

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This book brings together the perspectives of apocalypticism and early Jewish mysticism to illuminate aspects of New Testament theology. The first part begins with a consideration of the mystical character of apocalypticism and then uses the Book of Revelation and the development of views about the heavenly mediator figure of Enoch to explore the importance of apocalypticism in the Gospels and Acts, the Pauline Letters and finally the key theological themes in the later books of the New Testament. The second and third parts explore the character of early Jewish mysticism by taking important themes in the early Jewish mystical texts such as the Temple and the Divine Body to demonstrate the relevance of this material to New Testament interpretation.

The Three Temples

The Three Temples PDF

Author: Rachel Elior

Publisher: Liverpool University Press

Published: 2004-03-01

Total Pages: 316

ISBN-13: 1909821047

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Rachel Elior demonstrates convincingly how the Jewish mystical tradition crystallized in its early stages. She attributes its origins to priests prevented by circumstances from serving in the Temple: replacing the earthly Temple liturgically and ritually with a heavenly Merkavah and heavenly sanctuaries known as Heikhalot, they created a mystical world in which ministering angels replaced Temple priests, thereby giving Judaism a new spiritual focus.