For Jews and Christians in Antiquity beliefs about demons were integral to their reflections on fundamental theological questions, but what kind of âbeingâ did they consider demons to be? To what extent were they thought to be embodied? Were demons thought of as physical entities or merely as metaphors for social and psychological realities? What is the relation between demons and the hypostatization of abstract concepts (fear, impurity, etc) and baleful phenomenon such as disease? These are some of the questions that this volume addresses by focussing on the nature and characteristics of demons â what one might call âdemonic ontologyâ.
Hector M. Patmore, Ph.D. (2008), University of Durham, is Associate Professor at the KU Leuven, Belgium. He has published books and articles on demonology, including Adam, Satan, and the King of Tyre (Brill, 2012) and The Evil Inclination in Early Judaism and Christianity (with J.K. Aitken and I. Rosen-Zvi; CUP, 2021). He was Principal Investigator for the project âDemonic Exegesis: The Role of Biblical Interpretation and Exegetical Encounter in the Shaping of Jewish and Christian Demonologies,â funded by the Arts & Humanities Research Council.
Acknowledgements Notes on Contributors
Introduction
âHector M. Patmore and Josef Lössl
1 Demonic Exegesis
âHector M. Patmore
2 ÎÎ±Î¯Î¼Î¿Î½ÎµÏ and Demons in Hellenistic Judaism: Continuities and Transformations
âAnna Angelini
3 The Demon Asmodeus in the Tobit Tradition: His Nature and Character
âBeate Ego
4 Paulâs Suprahumanizing Exegesis: Rewriting the Defeat of Godâs Enemies in 1 Corinthians, Romans, and Ephesians
âJohn K. Goodrich
5 Courting Daimons in Corinth: Daimonic Partnerships, Cosmic Hierarchies and Divine Jealousy in 1 Corinthians 8â10
âMatthew Sharp
6 Demons and Vices in Early Christianity
âTom de Bruin
7 The âDemonogonyâ of Tatianâs Oratio ad Graecos: Jewish and Greek Influences
âJosef Lössl
8 St. Jerome, Demons, and Jewish Tradition
âC. T. R. Hayward
9 Demonic âTollhousesâ and Visions of the Afterlife in Pseudo-Cyril of Alexandriaâs Homily: De exitu animi
âEmmanouela Grypeou
10 The Naked Demon: Alternative Interpretations of the Alexamenos Graffito
âHagit Amirav and Peter-Ben Smit
11 Negotiating Danger: Demonic Manipulations in Jewish Babylonia
âAlexander W. Marcus
12 Demons and Scatology: Cursed Toilets and Haunted Baths in Late Antique Judaism
âIlaria Briata
13 The King of Demons in the Universe of the Rabbis
âReuven Kiperwasser
14 The Gender and Sexuality of Demons in the Art of the Aramaic Incantation Bowls
âNaama Vilozny
Index
This volume will be of relevance to specialists and post-graduate students interested in Jewish and Christian thought in the period 300 BCE until 500 CE.