Preface List of abbreviations Introduction 1 Angelic descent and apocalyptic epistemology: the teachings of Enoch and the Fallen Angels in the Book of Watchers 2 From scribalism to sectarianism: the angelic descent myth and the social settings of Enochic pseudepigraphy 3 Primordial history and the problem of evil: Genesis, the Book of Watchers, and the fallen angels in pre-Rabbinic Judaism 4 The parting of the ways? Enoch and the Fallen Angels in Rabbinic Judaism and early Christianity 5 Demonology and the construction of Christian identity: approaches to illicit angelic instruction among proto-Orthodox Christians 6 The interpenetration of Jewish and Christian traditions in late antiquity: the exegesis of genesis and the marginalization of Enochic literature 7 The apocalyptic roots of Merkabah Mysticism? The reemergence of Enochic traditions in post-Talmudic Judaism Epilogue Bibliography

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Fallen Angels and the History of Judaism and Christianity: The Reception of Enochic Literature

In this 2002 book, James M. Scott focuses on a particular Old Testament pseudepigraphon - the Book of Jubilees, the revelation of an angel to Moses announcing the expectation of a messiah from Judah. He traces the appropriation of the Book of Jubilees in early Christian sources from the New Testament to Hippolytus and beyond, and more specifically focuses on the reception of Jubilees 8–9, an expansion of the so-called Table of Nations in Genesis 10 (1 Chronicles 1). The book takes an interdisciplinary approach based on detailed analysis of primary sources, much of which is seldom considered by New Testament scholars, and explores the neglected topic of ancient geographical conceptions. By studying geographical aspects of the work, Dr Scott is able to relate Jubilees to both Old and New Testament traditions, bringing important new insights into Christian concepts of annunciation.

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Geography In Early Judaism And Christianity (The Book of Jubilees)

In late antiquity astrology held a key position among the accepted and well-reputed sciences. As ars mathematica closely connected with astronomy, it made its way into the highest political and philosophical orders of the Roman Empire and became the standard model of interpreting past, present, and future events. Although this is widely acknowledged by modern historians, most scholars assume that the application of astrological theories is limited to the 'pagan mind,' whereas Jewish and Christian theology is characterized by a harsh refutation of astrology's implications. As can easily be shown, this assumption is not the result of careful examination of the documentary evidence but of a preconceived and misleading opinion about the basic ideas of astrology, which led to an astonishing disregard of Jewish and Christian evidence for astrological concerns. This evidence has been either played down - if not neglected entirely - or labeled 'heretic,' thus prolonging the polemics of the 'church fathers' right into modernity. After having reviewed the biases of previous research into monotheistic astrology and its crucial methodological problems, I shall propose a different approach. Astrology has to be seen as a certain way of interpreting reality. In this regard it is the very backbone of esoteric tradition. I shall sketch the different discourses reflected in some late antiquity's Jewish and Christian documents. It will be shown that the astrological worldview of planetary and zodiacal correspondences was common to most of the sources. Examples will be presented for illustrating different adoptions of this attitude, namely the discourse of cult theology, the magical and mystical application of astrological knowledge, the debates concerning volition and determinism, and, finally, the use of astrology for political and religious legitimization.

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Jewish and christian astrology in late antiquity - a new approach'

THE ENOCHIC WATCHERS’ TEMPLATE AND THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW Amy E. Richter, B.A., M.T.S., M.Div. Marquette University, 2010 The writer of the Gospel according to Matthew was familiar with themes and traditions about the antediluvian patriarch Enoch, including the story of the fall of the watchers, and shows that Jesus brings about the eschatological repair of the consequences of the watchers’ fall. In Matthew’s Gospel, the foreshadowing of repair and then the repair itself are seen in the evangelist’s genealogy and infancy narrative, the focus of this dissertation. According to the Enochic watchers’ template, evil came into the world when the watchers transgressed their heavenly boundary to engage in illicit sexual contact with women and teach them illicit arts. The consequences of the watchers’ transgression are violence, unrighteousness, evil, idolatry, and disease. Some of these consequences come from human use of the skills taught by the watchers, skills for seduction, war-making, sorcery, and astrology. The women of the Hebrew Bible named by Matthew in his genealogy of Jesus foreshadow the reversal of the watchers’ transgression. All four of them are connected with the Enochic watchers’ template. They use the illicit arts, but the use of these skills leads to righteousness rather than evil. The women are also connected with other aspects of the Enochic watchers’ template, including sexual interaction which connects the earthly and heavenly realms, interaction with angels, unusual aspects of their offspring, and connections with giants. In Matthew’s infancy narrative, he shows that the birth of Jesus repairs the effects of the watchers’ template by using the very elements of that template. Joseph’s suspicion of Mary’s pregnancy; the child as the product of a woman and the Holy Spirit, who may have been regarded as angelomorphic; dreams that direct human agents in divine plans; and the magi who are connected with, and make use of illicit arts to find the child all reflect elements of the Enochic watchers’ template. The repair begun by Jesus’ birth is completed by the adult Jesus and shows in the chapters following Matthew’s genealogy and infancy narrative.

The Enochic Watchers' Template and the Gospel of Matthew

ABOVE, WE CONSIDERED TEXTS FROM THE FIRST AND EARLY SECOND century ce as part of our evidence for pre-Rabbinic Judaism, without distinguishing between authors who did and did not believe that Jesus was the messiah. This reflects the character of our evidence. References to the fallen angels in Second Temple Judaism and the NT literature follow the same basic pattern: early Enochic traditions about the Watchers' sexual sins and their punishment were widespread, but even texts that were clearly dependent on the Book of the Watchers consistently omitted reference to their transmission of corrupting teachings to humankind. The only exceptions that we found were two texts closely aligned with the Book of the Watchers : Jubilees and the Similitudes . By contrast, the relevant Christian sources all followed the majority of Jewish sources in their exegesis of Gen 6:1–4 and their use of this apocalypse. This finding fits well with what we know about the Jewish origins of the Jesus Movement and early Christianity. In the century after the death of Jesus, this messianic movement became gradually displaced from its original Galilean and Jerusalemite contexts, but the beliefs and practices of the earliest Christians (whether ethnic Jews or Gentile converts) continued to be shaped by the diverse forms of Judaism that flourished both in Israel and in the Diaspora. In the NT and early Patristic literature, we can discern the first traces of a long process by which some Christians forged systems of belief and practice that distinguished them first from other Jewish groups and progressively from “Judaism” more broadly.

Fallen Angels and the History of Judaism and Christianity: The Parting of the Ways? Enoch and the Fallen Angels in Rabbinic Judaism and Early Christianity

L'A. se penche sur la place des speculations astrologiques dans le judaisme de l'epoque hellenistique en etudiant plus particulierement la tradition d'Enoch. Le livre dependant de traditions babyloniennes se detache difficilement de cet heritage en depit de sa tendance antiastrologique. Il montre les variations entre les differentes formes ethiopiennes et slaves de la tradition d'Enoch et fait un rapprochement avec des textes similaires decouverts a Qumran et montre les effets plus tardifs de cette tradition astrologique.

Christfried Böttrich

Papers

Astrologie in der Henochtradition