Table Of ContentApocalypticismandMysticisminAncientJudaismandEarlyChristianity
Ekstasis
Religious Experience
From Antiquity to the Middle Ages
Editedby
JohnR.LevisonandAngelaKimHarkins
EditorialBoard
DavidAune,JanBremmer,JohnCollins,
DyanElliott,AmyHollywood,SarahIlesJohnston,
GaborKlaniczay,PauloNogueira,
ChristopherRowlandandElliotR.Wolfson
Volume 7
Apocalypticism and
Mysticism in Ancient
Judaism and Early
Christianity
Edited by
John J. Collins, Pieter G. R. de Villiers
and Adela Yarbro Collins
ISBN978-3-11-059183-5
e-ISBN(PDF)978-3-11-059726-4
e-ISBN(EPUB)978-3-11-059692-2
ISSN1865-8792
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2018954954
BibliographicinformationpublishedbytheDeutscheNationalbibliothek
TheDeutscheNationalbibliothekliststhispublicationintheDeutscheNationalbibliografie;
detailedbibliographicdataareavailableintheInternetathttp://dnb.dnb.de.
©2018WalterdeGruyterGmbH,Berlin/Boston
Typesetting:IntegraSoftwareServicesPvt.Ltd.
Printingandbinding:CPIbooksGmbH,Leck
www.degruyter.com
Contents
Introduction 1
PieterG.R.deVilliers
ApocalypsesandMysticalTexts:InvestigatingProlegomenaandtheState
ofAffairs 7
JohnJ.Collins
IsThereMysticismintheDeadSeaScrolls? 61
AdelaYarbroCollins
Paul,JewishMysticism,andSpiritPossession 81
JörgFrey
“Mystical”TraditionsinanApocalypticText?:TheThroneVisionof
Revelation4withintheContextofEnochicandMerkavahTexts 103
JackLevison
AscentandInspirationintheWritingsofPhiloJudaeus 129
GregoryE.Sterling
DancingwiththeStars:TheAscentoftheMindinPhiloofAlexandria 155
PaulB.Decock
JourneystowardsFullnessofLife:AComparisonbetweenPhiloandthe
ApocalypseofJohn 167
Bibliography 187
Index 205
Introduction
MysticisminEarlyJudaismandtheNewTestament
Mysticismisacontestedsubjectinthehistoryofreligion.Itisinfactamodern
extrapolation that seeks to give a name to a kind of religious experience or
description thereof. Bernard McGinn, the leading historian of mysticism in the
westernworld,describesitasthebeliefandpracticesthatconcern“theprepara-
tionfor,theconsciousnessof,andthereactiontowhatcanbedescribedasthe
immediateordirectpresenceofGod.”1Eventhisdescriptionisopentoquestion,
asthetermisoftenusedforexperiences,eitherrealorimagined,oftheheavenly
worldthatfallshortofdirectencounterswithGod.Theword“experience”here
must be qualified, since we have no access to direct experience, and must of
necessity rely on written descriptions. We have, however, several written
accounts of alleged experiences of elevation to the heavenly world or approx-
imation to the divine presence. Without pressing a more precise definition of
mysticism,itistheseaccountsthatformthesubjectofourinquiry.
Broadly speaking, we may distinguish two strands of Jewish tradition that
arerelevanttothediscussionofmysticismintheSecondTempleperiod.Oneof
these is rooted in ancient mythology about a heavenly world and is found
especiallyintheapocalypticliterature.TheotherisrootedinGreekphilosophy
andisdevelopedespeciallyintheworksofPhiloofAlexandria.
ThefirststrandisfoundationalformysticalaspectsofearlyChristianliterature.
Someofthesetexts,suchasthelettersofPaulandtheGospelofJohn,alsospeakof
anongoingexperienceofunitywithChrist(Paul)orwithChristandGod(John).
The Apocalyptic Tradition
Theoldestsuchaccountsofencounterswiththedivineinthebiblicaltradition
relatetoMosesandtheprophets.TheBookofExodusclaimsthatMoseswentup
toGodonMt.Sinai(Exod19:3).HealonecouldcomeneartoGod;seventyofthe
eldersofthepeoplealsoascendedbuthadtoworshipatadistance(24:1).Weare
nottoldthatMoseswasgrantedavisionofGod.Inalaterchapterheisallowedto
seeGodfrombehind,butheistold:“youcannotseemyfacefornooneshallsee
me and live” (Exod 33:20). Despite this tradition, however, several prophets
1 Bernard McGinn, The Foundations of Mysticism. Origins to the Fifth Century (New York:
Crossroad,1991),xvii.
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110597264-001
2 Introduction
claimtohavelaideyesontheAlmighty.MicaiahbenImlah,in1Kings22:19,says
“IsawtheLordsittingonhisthrone,withallthehostofheavenstandingbeside
him,totherightandtotheleft.”IsaiahofJerusalemhasamoreelaboratevision
oftheLordsittingonathrone,highandlofty,withthetrainofhisgarmentfilling
thetemple(Isa6:1).BythetimeofEzekiel,thevisionisnotsosharplyfocused.
WhatheseesistheappearanceofthelikenessofthegloryoftheLord(Ezek1:28).
InEzekiel’svision,thegloryoftheLordisenthronedonachariot,ormerkavah.
ThevisionofthechariotthronewouldremainastapleofJewishmysticismdown
throughtheMiddleAges.
Mosesandtheprophets,however,hadtheirvisionssothattheycouldserve
as mediators, or go-betweens, between God and his people on earth. The pro-
pheticvisionisnottheendortelosofthevisionary’slife.Neitheristhevisionary
transformedinalastingway.
The prophetic visions, however, are themselves transformed in the apoca-
lypticwritingsoftheHellenisticperiod.TheBookofDaniel,chapter7,continues
thetraditionoftheprophetsbydescribingathronevision.Danielseesawhite-
haired“AncientofDays,”evidentlythedeity,whosethronewasfieryflamesand
itswheelsburningfire.Hepresidesoverajudgmentofthebeastsfromthesea,
which symbolize the Gentile kingdoms. Daniel’s dream is complicated by a
second quasi-divinefigure, “one like a son of man” who comeson theclouds.
Danielisnotgivenamessagetorelaytohumanity,althoughhisvisionimplies
theresolutionofacrisisonearth.2Evenmoregermanetoourdiscussionisthe
visionofEnochin1En.14.InthiscasewearegivenanaccountofEnoch’sascent
toheavenandhisentryintotheheavenlytemple.Thereheseesaloftythrone,
and“thegreatglory”sittingonit(1En.14:20).3UnlikeDaniel,however,Enochis
givenamessagetorelaytotheWatchersonearth.4
BothDanielandEnochwerelegendaryfigures.Theaccountsoftheirvisions
arepseudonymous,inthesensethattheyareattributedtofigureswhocouldnot
haveexperiencedthem.EnochlivedbeforetheFlood,butthewritingsassociated
withhimonlyappearintheHellenisticage.Thereisalong-standingdiscussion
as to whether the accounts of their visions nonetheless reflect real human
experiences and visions. It has been noted that that the accounts correspond
ratherwellwithaccountsofvisionaryexperienceinothercultures.Danielhasa
vision after fasting for three weeks (Dan 10:3). Enoch reads a petition aloud
2 SeeJohnJ.Collins,Daniel.ACommentaryontheBookofDaniel,Hermeneia(Minneapolis:
Fortress,1993),274–324.
3 G.W.E.Nickelsburg,1Enoch1,Hermeneia(Minneapolis:Fortress,2001),251–75.
4 Thetraditionofthethronevision,takenupalsointheBookofRevelation,isstudiedinthis
volumebyJörgFrey.
Introduction 3
besidethewatersofDan(1En.13:7).Ezraeatstheflowerofthefield(2Esd9:26)
and drinks a fiery liquid (2 Esd 14:39). These allusions are intriguing hints of
practical ways by which people may have induced visions.5 There is no way,
however, to decide whether the authors actually had such visions or only
imaginedthem,ifindeedwecanevenmakesuchadistinction.
TheapocalypsesofDanielandEnochareimportantforthestudyofmysti-
cisminanotherrespect,however.Itishereforthefirsttimethatweencounterthe
ideathatrighteouspeoplecanascendpermanentlytoheavenaftertheirdeath.In
Dan12wereadthat“thosewhoarewisewillshinelikethebrightnessofthesky,
andthosewholeadmanytorighteousness,likethestarsforeverandever”(Dan
12:3). In 1 En. 104 the righteous are told: “you will shine and appear, and the
portalsofheaven willbeopened foryou ...for youwillbe companionsof the
hostofheaven”(104:2,6).Thesepassagesopenupanewvistaonthepurposeor
telosofhumanlife.Thisteloswasnolongertolivelongintheland,andseeone’s
children and children’s children, but rather to live forever with the angels in
heaven.Thisintroducesthepossibilityofhumantransformation,inawaythat
wasnotenvisionedintheprophets.
The process of transformation is described in greater detail in later apoca-
lypses, especially those associated with Enoch. Second Enoch, which is only
preserved in late Slavonic manuscripts but is thought to have originated in
Egypt around the end of the first century CE, describes how Enoch ascended
throughsevenheavens.Finally,hecomesintothepresenceofGod,whoinstructs
thearchangelMichaeltoextracthimfromhisearthlyclothingandanointhimwith
oil that makes him shine brighter than the greatest light. Enoch comments:
“I gazed at all of myself, and I had become like one of the glorious ones, and
there was no observable difference.”6 Enoch conveys ethical teaching to his
children and grandchildren before he returns to heaven permanently, but the
moststrikingthingaboutthisapocalypseistheemphasisonthetransformation
ofthevisionary.
ThetransformationofthevisionaryistakenevenfurtherinSeferHekaloth,
or3Enoch,aworkthatdatesfromthefifthorsixthcenturyCE.Thistextdescribes
anencounterbetweenRabbiIshmaelandMetatron,asuperangelwhoholdsan
exalted place in heaven. Metatron identifies himself as “Enoch, son of Jared”
5 M.E.Stone,“AReconsiderationofApocalypticVisions,”HTR96(2003):167–80.
6 2 En. 22:10. See Martha Himmelfarb, “Revelation and Rapture: The Transformation of the
VisionaryintheAscentApocalypses,”inMysteriesandRevelations:ApocalypticStudiessince
theUppsalaColloquium,ed.J.J.CollinsandJ.H.Charlesworth(Sheffield:JSOTPress,1991),
79–90,andalsomoregenerallyherbookAscenttoHeaveninJewishandChristianApocalypses
(NewYork:Oxford,1993).
4 Introduction
(3En.4:3).TheMostHighmadeforhim“athronelikethethroneofgloryand
appointedhimprinceandruleroveralltheheights(3En.1:10).Metatroniseven
called“thelittleYHWH,”butheisnonethelessidentifiedwiththehumanEnoch.
InthewordsofPhilipAlexander,“whatisinvolvedislittleshortofthedeification
ofaman.”7Enoch/Metatroniseventuallyoustedfromhisthroneofglory(3En.
16)whenthevisionaryAherseeshimandexclaims,“indeedtherearetwopowers
inheaven.”8
SeferHekalotisalatetext,andisacceptedaspartoftheclassicalcorpusof
Jewishmysticism.Whethertheearlierapocalypsesqualifyasmysticalisamatter
of definition. A major strand of scholarship, represented by Gershom Scholem
andIthamarGruenewald,sawtheapocalypsesastheforerunnersoftheclassic
mysticaltexts.9Morerecentscholarshiphasbeenskepticalofthecontinuity.10
Butincreasingly,scholarsdisputetheassumptionthattheearlymedievalmer-
kavahtextsshouldberegardedasnormativeforJewishmysticism.Mysticismis
not an invariable universal phenomenon, but takes various forms, not only in
differentculturesbutalsoindifferenteras.
ItseemsclearenoughthatatleastthelaterEnochtraditionshowsanunder-
standing of and familiarity with mystical experiences, whereby the visionary
ascendstoheavenandistransformed.Inmostcases,thisexperienceisattributed
pseudonymously to a legendary or fictitious person. We have only rare cases
wheresuchexperiencesareattributedtohistoricalpersons.TheapostlePaulin2
Corinthians 12, who claims to have been snatched up to the third heaven,
whether in the body or out of the body, is the clearest example.11 Some such
experiencemay,ormaynot,beimpliedinsomecontroversialhymnictextsinthe
Dead Sea Scrolls.12 The Talmud tells of four sages who entered paradise, ben
Azzai,BenZoma,AherandAkiba(b.Hag.14b).BenAzzaigazedanddied,Ben
Zomagazedandwasharmed,Aher“cutdowntheplantings”(becameaheretic)
7 PhilipAlexander,“FromSonofAdamtoSecondGod.TransformationsoftheBiblicalEnoch,”
inBiblicalFiguresOutsidetheBible,ed.M.E.StoneandT.E.Bergen(Harrisburg,PA:Trinity
PressInternational,1998),111.
8 On Metatron see now Andrei A. Orlov, Yahoel and Metatron, TSAJ 169 (Tübingen: Mohr
Siebeck,2017),141–203.
9 GershomG.Scholem,MajorTrendsinJewishMysticism(NewYork:Schocken,1954)andidem,
JewishGnosticism,MerkabahMysticism,andTalmudicTradition(NewYork:JewishTheological
SeminaryofAmerica,1965).
10 Ra’ananBoustanandPatrickG.McCullough,“ApocalypticLiteratureandtheStudyofEarly
JewishMysticism,”inTheOxfordHandbookofApocalypticLiterature,ed.JohnJ.Collins(Oxford:
OxfordUniversityPress,2014),85–103.
11 SeetheessayofAdelaYarbroCollinsinthisvolume.
12 SeetheessayofJohnJ.Collinsinthisvolume.
