Divine Scapegoats: Demonic Mimesis in Early Jewish Mysticism

(Explores the paradoxical symmetry between the divine and ...)

Explores the paradoxical symmetry between the divine and demonic in early Jewish mystical texts. Divine Scapegoats is a wide-ranging exploration of the parallels between the heavenly and the demonic in early Jewish apocalyptical accounts. In these materials, antagonists often mirror features of angelic figures, and even those of the Deity himself, an inverse correspondence that implies a belief that the demonic realm is maintained by imitating divine reality. Andrei A. Orlov examines the sacerdotal, messianic, and creational aspects of this mimetic imagery, focusing primarily on two texts from the Slavonic pseudepigrapha: 2 Enoch and the Apocalypse of Abraham. These two works are part of a very special cluster of Jewish apocalyptic texts that exhibit features not only of the apocalyptic worldview but also of the symbolic universe of early Jewish mysticism. The Yom Kippur ritual in the Apocalypse of Abraham, the divine light and darkness of 2 Enoch, and the similarity of mimetic motifs to later developments in the Zohar are of particular importance in Orlov’s consideration.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1438455828/?tag=2022091-20

Dark Mirrors: Azazel and Satanael in Early Jewish Demonology

(Discusses the two most important figures in early Jewish ...)

Discusses the two most important figures in early Jewish mythologies of evil, the fallen angels Azazel and Satanael.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1438439520/?tag=2022091-20

Heavenly Priesthood in the Apocalypse of Abraham

(The Apocalypse of Abraham is a vital source for understan...)

The Apocalypse of Abraham is a vital source for understanding both Jewish apocalypticism and mysticism. Written anonymously soon after the destruction of the Second Jerusalem Temple, the text envisions heaven as the true place of worship and depicts Abraham as an initiate of celestial priesthood. Andrei A. Orlov focuses on the central rite of the Abraham story - the scapegoat ritual that receives a striking eschatological reinterpretation in the text. He demonstrates that the development of the sacerdotal traditions in the Apocalypse of Abraham, along with a cluster of Jewish mystical motifs, represents an important transition from Jewish apocalypticism to the symbols of early Jewish mysticism. In this way, Orlov offers unique insight into the complex world of the Jewish sacerdotal debates in the early centuries of the Common Era. The book will be of interest to scholars of early Judaism and Christianity, Old Testament studies, and Jewish mysticism and magic.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/110703907X/?tag=2022091-20

Dark Mirrors: Azazel and Satanael in Early Jewish Demonology by Andrei A Orlov (2011-12-01)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01K3LYVXM/?tag=2022091-20