Visions and Violence in the Pseudepigrapha: (Jewish and Christian Texts)

The nine essays that make up this volume provide cutting-edge studies of how sacred tradition is given new expression through vision and interpretation. The first four essays focus on the expansion of the sacred tradition primarily through vision. The evolution of the Solomon legacy, from wise king to healer and exorcist, is explored, as well as its contribution to the demonology of the desert fathers, especially as it concerns eroticism and sexual temptation. The varied receptions of the Revelation of the Magi and Shepherd of Hermas are also considered. The remaining five essays address important questions relating to polemic and violence in the Pseudepigrapha. How does the author of the Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum justify God’s alternating judgment and favor? How does Enoch’s Animal Apocalypse make use of the Exodus tradition in its expression of deliverance? On what basis can the author of Qumran’s War Scroll confidently predict Israel’s vindication? And finally, what accounts for the appearance of the tradition of Gehenna, in which the wicked will meet their fiery end?

Table of Contents:
Preface Abbreviations List of Contributors Introduction: Introducing Biblical Themes and Traditions in the Pseudepigrapha - Craig A. Evans, Houston Baptist University, USA and Paul T. Sloan - Houston Baptist University, USA Expanded and Visionary Tradition in the Pseudepigrapha 1. The Legacy of Solomon the Sage from Ben Sira to Josephus – Torleif Elgvin, NLA University College, Norway 2. Venereae Daemoniorum: Erotic Demons, Egyptian Monasticism, and the Testament of Solomon - Blake A. Jurgens, Florida State University, USA 3. A New Testament of Adam in the Syriac Revelation of the Magi? - Bradley N. Rice, McGill University, Canada 4. The Shepherd of Hermas’ Apocalyptic Visions and Angelic Intermediaries in and in Light of Clement of Alexandria - Christopher Atkins, Yale Divinity School, USA Violence and Polemic in the Pseudepigrapha 5. Violence and Divine Favor in Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum - Benjamin Lappenga, Fuller Theological Seminary, USA 6. “Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can’t Lose”: The Rhetoric of Violence in the Animal Apocalypse - John Garza, Fordham University, USA 7. Eschatological Expectation and Revolutionary Violence: Israel’s Past as Indicative of its Future in 1QM and Josephus’ Jewish War - J. P. Nickel, Columbia Bible College, USA 8. The Fiery Origins of Gehenna in Isaiah, Enoch, Jesus, and Beyond - Craig A. Evans, Houston Baptist University, USA 9. Violence and “Magic” Tradition - Matthias Hoffmann, University of Kiel, Germany Bibliography Index of References Index of Authors