The prestige of the pagan prophet Balaam in Judaism, early Christianity and Islam / edited by George H. van Kooten and Jacques van Ruiten.

Format:

Book

Conference/Event

Contributor:

Kooten, Geurt Hendrik van, 1969-

Ruiten, J. van (Jacques)

Conference Name:

Themes in Biblical Narrative Conference (2005 : University of Groningen)

Series:

Themes in biblical narrative 1388-3909 ; v. 11.

Themes in biblical narrative, 1388-3909 ; v. 11

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Balaam (Biblical figure)--Congresses.

Balaam.

Balaam (Biblical figure).

Genre:

Conference papers and proceedings.

Physical Description:

xx, 328 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm.

Place of Publication:

Leiden ; Boston : Brill, 2008.

Summary:

This book deals with the pagan prophet Balaam who figures in the book of Numbers. By the very nature of his sature as a non-Israelite, pagan prophet, the figure of Balaam raises important questions with regard to the nature of prophecy and the relation between the Israelite God and the pagan nations. The conflicting stories and potent oracles of Balaam in Numbers 22-24 and other parts of the Jewish Scriptures prompted extensive reflection on this ambiguous figure. Thus the leading perspective developed in this volume is the often simultaneous praise and criticism of Balaam as a prestigious pagan prophet throughout ancient Judaism, early Christianity and the early Koranic commentaries.

The book is particularly useful as it also contains Emile Puech's newly reconstructed text, translation and commentary of the first combination of the Deir 'Alla inscriptions which contain an excerpt of the book of the historical Balaam. Combined with the other papers, the volume pictures a fascinating continuum between paganism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

Contents:

Part 1 Balaam in the Old Testament and the Ancient Near East, and Comparable Figures in Ancient Greece

1 Balaam the Villain: The History of Reception of the Balaam Narrative in the Pentateuch and the Former Prophets / Ed Noort 3

2 Bala'am and Deir 'Alla / Emile Puech 25

3 Balaam, Mopsus and Melampous: Tales of Travelling Seers / Jan N. Bremmer 49

Part 2 Balaam in Ancient Judaism

4 Balaam in the Dead Sea Scrolls / Florentino Garcia Martinez 71

5 A Qumran Cave 2 Fragment Preserving Part of Numbers 23:5-7[8] (2Q29 1) / Eibert Tigchelaar 83

6 Balaam and Enoch / Eibert Tigchelaar 87

7 The Rewriting of Numbers 22-24 in Pseudo-Philo, Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum 18 / Jacques T.A.G.M. van Ruiten 101

8 Balaam as the Sophist Par Excellence in Philo of Alexandria: Philo's Projection of an Urgent Contemporary Debate onto Moses' Pentateuchal Narratives / George H. van Kooten 131

9 'A Star Shall Come out of Jacob': A Critical Evaluation of the Balaam Oracle in the Context of Jewish Revolts in Roman Times / Stefan Beyerle 163

10 Balaam's Fourth Oracle (Numbers 24:15-19) According to the Aramaic Targums / Alberdina Houtman, Harry Sysling 189

11 Interpret Him as Much as You Want: Balaam in the Babylonian Talmud / Ronit Nikolsky 213

Part 3 Balaam in the New Testament and Early Christianity

12 Balaam and the Star of the Magi / Tobias Nicklas 233

13 Balaam in Revelation 2:14 / Jan Willem van Henten 247

14 Balaam and 2 Peter 2:15: 'They Have Followed in the Steps of Balaam' (Jude 11) / Tord Fornberg 265

15 Speaking Asses in the Acts of Thomas: An Intertextual and Cognitive Perspective / Istvan Czachesz 275

16 'To Bless with a Mouth Bent on Cursing': Patristic Interpretations of Balaam (Num 24:17) / Johan Leemans 287

Part 4 Balaam in the Koran and Early Koranic Commentaries

17 Bal'am in Early Koranic Commentaries / Fred Leemhuis 303

I Hebrew Bible 309

II Apocrypha and Septuagint 314

III Pseudepigrapha 315

IV Dead Sea Scrolls and Related Texts 316

V Philo of Alexandria 316

VI Flavius Josephus 318

VII Rabbinic and later Jewish Texts 318

1 Mishnah 318

2 Tosefta 318

3 Palestinian Talmud 318

4 Babylonian Talmud 318

5 Midrashim 319

6 Targumim 319

VIII Greek and Latin Pagan Texts 320

2 Papyri 323

3 Inscriptions 323

IX Christian Texts 324

1 New Testament 324

2 Patristic and other Christian Writings 325

3 Gnostic Writings 327

X Koran and Koranic Commentaries 327.

Notes:

"Volume contains the reworked papers of the 2005 Themes in Biblical Narrative Conference which took place at the University of Groningen on 17-18 June 2005"--P. [xi].

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9789004165649

9004165649

OCLC:

213600198