HEAVENLY REALMS AND EARTHLY REALITIES IN LATE ANTIQUE RELIGIONS; ED. BY RA'ANAN S. BOUSTAN

The idea of heaven held a special place in the late antique imagination, which was marked by a poignant sense of the relevance of otherworldly realities for earthly life. Such concerns can be found not only in Judaism and Christianity but also in the Greco-Roman religious, philosophical, scientific, and 'magical' traditions. Transcending social, regional and creedal boundaries, the preocupation with heaven in Late Antiquity serves as a focus for an interdisciplinary approach to understanding this formative era in Western culture and history. Drawing upon the expertise of scholars of Classics, Ancient History, Jewish Studies and Patristics, this volume explores the different functions of heavenly imagery in different texts and traditions in order to map the patterns of unity and diversity within the religious landscape of Late Antiquity.--provided by publisher. Cover 1 Half-title 3 Title 5 Copyright 6 Contents 7 Preface 9 Contributors 13 Introduction: “In Heaven as It Is on Earth” 17 PART ONE BETWEEN EARTH AND HEAVEN 33 1 The Bridge and the Ladder: Narrow Passages in Late Antique Visions 35 The Bridges 38 The Ladder 45 Conclusions 49 2 “Heavenly Steps”: Manilius 4.119–121 and Its Background 50 3 Heavenly Ascent, Angelic Descent, and the Transmission of Knowledge in 1 Enoch 6–16 63 Secrets in Heaven, Knowledge on Earth 63 Asael, the Instruction Motif, and the Text–History of the Book of the Watchers 66 Attitudes Toward Knowledge and Secrecy in 1 Enoch 6–11 70 The Instruction Motif and the Literary Structure of 1 Enoch 12–16 75 The Descent of the Watchers and the Elevation of Enoch 77 Crossing the Epistemological Boundaries Between Heaven and Earth 81 4 “Connecting Heaven and Earth”: The Function of the Hymns in Revelation 4–5 83 The Structure and Content of Revelation 4–5 85 The Heavenly Liturgy in a Fivefold Form 96 Connecting Heaven and Earth 97 Summary 99 5 Working Overtime in the Afterlife; or, No Rest for the Virtuous 101 Angelic Souls 105 Working Souls 108 Platonic Influences 112 PART TWO INSTITUTIONALIZING HEAVEN 117 6 Earthly Sacrifice and Heavenly Incense: The Law of the Priesthood in Aramaic Levi and Jubilees 119 The Law of the Priesthood 120 Washing 123 Blood on Garments 123 Wood for the Altar 124 Order of Sacrifice 124 The Minhah Accompanying Animal Sacrifices 126 Weights and Measures 128 The Law of the Priesthood and Sectarianism 131 Jubilees’ Adaptation of the Law of the Priesthood 132 Frankincense and the Minhah 134 The Incense Offering 136 Incense and the Heavenly Temple 137 7 Who’s on the Throne? Revelation in the Long Year 139 Preliminary Discussions of Kingdom 142 The Throne Vision 144 Seals, Trumpets, Thunders 145 The Holy City and the Great City 148 War in Heaven 150 Judgment and Celebration 152 Conclusion: The One on the Throne 155 8 The Earthly Monastery and the Transformation of the Heavenly City in Late Antique Egypt 158 The Heavenly Jerusalem, One with the Earthly Jerusalem 160 Jerusalem, a City in Judaea No Longer 165 Monastery as Heavenly Jerusalem, Heavenly Jerusalem as Monastery 168 9 Contextualizing Heaven in Third-Century North Africa 175 The Passio Sanctorum Mariani et Iacobi 176 The Court Scene 177 The Heavenly Landscape 180 The Fountain and the Cup 183 Marian’s Heaven 187 10 Bringing the Heavenly Academy Down to Earth: Approaches to the Imagery of Divine Pedagogy in the East Syrian Tradition 190 The Heavenly Classroom in the Cause of the Foundation of the Schools 191 The Influence of Theodore of Mopsuestia 193 The Pedagogical Tendency in Syriac Literature 195 Parallel “Earthly” Institutionalization 198 The Rabbinic Comparandum 201 The Problem of “Influence” 204 Conclusion 207 PART THREE TRADITION AND INNOVATION 209 11 Angels in the Architecture: Temple Art and the Poetics of Praise in the Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice 211 Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice: Textual History and Performative Setting 213 The Narrative Trajectory of the Cycle: From Angels to Architecture 215 Architectural Language and Temple Art in the Songs 219 The Poetics of the Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice, or the Strange Problem of Singular and Plural Forms 223 12 The Collapse of Celestial and Chthonic Realms in a Late Antique “Apollonian Invocation” (PGM I 262–347) 229 The Syncretistic Tendencies of Late Imperial Pagan Religion 230 Apollo as a Source of Oracular Inspiration in PGM III 233 Apollo as a Source of Oracular Inspiration in PGM II 236 The Recipe for an “Apollonian Invocation” in PGM I 240 Conclusion 247 13 In Heaven as It Is in Hell: The Cosmology of Seder Rabbah di-Bereshit 249 I 249 II 253 Midrash on Gen 1:1 (§§429–436 and §§832–854) 254 The Dimensions of the “World” (§§437–439) 256 Detailed Description of the Seven Earths and Seven Heavens (§§440–462 and 743–776) 257 The Area Beyond the Seventh Heaven (§§777–784 and 518–524) 266 III 268 Heaven(s) and Hell(s) in Prerabbinic Literature 269 The Heavens in Classical Rabbinic Literature 277 Earth(s) in the Classical Rabbinic Literature 283 Hekhalot Literature 287 14 The Faces of the Moon: Cosmology, Genesis, and the Mithras Liturgy 291 Cosmological Divisions 293 The Descent of the Soul Through the Divisions of the Cosmos 295 The Evaluation of Genesis 298 Feminine Intermediary Principles 301 Living in theWorld 307 Conclusion 309 15 “O Paradoxical Fusion!”: Gregory of Nazianzus on Baptism and Cosmology (Orations 38–40) 312 Conversions and Inscriptions 317 Incarnation 319 Illumination 321 Baptism 322 Rival Cosmologies, Rival Baptisms 326 Select Bibliography 333 Index 339 The idea of heaven held a special place in the late antique imagination, which was marked by a poignant sense of the relevance of otherworldly realities for earthly life. Such concerns can be found, not only in Judaism and Christianity, but also in the Greco-Roman religious, philosophical, scientific, and 'magical' traditions. Transcending social, regional and creedal boundaries, the preoccupation with heaven in Late Antiquity serves as a focus for an interdisciplinary approach to understanding this formative era in Western culture and history. Drawing upon the expertise of scholars of Classics, Ancient History, Jewish Studies, and Patristics, this volume explores the different functions of heavenly imagery in different texts and traditions in order to map the patterns of unity and diversity within the religious landscape of Late Antiquity The concept of heaven occupied a special place in the Late Antique imagination, not only in Judaism and Christianity, but also in the Greco-Roman religious, philosophical, scientific, and "magical" traditions. Drawing upon the expertise of scholars of Classics, Ancient History, Jewish Studies, and Patristics, this volume explores the different functions of heavenly imagery in different texts and traditions in order to map the patterns of unity and diversity within the religious landscape of Late Antiquity. Drawing on the expertise of scholars of Classics, Ancient History, Biblical Studies, Jewish Studies, and Patristics, this volume explores the different functions of heavenly imagery in different texts and traditions in order to map the patterns of unity and diversity within the religious landscape of Late Antiquity. The idea of heaven held a special place in the late antique imagination, not only in Judaism and Christianity, but also in the Greco-Roman religious, philosophical, scientific and 'magical' traditions. This volume uses an interdisciplinary approach to understanding this formative era in Western culture and history.