Jewish Lore in Manichaean Cosmogony - Studies in the Book of Giants Traditions

A work entitled the "Book of Giants" figures in every list of the Manichaean canon preserved from antiquity. Both the nature of this work and the intellectual baggage of the third-century Persian prophet to whom it is ascribed remained unknown to scholars until 1943. Discovery of a fragmentary Aramaic version at Qumran enables John C. Reeves to connect the dots and demonstrate that the motifs of Jewish Enochic literature, in particular those of the story of the Watchers and Giants, form the skeletal structure of Mani's cosmological teachings, and that Chapters 1 to 11 of Genesis fertilized Near Eastern thought, even to the borders of India and China.

About the author

John C. Reeves specializes in the history of religion in late antiquity. He earned his Ph.D. from HUC-JIR and serves as Blumenthal Professor of Judaic Studies at The University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

Summary

Reeves demonstrates that the motifs of Jewish Enochic literature, in particular those of the story of the Watchers and Giants, form the skeletal structure of Mani's cosmological teachings, and that Chapters 1 to 11 of Genesis fertilized Near Eastern thought, even to the borders of India and China.

Product details

• Authors: John C Reeves, John C. Reeves
• Publisher: University Of Pittsburgh Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 31.03.2017
• EAN: 9780822964100
• ISBN: 978-0-8229-6410-0
• No. of pages: 272
• Dimensions: 230 mm x 153 mm x 17 mm
• Weight: 382 g
• Series: Monographs of the Hebrew Union; Monographs of the Hebrew Union; Monographs of the Hebrew Union College
• Subject: Humanities, art, music > Religion/theology > Judaism