Y. Paz, 'Eternal Chains and the Mountain of Darkness: The Fallen Angels in the Incantation Bowls,' in I. Dorfmann-Lazarev, ed., Apocryphal and Esoteric Sources in the Development of Christianity and Judaism (Leiden: Brill 2021), pp. 533-558 PDF

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Apocryphal and Esoteric Sources in the Development of Christianity and Judaism The Eastern Mediterranean, the Near East, and Beyond Edited by Igor Dorfmann-Lazarev leiden | boston For use by the Author only | © 2021 Koninklijke Brill NV Contents Preface xi List of Figures and Tables xii Notes on Con...

Description

Apocryphal and Esoteric Sources in the Development of Christianity and Judaism The Eastern Mediterranean, the Near East, and Beyond Edited by

Igor Dorfmann-Lazarev

leiden | boston

For use by the Author only | © 2021 Koninklijke Brill NV

Contents Preface xi List of Figures and Tables xii Notes on Contributors xvii Introduction

1

part 1 Esoteric Writing and Esoteric Cults in the Biblical Religions 1

The Exoteric Appearances of Jewish Esotericism Ithamar Gruenwald

29

2

The Gospel of Peter between the Synoptics, Second Century, and Late Antique ‘Apostolic Memoirs’ 43 Tobias Nicklas

3

All Mysteries Revealed? On the Interplay between Hiding and Revealing and the Dangers of Heavenly Journeys according to the Ascension of Isaiah 70 Joseph Verheyden

4

Early Christianity and the Pagan Mysteries: Esoteric Knowledge? Jan N. Bremmer

5

The Medieval Dualist Nachleben of Early Jewish and Christian Esoteric Traditions: The Role of the Pseudepigrapha 105 Yuri Stoyanov

6

The Esoteric Cardinal: Giorgios Gemistos, Bessarion and Theurgy Ezio Albrile

88

124

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viii

contents

part 2 Bridging the Account of the Origins and the Messiah’s Advent 7

La création d’Adam à Noravank̔: Théologie et narrativité Jean-Pierre Mahé

143

8

Translatio corporis Adæ: Trajectories of a Parabiblical Tradition Sergey Minov

9

Apostles, Long Dead ‘Heretics’, and Monks: Noncanonical Traditions on Angels and Protoplasts in Two Late Antique Coptic Apocalypses (7th–8th Century ce) 179 Daniele Tripaldi

10

Face as the Image of God in the Jewish Pseudepigrapha Andrei A. Orlov

11

On the Perdition of the Higher Intellect and on the Image of Light: Critical Edition, Translation, and Commentary 217 Maria V. Korogodina and Basil Lourié

12

Bridging the Gaps in the Samaritan Tradition Abraham Tal

13

‘On the Mountains of Ararat’: Noah’s Ark and the Sacred Topography of Armenia 276 Nazénie Garibian

14

The Historian’s Craft and Temporal Bridges in Apocrypha and in Early Christian Art: Para-Biblical Sources in the Light of the Work of Marc Bloch 296 Igor Dorfmann-Lazarev

153

206

262

part 3 Symbols and Figures of the Messianic Expectation 15

Quellen der nichtbiblischen Mose-Überlieferung in der Kratkaja Chronografičeskaja Paleja 317 Dieter and Sabine Fahl

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ix

contents

16

Whether Lamb or Lion: Overlapping Metaphors in Jewish and Christian Apocalypticism 340 Abraham Terian

17

Rescuing John the Baptist 351 Albert I. Baumgarten

18

The Esoteric Legacy of the Magi of Bethlehem in the Framework of the Iranian Speculations about Jesus, Zoroaster and His Three Posthumous Sons 368 Antonio Panaino

19

Visual Apocrypha: The Case of Mary and the Magi in Early Christian Rome 383 Felicity Harley

20

Gnostic and Mithraic Themes in Sefer Zerubbabel Yishai Kiel

411

part 4 Angels, Heavenly Journeys and Visions of Paradise 21

1 Enoch 17 in the Geneva Papyrus 187 David Hamidović

439

22

Enochic Texts and Related Traditions in Slavia Orthodoxa Florentina Badalanova Geller

23

Visions of Paradise in the Life of St Andrew the Fool and the Legacy of the Jewish Pseudepigrapha in Byzantium 521 Emmanouela Grypeou

24

Eternal Chains and the Mountain of Darkness: The Fallen Angels in the Incantation Bowls 533 Yakir Paz

25

Iconography of Angels: Roots and Origins in the Earliest Christian Art 559 Cecilia Proverbio

452

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x 26

contents

The Gardens of Eden: Compositional, Iconographic and Semantic Similarities between the ‘Birds Mosaic’ of the Armenian Chapel in Jerusalem and the Mosaic of the Synagogue at Maʿon (Nirim) 590 Zaruhi Hakobyan Postscript: Border-Crossing Texts Hartmut Leppin

610

Index of Place Names 619 Index of Modern and Early Modern Authors 621 Index of Biblical and Mythological Names 623 Index of Subjects 626 Index of Ancient and Mediæval Sources 629

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chapter 24

Eternal Chains and the Mountain of Darkness: The Fallen Angels in the Incantation Bowls Yakir Paz The ongoing publication of the incantation bowls—dated to the 5th–7th century ce, written in Jewish Babylonian Aramaic, Mandaic and Syriac and found mainly in modern-day Iraq and Khuzestan—has significantly increased our understanding of ancient magic, Aramaic dialects and the society of the Sasanian Empire. Yet, although the bowls also contain many allusions to Early Jewish literature in general, and Enochic literature in particular, these traditions have not yet received due attention.1 In this paper, through a close reading of sections from three bowls, I hope to demonstrate how the bowls can contribute to our knowledge of the myth of the fallen angels, its transmission and reception.2 1 The notable exception is J.T. Milik, The Books of Enoch: Aramaic Fragments of Qumran Cave 4, Oxford, 1976, pp. 125–135, 335–339. See also J. Greenfield, ‘Notes on Aramaic and Mandaic Magic Bowls’, Journal of Ancient Near Eastern Society vol. 5, 1973, pp. 150–154; A.Y. Reed, Fallen Angels and the History of Judaism and Christianity: The Reception of Enochic Literature, New York, 2005, pp. 252–254. For other examples of the reception of Mesopotamian and Early Jewish traditions in the incantation bowls, see S. Bhayro, ‘The Reception of Mesopotamian and Early Jewish Traditions in the Aramaic Incantation Bowls’, Aramaic Studies vol. 11, 2013, pp. 187–196; id., ‘On Early Jewish Literature and the Aramaic Magic Bowls’, Aramaic Studies vol. 13, 2015, pp. 54–68. Further on the importance of the bowls and other magical texts for the study of early Jewish literature, see also P.T. Lanfer, ‘Why Biblical Scholars Should Study Aramaic Bowl Spells’, Aramaic Studies vol. 13, 2015, pp. 9–23, and G. Bohak, ‘From Qumran to Cairo: The Lives and Times of a Jewish Exorcistic Formula’ (with an Appendix by Sh. Shaked)’, in I. Csepregi et al. (eds), Ritual Healing: Magic, Ritual and Medical Therapy from Antiquity until the Early Modern Period, Florence, 2012, pp. 31–52. 2 Other possible allusions to the fallen angels, not discussed in this article, include the mentioning of the oath on Mount Hermon (‫ ;חירמון טורא‬see C.D. Isbell, Corpus of the Aramaic Incantation Bowls, Missoula, 1975, p. 19 [2:6]; ibid., p. 31 [7:9]; J.A. Montgomery, Aramaic Incantation Bowls from Nippur, Philadelphia, 1913), p. 212 [27:9] and of Shamhiza (‫ܐ‬熟‫ ;ܫܡܚܝ‬M. Moriggi, A Corpus of Syriac Incantation Bowls: Syriac Magical Texts from Late-Antique Mesopotamia, Leiden, 2014, p. 23 [1:8], cf. below note 9). See also D. Levene, A Corpus of Magic Bowls: Incantation Texts in Jewish Aramaic from Late Antiquity, London, 2003, p. 136, and below note 38. For general surveys on the reception of the myth of the fallen angels in Late Antiquity, see e.g. J.C. VanderKam, ‘1 Enoch, Enochic Motifs, and Enoch in Early Christian Literature’, in id. et al. (eds), The Jewish Apocalyptic Heritage in Early Christianity, Minneapolis, 1996, pp. 33–101;

© Yakir Paz, 2021 | doi:10.1163/9789004445925_026

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paz

Eternal Chains

In 1962 Javier Teixidor published a Syriac incantation bowl written in Estrangela script, which, according to him, came from Tell Ramadi (near Najaf).3 Yet he was able to transcribe only a part of the first four lines, as was also Victor Hamilton in his later edition, although in his comments he added some readings to lines 8, 9 and 11.4 Recently, Marco Moriggi was able to read a part of all 11 lines relying on the photograph supplied by Teixidor. This new edition helps us to realize the importance of this bowl for the reception of the myth of the fallen angels, which has yet to be fully appreciated by scholars.5 I cite here the first seven lines:6

營‫ ܒܝܫ‬營‫ܫ‬犯‫( ܚ‬2) ‫ܠ‬熏‫ܪܐ ܕܟ‬熏‫ܣ‬焏‫ ܘܠ‬焏‫ ܠܟܝܒܫ‬焏‫[ ܩܡܥܝ‬焏‫ ]ܗܢ‬爯‫ܡ‬熟‫( ܡ‬1) [‫ܐ‬犯‫ )ܠ(ܦ]ܓ‬營‫ܕܡ‬煿‫( ܠ‬3) ‫ܢ‬熏‫ ܐܢ‬煟‫ ܕܥܒ‬營‫ܝ ܐܘ ܢܫ‬犯‫ ܘܕܓܒ‬爯‫ܝ ܣܢܝ‬煟‫ܒ‬熏‫ܘܕܥ‬ ‫ܠ‬熏‫ܢ ܟ‬熏‫ܟܒܫ‬狏‫ܡ ]…[ ܘܢ‬熏‫ ܒܫ‬營‫( ܒܝܫ‬4) 營‫ܫ‬犯‫ܛ ܚ‬煟‫ܚ‬焏‫ ܡ‬狏‫ ܒ‬焏‫ܝܡ‬焏‫]…[ ܠ‬ […] ‫ܛ‬煟‫ܚ‬焏‫ ܡ‬狏‫( ܒ‬5) 焏‫ܝܡ‬焏‫ܐ ܠ‬煿‫ ܠ‬爯‫ܝ‬煟‫ ܕܥܒ‬煿‫ܘ ܠ‬煟‫ ܕܥܒ‬營‫ܫ‬犯‫ܚ‬ ‫ܘܢ‬煿‫ܝ‬犯‫ܢ ܪܙܝ ܡ‬熏‫ ܕܓܠ‬7營‫ܟ‬焏‫ ܡܠ‬營‫( ܡܝܠ‬end of photograph) 熏‫ܫܡܥ‬ ‫ܘܢ‬煿‫ܠ‬焏‫ ܠ‬煟‫( ܥܒܝ‬end of photograph) 9[…] 熟‫ ܒܥܝ‬8‫ܢ‬熏‫ ܬܠ‬焏‫( ܥܠܡ‬6) 犯‫ܣ‬焏‫ܒ‬ ‫ܘܢ‬煿‫( ܡܝܢ‬7) 焏‫ܥ‬犯‫ܦ‬狏‫ ܢ‬焏‫ ܠ‬焏‫ ܕܕܝܢ‬焏‫ܡ‬熏‫ ܝ‬10‫ ܕܐܬܝ‬煟‫ܥ‬ (1) Prepared is this amulet for the pressing and for the binding of all (2) evil sorcery and of the hateful magical acts and of the men or women who performed them (3) to the limbs, to the body […] to ʾymʾ daughter mʾḥdṭ

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Reed, Fallen Angels; Crone, ‘The Book of the Watchers in the Quran’, in H. Ben-Shammai et al. (eds), Exchange and Transmission across Cultural Boundaries: Philosophy, Mysticism, and Science in the Mediterranean World, Jerusalem, 2013, pp. 16–51. J. Teixidor, ‘The Syriac Incantation Bowls in the Iraq Museum’, Sumer vol. 18, 1962, pp. 51– 62, plates 1–4. V.P. Hamilton, Syriac Incantation Bowls, Ann Arbor, 1971, p. 150. A couple of scholars, based on the four-line transliteration provided by Teixidor, noted a connection to the myth of fallen angels but did not analyse it. See Levene, Corpus, p. 136; Crone, ‘Book of Watchers’, p. 191. Moriggi, Corpus, pp. 71–73; text and translation (both slightly modified) after Moriggi, ibid., pp. 71–72. Cf. 4QEna 1 1:3: ‫ומן מלי ]עירין[ וקדישין‬. Moriggi (following Teixidor and Hamilton) reads here: ‫ܡ‬熏‫ ܙܠ‬which he does not translate. See the discussion below. Moriggi suggests reading [‫ܐ‬狏‫]ܩ‬熟‫‘( ܒܥܝ‬by the signet’). Cf. Moriggi, Corpus, p. 23 [1:8] which mentions ‘the signet ring of Šamḥiza, the Lord Bagdana’ (‫ܐ‬熟‫ܗ ܕܫܡܚܝ‬狏‫ܩ‬熟‫ܒܥܝ‬ 焏‫ܐܢ‬煟‫ ܒܓ‬焏‫ܝ‬犯‫)ܡ‬. I wish to thank Ohad Abudraham for suggesting this reading. Moriggi (ibid., p. 72) reads ‫ܕ)ܠ(ܐܬܝ‬.

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eternal chains and the mountain of darkness

535

evil (4) sorcery. In the name of […] and pressed are all sorcery that they performed to her, that they perform to her, to ʾymʾ (5) daughter of mʾḥdṭ […] They listened11 to [end of photograph] the words of the angels who revealed the mysteries (rzy) of their Lord,12 by an eternal (6) chain they suspended (them), by a […] [end of photograph] performed to their God, until the Day of Judgment comes he will not take vengeance (7) from them […] The short historiola of the fallen angels is presented as part of the ‘protection from sorcery and sorcerers operating against the client’.13 It would seem that it is used as a precedent for a punishment directed against revealers of magic. Below I shall mainly focus on the sin and the punishment of the angels and examine their relation to other versions of this myth. 1.1 The Sin The sin of the angels according to the bowl consists in revealing the mysteries (raza) of the Lord. What exactly these mysteries are is not stated. However, it is clear that the raza here refers to some kind of magical knowledge. First, this is suggested from the anti-sorcery context of the bowl. More importantly, in the vocabulary of the bowls the term raza is intimately connected with magical practices and knowledge and at times could be actually rendered as ‘spell’.14 It appears many times at the beginning of an incantation in both Syriac and Jewish Aramaic bowls, as in the following example: ‫רזא רזא דנן לשתוקי ולסכורי פומה‬ ‫( דכל בני אינשה בישי ותקיפי דקימין לקובליה דבריך יהביה בר ממא‬Mystery [raza]. This mystery [raza] is for silencing and shutting the mouth of all evil and violent people who stand against Berik-Yehabya son of Mama).15 In addition, expres̈ ̈ (spells of mysteries) sions such as ‫( רזי חרשי‬mysteries of sorcery) and ‫ ܖܙܐ‬焏‫ܡܠ‬ appear several times inscribed on the bowls.16 11 12 13 14 15

16

熏‫ܫܡܥ‬: another possibility is to read this as an imperative: ‘Listen!’. ‫ܘܢ‬煿‫ܝ‬犯‫ܡ‬: Moriggi translates: ‘their Lords’.

Moriggi, Corpus, p. 71. See M. Sokoloff, A Dictionary of Jewish Babylonian Aramaic of the Talmudic and Geonic Periods, Ramat-Gan, 20202, p. 1044, s.v. ‫רזא‬. Text and translation: J. Naveh and Sh. Shaked, Amulets and Magic Bowls: Aramaic Incantations of Late Antiquity, Jerusalem, 19983, pp. 164–165 (B6:1–3). Cf. e.g. eid., Magic Spells and Formulæ: Aramaic Incantations of Late Antiquity, Jerusalem, 1993, p. 124 (B19:1); ibid., p. 127 (B21:1); Moriggi, Corpus, p. 28 (2:4); ibid., p. 75: (13:1); ibid., p. 85 (15:1). See e.g. Montgomery, Aramaic Incantation Texts, p. 146 (7:13); Naveh and Shaked, Magic Spells, p. 124 (B19:6); Moriggi, Corpus, p. 110 (22:6); ibid., p. 116 (23:7).

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536

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The idea that the sin of the angels had to do with the revelation of secrets, and in particular magical secrets, goes back to the Book of Watchers. In 1 Enoch 7:1 the angels are said to have taught their human wives sorcery and incantations ([‫)ולאלפה אנין חרשה ו]כשפה‬.17 This is also stated in the plea to God by the angels Michael, Gabriel, Suriel and Uriel (1 Enoch 9:6):18 ‘You see what Asael has done, who has taught all iniquity upon the earth, and has revealed the eternal mysteries that are in heaven.’ Moreover, the Aramaic Vorlage of the Book of Watchers used the very same vocabulary for the revealing of mysteries, which is found inscribed on the bowl (‫)גלון רזי‬, as can be seen in a combination of two Aramaic fragments (possibly of 1 Enoch 7:3 or 8:3):19 ‫‘( וכולהון שריו לגליה רזין לנשיהן‬and they all began to reveal mysteries to their wives’).20 This tradition is found later also in the Manichæan Kephalaia:21 The watchers of heaven, who came down to the earth in his watch-district, they did all the deeds of treachery. They have revealed crafts in the world and have unveiled to people the mysteries [of] heaven (ⲁⲩϭⲱⲗⲡ ⲁ ⲛ̅ⲣⲱⲙⲉ ⲛⲙⲙⲩⲥⲧⲏⲣⲓⲟⲛ [ⲛ] ⲧⲡⲉ). An almost exact parallel to the phrasing in the bowl is found in a similar incantation in the magical compilation known as Havdala d’Rabbi Akiva (hereafter: 17 18 19

20

21

4QEna 1 2:15 (]‫ )ולאלפה אנין חרשה ו‬+ 4QEnb 1 2:19 (]‫)[שתא ולכש‬. On these fragments, see G.W.E. Nickelsberg, 1Enoch 1: A Commentary on the Book of 1Enoch, Chapters 1–36; 81–10, Minneapolis, 2001, pp. 197–198. Cf. 1 Enoch 65:6. Cf. 1 Enoch 16:3. Translation of 1 Enoch throughout the paper follows Nickelsburg, 1Enoch. 4QEna 1 4:5 (‫ )[ה רזין לנשיהן‬+ 4QEnb 1 3:5 (‫)וכולהון שריו לגליה‬. See Nickelsburg, 1Enoch, 189; M.A. Knibb, The Ethiopic Book of Enoch: A New Edition in the Light of the Aramaic Dead Sea Fragments vol. 2, Oxford, 1978, p. 83; Milik, Books of Enoch, 170; S. Bhayro, The Shemihazah and Asael Narrative of 1Enoch 6–11: Introduction, Text, Translation and Commentary with reference to Ancient Near Eastern and Biblical Antecedents, Münster, 2005, p. 152. For the revealing of mysteries in Mandaic literature, see e.g. The Mandaic Book of John (ed. M. Lidzbarski, Das Johannesbuch der Mandäer, Giessen, 1915, p. 7): #‫יושאמין גל‬ #‫ רמ‬#‫ בנחור‬#‫רביא ותיגר‬$ ‫זא‬#‫ ;ר‬iušamin gla raza ḏrbia utigra bnhura rma. (‘Yushamin revealed the mystery of the Great One and cast strife in the Light’). See also G. Scholem, ‘Havdalah de-Rabbi ʿAqiva—A Source for the Tradition of Jewish Magic During the Geonic Period’, Tarbiẓ vol. 50, 1981, pp. 243–281 [Hebrew], 274, note 112; Ginza Rabba, Yamina (J.H. Petermann, Thesaurus sive Liber Magnus, vulgo ‘Liber Adami’ apellatus opus Mandæorum summi ponderis, Leipzig, 1867), p. 153:14–20. Text: H.-J. Polotsky et al. (eds), Kephalaia, Stuttgart, 1940, p. 92:28–31; trans. I. Gardner, The Kephalaia of the Teacher: The Edited Coptic Manichæan Texts in Translation with Commentary, Leiden, 2016, p. 97.

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eternal chains and the mountain of darkness

537

Havdala), written mainly in Jewish Babylonian Aramaic and most probably compiled during the Geonic period:22 ,‫ ותלי יתהון בטורי קבל‬23‫עוזא ועוזיאל רזאי רזא דמריהון גלון ונקוב יתהון מן נחירהון‬ ‫ מאן דתבר עצתיה דעוזא‬.‫שמשא לא חזיין ורוחא נשבא על אפיהון כל זמן וכל שעה‬

‫ועוזיאל הוא יתבר עצתיה דכל זרע אדם וחוה די קיימין לקבלן ויתבר תפתרה דימיניהון‬ .‫דכל חרשיא וחרשייתא כמילת זקן במאמר פיהו‬

ʿUza and ʿUziel revealed the mystery of their Lord, and he pierced them from their nostrils and hung them in the mountains of darkness,24 they did not see the sun and a wind blew ceaselessly on their face. He who broke the scheme of ʿUza and ʿUziel, shall break the scheme of all the offspring of Adam and Eve who stand against us and shall break the record book (?)25 of the right hand of all male and female sorcerers, as the word of the elder in his statement.26 The two texts reveal several similarities, such as the use of the account of fallen angels as a historiola to counter sorcery and the punishment of the angels by suspension or hanging (discussed below). For our purposes it is important to note that both texts use the same formula:27 Havdala d’R. Akiva

Bowl im 50327 ‫רזא דמריהון גלון‬

They revealed the mystery of their Lord

22 23 24 25 26 27

‫ܘܢ‬煿‫ܝ‬犯‫ܢ ܪܙܝ ܡ‬熏‫ܕܓܠ‬ Who revealed the mysteries of their Lord

Scholem, ‘Havdalah’, pp. 274–275. Scholem (ibid., p. 274 note 113) notes that he has not found a parallel to the motif of the piercing of the nostrils. For a Biblical precedent, see Job 40:26; 37:29. Another possible translation here and in the following sources: ‘on the mountains of darkness’. However, in the light of the Manichæan text to be discussed below it would seem preferable to assume that the angels were bound inside the mountains of darkness. Following Scholem’s suggestion to read ‫ דפתרא‬instead of ‫( תפתרה‬Scholem, ‘Havdalah’, p. 275 note 118). The meaning of the last words in Hebrew is unclear, and this might be, as Scholem suggests hesitantly, an obscure citation (ibid., p. 25 note 119). A similar phrasing in found in an unpublished bowl from the Schøyen collection (ms 2053/

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538

paz

This script, like others in Havdala, is ‘written in a conservative type of Aramaic similar to the bowl texts’.28 This, together with the parallel with the Syriac bowl, would indicate that the incantation pre-dates the Geonic period and provides further proof of the circulation of the myth of the fallen angels among Jews in the Sasanian period.29 1.2 The Punishment In lines 5–6 Moriggi, following Teixidor and Hamilton, read 焏‫ ܥܠܡ‬犯‫ܣ‬焏‫ܒ‬ ‫ܡ‬熏‫( ܙܠ‬bʾsr ʿlmʾ zlwm). However, they all bracket the unknown word ‫ܡ‬熏‫( ܙܠ‬zlwm), without translating it. An examination of the photograph30 with the assistance of Moriggi’s script chart of this bowl would suggest that one should read the word as ‫ܢ‬熏‫( ܬܠ‬tlwn), ‘they hung, suspended’, as could be seen in the image below:31 figure 24.1 Detail of im 50327

The verbal form ‫ܢ‬熏‫( ܬܠ‬tlwn, a 3rd p. masc. pl. perfect with the ending ‫ון‬-) accords well with ‫ܢ‬熏‫( ܓܠ‬glwn) earlier in the line. Furthermore, the motif of suspension of the fallen angels is attested in several sources, mainly Jewish a...