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Demons in Early Judaism and Christianity
Characters and Characteristics
Series: - Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity, Volume: 113
For Jews and Christians in Antiquity beliefs about demons were integral to their reflections on fundamental theological questions, but what kind of ‘being’ did they consider demons to be? To what extent were they thought to be embodied? Were demons thought of as physical entities or merely as metaphors for social and psychological realities? What is the relation between demons and the hypostatization of abstract concepts (fear, impurity, etc) and baleful phenomenon such as disease? These are some of the questions that this volume addresses by focussing on the nature and characteristics of demons — what one might call ‘demonic ontology’.
Hector M. Patmore, Ph.D. (2008), University of Durham, is Associate Professor at the KU Leuven, Belgium. He has published books and articles on demonology, including Adam, Satan, and the King of Tyre (Brill, 2012) and The Evil Inclination in Early Judaism and Christianity (with J.K. Aitken and I. Rosen-Zvi; CUP, 2021). He was Principal Investigator for the project “Demonic Exegesis: The Role of Biblical Interpretation and Exegetical Encounter in the Shaping of Jewish and Christian Demonologies,” funded by the Arts & Humanities Research Council.
Acknowledgements
Notes on Contributors
Introduction
Hector M. Patmore and Josef Lössl
1 Demonic Exegesis
Hector M. Patmore
2 Δαίμονες and Demons in Hellenistic Judaism: Continuities and Transformations
Anna Angelini
3 The Demon Asmodeus in the Tobit Tradition: His Nature and Character
Beate Ego
4 Paul’s Suprahumanizing Exegesis: Rewriting the Defeat of God’s Enemies in 1 Corinthians, Romans, and Ephesians
John K. Goodrich
5 Courting Daimons in Corinth: Daimonic Partnerships, Cosmic Hierarchies and Divine Jealousy in 1 Corinthians 8–10
Matthew Sharp
6 Demons and Vices in Early Christianity
Tom de Bruin
7 The ‘Demonogony’ of Tatian’s Oratio ad Graecos: Jewish and Greek Influences
Josef Lössl
8 St. Jerome, Demons, and Jewish Tradition
C. T. R. Hayward
9 Demonic “Tollhouses” and Visions of the Afterlife in Pseudo-Cyril of Alexandria’s Homily: De exitu animi
Emmanouela Grypeou
10 The Naked Demon: Alternative Interpretations of the Alexamenos Graffito
Hagit Amirav and Peter-Ben Smit
11 Negotiating Danger: Demonic Manipulations in Jewish Babylonia
Alexander W. Marcus
12 Demons and Scatology: Cursed Toilets and Haunted Baths in Late Antique Judaism
Ilaria Briata
13 The King of Demons in the Universe of the Rabbis
Reuven Kiperwasser
14 The Gender and Sexuality of Demons in the Art of the Aramaic Incantation Bowls
Naama Vilozny
Index
Notes on Contributors
Introduction
Hector M. Patmore and Josef Lössl
1 Demonic Exegesis
Hector M. Patmore
2 Δαίμονες and Demons in Hellenistic Judaism: Continuities and Transformations
Anna Angelini
3 The Demon Asmodeus in the Tobit Tradition: His Nature and Character
Beate Ego
4 Paul’s Suprahumanizing Exegesis: Rewriting the Defeat of God’s Enemies in 1 Corinthians, Romans, and Ephesians
John K. Goodrich
5 Courting Daimons in Corinth: Daimonic Partnerships, Cosmic Hierarchies and Divine Jealousy in 1 Corinthians 8–10
Matthew Sharp
6 Demons and Vices in Early Christianity
Tom de Bruin
7 The ‘Demonogony’ of Tatian’s Oratio ad Graecos: Jewish and Greek Influences
Josef Lössl
8 St. Jerome, Demons, and Jewish Tradition
C. T. R. Hayward
9 Demonic “Tollhouses” and Visions of the Afterlife in Pseudo-Cyril of Alexandria’s Homily: De exitu animi
Emmanouela Grypeou
10 The Naked Demon: Alternative Interpretations of the Alexamenos Graffito
Hagit Amirav and Peter-Ben Smit
11 Negotiating Danger: Demonic Manipulations in Jewish Babylonia
Alexander W. Marcus
12 Demons and Scatology: Cursed Toilets and Haunted Baths in Late Antique Judaism
Ilaria Briata
13 The King of Demons in the Universe of the Rabbis
Reuven Kiperwasser
14 The Gender and Sexuality of Demons in the Art of the Aramaic Incantation Bowls
Naama Vilozny
Index
This volume will be of relevance to specialists and post-graduate students interested in Jewish and Christian thought in the period 300 BCE until 500 CE.