Jeffrey,
This morning I tried to send the following out via IOUDAIOS-L; however, it has
yet to show up, so I'll try Megillot.
David Suter
Jeffrey,
Some comments.
It might be better to say that the literature implies a debate or difference of
opinion over whether angels are asexual beings or not, with the Enoch
literature fueling the possibility that they are potentially sexual. Note that
the Animal Apocalypse in 1 Enoch describes their male organs as the size of a
horse's, while the Book of the Watchers comments that God did not appoint wives
for angels because they are immortal and therefore don't need to reproduce. I
suspect the Enoch literature reflects a holdover from earlier ideas derived
from the transition from the sons of the gods (divine beings rooted in ANE
religions) to the cult of angels (created beings). For the transition see
Javier Teixidor, The Pagan God, who relates the Enoch stuff to what is going on
in the development of a Syrian pagan monotheism in the early Hellenistic period.
In the Hebrew Scriptures, "angels" can be human or celestial beings.
There is an interesting transition from the Biblical period, when angels are
largely unnamed to the post-Biblical period when a fascination for the names of
angels seems to develop. See Saul Olyan, A Thousand Thousands Served Him --
there's a review on IOUDAIOS Review.
You might also want to take a look at Charles Gieschen's Angelomorphic
Christology and include a reference to that discussion.
Hope this helps.
David Suter
Saint Martin's University
________________________________
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] on behalf of Jeffrey B. Gibson
Sent: Sat 4/14/2007 9:13 AM
To: . .
Cc: Crosstalk2; biblical-studies; ioudaios-l; g-megillot; [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: [Megillot] Jesus and Angels
". ." wrote:
Hi, Jeffrey,
They're also pimps. Because 1 Samuel 25:42 says "And Abigail stood up
at once, and she mounted the mule - and her five maid-servants (were) walking
at her feet -, and she followed the angels of David, and she became his wife".
That after David scared her husband to death.
Andrew Fincke
Seems to me that, if you are serious about this, you are not taking into
account that the word translated here as "angels" can also mean "human
messengers".
Jeffrey Gibson
--
Jeffrey B. Gibson, D.Phil. (Oxon)
1500 W. Pratt Blvd.
Chicago, Illinois
e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
