Tese Vicente Oxford 2005

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Vi cent e Dobr or uka

ASPECTS OF LATE SECONDTEMPLE J EWI SH APOCALYPTI C: A

CROSS- CULTURAL COMPARI SON

DPhi l t hesi s

Theol ogy Facul t y

Uni ver si t y of Oxf or d

Supervi sor s: Chr i st opher Rowl and and Mart i n Goodman

Oxf or d, December 2005


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PEJ - Tese de doutorado 2005 - Vicente Dobroruka

To Cec l i a, J ul i a and I sabel a,wi t h l ove

He [ Ant hony] sai d t hat t he monk shoul d be known, i n hi s l i f e and

deeds, as bei ng a st r anger t o the worl d and a f r i end of t he angel s.

Pr i mi t i ve l i f e of S. Ant hony, 7

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ABSTRACT

Among t he many di f f i cul t i es r ai sed by Second Templ e

J ewi sh apocal ypt i c l i t er at ure ( whi ch i ncl ude dat i ng and

or i gi nal l anguage of composi t i on among ot her i ssues) , one

t hat st ands out i s t he i nt er pr et at i on of t he many vi si onar y

epi sodes descr i bed. Do t hey r epor t genui ne, f i r st - hand

exper i ences on t he par t of t he wr i t er s, ar e t hey j ust a

l i t er ar y convent i on, or do t hey st and i n- bet ween t hose t wo

possi bi l i t i es ( i . e. do t he wr i t t en account s r ef l ect act ualexper i ent i al pr act i ce even i f what we have i n t he account s

t hemsel ves i s mer e l i t er ar y ar t i f i ce) ?

The most i mport ant i ssue t o be r ai sed among al l t hese

di f f i cul t i es i s t hat al most al l apocal ypt i c l i t er at ur e i s

pseudonymous - i . e. even i f we ar e f aci ng aut hent i c

r evel at or y exper i ences t hese cannot , by def i ni t i on, be

f i r st - per son account s even when t hey ost ensi bl y appear t o

be so. Pseudepi gr aphy poses a bar r i er here but at t he same

t i me i t has been suggest ed by a number of schol ars t hat

t hi s devi ce mi ght be r el at ed t o t he whol e vi si onar y

pr ocess, i mpl yi ng that t here may be some myst i cal

i dent i f i cat i on bet ween act ual wr i t er and por t r ayed her o. I n

shor t , t he act ual wr i t er may bel i eve hi msel f t o have been

used as a channel f or communi cat i on whi ch woul d account f or

t he pseudonymous aut horshi p of t he t ext s.

Such quest i ons cannot be answered by t he st udy of

apocal ypt i c l i t er at ur e al one, si nce t he t ext s gi ve us no

evi dence r egar di ng t hi s i dent i f i cat i on, or r egar di ng t he

possi bi l i t i es of eval uat i on of t he vi si onar y exper i ences. A

di f f er ent met hod must be used t o t r y t o assess t he l i t er ar y

cor pus and t he above st at ed quest i ons i n a di f f er ent l i ght .

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To t hi s end, cr oss- cul t ural compar i son can provi de a

usef ul t ool i n deal i ng wi t h cases such as our s, wher e

evi dence i n t he sour ces t hemsel ves i s scarce but whenphenomena apparent l y si mi l ar can be compar ed. Gr eat car e

must be t aken not t o exagger at e t he possi bi l i t i es of cr oss-

cul t ur al compar i son so as t o f i nd exact l y what one want s t o

i n ar bi t r ar y f ashi on. Cr oss- cul t ur al compar i son can however

be ver y usef ul i n not i ng si mi l ar i t i es and di f f er ences i n

pseudonymous at t r i but i on of r el i gi ous t exts.

I n t he case di scussed i n t hi s t hesi s, we ar e deal i ng i n

t he J ewi sh l i t er at ur e aut hor shi p i n whi ch a l at er aut hor

vi ewed hi msel f as i n some way i dent i f i ed wi t h a f i gur e of

t he past as he wr ot e, l eadi ng t o pseudepi gr aphy; I have

t her ef or e l ooked f or a sui t abl e, wel l - document ed moder n

count er par t t o rel i gi ous pseudepi gr aphy i n Ant i qui t y. The

exampl e chosen i s Kar deci st aut omat i c wr i t i ng ( al so known

as psychogr aphy) , a r el i gi ous pr act i ce at t he cor e of

Br azi l i an Kar deci st Spi r i t i sm. Thi s has pr oved i nsi ght f ul

due t o bot h t he ext er nal si mi l ar i t y of r el i gi ous

pseudepi gr aphy and t o t he abundant exampl es of prepar at ory

ecstat i c pr act i ces f ound t her ei n.

I n Kardeci sm, aut horshi p i s not r eal l y pseudonymous

si nce t he name of t he medi um who mechani cal l y wr ote t he

t ext i s usual l y gi ven; st i l l t he cont ent s of t he t ext s ar e

ascri bed t o peopl e ot her t han t he act ual wr i t er , i . e. t he

medi um. Among these, t he f i gur e of Fr anci sco Chi co Xavi er

st ands out as one who, at t he same t i me, had an enor mous

out put of t ext s ( more t han 400 books) .

The st udy of Kar deci st mat er i al on automat i c wr i t i ng,

and st udy of schol ar shi p on i t s pr obl ems, shed l i ght on a

number of i ssues, some r ei nf or ci ng t he i dea of act ual

i dent i f i cat i on on t he par t of apocal ypt i c wr i t er s, ot her spoi nt i ng agai nst i t . Suppor t i ve of t he hypot hesi s of

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apocal ypt i c pseudepi gr aphy bei ng aki n t o Kar deci st

aut omat i c wr i t i ng ar e t he ef f ect s r epor t ed by t he

vi si onar i es - t i r edness, f ear , exhaust i on, t r embl i ng,vi sual hal l uci nat i ons ar e al l st andar d i ssues i n J ewi sh

apocal ypses and i n t he repor t s of Kar deci st medi ums. They

ar e ver y f r equent i n Chi co Xavi er , especi al l y i n hi s

ear l i er pr oduct i on ( as t i me passed he admi t t edl y l ear nt how

t o di sci pl i ne hi s f eel i ngs and devel opment of psychi c

abi l i t i es) . Di f f er ences i n st yl e ar e al so a common f eat ur e:

a t ext l i ke, say, 4Ezr a does not r esembl e i t s canoni cal

count er par t ( Ezr a) , nor do t ext s l i ke H 2. 000 anos

at r s. . . r esembl e a repor t on t he l i f e of J esus such as

coul d be wr i t t en at t he t i me of hi s deat h, or even

cent ur i es af t er . Anachr oni sm i s t hus a common f eat ur e of

apocal ypt i c pseudepi gr aphy and Kar deci st aut omat i c wr i t i ng.

Mani pul at i on of spi r i t s and/ or possessi on by t hem ar e

pr act i ces t hat make Kar deci st aut omat i c wr i t i ng somet hi ng

ot her t han mer e convent i on and t est i f y t o the si ncer i t y of

t he medi ums descr i pt i ons. I n ut i l i si ng t he Kar deci st

evi dence consi der at i on i s gi ven t o evi dence of si mi l ar

i deas f r om Lat e Ant i qui t y, speci f i cal l y Second Templ e

J udai sm. Far mor e common ar e negat i ve r ef er ences t o bel i ef

i n r ei ncar nat i on i n pat r i st i c aut hor s l i ke August i ne,

Or i gen or J er ome, but t hey ar e Chr i st i an, not J ewi sh,

aut hor s di scussi ng wi t h pagans i mbued wi t h speci f i cal l y

Pyt hagorean i deas and i n a per i od much l ater t han t hat

ascr i bed to most of t he apocal ypt i c out put . The mer e f act

t hat t hese aut hor s di scuss t he i ssue i s i ndi cat i ve t hat

peopl e hel d such bel i ef s and t hi s was a r i sk amongst t hose

t o whom t hey wr ote as wel l .

As a r esul t of t hi s compar i son i t woul d appear t hat

t her e i s some evi dence t o consi der apocal ypt i cpseudepi gr aphy as pot ent i al l y i nvol vi ng mani pul at i on of

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spi r i t s ( of dead past f i gur es such as Bar uch and Ezr a, but

al so of myt hi cal char act er s l i ke Enoch, who di d not di e but

was t aken up t o heaven) , si nce J osephus t est i mony -not wi t hst andi ng i t s i nher ent pr obl ems - cl ear l y ascr i bes

t hi s bel i ef t o a maj or J ewi sh gr oup, t he Phar i sees. I t

shoul d be not ed t hat t he f act t hat r ei ncar nat i on was a

concept i n t he ai r f or l at e Second Templ e J ews makes

pseudepi gr aphy ( whi ch may have i nvol ved the wr i t er

i dent i f yi ng i n some way wi t h a f i gur e of t he past ) a vi abl e

pr oposi t i on, but no mor e t han that . I mmedi at e pr epar at or y

pr act i ces, on t he ot her hand, al t hough pl ent i f ul i n J ewi sh

apocal ypt i c descri pt i ons, do not f or m par t of Kar deci st

t r ai ni ng and can, as such, be di smi ssed as non- mandatory t o

per f or m aut omat i c wr i t i ng i nvol vi ng mani pul at i ng of

spi r i t s . Bot h shor t - and l ong- t er m pr epar at i ons ( i . e.

i mmedi at e pr act i ces and l i f e- l ong t r ai ni ng and absor pt i on

of doct r i ne) pl ay a ver y di f f er ent r ol e i n t he cases of

J ewi sh apocal ypt i c pseudepi graphy and Kar deci st automat i c

wr i t i ng and t hi s i s an i ssue di scussed i n t he appendi x t o

t he t hesi s.

I t st ands out i n most apocal ypses that t he char act er s

under whose name t he r evel at i ons happened ar e descr i bed as

under goi ng pr epar at or y pr ocesses bef or e the vi si ons occur .

Thi s evi dence may be adduced i n suppor t of t hi s t hesi s,

t her ef or e. These descr i pt i ons t ake a hi ghl y ster eot ypi cal

char act er ( e. g. t he sequence of f ast s i n 2Br ) but t hi s

st ereot ypi cal nat ur e does not mean, however , t hat t hey

coul d never have t aken pl ace. Such descr i pt i ons are ver y

much absent f r om Kardeci st usage, however . I t must al so be

st r essed t hat , si nce what changes i s cul t ur e and not

chemi st r y or physi ol ogy, t he same pr epar at or y pr act i ces can

l ead t o ver y di f f er ent r esul t s accor di ng t o t he ment alt ool s t hat t he vi si onar y has at hi s/ her di sposal . Thus a

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Kar deci st medi um such as Chi co Xavi er sees t hi ngs t hat f i t

wel l i n hi s Kar deci st poi nt of vi ew, whi ch i ncl udes t he

mani pul at i ng of spi r i t s i n or der t o pr oduce coher ent t ext sexhor t at i ve t o char i t y et c. , i n Kar deci st f ashi on. The same

r esul t cannot be expect ed f r om myst i cs i n soci et i es wher e

r ei ncar nat i on ( at t he cor e of Kar deci sm) or i nvoki ng of

spi r i t s ar e absent .

I n t he appendi x I di scuss pr epar at or y pr act i ces of

seer s as descr i bed i n apocal ypt i c t ext s.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I n concl udi ng t hi s t ext I must expr ess my deepest

gr at i t ude t o some of t he peopl e i nvol ved, wi t hout whom t hi s

essay woul d ever have been wr i t t en. Fi r st of al l t o Pr of .

Chr i st opher Rowl and f or t aki ng hi s t i me i n hel pi ng wi t h

f ocusi ng on t he essent i al s of t he r esear ch; t o Pr of . Mar t i n

Goodman, f or hi s cr i t i ci sm, at t ent i on t o det ai l and hel p on

t he over al l st r uct ur e and def i ni t i on of t he t heme, as wel l

as much needed suppor t i n t he cour se of t he ant ecedi ng MStdegr ee. I must ext end my gr at i t ude t o Prof . Tessa Raj ak and

Dr . Al i son Sal vesen f or encour agement and advi ce dur i ng t he

i ni t i al phases of t hi s wor k. Ver y speci al t hanks ar e due t o

Pr of s. J ohn J . Col l i ns and St eve Mason, bot h f or t hei r

per sonal suggest i ons as wel l as f or cont i nui ng f r i endshi p

and suppor t .

Br anden Mi l l er , Car l os August o Machado and Ghi nwa

Mamar i di scussed i nf or mal l y many of t he i deas her e

devel oped and Ada Er l i ch hel ped wi t h Hebr ew r ef erences.

Fi ona Wi l kes, l i br ar i an of Wol f son Col l ege, di d mor e t han I

coul d possi bl y have asked f or as di d Andr Zaghet t o, f r om

t he Feder ao Esp r i t a Br asi l ei r a - FEB, i n Br as l i a, i n

sear chi ng, f i ndi ng and sendi ng many di f f i cul t and out - of -

pr i nt t ext s. I must al so t hank my mot her Ter esa Dobr oruka

f or sendi ng many Kar deci st t ext s t hat I woul d ot her wi se

have had a l ot of t r oubl e f i ndi ng. Fl vi a Sat i ko Kobayashi

gave me hel p i n ext r emi s and wi t hout her ai d t he f i nal

deadl i nes woul d not have been met . Ray Shoul der deser ves a

ver y speci al pl ace i n t he acknowl edgement s due t o hi s hel p,

ki ndness and at t ent i on i n t he l ast r evi si ons. Mar i ana

Magal hes al so deser ves t he war mest t hanks f or t ur ni ng

J ungui an dreams t r ue. Wol f son Col l ege was my home

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t hr oughout t he per i od of doct or al st udi es, and i t pr oved t o

me a most congeni al and warm set t i ng: on more t han one

occasi on Wol f son pr ovi ded me wi t h hel p t hr ough di f f i cul t i esof every sort . Thanks are al so due t o CAPES

Bras l i a/ Brazi l .

My wi f e Cec l i a shar ed a gr eat par t of t he bur den t hat

t he r esear ch t ook on bot h of us, and st i l l we had t he gi f t s

of our daught er s J ul i a and I sabel a ami dst al l wor k t hi s

was a bl essi ng i ndeed, so t hi s t hesi s i s dedi cat ed t o t he

t hr ee of t hem.

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PART ONE CROSS- CULTURAL PARALLELS TO VI SI ONARY PROCESSES

I NVOLVI NG THE ASSUMPTI ON OF ANOTHER PERSON S AUTHORI AL

I DENTI TY

Chapt er 2: Aut omat i c wr i t i ng i n moder n- day Kar deci sm

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

1. I nt r oduct or y remarks t o t he chapt er . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 532. Br i ef i nt r oduct i on t o t he devel opment of Br azi l i an

Kar deci sm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

2. 1. A survey of Kardeci st doct r i ne . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 562. 2. Kar deci sm i n Br azi l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

3. Kar deci st pr epar at or y pr act i ces f oraut omat i c wr i t i ng . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

3. 1. Aut omat i c wr i t i ng and medi umshi p t r ai ni ng . . . . . . 663. 2. Prepar at i on and meani ng of aut omat i c wr i t i ng i n

Br azi l i an Kar deci sm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

3. 3. Genr e and per sonal i dent i t y of t he spi r i t ual aut hor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

4. Edi t or i al medi at i on of psychography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 885. Two moder n- day Kar deci st apocal ypses, and how t hei r

al l eged authors are por t rayed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

6. Summar y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Chapt er 3: Kar deci st aut omat i c wr i t i ng i n t he l i ght of

schol ar shi p . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

1. I nt r oduct or y remarks t o t he chapt er . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 972. Aut omat i c wr i t i ng as hypnot i c phenomenon . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

2. 1. Non- myst i cal aut omat i c wr i t i ng . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1062. 2. Wr i t i ngs i n other l anguages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

3. Mul t i pl e- per sonal i t y phenomenaand aut omat i c wr i t i ng . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

4. Automat i c wr i t i ng as possess i on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

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5. Past - l i ves t her apy, hypnosi s and i dent i t y wi t h pastchar act er s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

6. Summar y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

PART TWO APOCALYPTI C PSEUDEPI GRAPHY I N THE LI GHT OF THE

KARDECI ST MATERI AL

Chapt er 4: Rel evance of t he concept of r ei ncar nat i on, i t s

vi abi l i t y i n l at e Second Templ e J udai sm and evi dence f r omChr i st i an aut hor s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

1. I nt r oduct or y r emar ks t o t he chapt er . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1342. Why r ei ncar nat i on and mani pul at i ng of spi r i t s ar e an

i mpor t ant par t of t he argument . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

3. Evi dence f or bel i ef i n r ei ncar nat i on i n Second Templ eJ udai sm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

3. 1. Absence of t he i dea i n t he OTand Rabbi ni c sour ces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

3. 2. Uses of t he concept i n J osephus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1424. Summar y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

Chapt er 5: Aut hor shi p and spi r i t ual wr i t i ng i n Second

Templ e J ewi sh apocal ypt i c and r el at ed t ext s . . . . . . . . . . . 149

1. I nt r oduct or y r emar ks t o t he chapt er . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1492. Su rvey o f chosen passages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

2. 1. Ful l descr i pt i on of t he nar r at or s i dent i t y . . . 1532. 2. Ot her descr i pt i ons of t he

nar r at or s i dent i t y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161

2. 3. Passages wi t h smal l er number of i ndi cat i ons . . . 1642. 4. Al l eged 1st per son passages i n non- apocal ypt i c

pseudepi gr apha . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164

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3. Aut hor shi p of apocal ypt i c t ext s and di vi nemani f est at i ons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169

3. 1. Br i ef di scussi on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1693. 2. Di vi ne i nt er f er ence mani f est i n t he t ext s . . . . . 170

4. Possi bl e evi dence f or aut omat i c wr i t i ng i n t hr ees p e c i f i c a n c i e n t c a s e s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 7 3

4. 1. Wr i t i ngs f r om a deceased pr ophet vi a human hands:t he case of 2Chr 21 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173

4. 2. Text s handed down di r ect l y f r om above: t he Book ofEl chasai . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177

4. 3. Fr aud and sat i r e: wr i t t en i nst r uct i ons f or t heGr eek cr edul ous . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179

5. Summar y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181

Chapt er 6: Consi der at i ons on r el i gi ous pseudepi gr aphy i n

Ant i qui t y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183

1. I nt r oduct or y r emar ks t o t he chapt er . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1832. A survey of chosen names f or

apocal ypt i c pseudepi graphy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

3. Pseudepi graphy and f orgery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1893. 1. Cent r al el ement s t o t he not i on of

l i t er ar y f or ger y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189

3. 2. I nt ent i on of f r aud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1904. Anci ent t est i moni es r egar di ng i ndi vi dual cases of

r el i gi ous pseudepi gr aphy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1944. 1. Ter t ul l i an . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1954. 2. Sal vi an of Mar sei l l es . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196

5. Psychi cal phenomena r el at ed t o pseudepi gr aphy . . . . . . 2006. Aut hor i al ascr i bi ng, or t hodoxy and wi sdom . . . . . . . . . . 2057. Summar y . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209

Chapt er 7: Concl usi on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2111. Summar y and assessment of t he t hesi s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211

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2. Ar gument s suppor t i ve of act ual i dent i f i cat i on bet weenmechani cal wr i t er and apocal ypt i c vi si onar y . . . . . . . . 212

2. 1. Ef f ect s descr i bed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2122. 2. Choosi ng of names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2152. 3. Par al l el s i n ot her i dent i f i cat i on- t ype myst i cal

exper i ences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218

2. 4. Par al l el s i n ot her i dent i f i cat i on- t ype non- myst i calexper i ences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220

2. 5. Unmat chi ng st yl es . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2213. Ar gument s agai nst act ual i dent i f i cat i on bet ween

mechani cal wr i t er and apocal ypt i c vi si onar y . . . . . . . . 223

3. 1. Uncer t ai nt y of t he essent i al l i nk, r ei ncar nat i onand mani pul at i ng of t he dead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223

3. 2. Wei ght of ster eot ypi cal descr i pt i ons . . . . . . . . . . 2253. 3. Weak evi dence pr ovi ded by si mi l ar hypnot i c- l i ke

descr i pt i ons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227

3. 4. Uncer t ai nt y of OT passages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2283. 5. Psychogr aphy i s never i nt ended as decept i on or

conf usi ng evi dence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229

4. Fi nal r emar ks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232

Appendi x: Vi si onar y pr act i ces i n Ol d Test ament and

pseudepi gr aphi cal apocal ypses and r el at ed t ext s . . . . . . . 235

1. Su rvey o f chosen passages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2362. Pr epar at or y pr ocesses f r om t he seer s

poi nt of vi ew . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248

2. 1. I nduct i on t echni ques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2492. 2. Sensor y det ai l s i n pr epar at or y t echni ques . . . . . 2532. 3. St r ange behavi our and af t er - ef f ect s . . . . . . . . . . . 2582. 4. Chemi cal i nduct i on of vi si onar y exper i ences . . . 267

2. 4. 1. The nature of st or i es about chemi cali nducement i n 4Ezr a . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267

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2. 4. 2. Per si an par al l el s r egar di ng chemi cal l y i nducedal t er ed stat es of consci ousness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277

2. 4. 3. Concl usi on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2853. Vi si onar y exper i ence, sel f - hypnosi s and pur i t y i n 3

Enoch and r el at ed l i t er at ur e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302

4. The st udy of Scr i pt ure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3084. 1. Vi si onar y exper i ence and mar t yr dom . . . . . . . . . . . . 3084. 2. Vi s i onar y exper i ence as sel f - cont r ol . . . . . . . . . . 310

BI BLI OGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318

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LI ST OF ABBREVI ATI ONS

1En - Et hi opi c Book of Enoch

2Br - Syr i ac Apocal ypse of Baruch

2En - Sl avoni c Book of Enoch

3Br - Gr eek Apocal ypse of Baruch

3En - Hebr ew Book of Enoch

4Br - Four t h Book of Baruch

4Ezr a - Four t h Book of Ezr a

AAASH - Act a Ant i qua Academi ae Sci ent i arum Hungar i caeAI - Act a I r ani ca

AJ - J osephus, Ant i qui t at es J udai cor um

AJ CH - Amer i canJ ournal of Cl i ni cal Hypnosi s

AJ CHH - Aust r al i an J our nal of Cl i ni cal Hypnot her apy and

Hypnosi s

AJ T - Amer i can J our nal of Theol ogy

AMI - Ar chol ogi sche Mi t t ei l ungen aus I r an

AMWNE - HELLHOLM, Dani el ( ed. ) . Apocal ypt i ci sm i n the

Medi t err anean Wor l d and t he Near East : Proceedi ngs of t he

I nt er nat i onal Col l oqui um on Apocal ypt i ci sm, Uppsal a,

August 12- 17, 1979. Tbi ngen: Mohr , 1983.

ANF - ROBERTS, Al exander and DONALDSON, J ames ( eds. ) . The

Ant e- Ni cene Fat her s. Tr ansl at i ons of t he Wr i t i ngs of t he

Fathers down t o A. D. 325. Edi nbur gh / Gr and Rapi ds: T & T

Cl ark / Eerdmans, 1989.

ApAbr - Apocal ypse of Abr aham

ApEl - Copt i c Apocal ypse of El i j ah

ApMos - Apocal ypse of Moses

ApSed - Apocal ypse of Sedr ach

ASC - al t er ed st at e of consci ousness

ATR - Angl i can Theol ogi cal Revi ew

Bi b. - Bi bl i ca

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BJ - J osephus, Bel l um J udai cum

BJ P - Br i t i sh J our nal of Psychol ogy

BM - K ARDEC, Al l an. O l i vr o dos mdi uns (The Book ofMedi ums) .

BN - Bi bl i sche Not i zen

BSOAS - Bul l et i n of t he School of Or i ent al and Af r i can

St udi es

CA - J osephus, Cont r a Api onem

CBQ - Cat hol i c Bi bl i cal Quar t er l y

DNS - Di seases of t he Ner vous Syst em

EA - Ex Audi t u

EI - Encycl opedi a of I sl am

EPS - Encycl opaedi a of Psychi c Sci ence

ET - Exposi t or y Ti mes

FE - Fol ha Esp r i t a

FPP - f ant asy- pr one per sonal i t y

Gr Ezr a - Gr eek Apocal ypse of Ezr a

HTR - Har var d Theol ogi cal Revi ew

I J CEH - I nt er nat i onal J our nal of Cl i ni cal and Exper i ment al

Hypnosi s

I nt . - I nt er pr et at i on

J AI H - J ournal of t he Amer i can I nst i t ut e of Hypnosi s

J AP - J ournal of Abnor mal Psychi at r y

J ASP - J ournal of Abnor mal and Soci al Psychol ogy

J ASPR - J ournal of t he Amer i can Soci et y f or Psychi calResear ch

J BL - J ournal of Bi bl i cal Li t er at ure

J CEH - J ournal of Cl i ni cal and Exper i mental Hypnosi s

J GP - J ournal of Genet i c Psychol ogy

J HBS - J ournal of t he Hi st or y of t he Behavi or al Sci ences

J HS - J ournal of Hel l eni c St udi es

J MI - J ournal of Mental I mager yJ NMD - J ournal of Ner vous and Mental Di sease

xvi i


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J SP - J ournal f or t he St udy of t he Pseudepi grapha

J SPR - J ournal of t he Soci et y f or Psychi cal Resear ch

J TD - J ournal of Tr auma and Di ssoci at i onJ TS - J ournal of Theol ogi cal St udi es

MI FAN - Memoi r es de l I nst i t ut Franai s d Af r i que Noi r e

Mnem. - Mnemosyne

NT- Novum Test amentum

NTP - SCHNEEMELCHER, Wi l hel m ( ed. ) . New Test ament Apocr ypha.

Vol . 2. London: Lut t er wor t h Pr ess, 1965.

NTS - New Test ament St udi es

OTP - CHARLESWORTH, J ames ( ed. ) . The Ol d Test ament

Pseudepi gr apha. New Yor k: Doubl eday, 2 vol umes. 1983-

1985;

PP - Pr of essi onal Psychol ogy: Resear ch and Pr act i ce

PQ - Psychoanal yt i cal Quar t er l y

PQS - Psychi at r i c Quar t er l y Suppl ement

PR - Psychol ogi cal Revi ew

PSPR - Pr oceedi ngs of t he Soci et y f or Psychi cal Resear ch

Pseud. I - VON FRI TZ, Kur t ( ed. ) . Pseudepi gr apha I : hui t

exposs sui vi s de di scussi ons. Vandouvr es- Genve:

Fondat i on Hardt , 1972.

PsyR. - Psychol ogy Revi ew

PT - possessi onal t r ance

RS - Rel i gi o e soci edade

SBE - MLLER, Max ( ed. ) . The Sacr ed Books of t he East .SJ T - Scot t i sh J our nal of Theol ogy

SR - Spi r i t i st Revi ew

T - t r ance

TB - Tyndal e Bul l et i n

Test 12 - Test ament of t he Twel ve Pat r i ar chs

Test Abr - Test ament of Abraham

Th. - Themel i os

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TPAPA - Tr ansact i ons and Pr oceedi ngs of t he Amer i can

Phi l ol ogi cal Associ at i on

V - J osephus, Vi taZDMG - Zei t schr i f t der Deut schen Mor genl ndi schen

Gesel l schaf t

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CHAPTER 1 - I NTRODUCTI ON

The ai m and pur pose of t hi s t hesi s i s t o di scuss

apocal ypt i c pseudepi gr aphy as r el at ed t o a myst i c

exper i ence of possessi on; i n shor t , t o di scuss t he i dea

t hat t he pseudonymous aut hor shi p of most apocal ypses may be

i n some way r el at ed t o t he myst i cal exper i ences descr i bed

i n them.

Thi s i nt r oduct i on f ocuses on t hree mai n subj ect s,

namel y a t heor et i cal di scussi on of t he need f or t he cr oss-

cul t ur al anal ysi s such as t he one pr oposed ( as wel l as i t s

l i mi t at i ons) , some t hought s on t he t er mi nol ogy t o be used

her eaf t er as r el at ed t o t he psychol ogi cal pr ocesses

i nvol ved i n t he myst i cal phenomena t o be anal yzed and an

eval uat i on of schol ar shi p r el at ed t o t he theme.

So i t i s my ai m t o deal wi t h t he st udy of

pseudepi gr aphi cal pr act i ces as r el at ed t o t he l i t er at ur eabove def i ned; onl y secondar i l y i s i t r el at ed t o t he t ext s

i n t hei r or i gi nal l anguage. I t i s not my i nt ent i on t o

engage i n t r ansl at i on f or i t s own sake: wher e necessary

comment wi l l be gi ven by means of checki ng t r ansl at i ons

accept ed and r enown t hr oughout t he schol al y communi t y.

My i nt er est i n t he t opi c above r ose not so much as a

per sonal wi sh t o st udy t heor et i cal i ssues r el at ed t oal t er ed st at es of consci ousness ( ASC, f r om now onwar ds) but

mor e as a l ong- t erm desi r e to come cl oser t o t he peopl e who

pr oduced t hese t ext s. Al t hough t he l i t er ar y cor pus

pr eserved i s bi g enough, we know ver y l i t t l e about t he

per sons behi nd t he t ext s and, by extensi on, of t he myst i cal

exper i ences t hat may l i e behi nd the apocal ypses even when

dat i ng i s rel at i vel y st r ai ght f or war d, as i t occur s i n t he

book of Dani el . Thi s can be par t of our gener al i gnor ance

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about r eader s and books i n Ant i qui t y, but , i f pur sued as an

i ndependent t heme coul d l ead us t o a bet t er underst andi ng

of t he wor l d of J udai sm i n l at e Second Templ e Per i od, and,by ext ensi on, of t he wor l d J esus knew and where

Chr i st i ani t y was bor n.

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1. Nat ur e and pur pose of cr oss- cul t ur al st udi es i n

Bi bl i cal schol ar shi p

A f i r st and maj or di f f i cul t y ar i ses i n def i ni ng whet her

t he ecst at i c pr act i ces descr i bed i n our sour ces ar e genui ne

pr ocesses or j ust l i t er ar y t opoi . I f t hi s coul d be def i ned

as t r ue or f al se wi t h any degr ee of cer t ai nt y, a bi g par t

of t he pr obl em di scussed i n t hi s t hesi s woul d be sol ved

bef or ehand; unf or t unat el y t he evi dence avai l abl e wi l l not

pr ovi de any def i ni t e answer .Thus, i n t he absence of cont emporar y and geneal ogi cal l y

l i nked evi dence t o suppor t any concl usi on r egar di ng t he

aut hent i ci t y of t he apocal ypt i ci st s pr acti ces, I pr opose

i nst ead t o t ur n t o a st r uct ur al appr oach i . e. t he

i nvest i gat i on of si mi l ar pat t er ns of myst i cal behavi our i n

soci et i es non- di r ectl y r el at ed t o J udai sm of t he def i ned

per i od, but on whi ch we have enough cl ear i nf ormat i on to

dr aw on par al l el s or di ver gences. Or put i n an even si mpl er

way, we shoul d t r y t o at t ai n some degr ee of gener al i zat i on

by means of compar i ng si mi l ar phenomena: t hi s can be done

r egar di ng hi st or i cal l y rel at ed soci et i es ( geneal ogi cal

appr oach, when di r ect borr owi ng i s demonst r abl e) or non-

r el at ed ones ( st r uct ur al ) 1.

I n t hi s r espect , t he at t empt her e pr oposed i s not by

any means new: al r eady i n t he 19t h cent ur y Fr anz Boas coul d

t heor i ze on i t , al t hough wi t h a somewhat evol ut i oni st bi as

( due t o t he under l yi ng assumpt i on t hat , human soci et i es

havi ng devel oped everywher e wi t h so many common t r aces, t he

same et hni c phenomena woul d be obser ved ever ywhere wi t h

1

Wi l l i am A. Lessa and Evon Z. Vogt ( eds. ) . Reader i n Compar at i veRel i gi on: An Ant hr opol ogi cal Appr oach. Evanston: Row, Pet erson, 1958.P. 4.

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mi nor di f f er ences i n shape) 2. However , besi des t he dubi ous

assumpt i on t hat t he above shoul d be t r ue, we ar e not

deal i ng wi t h t he same et hni c phenomena here, but r athert r yi ng t o obser ve i f si mi l ar psychol ogi cal pr ocesses ar e at

wor k and coul d t hus pr ovi de us wi t h i nsi ght s r egar di ng

Second Templ e myst i cs. Obvi ousl y, si nce t hi s i s not a wor k

on psychol ogy, i t shoul d pr ovi de onl y some t ool s t o hel p

anal ysi s i n i ndi vi dual ar eas, namel y those wher e speci f i c

di f f er ences must not be ascr i bed t o di f f er ent cul t ur al

backgr ounds bet ween i ndi vi dual s or gr oups. Besi des, as Boas

al r eady knew, i t woul d be r eal l y unwi se to ascr i be

i dent i cal consequences t o si mi l ar causes when deal i ng wi t h

cul t ur al mat er i al 3; t her e ar e many cases of non- r el at ed

soci et i es whi ch di spl ay t he same condi t i ons f or t he r i si ng

of pr ophet i c or apocal ypt i c movement s, and nonethel ess such

movement s woul d not t ake pl ace i n some of t hem4.

I mpor t ant moder n cr oss- cul t ur al compar i sons i n t he

st udy of r el i gi ons i ncl ude t hose of J ohn Asht on, who used

i t r egar di ng Paul s shamani st i c f eat ur es5, and Thomas

Over hol t , who t r i ed t he same thi ng i n or der t o under st and

pr ophet i sm i n par al l el t o Nat i ve Amer i can r el i gi ons6, t o

name but t wo f amous exampl es. I n t he case of Paul i t can

st i l l be ar gued t hat shamani sm coul d be echoed t o hi m vi a

Gr eek f i r st - hand knowl edge ( i . e. t he st r uct ur al appr oach

coul d l ead t o a geneal ogi cal l i nk) ; evi dent l y t he same

2 Fr anz Boas. The l i mi t at i ons of t he comparat i ve method ofAnt hr opol ogy ( 1896) i n: Fr anz Boas. Race, Language and Cul t ure.Chi cago: Uni ver si t y of Chi cago Press, 1982.3 I dempp. 273- 275.4 Rober t Wi l son. The pr obl ems of descr i bi ng and def i ni ng apocal ypt i cdi scour se i n: Semei a 2, 1981.5The Rel i gi on of Paul t he Apost l e. New Haven / London: Yal e Uni ver si t yPress, 2000.6 Thomas Overhol t . Prophecy i n Cr oss- Cul t ur al Per spect i ve: A Sour cebook

f or Bi bl i cal Resear cher s. At l ant a: Schol ar s Press, 1986. Thi s pr ovedt o be a ver y i mpor t ant work, especi al l y r egardi ng methodol ogi calconsi der at i ons.

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cannot be sai d of Amer i can nat i ve cul t s. West on La Bar r e

di d t he same t hi ng usi ng t he Si oux Ghost Dance r el i gi on as

a model f or under st andi ng Chr i st i ani t y7

.Per haps t he most f amous r ecent at t empt t o el uci dat e

anci ent ment al pr ocesses by means of cr oss- cul t ur al

pr ocesses i s t hat of Mi l man Par r y compar i ng Serbi an or al

epi c composi t i ons i n t he begi nni ng of t he 20t h cent ur y to

Homer i c poet r y; al t hough chal l enged i n more r ecent t i mes i t

was a not ewor t hy ef f or t i n a f i el d wher e, l i ke our s,

i nt er nal evi dence had l ong yi el ded what ever coul d be

consi der ed usef ul t o el uci dat e psychol ogi cal ( i n t hi s case,

mnemoni cal ) processes 8. A l ong l i st of si mi l ar wor ks coul d

be pr oduced her e but t hi s woul d t ake us f ar away f r om our

obj ect of st udy9.

The mai n i dea under l yi ng al l cr oss - cul t ur al st udi es

l i ke t he ones ment i oned above ( and al so thi s t hesi s) i s

t hat si mi l ar soci al , hi st or i cal or economi cal ci r cumst ances

shoul d pr oduce si mi l ar but not i dent i cal r esul t s, as sai d

above: t hi s means t hat , whi l e t here ar e many gaps i n our

under st andi ng of , say, peasant J udaea i n t he f i r st - cent ur y,

t hese coul d be at l east par t i al l y f i l l ed by means of

compar i son wi t h ot her bet t er - known, more recent ( or even

7 An ef f ort whi ch came t o t he somewhat curi ous concl usi on t hatChr i st i ani t y i s t he st i l l cogni t i vel y t r oubl ed and i mper f ectl y mel dedHel l eni st i c ghost dances of t he Hel l eni c and Semi t i c peopl es crushed

by Rome. The Ghost Dance: Or i gi ns of Rel i gi on. London: Al l en andUnwi n, 1972. P. 254.8 Adam Par r y ( ed. ) The Maki ng of Homer i c Ver se: The Col l ect ed Paper s ofMi l man Par r y. Oxf or d: Oxf or d Uni ver si t y Pr ess, 1987; Moses Fi nl ey. TheWor l d of Odysseus. London: Chat t o & Wi ndus, 1956.9 Mi r cea El i ade. Pat t er ns i n Compar at i ve Rel i gi on: London: Sheed &Ward, 1958; Adol f Dei smann. Li ght f r om t he Anci ent East : t he NewTest ament I l l ust r at ed by Recent l y Di scovered Text s of t he Gr aeco- RomanWor l d. London: Hodder and St oughton, 1927. Notewort hy are al so Kei t hThomas use of anthropol ogy t o st udy Engl i sh wi t chcr af t i n t he t i me ofRef or mat i on and Tessa Raj ak s compar i son of pol i t i cal upheaval i nf i r st - cent ur y J udaea wi t h t he Engl i sh Revol ut i on. I t shoul d be not edt hat ant hr opol ogi st s of t en go the ot her way round, i . e. t ur ni ng t o

Bi bl i cal st udi es i n or der t o under st and t hei r own obj ect s ( cf . Rober tCul l ey, Anthropol ogy and t he Ol d Test ament : an i nt r oduct ory comment i n: Semei a 21, 1981) .

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cont emporary) soci et i es. A good exampl e woul d be t he

ar t i cl e by Shi mon Appl ebaum wher e t he aut hor t r i es t o

devel op hi s i nsi ght s i nt o t he economi c si t uat i on of f i r st -cent ur y J udaea l ooki ng at Br azi l i an mi l l enar i an movement s

f r om t he begi nni ng of t he 20t h cent ur y10. By l ooki ng at

what we know wi t h more detai l , and by means of est abl i shi ng

r easonabl e par al l el s, we may come to know mor e about a

t heme shr ouded i n doubt such as t he pur poses and nat ur e of

apocal ypt i c pseudepi gr aphy i n l ate Second Templ e J udai sm11.

One must be on guard, however , agai nst sel ect i ve

descr i pt i on chosen i n t he sour ces t o be eval uat ed unl ess

one i s t o f orce the evi dence i nt o pr e- arr anged schemes and

t hen f i nd, sur pr i si ngl y, t hat bot h ends do i ndeed meet 12.

On t he ot her hand, a gr eat deal of r ecent schol ar shi p on

t he subj ect, st i l l i ndebt ed t o f or m- cri t i cal st udi es

( r emarkabl e i n more than one aspect , i t must be sai d) comes

t o a dead- end i n many t hemes ( e. g. t he r el at i onshi p bet ween

ecst at i c means and r at i onal cont ent i n cl assi cal pr ophecy,

or between pr ophet s and soci ety) 13; cr oss- cul t ur al st udi es

shoul d, i n my vi ew, onl y be used i n t he absence of more

compl et e dat a t o al l ow concl usi ons of t he geneal ogi cal

t ype.

The cr oss - cul t ural anal ysi s pr oposed here r egar ds t he

possi bi l i t y t hat pseudonymous aut horshi p be somet hi ng el se

ot her t han mer e f r aud or st yl i st i c devi ce and, as such,

under st andabl e i n t he l i ght of t he cont empor ar y, appar ent l y

10 J osephus and t he economi c causes of t he J ewi sh War i n: Loui sFel dman and Gohei Hata ( eds. ) . J osephus, t he Bi bl e, and Hi st ory:Det r oi t : Wayne St at e Uni ver si t y Press, 1989. P. 257.11 Such i s t he expl i ci t i nt ent i on of Wi l son i n Prophecy and Soci ety i nAnci ent I sr ael . Phi l adel phi a: For t r ess Pr ess, 1980, whi l e st udyi nganother eni gmat i c subj ect , t he rel at i on bet ween pr ophecy and soci et yi n Anci ent I srael .12

Br uce Met zger . Consi derat i ons of met hodol ogy i n the study of t hemyster y r el i gi ons and ear l y Chr i st i ani t y, HTR 48, 1955. Pp. 8- 9.13 Wi l son, Prophecy and ecst asy: a r eexami nat i on, p. 322 f f .

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si mi l ar phenomenon of Kar deci st aut omat i c wr i t i ng

( psychogr aphy) .

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2. Ter mi nol ogy and def i ni t i ons

Si nce most of t he t er ms used i n t he di scussi on of t he

phenomena come or i gi nal l y f r om t he f i el d of psychol ogi cal

st udi es, a br i ef summar y of def i ni t i ons, t er ms and concept s

shoul d be gi ven here.

2. 1. Al t er ed st at es of consci ousness

Al t er ed st at e of consci ousness i s a br oad t er m whi ch

compr i ses al l t he st at es of mi nd di scussed i n t hi s wor k andgoes f ar beyond ( i . e. ASCs are al so t o be f ound i n non-

r el i gi ous envi r onment s, or i n subj ect s not i nvol ved wi t h

r el i gi ous exper i ence) . On t he ot her hand, when t he schol ar

comes t o deal wi t h speci f i c t er mi nol ogy ( such as t r ance,

ecst asy, possessi on and so on) t her e i s no agr eement

bet ween t he speci al i st s as t o t hei r meani ng; t he l i st of

possi bl e def i ni t i ons f or t hese t er ms woul d be endl ess. I

have t r i ed t o of f er oper at i ve def i ni t i ons t hat ar e, of

cour se, based on t he speci f i c l i t er at ur e but at t he same

t i me avoi di ng cont r over si es t hat ar e, f or our pur poses,

unnecessary.

A usef ul st ar t i ng poi nt f or a def i ni t i on of ASC i s

pr oposed by Ludwi g - an ASC ( of whi ch ecst asy i s but a

par t i cul ar case) can be def i ned as any st at e that i s

i nduced by physi ol ogi cal , psychol ogi cal or phar macol ogi cal

agent s; t hey ar e al so st at es of mi nd t hat can be i dent i f i ed

by t he sel f or by an ext er nal obser ver r epr esent i ng a cl ear

devi at i on i n t er ms of t he subj ect i ve exper i ence of t he

psychol ogi cal wor ki ng as r el at ed t o gener al nor ms, di ct at ed

by t he subj ect i ve exper i ence of t hi s same i ndi vi dual whi l e

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awake14. Thi s i s a ver y br oad def i ni t i on; mor e st r i ctl y,

t he ecst at i c phenomenon can be underst ood as an al t erat i on

of man s ment al act i vi t y, wi t h r el evant consequences f orhi s i nt er pr et at i on of sel f and r eal i t y15. I n shor t , ASCs

compr i se al l t he phenomena descr i bed bel ow and ar e not

necessar i l y r el at ed t o r el i gi ous exper i ence acti vi t i es as

di f f er ent as oi l pai nt i ng and r adar oper at i ng have been

l i nked t o ASCs by i t s par t i ci pant s.

2. 2. Ecst asy

A moder n def i ni t i on of ecst asy pr ovi ded by a recent

wor k i s that i t i s , st r i ct l y, a t r ancel i ke stat e of

pr of ound emot i onal i t y i n whi ch awar eness i s l i mi t ed t o t he

obj ect of cont empl at i on. Al so l oosel y used t o ref er t o any

exal t ed st at e of emot i on 16. I n an extensi on of i t s meani ng

i n Gr eek, ecst asy def i nes a f r ame of mi nd wher e t he sel f

i s no l onger conf i ned t o i t s physi cal l i mi t at i ons ( t hi s

bei ng a r equi r ed condi t i on f or ot her wor l dl y j our neys such

as t he one descr i bed on 3En) 17. By compar i son t r ance, t o

whi ch i t i s r el at ed, can be def i ned as a stat e of pr of ound

absor pt i on f r equent l y accompani ed by vocal and motor

aut omat i sms t hat i n some cont ext s are i nt erpr eted as si gns

of spi r i t possessi on 18.

2. 3. Possessi on

Possessi on, i n cont r ast t o al l ot her t er ms def i ned

her e, i s not a psychol ogi cal or cl i ni cal t er m i n or i gi n,

but r at her a cul t ur al expl anat i on gi ven t o an ASC, namel y

14 Ar nol d Ludwi g. Al t er ed st at es of consci ousness i n: Char l es Tar t( ed. ) . Al t er ed St at es of Consci ousness. San Franci sco: Har per, 1990.15 I d. i bi d.16 Davi d Wul f f . Psychol ogy of Rel i gi on: Cl assi c and Cont emporar y Vi ews.

New Yor k: Chi chest er / Wi l ey, 1991. G- 8.17 Hol m, op. ci t . p. 7.18 Wul f f , op. ci t . G- 30.

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t o a ki nd of t r ance ( possessi onal t r ance or si mpl y PT) 19.

Much of cont emporary di scussi on on t he subj ect i s owed t o

t he except i onal wor k of Oest err ei ch, whi ch however goesf ur t her i n t r yi ng t o pr ovi de expl anat i ons f or t he

phenomenon20. As a st ar t i ng poi nt i t must be sai d t hat

possessi on i s a cul t ur al expl anat i on gi ven t o a

di ssoci at i ve st at e, whi ch i s expl ai ned by means of a human,

ani mal or super nat ur al ent i t y ent er i ng t he body of t he

possessed and t aki ng hol d, i n par t or whol e, of hi s / her

mi nd.

2. 4. Aut omat i sms

Fi nal l y, a l ast keywor d f or our i nvest i gat i on i s

aut omat i sm ( of whi ch t he phenomena t o be anal yzed i n

chapt er 1 ar e but a par t i cul ar case) , whi ch const i t ut es, i n

a psychol ogi st s vi ew, act i ons t hat ar e car r i ed out

wi t hout awar eness or at l east wi t hout t he at t ent i on t hat i s

usual l y r equi r ed f or t hei r successf ul per f or mance 21. Not

ever y aut omat i sm i s as spect acul ar as aut omat i c wr i t i ng: a

gr eat deal of aut omat i c act i vi t y i s car r i ed out by ever y

per son on a cont i nuous basi s, wi t hout any myst i cal

i mpl i cat i on22.

19 Er i ka Bour gui gnon ( ed. ) Rel i gi on, Al t er ed St at es of Consci ousnessand Soci al Change. Col umbus: Ohi o St at e Uni ver si t y Pr ess, 1973. P. 13.20 Possessi on, Demoni acal and Ot her: Among Pr i mi t i ve Races i nAnt i qui t y, t he Mi ddl e Ages, and Modern Ti mes. Seacaucus: Uni ver si t yBooks, 1966. P. 65 f f . Oest er r ei ch s gr oundbr eaki ng book i s r emar kabl e,among other t hi ngs, f or not di smi ssi ng possessi onal phenomena as f al sebut r at her as havi ng an obj ect i ve expl anat i on ( al t hough not spi r i t ualcauses) .21 Wul f f , op. ci t . G- 3.22

Oester r ei ch, op. ci t . 45. A ver y common var i at i on of t hi s phenomenonwoul d be the i nt ernal voi ce t hat keeps a di al ogue wi t h every per sonas i f i t wer e a di st i nct par t of t he sel f or even a di f f er ent per son.

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Si nce aut omat i c wr i t i ng i s al so a di ssoci at i ve

phenomenon, i t has accordi ngl y been r el ated t o possessi on

and t o mul t i pl e per sonal i t i es by schol ar s23

.

2. 5. Hypnosi s

Al t hough t here i s no unani mous concl usi on among

schol ar s about t he r ol e pl ayed by hypnosi s i n possessi on,

di ssoci at i on and aut omat i c wr i t i ng, t he maj or i t y of

schol ar s woul d l i nk bot h i ssues. A br i ef def i ni t i on of

hypnosi s can ci r cumscr i be i t as an ASC char act er i zed by

cer t ai n physi ol ogi cal at t r i but es ( such as l ower bl ood

pr essur e, i ncr ease i n suggest i bi l i t y and enhanced access t o

unconsci ous f eel i ngs and i deas) 24. Hypnot i c phenomena can

be descr i bed as nat ur al behavi or al and exper i ent i al

mani f est at i ons of t he t r ance st at e 25.

The way hypnosi s has been r egar ded as sci ent i f i cal l y

accept abl e or di smi ssed as char l at ani sm has swung back and

f or t h over t he l ast cent ur i es. I t must be sai d, however ,

t hat i t s cl i ni cal appl i cat i ons ( and by ext ensi on, i t s

credi bi l i t y i n ot her sect or s of i nvest i gat i on) have had an

ever - gr owi ng use si nce the huge exper i ment al and

t heor et i cal wor k of Er i ckson i n t he 1930 s. But whi l e

psychol ogi st s of f er f i ne wor ki ng def i ni t i ons of hypnosi s,

when we come to compar i son bet ween cl i ni cal uses and

Kar deci st aut omat i c wr i t i ng si mi l ar i t i es cease.

23 E. g. Ani t a Mhl . Aut omat i c wr i t i ng as an i ndi cat i on of t hef undament al f act or s under l yi ng the per sonal i t y, J AP 17, 1922; Phi l i pL. Harr i man. The exper i ment al product i on of some phenomena rel ated t ot he mul t i pl e per sonal i t y, J ASP 37, 1942; Br i an Ear l e and Fr eder i ck W.Theye, Aut omat i c wr i t i ng as a psychi at r i c probl em, PQS 42( 2) , 1968.24 J ohn Edget t e and J anet - Sasson Edget t e. The Handbook of Hypnot i c

Phenomena i n Psychot herapy. Phi l adel phi a: Br unner / Mazel , I nc, 1995.Pp. 3- 4.25 I dem, p. 12.

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3. Aut omat i c wr i t i ng and ecst at i c pr act i ces i n

r ecent schol ar shi p

Aut omat i c wr i t i ng can t hus be consi der ed a par t i cul ar

ecst at i c st at e ( an ASC) whose mai n char act er i st i c i s t he

out put of a wr i t t en r ecor d of some ki nd, whet her of

myst i cal nat ur e or not ; onl y t he f or mer i nt er est s us her e.

One must al so bear i n mi nd t he ext r eme var i et y and

geogr aphi cal di st r i but i on of ASCs t hr oughout t he wor l d;

evi dent l y, t he f uncti on t hey f ul f i l l i nsi de each soci et y( not t o ment i on how t hey ar e deal t wi t h by i ndi vi dual s)

var i es i mmensel y26. Thi s assur es us t hat we ar e deal i ng

wi t h compar abl e phenomena, but by no means enf or ces t hat

t hey ar e i dent i cal i n f or m or cont ent .

I n t hi s r espect t he ant hr opol ogi cal or soci ol ogi cal

appr oach t o t he vi si onar y exper i ences depi ct ed i s mor e

mi ndf ul of t he subj ect s i nvol ved t han t he psychol ogi cal /

psychi at r i c appr oaches, whi ch ar e of t en pl ai nl y

evol ut i onar y or gr ossl y schemat i c as we can see i n the 20t h

cent ur y works such as t hose of Achel i s27, Beck28 and

Voi pi o29. A r emar kabl e wor k on t he f i el d of anal ysi s of

ecst at i c pr act i ces, i n t er ms of psychi at r y, was compl et ed

by Thomas Andrae i n 192630, t he aut hor t aki ng car e t o st at e

t hat we shoul d not consi der ecst asy as any more pr i mi t i ve

t han ot her ment al f unct i ons such as r easoni ng or wi l l .

26 Bour gui gnon, op. ci t . p. 3. The aut hor conduct ed a f amous r esear ch i nt he begi nni ng of t he 70s t hat came t o t he st agger i ng r esul t t hat , f r om488 di f f er ent soci et i es observed ar ound the wor l d, 437, or 90%, hadsome ki nd of ASC i nduci ng pr act i ce as par t of t hei r cul t ur al mi l i eu.27 Di e Ekstase i n i hr er kul t ur el l en Bedeut ung, p. 18. Ci t . by Hol m,op. c i t . p. 11.28 Di e Ekst ase, p. 50. Ci t . by Hol m, op. ci t . p. 11.29 Aar ni Voi pi o. Sl eepi ng Pr eacher s, a St udy i n Ecstati c Rel i gi osi t y.Hel si nki : Suomal ai nen Ti edeakatemi a, 1951. The aut hor r el ates sl eepi ngt r ances t o hyst er i a. Usef ul compar i sons can be f ound i n Car l o

Gi nzburg. Ecst asi es: Deci pheri ng t he Wi t ches Sabbath. London:Hutchi nson Radi us, 1990.30 Myst i kens psykol ogi . Ci t . by Hol m, op. ci t . pp. 11- 12.

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I t i s not ewor t hy t hat t he pi ct ur es pr esent ed by Second

Templ e seer s as product of t hei r exper i ences ar e hi ghl y

det ai l ed and coul d be r at i onal l y appr ehended by any personwho knows t he l anguages of t he vi si onar y t ext s ( esoter i c

and hi dden si gni f i cance woul d const i t ut e a second l ayer of

meani ng t hat does not concer n us her e) , as di f f er ent f r om

r el at ed phenomena l i ke gl ossol al i a where a shar ed knowl edge

of ski l l bet ween t he myst i c and sur r oundi ng peopl e i s

assumed31. Even more r emar kabl e i s t he f act t hat a concept

of hi st ory such as t he one shar ed by di ver se men l i ke

J osephus, t he authors of Dani el and of 4Ezr a, can be so

si mi l ar despi t e t he ver y di f f er ent means of each man t o

r each t he concept . Thi s means t hat t her e i s no l i mi t t o t he

i nt er act i on bet ween er udi t e and popul ar mat er i al i n t he

sour ces avai l abl e to us, and t hat t he bor der s bet ween

consci ous, erudi t e knowl edge and popul ar l or e ar e qui t e

f l ui d, as t he means t o acqui r e t hem can al so be.

I woul d l i ke t o st r ess t hat , even i f t he exper i ences

descr i bed by t he seer s wer e compl et el y f r audul ent , t hey

coul d, i n t heor y, be under st ood i n t er ms of st r uct ur al

( i . e. soci o- ant hr opol ogi cal or psychi at r i c) anal ysi s of

ASCs, t hi s bei ng ar guabl y a st r ong poi nt i n f avour of t hei r

aut hent i ci t y. Besi des, bei ng t he ecst at i c exper i ences

pot ent i al l y har mf ul 32, t hey shoul d occur i nsi de

i nst i t ut i onal i zed f r amewor ks33 - r ef er r i ng us agai n t o t he

31 Fel i ci t as D. Goodman, Speaki ng i n Tongues. A Cr oss- Cul t ur al St udy ofGl ossol al i a. Chi cago / London: Uni ver si t y of Chi cago Pr ess, 1972. P. 8.32 Cf . t he i nt r oduct i on t o t he t ext of 3En by Andersen, OTP 1, p. 233and I t hamar Gr uenwal d. Apocal ypt i c and Merkavah Myst i ci sm. Lei den:Bri l l , 1980.33 Thus Sar bi n and Al l en i nt r oduced a scal e t o measur e the i nt ensi t yof t he ecstat i c f act or i nvol ved i n each case- st udy, var yi ng f r om 0 ( noecst at i c i nvol vement ) t o 7 ( bewi t chment ) , ecst asi es bei ng nor mal l ygr aded by t hem at 6; dogmat i c as i t may seem, i t has t he vi r t ue of

r ecogni zi ng t he pot ent i al har m of ecst at i c pr acti ces and, byext ensi on, t hei r aut hent i ci t y. Cf . Theodor e Sar bi n. Rol e t heor y i n:Gar dner Li ndzey and El l i ot Ar onson (eds. ) . The Handbook of Soci al

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di scussi on of t he exper i ences as l i t er ar y t opoi , f r audul ent

or not , but anyway t he need f or soci al per f or mance and

cont r ol of t he vi si onar y exper i ences i s wi despr ead34

.

Psychol ogy. Readi ng, Mass / London: Addi son- Wesl ey, 1968. Ci t . byHol m, op. ci t . p. 18.34

Wi l son, Pr ophecy and ecst asy: a r eexami nat i on, p. 326. A poi nt mustbe made her e r egardi ng t he r el at i ve l onel i ness of t he apocal ypt i c seeras compared t o hi s pr ophet i c count erpart .

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4. The meani ng of pseudepi gr aphy

The i dea of a t ext si gned by someone ot her t han i t s

r eal ( i . e. mechani cal ) wr i t er i s usual l y associ at ed wi t h

f r aud, bot h f or moder n cases as wel l as f or anci ent ones.

However , i n t hi s t hesi s we are deal i ng wi t h phenomena

t hat , al t hough ext er nal l y bei ng aki n t o f r audul ent

pseudepi gr aphy, may be somet hi ng di f f erent si nce i t appears

i n t ext s st r ewn wi t h r ef er ences t o vi si onar y exper i ences,

t o whi ch pseudepi gr aphy may or may not be r el ated. I n t hecase of anci ent Second Templ e t ext s t he not i on of

pseudepi gr aphy i s much more compl i cat ed t han our s i n t he

moder n wor l d, and usual l y i nvol ves t he appr opr i at i on of t he

name of a gr eat f i gur e of t he past : f or exampl e, wi sdom

t r adi t i ons can be at t r i but ed t o a past char act er ( nat ur al l y

one noted f or hi s gi f t s on wi sdom, namel y Sol omon) , as i s

t he case i n Qohel et , Test ament and Wi sdom of Sol omon.

I n t he moder n- day t ext s chosen f or cr oss- cul t ur al

compar i son a si mi l ar phenomenon happens, wi t h t he maj or

di f f erence that t he aut hor i n whose name t he medi um wr i t es

can somet i mes be compl et el y unknown t o the publ i c ( e. g.

Emmanuel , t he gui di ng spi r i t of t he medi um Franci sco

Cndi do Chi co Xavi er ) , or may be a f amous per son of t he

past di sgui sed i n anot her name, f or var i ous r easons ( Andr

Lui z, who may have been t he f amous doct or Car l os Chagas;

I r mo X, a ni ckname used by the i nt el l ect ual Humbert o de

Campos t o avoi d f ur t her l awsui t s f r om hi s f ami l y agai nst

t he medi um) . The compar i son i s par t i cul ar l y usef ul when i t

comes t o pseudepi gr aphi cal wor ks where t he st yl e of t he

pr esumed aut hors i s easi l y comparabl e.

I n t he modern- day cases f r aud can be di smi ssed on t he

par t of t he medi um anal yzed, at l east as f ar asi nvest i gat i on has t aken us unt i l now. I nst ead,

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psychol ogi cal devi ces, usual l y r el at ed t o hypnosi s, may be

t he cl ue t o under st andi ng t he var i ous aut omat i sms t hat

di r ect t he medi um act i vi t y and t hus pr oduce wor ksostensi bl y s i mi l ar , but not i dent i cal i n styl e t o t he

put at i ve aut hor s.

That t he same r easoni ng shoul d be appl i ed t o anci ent

Second Templ e pseudepi gr aphy i s one of t he obj ect i ves of

t hi s t hesi s. I t shoul d be not ed, however , t hat most aut hor s

seem t o be i nt er est ed i n t he hi st or y of r ecept i on of

pseudepi gr aphy, and not i n t he psychol ogy of t he

pseudepi gr apher . The most r ecent at t empt i n t he f i el d i s

Duf f s r emar kabl e DPhi l work, whi ch makes a poi nt i n

i nsi st i ng on t he r el evance of accur at e at t r i but i on of

aut hor shi p f or anci ent r eader s35. Li t er at ur e on t he subj ect

i s pl ent i f ul , but al most al ways ei t her t r yi ng t o pr ove

whet her a cer t ai n t ext i s f al se, or at t empt i ng t o el uci dat e

how peopl e deal t wi t h at t r i but i on of aut hor shi p. As a ver y

br i ef survey, t he wor ks of Syme36, Br ox ( as edi t or ) 37,

Chamber s38, Si nt 39 and, above al l , Tor m40 ar e t he most

i mpor t ant f or t he t heme of t hi s t hesi s. They shal l be

di scussed i n mor e dept h i n f ur t her chapt er s.

I n shor t , al t hough t he at t i t ude t owar ds anci ent

pseudepi gr aphi cal t ext s may have been qui t e si mi l ar t o our

modern way of doi ng so, t he psychol ogy of pseudonym

aut hor shi p may have been qui t e di f f er ent , at l east f or

35 Thi s cont r adi ct s t he wi del y hel d not i on t hat anci ent r eader s di d notcar e about accur acy i n aut hor shi p, or l i ved i n such a di f f er ent f r ameof mi nd f r om our s t hat i t di d not mat t er .36 Fr aud and i mpostur e, Pseud. I .37 Pseudepi gr aphi e i n der Hei dni schen und J di sch- Chr i st l i chen Ant i ke.Dar mst adt : Wi ssenschaf t l i che Buchgesel l schaf t , 1977.38 The Hi st or y and Mot i ves of Li t er ar y For ger i es. Oxf ord / London:Basi l Bl ackwel l / Si mpki n / Mar shal l , 1891.39 Pseudonymi t t i m Al t er t um; i hr e For men und i hr e Gr nde. I nnsbr uck:

Uni ver si t tsver l ag Wagner , 1960.40 Di e Psychol ogi e der Pseudoni mi t t i m Hi nbl i ck auf di e Li t er at ur desUr chr i st ent ums i n: Tor m, op. ci t .

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r el i gi ous t ext s t hat we cannot suspect of havi ng been

del i ber at el y f al s i f i ed t hrough i l l wi l l 41. Modern

aut omat i cal l y wr i t t en Kar deci st t ext s of f er a l i ve exampl eof how t o pr oduce a t ext t hat i s, at t he same t i me,

t r ut hf ul t o i t s pr esumed aut hor and at t he same t i me

mechani cal l y wr i t t en by anot her per son decades, cent ur i es

or mi l l enni a l at er t han t he por t r ayed aut hor . As we shal l

see i n t he next chapt er , si nce t he mechani cal aut hor s

subj ect i vi t y pl ays such an i mpor t ant par t of t he pr ocess,

t hi s woul d al so account f or anachr oni sms seen both i n

modern psychography and i n anci ent t exts.

41 A f amous exampl e of t hi s ki nd of pseudepi gr aphy i s gi ven byTer t ul i an r egardi ng a pr i est of Asi a Mi nor accused of havi ng wr i t t enhi msel f t he Act s of Paul out of l ove f or Paul ( amor e Paul i ) ; t hi swas soon di scover ed wi t h consequences f or t he pr i est . Cf . Tor m,op. ci t . p. 126 f f . I t woul d be unwi se t o put al l pseudepi gr aphi cal

t exts i n t hi s cat egor y, as i t woul d al so be t o consi der al lpseudepi gr aphy t o hi de a si ncere and deep- r oot ed psychol ogi calpr ocess. The epi sode wi l l be di scussed i n gr eat er det ai l bel ow.

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5. Out l i ne of schol ar shi p about l at e Second Templ e

apocal ypt i c pseudepi gr aphy

Accor di ng t o t he cr i t er i a di scussed i n t he t er mi nol ogy

above, t he exper i ences r el at ed by the apocal ypt i c seer s do

i n f act br i ng pr of ound al t er at i ons bot h i n t hei r per cept i on

of r eal i t y and of t hemsel ves, br i ngi ng out vi vi d and

col or f ul vi si onar y pi ctur es. I t i s al so uncl ear as t o what

can be consi der ed aut hent i c f i r st - hand exper i ence and what

i s an expect ed part of a genr e42

. More on t he theme i s t obe f ound i n t he Appendi x to t he t hesi s.

5. 1. The concept of cor por at e i dent i t y as appl i ed t o

apocal ypt i c pseudepi gr aphy

I n t he di scussi on about t he si ncer i t y of apocal ypt i c

exper i ences one pi oneer i ng at t empt was made by Davi d S.

Russel l , af f i r mi ng t hat t her e coul d be an essent i al

af f i ni t y bet ween i ndi vi dual s separ at ed by a gr eat di st ance

i n t i me, happeni ng due t o si mi l ar i t i es i n di f f er ent

event s43. Thi s al so supposes t hat di achr oni c event s may be

per cei ved by t he i ndi vi dual as si mul t aneous i n a gi ven

cul t ur al cont ext - wi t hout t hi s i mpl yi ng ment al conf usi on

or f ool i shness on t he par t of t he vi si onar y, but

const i t ut i ng r at her a f ul f i l l ment of t he condi t i ons

42 Ther e i s not a unani mousl y accept ed def i ni t i on of apocal ypse,not wi t hst andi ng t he ef f or t s of so many schol ar s at t he end of t he1970 s; t he of t en quoted vol ume 14 of Semei a and the proceedi ngs oft he 1979 Uppsal a col l oqui um ar e the pr oduct s of t hat di scussi on, t owhi ch I r ef er . These al l poi nt t o a def i ni t i on of apocal ypt i c i n t er msof l i t er ar y genr e. Cf . J ohn J . Col l i ns (ed. ) . Apocal ypse: t heMorphol ogy of a Genr e. ( Semei a vol . 14. ) Mi ssoul a: Schol ar s Pr ess, 1979and Dani el Hel l hol m ( ed. ) . Apocal ypt i ci sm i n t he Medi t er r anean Wor l dand the Near East : Pr oceedi ngs of t he I nt er nat i onal Col l oqui um onApocal ypt i ci sm, Uppsal a, August 12- 17, 1979. Tbi ngen: Mohr , 1983.43 Davi d S. Russel l . Di vi ne Di scl osur e: an I nt r oduct i on t o J ewi sh

Apocal ypt i c. London: SCM, 1992. P. 67. Hi s ef f ort s can be consi der ed aspi oneeri ng because many of hi s i deas were f i r st devel oped dur i ng t heSi xt i es, i n The Met hod and Message of J ewi sh Apocal ypt i c.

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avai l abl e t o hi m / her i n t er ms of t he r ange of ecstat i c

exper i ences avai l abl e i n a gi ven soci et y44.

Russel l chose t o i dent i f y such a phenomenon i n t erms ofwhat he cal l s cor por at e uni t y, or t he per cept i on of

event s wi del y separated i n t i me as bei ng si mul t aneous 45.

Thi s uni t y i s composed not onl y of t he percept i on of

di achr oni c event s as si mul t aneous but al so of t he i dent i t y

bet ween t he mechani cal wr i t er and t he soci al gr oup i n whi ch

he i s i nser t ed, and as such account s f or t he choosi ng of

t he name t o whi ch t he t ext i s bei ng at t r i but ed46. I n l ater

year s Russel l came t o r ej ect par t of hi s expl anat i on,

al t hough r et ai ni ng i t s essent i al s, however . I n t he next

pages we wi l l di scuss onl y t he use made by Russel l of t he

concept of cor por at e i dent i t y; f i ner poi nt s i n t he whol e of

hi s ar gument s ar e t o be f ound i n i t em 5. 2 of t hi s

i nt r oduct i on, t oget her wi t h ot her aut hor s poi nt s of vi ew.

The i dea t hat t he apocal ypt i c vi si onar y may si ncer el y

i mper sonat e someone el se can be expl ai ned by means ot her

t han possessi on and cor r espondi ng aut omat i c wr i t i ng. I t has

been pr oposed i n t he past t hat Hebr ew t hought coul d be

i nf or med by cat egor i es ut t er l y di f f er ent f r om our own ( and,

f or t hat mat t er , al so f r om Gr eek modes of t hought 47) .

Regar di ng what i nt er est s us her e, Hebr ew not i ons of t i me

and i dent i t y ar e t he most i mpor t ant t o be di scussed.

44 I d. i bi d.45 I d. i bi d.46 Agai n i f r eader s ( or l i st ener s) wer e f ool ed by t hi s devi ce, nomat t er how good- i ntent i oned i t may have been, t hi s woul d f al l beyondt he scope of t hi s t hesi s, al t hough compr i si ng an i mpor t ant par t ofRussel l s ar gument at i on whi ch i ncl udes bot h r ecept i on andcomposi t i on.47 By Gr eek Boman i mpl i es a cont i nui t y wi t h our own f orms of t hi nki ng- t hi s i s emphasi zed when he def i nes t he di f f erences between ver balf or ms i n I ndo- Ger mani c ment al i t y (possessi ng a cl ear i ndi cat i on of t hedi f f er ence bet ween past , pr esent and f ut ur e) and t he Semi t i c one ( onl y

knowi ng compl et e or i ncompl et e act i ons) . Cf . Thor l ei f Boman. HebrewThought Compared wi t h Gr eek. London / New York: SCM Press, 1960.P. 146.

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Boman proposed, i n a wi del y r ead book48, t hat Hebr ew

concept s of t i me devel oped ver y di f f er ent l y f r om t he Gr eek

ones and among t hese chi ef di f f erences woul d be t he f actt hat Hebr ew t hought ( i f ever t her e was any ent i t y t hat can

be named as such, unmovabl e f r om pr e- Exi l i c t o Tannai t i c

t i mes) coul d not concei ve t i me as somethi ng abst r act ,

pref err i ng i nst ead t o f i l l i t wi t h qual i t y ( i . e. t o

ascr i be t o di f f er ent t i mes di f f er ent qual i t i es - good, or

bad and so on) 49. Boman al so poi nt s out t he not or i ous

absence of mat hemat i cal t hi nki ng i n Hebr ew ment al i t y and t o

t he emphasi s put by Hebr ew modes of t hi nki ng on t he whol e

i nst ead of t he i ndi vi dual 50.

These ar e t he t wo mai n i ssues r egar di ng Boman s ver y

i nf l uent i al i deas. But bef or e we di scuss t hem i n any

l engt h, we shoul d t ake a l ook at another st ance wher e the

supposedl y i nt r i nsi c di f f er ence bet ween Hebr ew t hought and

Gr eek was f ormal i zed - i n Wheel er Robi nson s work51.

Summari zi ng Robi nson s i deas r egardi ng t he t opi c, we

coul d say t hat he af f i r med t he pr ecedence of t he

col l ect i vi t y agai nst t he i ndi vi dual i n Hebr ew t hought ,

t aki ng as a st andar d f or t hat t he l egal i dea of col l ect i ve

r esponsi bi l i t y ( e. g. mani f est i n J s 7, i n t he epi sode of

Achan) . I t woul d i mpl y that f or i ndi vi dual mi st akes t he

whol e f ami l y of t he of f ender must be puni shed and al l

I sr ael must suf f er , t hus l eavi ng no pl ace f or i ndi vi dual i t y

as we know i t . A f ai r l y recent r evi ew of Robi nson s i deas

l ed t o t he concl usi on t hat he was deepl y ( mi s) i nf ormed by

ant hr opol ogi cal t heor i es cur r ent i n hi s own t i me ( i . e. t he

begi nni ng of t he 20t h cent ur y) , whi ch he woul d appl y cr oss-

48 I dem, p. 140.49

I dem, p. 154.50 I dem, p. 168.51 Ref er r ed to i n Boman, op. ci t . p. 148.

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cul t ur al - l i ke t o under st and Hebr ew ment al i t y by way of

pr i mi t i ve peopl e.

One such ant hr opol ogi cal r ef er ence i s t he wor k ofMai ne, who af f i r med t hat i n such soci et i es i ndi vi dual i t y

was swal l owed by t he f ami l y - but t hi s onl y i mpl i es, as i n

I srael i t e soci et y, t hat l egal l y men wer e under st ood i n such

col l ect i ve t er ms, not t hat i ndi vi dual s wer e not consci ous

of bei ng t hemsel ves and not someone el se, or of bei ng

whol l y absor bed by t he gr oup52. Lat er t exts by Robi nson,

such as a conf er ence i n 1923, show gr eat i nf l uence of Lvy-

Br uhl s not i on of pr e- l ogi cal t hi nki ng among pr i mi t i ve

peopl es53.

The i dea comes t o a possi bl e and l ogi cal concl usi on i n

t hat t he ecstat i c pr act i ces of t he pr ophet s l ead t hem t o

mi ngl e t hemsel ves wi t h God, t o become one wi t h Hi m, i . e. t o

at t ai n ecst asy by l osi ng i ndi vi dual i t y and i dent i f yi ng

onesel f f ul l y wi t h t he dei t y54. Thi s i s i mpossi bl e, i n my

vi ew, bot h i n pr ophet i c and i n l at er apocal ypt i c

descr i pt i ons of ecst at i c pr act i ces. The seer , whoever he i s

and r egar dl ess of t he passage r eadi ng l i ke a pl ai n cl i ch

( l i ke Vi sEzr a) or havi ng t he si ncer e f eel and devel opment

of 2Br , r emai ns a di f f er ent ent i t y f r om God, f r om t he

angel s t hat may i nt er medi at e hi s exper i ence and f r om ot her

char act er s pr esent i n t he t ext s55.

52 J ohn W. Rogerson. Hebr ew concept i on of cor porat e personal i t y: a re-exami nat i on, J TS 21: 1- 16, 1970. P. 3.53 I dem, p. 7.54 I d. i bi d.55 Wi t hout goi ng i nt o f ur t her det ai l and theol ogi cal i ssues, even Hewho i s t he Son of God hi msel f f or Chr i st i ans, J esus. I f i n t hat caseno l oss of i dent i t y i s i mpl i ed, what does one say about pr ophet s andapocal ypt i ci st s much mor e modest cl ai ms? Gnost i ci sm woul d pr esent uswi t h a qui t e di f f er ent pi ct ur e, but t hen t he her met i c char act er oft hei r doct r i nes and pract i ces woul d make t he compar i son al t ogether

mor e di f f i cul t , i f not i mpossi bl e. Except i on t o t he quest i on ofi dent i t y i s t o be made i n t he epi sode of Enoch s i dent i t y as Met at r oni n 3En 4.

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These ar e t hen t he t wo mai n st ances of t he i dea t hat

Hebr ew i ndi vi dual i t y may be somet hi ng ent i r el y di f f er ent

f or m our own concept i on, and t hat i t woul d be mi sl eadi ng t ot r eat J ewi sh myst i cs as i ndi vi dual s i n t he same way we

underst and t he t erm. Cr i t i ci sm of Boman has been made by

many, over a l ong per i od of t i me - Ar nal do Momi gl i ano s

argument s bei ng t he best t o synt hesi ze t he many pr obl ems

i nvol ved wi t h Boman s r easoni ng56. Al t hough Momi gl i ano i s

mor e concer ned wi t h hi st or i ogr aphi cal pr act i ces, he seems

qui t e r i ght i n ar gui ng t hat di f f er ences i n modes of

expr essi on ( i . e. t he f act t hat gr ammat i cal l y t he passage of

t i me i s expr essed i n qui t e di f f er ent ways i n Semi t i c

t hought ) do not i mpl y t hat J ews l i ved i n a st at e of ment al

conf usi on, knowi ng nothi ng but an eternal pr esent where

bi bl i cal char act er s and f i r st - cent ur y man i nt er mi ngl ed

f reel y57.

Wheel er Robi nson s i deas l ef t a deeper mar k t han

Boman s i n apocal ypt i c st udi es i nasmuch as t hey pr ovi ded

t he f r amework f or an i mpor t ant and pi oneer i ng work on

apocal ypt i c vi si onar y exper i ences, such as Russel l s Met hod

and Message of J ewi sh Apocal ypt i c. I n hi s r eassessment of

t he cor por at e i dent i t y t heme and i t s i nf l uence, Roger son

r i ght l y poi nt s out t o t he i nf l uence of t he i dea i n Russel l

but bl unt l y st at es t hat pseudepi gr aphy i s not necessar i l y

expl ai ned by cor por at e i dent i t y58.

I n Russel l , Robi nson s i deas f i r st t ake t he f or m of t he

spread of apocal ypt i c consci ousness t hr ough the whol e body,

56 Ar nal do Momi gl i ano. Ti me i n anci ent hi st or i ogr aphy i n: Essays i nAnci ent and Modern Hi st or i ogr aphy. Mi ddl et own: Wesl eyan Uni ver si t yPress, 1987. Pp. 180- 181 f f .57 Al t hough J ewi sh hi st or i ans - not t o say apocal ypt i c seer s - wer ecl ear l y unawar e of t he di f f er ence bet ween mythi cal and hi st or i cal past( i . e. between one i nf or med by document s subj ect t o cr i t i ci sm, or, mor e

of t en, by per sonal t est i moni es of wi t nesses t o event s) . Thi s i ncl udesJ osephus.58 Roger son, op. ci t . p. 11.

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so that some organs i ncorporat e ethi cal and psychi cal

pr oper t i es. Thi s l eads t o t he pr eci se and usef ul

descri pt i on of or gan s f unct i ons i n apocal ypt i c t ext s,whi ch can be f ound i n t he Appendi x59. I n l at er year s

Russel l r ej ect ed t he mor e radi cal assumpt i ons of t he

cor por at e i dent i t y i dea as appl i ed t o apocal ypt i c, but kept

t he essent i al of i t - i ncl udi ng t he not i on t hat event s

mi ght be per cei ved as s i mul t aneous by an i ndi vi dual , when

i ndeed t hey had t aken pl ace i n t he mythi cal or di st ant

past 60. Russel l adds t hat i n hi s opi ni on some - but not al l

- of t he consumer s of apocal ypt i c t ext s mi ght have bel i eved

t hat t he t ext had r eal l y been wr i t t en at t he t i me

por t r ayed61. Thi s does not add di r ect l y t o t he i ssue of

whet her t he act ual wr i t er f el t as i f he wer e someone el se

but may suggest t hat , i f t he pr act i ce wer e common t o t he

audi ence, i t coul d be a mode of exper i ence t o t he wr i t er as

wel l .

The not i on t hat apocal ypt i ci st s l i ved i n a t i me shared

by t he por t r ayed her oes i s t o be r ej ect ed by t he si mpl e

f act t hat st yl i st i c devi ces show t he dat i ng of apocal ypses

t hemsel ves ( i . e. even i f abl e t o posi t t he exi st ence of a

Vor l age i n t he apocal ypt i c t ext s ( usual l y Gr eek) , t her e ar e

many det ai l s i n t he nar r at i ve t hat al l ow us t o ascr i be t he

t exts t o dat es ot her t han t hose depi ct ed i n t he nar r at i ve

l i ke t he r ef er ences t o t he dest r uct i on of t he Templ e i n 2Br

and 4Ezr a, t he vi neyar d of Agr i ppa i n 4Br et c. ) . Thi s

bet r ayal of aut hor shi p, i nst ead of pr ovi ng t he f al sehood

of t he myst i cal exper i ences descr i bed and, by extensi on, of

t he t ext s aut hor i t y cl ai ms, shows us t he cul t ur al

59

Russel l , Met hod and Message, pp. 141- 148.60 Russel l , Di vi ne Di scl osur e, pp. 66- 67.61 I d. i bi d.

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subt l et i es and deepl y human char act er of t he composer 62. As

much as some Kar deci st t ext s pr etend t o be nar r at i ves of

event s whi ch t ook pl ace i n Fi r st - cent ur y Pal est i ne, whatt hey show i n f act i s a vi vi d pi ctur e of Br azi l i n t he f i r st

hal f of t he 20t h cent ur y; l i kewi se wi t h apocal ypt i c

pseudoni mi t y i n t hi s r egar d. But by the same t oken i t i s

not t o be i nf er r ed t hat t he apocal ypt i c seer , any mor e t han

a Kar deci st medi um such as Chi co Xavi er , di d not wi t ness i n

myst i cal r apt ur e t he event s he por t r ays. Resear ch has shown

t hat medi ums at l ar ge ar e capabl e of doi ng t hat wi t hout any

l oss of ot her aspect s of consci ousness or soci al

conf or mi t y63.

What I pr opose i s di f f er ent t han an appl i cat i on of t he

concept of cor por at e i dent i t y ( whi ch i s f l awed) ; I i nt end

t o l ook at t he pseudepi gr aphi cal phenomenon as i nvol vi ng

i dent i t y not wi t h an i ndi st i ngui shabl e whol e but r egar di ng

a speci f i c char act er , namel y t he por t r ayed her o. I t i s f or

t hi s r eason t hat cross- cul t ur al anal ysi s r egar di ng ot her

possessi onal phenomena r el at ed t o pr oduci ng r el i gi ous t ext s

seemed i deal .

5. 2. Recent di scussi ons on apocal ypt i c pseudepi gr aphy as

i dent i f i cat i on wi t h al l eged aut hor s

The mai n r eason, however appar ent l y f eebl e, t o t ake

apocal ypt i c exper i ences descr i bed i n t he apocal ypses and

Second Templ e l i t er at ur e at l ar ge i s t he aur a of t r ut h

at t ached t o t hem. Thi s i s sur el y no pr oof of aut hent i ci t y

( f r auds can be ver y wel l di sgui sed, af t er al l ) , but t he

r ever se i s al so t r ue: pseudonym di sgui se needs not be the

62 We can no l onger say wi t h Pusey i n t he Ni neteenth cent ur y t hatei t her Dani el i s di vi ne or a pl ai n i mposture. Cf . J ohn J . Col l i ns.

I nspi r at i on or i l l usi on: bi bl i cal t heol ogy and t he book of Dani el ,EA 6, 1990. P. 29.63 See bel ow chapt ers 2 and 3.

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mar k of f r aud64. Ot her r ecent aut hor s have t r i ed, i n

di f f er ent ways, and wi t h var yi ng f ocus, t o t ake i nt o

consi der at i on t he possi bi l i t y of apocal ypt i c pseudepi gr aphybei ng somet hi ng ot her t han f r aud; par t i cul ar l y i mpor t ant

among t hose ar e, i n a l oosel y chr onol ogi cal sequence,

St one, Russel l , Hi mmel f ar b, Col l i ns, Aune, Rowl and, Mer kur

and Fr ankf ur t er . Ref erence shoul d al so be made t o t he wor k

of J ohn Bar t on65.

Mi chael St one s r easoni ng i s perhaps t he onl y at t empt

out si de of t hi s t hesi s t o suggest a speci f i c l i nk bet ween

pseudepi gr aphi cal aut hor shi p and myst i cal exper i ence,

al bei t not i n t er ms of possessi on66. For St one, t he

exper i ences descr i bed i n apocal ypt i c exper i ences ar e t o be

f ound commonl y i n t he Hel l eni st i c wor l d; besi des, St one i s

eager t o poi nt out t hat aut hent i c ecst at i c pr act i ces can be

t r ansmi t t ed i n heavi l y t r adi t i onal f or ms67. The quest i on of

a l i nk bet ween t he vi si onar y and t he acqui r ed i dent i t y i s

not deal t wi t h by St one, who knows t here can be no har d

pr oof f or i t , but i s nonet hel ess t aken ser i ousl y as a

possi bi l i t y. Li ke ever y ot her aut hor , i ncl udi ng mysel f ,

St one emphasi zes t hat t her e wi l l never be har d- pr oof f or

t he i ssue, but he gi ves t he posi t i ve hypot hesi s a chance

and goes on t o devel op i t 68.

64 Col l i ns, I nspi rat i on or i l l us i on, p. 33.65 Or acl es of God: Per cept i ons of Anci ent Prophecy i n I sr ael Af t er t heExi l e. London: Dart on, Longman and Todd, 1986. 211 f f . A f i nal wordmust be sai d about Rebecca M. Lesses. Ri t ual Pr act i ces t o Gai n Power :Angel s, I ncant at i ons, and Revel at i on i n Ear l y J ewi sh Myst i ci sm.Har r i sbur g: Tr i ni t y Pr ess I nt er nat i onal , 1998, a wel l - wr i t t en book ont he subj ect t hat , nonet hel ess, does not deal wi t h our mai n concer n i nt he t hesi s ( i . e. aut hor shi p and myst i cal exper i ence i n apocal ypt i ct exts) but concent r at es on pr epar at or y i ssues r el at ed t o hekhal ot texts.66 Apocal ypt i c - vi si on or hal l uci nat i on? i n: Sel ect ed St udi es i nPseudepi grapha and Apocr ypha wi t h Speci al Ref erence t o t he Ar meni anTr adi t i on. Lei den / New Yor k / Kobenhavn / Kl n: E. J . Br i l l , 1991.

P. 425.67 I dem, p. 428. 68 I dem, p. 420.

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St one adds t hat opposi t i on t o Hel l eni zat i on i n

pol i t i cal t er ms ( as di f f er ent f r om cul t ur al i ssues, many of

whi ch were i ncorporated wi t hout t r auma i n t he wor l d vi ew ofJ ews and ot her peopl es subj ect t o Gr eek r ul e) i s al so a

f eatur e common t o anci ent magi c wor l d vi ew, f r equent i n t he

Hel l eni st i c wor l d, whi ch can i n t heor y enabl e an

exper i ment al di mensi on behi nd t he apocal ypt i ci st s

descr i pt i on69. Pseudepi gr aphy, by i t s ver y nat ur e, excl udes

t he possi bi l i t y of a f ace val ue r egi st r y of i nt i mat e

exper i ences, i mmedi at e and aut obi ogr aphi cal 70. St one

r ej ect s t he assumpt i on t hat pseudepi gr aphy mi ght be j ust a

r esour ce t o gai n aut hor i t y, f or t hi s woul d i mpl y a cl osed

canon t hat was obvi ousl y not t he case ( at l east f or t he t wo

cor e apocal ypt i c t ext s, Dn and 1En, and ar guabl y so f or

4Ezr a and 2Br , Fi r st - or Second- cent ur y t ext s as t hey most

l i kel y are) .

Fear of censor shi p - anot her possi bl e reason t o be

r ej ect ed al so by Col l i ns, as we shal l see - i s di scar ded by

St one who, basi ng hi msel f on 4Ezr a, ar gues t hat t her e coul d

st i l l be r oom f or t he enl ar gement of Si nai t i c r evel at i on at

t he t i me of i t s composi t i on; he al so poi nt s out t hat , as

decept i on, pseudepi gr aphy works ver y poor l y - when anci ent

aut hor s want ed somet hi ng t o l ook l i ke t he Bi bl e, t hey woul d

pr oduce somet hi ng l i ke t he Templ e Scr ol l and wr i t e i n

69 I d. i bi d.70 I dem, p. 421. Thi s does not mean t hat an aut hor i n t r ance - such asChi co Xavi er has done - can not mi ngl e hi s/ her own i nt i mat e f ears ,j oys or ot her emot i ons i n t he ensui ng narr at i ve. I n f act t hat i s t hemai n poi nt St one uses t o ar gue i n f avour of t he aut hent i ci t y of t heexper i ence of t he vi si onar y i n 4Ezr a i n a l at er ar t i cl e ( Ar econsi der at i on of apocal ypt i c vi si ons, HTR 96 ( 2) : 167- 180, 2003) ,t o be t aken i nt o consi der at i on bel ow. Stone has devoted a gr eat dealof hi s ef f or t s t o t he exami nat i on of 4Ezr a whi ch i s i ndeed r i ch f orour pur poses but not r epr esent at i ve of apocal ypt i c exper i ences - not

onl y f or t he pr esence of chemi cal i nducement but al so f or t he l engt hsgone by t he vi si onar y t o show hi s i nner t r ansf or mat i on i n t he cour seof t he vi si ons.

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