James R. Davila

How) Can We Tell if a Greek Apocryphon or Pseudepigraphon has been Translated from Hebrew or Aramaic

This article explores a wide range of problems that arise when we try to retrovert a Hebrew or Aramaic original from a Greek text, or even establish that Semitic interference in the text proves it to have been translated from a Semitic original. These problems include the inadequacy of a bipolar scale of ‘literal’ vs. ‘free’ translation technique; the difficulty of distinguishing Semitic grammar from Greek grammar; the possibility of interference from the language of the LXX (including rare grammatical features made popular in liturgy and testimonia) or bilingual interference; and the need to determine, when possible, the language (Hebrew or Aramaic), dialect, and period of the Vorlage. Claims to have retroverted the original texts of lost Semitic documents from Greek texts are found unconvincing, but this article advances a methodology for establishing Semitic interference due to translation from a Semitic Vorlage.

The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha as Background to the New Testament

This article outlines a new approach to the study of the Old Testament pseudepigrapha which moves methodically from the known to the unknown and which gives us a somewhat reduced, but considerably better-founded corpus of Jewish pseudepigrapha which we may use, cautiously and with due care, for New Testament background.

The Throne of Ashtart Inscription

The Throne of ʿAshtart is a small cherub throne carved from rough limestone and dating from the third or second century B. C. E. It was discovered in the vicinity of Tyre around 1907. A two-line inscription is carved on the front of the base. This inscription dedicates the throne to the goddess ʿAshtart. Until 1983, there existed no clear photographic documentation of the inscription. New photographs, published here for the first time, have prompted a reevaluation and correction of the readings as previously understood. The new photographs also raise significant problems of interpretation, not easily resolved.

Ritual in the Hekhalot Literature

This chapter provides a succinct catalogue of the rituals described in the Hekhalot literature, with minimal analysis or commentary. The textual corpus consists of the standard macroforms of the Hekhalot literature along with some relevant fragments from the Cairo Geniza. The chapter categorizes the relevant Hekhalot passages into groups; (i) praxes that involve recitation of adjurations, songs, prayers, or names along with other physical actions and ascetic disciplines; and (ii) praxes involving only recitations. The ascetic disciplines include fasting and dietary restrictions, temporary celibacy, and self-isolation and other forms of sensory deprivation. Most of the praxes involve adjurations or prayers and the recitation of divine and angelic names. The cumulative evidence of the concrete nature of the instructions for ritual praxes in the Hekhalot literature provides a very strong case for the actual use of these praxes as mystical disciplines by real practitioners. Keywords: ascetic disciplines; Cairo Geniza; Hekhalot literature; rituals; sensory deprivation; textual corpus

SHAMANIC INITIATORY DEATH AND RESURRECTION IN THE HEKHALOT LITERATURE

I have argued elsewhere that the most useful paradigm for understanding the strange collection of visionary and revelatory texts known as the hekhalot literature is an anthropological one.1 The “descenders to the chariot,” as they sometimes called themselves, can be understood as a type of shaman, that is, “a social functionary who, with the help of guardian spirits, attains ecstasy in order to create a rapport with the supernatural world on behalf of his group members,” to quote Åke Hultkrantz’s definition.2 This paper explores one aspect of the shamanic vocation of the descenders to the chariot: the initiatory disintegration and reintegration that establishes the shaman’s supernatural power. The shaman has a direct link with the supernatural world, but this link is not forged without difficulty or pain; the shamanic vocation often brings great suffering into the lives of those who pursue it. It is characteristic of the Arctic shaman (although not unknown in other traditions) that the initiation into the otherworld is experienced as a violent upheaval that involves the destruction of the whole person by the spirits, followed by a kind of resurrection as a new being who is at home both in the mundane and the spiritual world. The initiant seems to endure being eaten alive or otherwise consumed—often the victim sees the process as though it were happening to someone else—until nothing is left but a skeleton. Consciousness is frequently lost at this point (understandably), but the initiant may watch his or