Brand Evil Within and Without

The Source of Sin and Its Nature as Portrayed in Second Temple Literature
1. Auflage 2013
ISBN: 978-3-647-35407-1
Verlag: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht
Format: PDF
Kopierschutz: Kein

E-Book, Englisch, 331 Seiten

Reihe: Journal of Ancient Judaism. Supplements

Miryam T. Brand explores how texts of the Second Temple period address the theological problem of the existence of sin and describe the source of human sin. By surveying the relevant Apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha, and Dead Sea Scrolls, as well as the works of Philo and (where relevant) Josephus, the study determines the extent to which texts’ presentation of sin is influenced by genre and sectarian identification and identifies central worldviews regarding sin in the Second Temple period. The analysis is divided into two parts; the first explores texts that reflect a conviction that the source of sin is an innate human inclination, and the second analyzes texts that depict sin as caused by demons. The author demonstrates that the genre or purpose of a text is frequently a determining factor in its representation of sin, particularly influencing the text’s portrayal of sin as the result of human inclination versus demonic influence and sin as a free choice or as predetermined fact. Second Temple authors and redactors chose representations of sin in accordance with their aims. Thus prayers, reflecting the experience of helplessness when encountering God, present the desire to sin as impossible to overcome without divine assistance. In contrast, covenantal texts (sectarian texts explaining the nature of the covenant) emphasize freedom of choice and the human ability to turn away from the desire to sin. Genre, however, is not the only determining factor regarding how sin is presented in these texts. Approaches to sin in sectarian texts frequently built upon already accepted ideas reflected in nonsectarian literature, adding aspects such as predestination, the periodization of evil, and a division of humanity into righteous members and evil nonmembers.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Brand, Miryam T.

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Jüdische Studien Jüdische Studien Jüdische Studien: Theologie
• Geisteswissenschaften Jüdische Studien Geschichte des Judentums
• Geisteswissenschaften Jüdische Studien Jüdische Studien Heilige & Traditionstexte: Torah, Talmud, Mischna, Halacha
• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Klassische Literaturwissenschaft

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1;Cover
;1
2;Title Page;4
3;Copyright;5
4;Acknowledgments;6
5;Body
;20
6;Table of Contents;8
7;Abbreviations;14
8;Symbols Employed in Text Transcriptions;18
8.1;Dead Sea Scrolls;18
8.2;Ben Sira (Hebrew);18
9;Chapter One. Introduction;20
9.1;Sin, Religious Thought, and the State of Research;20
9.2;The Source of Sin;26
9.3;Identity;27
9.4;Determinism and Free Will ;27
9.5;Definition of Sin;27
9.6;Rationale and Method of the Present Study;28
9.7;Texts Included in This Study;29
9.8;Terminology;29
9.8.1;“Sectarian” and “Non-Sectarian” Texts;30
9.8.2;Determinism, “Fate,” and the Qumran Community;31
9.8.3;Authors and Audiences;31
9.8.4;Angels and Demons;31
9.9;The Plan of the Present Study;32
9.10;Theoretical Concerns;32
9.10.1;The Qumran Community;32
9.10.2;Reading Gender in Second Temple Works;33
9.11;Textual Editions and Translations Used;34
10;Part I: The Human Inclination to Sin;36
10.1;Chapter Two. Nonsectarian Second Temple Prayer and the Inclination to Sin;38
10.1.1;11QPsª col. XXIV (Syriac Psalm 155);39
10.1.2;4QBarkhi Nafshi: Direct Intervention in the Human Condition;43
10.1.3;The Words of the Luminaries: Divine Assistance;50
10.1.4;4QCommunal Confession: God’s Responsibility for Sin;53
10.1.5;Psalms of Solomon: Prayer and the Need for Divine Assistance;55
10.1.6;The Road Not Travelled: Prayers without an Inclination to Sin;56
10.1.7;Conclusion: Innate Inclination to Sin and Inevitability in Nonsectarian Prayer;58
10.2;Chapter Three. Inclination, Physicality, and Election in Sectarian Prayer;60
10.2.1;The Hodayot: The Physical Dimension of Sin;60
10.2.2;The “Hymn of Praise”: Ongoing Sin and Chosenness;69
10.2.3;Sectarian Prayer: Hodayot and the Community Rule Hymn;72
10.2.4;Conclusion: Second Temple Prayer and the Innate Inclination to Sin;73
10.3;Chapter Four. Free Will and the Inclination to Sin in Covenantal Texts;75
10.3.1;The Damascus Document (CD) II.14–III.12a: Freedom of Choice and the Inclination to Sin;75
10.3.1.1;CD II.14–III.12a: A History of Sinners;76
10.3.1.2;Terminology of Sin and Choice in CD III.2–12a;79
10.3.1.3;Freedom in the Context of Predestination;83
10.3.2;The Community Rule: A “Free Choice” Redaction;85
10.3.3;The Inclination to Sin in Covenantal Texts;92
10.4;Chapter Five. The Inclination to Sin in the Book of Ben Sira and the Writings of Philo of Alexandria;94
10.4.1;The Book of Ben Sira: Textual History;95
10.4.2;Ben Sira 15:11–20;96
10.4.2.1;The Medieval Gloss in Sir 15:14: Rewriting of a Theological Argument;100
10.4.2.2;The Meaning of ye.er in the Book of Ben Sira;101
10.4.2.3;The Choice between Good and Evil in Sir 15:11–20;104
10.4.3;Sir 33:7–15: Election and the Evildoer;107
10.4.4;Other References to the Source of Sin in the Book of Ben Sira;114
10.4.4.1;Sir 25:24: Original Sin or a Wicked Wife?;114
10.4.4.2;Sir 17:31: Pondering Evil;116
10.4.4.3;Sir 21:11: Controlling One’s Inclination;117
10.4.4.4;Sir 23:2–6: Prayer and Sin;118
10.4.5;Ben Sira’s Approach to Sin;119
10.4.6;Philo of Alexandria and the Inclination to Sin;120
10.4.7;Conclusion: Ben Sira and Philo;127
10.5;Chapter Six. After the Destruction: 4 Ezra and 2 Baruch;129
10.5.1;4 Ezra;129
10.5.2;Inevitable Sinfulness in 4 Ezra;134
10.5.3;The Angel and 4 Maccabees;135
10.5.4;2 Baruch and 4 Ezra;138
10.5.5;Adam’s Sin in 4 Ezra and 2 Baruch;139
10.5.6;Conclusion: the Choice to Sin in 4 Ezra and 2 Baruch;142
10.6;Excursus: Inclination to Sin and the Gentile;145
11;Part II: Demonic Influence to Sin;148
11.1;Chapter SevenDemonic Sin and 1 Enoch;150
11.1.1;Genres and Provenance of “Demonic” Texts;151
11.1.2;The Watchers Myth and 1 Enoch;152
11.1.3;The Watchers in 1 Enoch: The Book of the Watchers (Chapters 1–36);155
11.1.3.1;1 Enoch 6–11;156
11.1.3.2;The Role of Sin in the Three Traditions of 1 Enoch 6–11;159
11.1.3.3;The Watchers Myth in 1 Enoch 12–16;161
11.1.3.4;Forbidden Knowledge in 1 Enoch;164
11.1.4;1 Enoch 19:1–2: Worship of Demons;167
11.1.5;Summary: Watchers in 1 Enoch;168
11.2;Chapter Eight. Jubilees and Demonic Sin;170
11.2.1;The Book of Jubilees: Textual Background;170
11.2.2;The Watchers in Jubilees 4 and 5: Reflection of Genesis 6 and 1 Enoch 10–11;171
11.2.3;Jubilees 7: Watchers, the Law, and Human Freedom;174
11.2.4;Jub. 10:1–6: Prayer and Human Helplessness;177
11.2.5;Mastema: Bringing Demons into the Fold;180
11.2.5.1;Mastema and his Role in the Book of Jubilees;183
11.2.5.2;Summary: Mastema in Jubilees;187
11.2.6;Mastema in the Damascus Document;187
11.2.7;Belial and the Nations: A Complex View of Sin;188
11.2.8;Abram’s Prayer: A Complex Demonic Reference in Jubilees;194
11.2.9;Summary and Conclusion: Jubilees and the Demonic Source of Sin;196
11.3;Chapter Nine. Apotropaic Prayer and Views of Demonic Influence;199
11.3.1;The Watchers in the Dead Sea Scrolls and Sectarian Apotropaic Prayer;199
11.3.2;The Watchers and Other Demons of Influence in Sectarian Apotropaic Prayer;200
11.3.3;Songs of the Sage (4Q510–511);202
11.3.4;4QIncantation (4Q444);205
11.3.5;11Qapocryphal Psalms (11Q11);207
11.3.6;The Plea for Deliverance and Levi’s Prayer in the Aramaic Levi Document;208
11.3.6.1;The Plea for Deliverance ;209
11.3.6.2;Levi’s Prayer in the Aramaic Levi Document;211
11.3.6.3;The Rule of Demons in the Plea and Levi’s Prayer;214
11.3.7;Comparison of Sectarian and Nonsectarian Apotropaic Prayers;216
11.4;Chapter Ten. Belial in the Damascus Document and the War Scroll;219
11.4.1;Belial in the Damascus Document;221
11.4.2;“Angels of Hostility” and Belial in the Apocryphon of Jeremiah;230
11.4.3;Summary: Belial in the Damascus Document and the Apocryphon of Jeremiah;232
11.4.4;Belial in the War Scroll;233
11.4.5;Conclusion: Belial in the Damascus Document and the War Scroll;238
11.5;Chapter Eleven. Belial in Liturgical Curse Texts and the Community Rule;240
11.5.1;4QBerakhot: Periodization of Demonic Evil and Evildoers;240
11.5.2;Belial in the Community Rule: Demonic Presence and Absence in a Covenantal Text;241
11.5.3;4QCurses (4Q280): An Integrative Approach;249
11.5.4;4QFlorilegium: A pesher View of Belial;252
11.5.5;Conclusion: Belial in the Dead Sea Scrolls;254
11.6;Chapter Twelve. Sin and Its Source in the Treatise of the Two Spirits;258
11.6.1;1QS III.13–18a: Introduction to the Treatise;259
11.6.2;1QS III.18b–25a: A Central (Secondary?) Crux;259
11.6.3;The Visions of Amram;263
11.6.4;1QS III.25b–IV.14: The Spirits of Light and Darkness;265
11.6.5;1QS IV.15–23: Predestination and the Eschaton;267
11.6.6;I1QS IV.23–26: The Two Spirits and Predestination;269
11.6.7;The Redacted Treatise;270
11.6.8;Sources of the Treatise;272
11.6.9;Connection to Wisdom Thought;274
11.6.10;Conclusion: “Purpose” of the Treatise;275
11.7;Chapter Thirteen. Summary and Conclusions;276
11.7.1;Genre, Free Will, and the Source of Sin;276
11.7.1.1;Prayer;276
11.7.1.2;Covenantal Texts;278
11.7.1.3;Wisdom and Philosophical Literature;279
11.7.1.4;Demonic Influence and the Periodization of Evil;279
11.7.2;Identity;280
11.7.3;The Law versus Sin;281
11.7.4;Gentiles and Sin;282
11.7.5;The Treatise of the Two Spirits and Views of Sin at Qumran;282
11.7.6;Adam and “Original Sin”;282
11.7.7;Implications for Post-Second Temple Thought;283
12;Bibliography;285
13;Modern Authors Index;308
14;Source Index;312
15;Subject Index;330

Über Autor(innen)

Brand, Miryam T.
Dr. Miryam T. Brand arbeitet am W.F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research in Jerusalem/ Israel.

Dr. Miryam T. Brand arbeitet am W.F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research in Jerusalem/ Israel.