RELS 6603
Seminar in Early Judaism
R 6:30-9:20
Dr. John C. Reeves
Macy 204B
Office hours: R 5:00-6:00; or by appointment
jcreeves@uncc.edu
‘A symbol cannot be refuted.’ — Suhrawardī, Hikmat al-išrāq, introduction §4; see Henry Corbin, Œuvres philosophiques et mystiques de Shihabaddin Yahya Sohrawardi (Opera metaphysica et mystica II), I (Teheran/Paris: Institut franco-iranien, 1952), 10.16; also John Walbridge and Hossein Ziai, The Philosophy of Illumination: A New Critical Edition of the Text of Hikmat al-ishrāq with English Translation, Notes, Commentary, and Introduction (Provo: Brigham Young University Press, 1999), 2.
Course Description
‘Current and seminal issues related to the historical-critical study of early Judaism and its literature.’ The topic this semester will be gnosticism and Jewish literature of late antiquity. Starting in the mid-nineteenth century and continuing to the present day, some scholars suggest that the phenomenon of gnostic religiosity exhibited in eastern Mediterranean religions of late antiquity and described by church fathers like Irenaeus, Hippolytus, and Epiphanius can be traced to ‘heterodox’ Jewish circles and conventicles in disaffected diaspora locales such as Roman Egypt and Syria. We will subject this proposal to a critical inquiry via a close reading (in English translation) of the primary sources which are pertinent to an evaluation of the possible interrelationship of classical gnosis and Jewish traditions. We will include among the latter category various ‘late’ esoteric texts featuring ascent to the supernal realm, dialogues with otherworldly revealer figures, and alphabet mysticism (e.g., 3 Enoch, Sefer Yetzirah) as well as testimonia from Jewish and Muslim writers about demiurgic angels, secret books, and esoteric forms of scriptural exegesis. We moreover need to glance briefly at the complicated issues surrounding what some scholars have termed the ‘Mandaean problem.’ Finally, we will unpack the critical category ‘gnosticism’ in the light of recent scholarship to assess whether it remains a useful taxonomic concept for the study of Near Eastern religions in late antiquity.
Required Textbooks
Bentley Layton, The Gnostic Scriptures: A New Translation with Annotations and Introductions (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday & Company, 1987).
Michael Allen Williams, Rethinking “Gnosticism”: An Argument for Dismantling a Dubious Category (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1996).
Karen L. King, What is Gnosticism? (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2003).
Alan F. Segal, Two Powers in Heaven: Early Rabbinic Reports about Christianity and Gnosticism (Leiden: Brill, 1977).
Hans Jonas, The Gnostic Religion: The Message of the Alien God and the Beginnings of Christianity (2d ed.; Boston: Beacon Press, 1963).
Kurt Rudolph, Gnosis: The Nature and History of Gnosticism (trans. Robert McLachlan Wilson; San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1983).
Some primary sources (Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, and Syriac) will be distributed by the instructor. Additional class-time (approximately one hour) will be set aside for those students who wish to work through these texts with the instructor.
Some secondary essays and articles will be distributed or assigned by the instructor from a special course chrestomathy.
Some Adobe files of unpublished translations and articles will be supplied electronically by the instructor.
Course Requirements
a. Research project. One (1) formal research project to be presented in oral and written form (at least 20 double-spaced pages, exclusive of notes and list of sources) that focuses upon a particular topic relevant to the study of gnosticism and Jewish literature of late antiquity. In consultation with the instructor, the student should select a topic of individual interest that permits such an extended exposition, analysis and/or evaluation. The project will be expounded orally at the final class meeting (April 27); the written papers are due by 12:00 PM one week later (May 4). The research project accounts for 50% of the course grade.
b. Seminar papers. Excepting the first and final meetings of the class, students will prepare and expound weekly written seminar papers based upon, but not necessarily limited to, the readings assigned for that class meeting from the primary and/or secondary resources found in Layton, other required texts, the chrestomathy, and the appended course bibliography. After a public discussion, these papers will be submitted to the instructor on their due dates.
c. Individual involvement. Almost perfect attendance (see below) is an essential requirement for this course. Each class meeting builds upon the knowledge gained during previous meetings. Moreover, in-class discussion, close reading, and analysis by both the instructor and class members comprise the bulk of every class meeting. Preparation for every class usually involves the completion of a series of required readings and/or written assignment(s), and individual students are often asked to initiate our collective examination and discussion of the weekly topics. Students are expected to contribute in an informed manner to the public analysis and discussion of any assigned topic. The instructor’s collective assessment of one’s attendance, general class preparation, weekly seminar papers, and oral contributions will constitute 50% of the final course grade.
d. Zakhor (Remember!): Mastery of the assigned readings, the timely completion of written assignments, and diligent class attendance are necessary prerequisites for the successful completion of this course. Each student is responsible for all lectures, class discussions, hand-outs, assignments, and announcements, whether or not he/she is present when they occur.
Miscellaneous Information
a. The grading scale used in this course is as follows:
| 91-95+ | A | demonstrable mastery of material–outstanding performance |
| 81-90 | B | satisfactory performance of assignments |
| 71-80 | C | inadequate and/or faulty understanding of material |
| 0-70 | U | unacceptable graduate-level work |
b. One of the requirements of this course is to complete the work of the course on time. Sometimes there are legitimate reasons for late work—an illness or other emergency. ‘Emergency,’ however, does not include your social involvements, travel plans, job schedule, disk and/or printer failures, the state of your love life, your obligations to other courses, or general malaise over the state of the world. The world has been in a mess as long as anyone can remember, and most of the world’s work is done by people whose lives are a mass of futility and discontent. If you haven’t learned yet, you had better learn now to work under the conditions of the world as it is. Therefore:
1) All missing work is averaged as a 0 in the computation of the course grade.
2) All written work falls due on the dates scheduled in the syllabus, or on the date announced by the instructor in class (usually the next class meeting). ‘Late’ work will not be accepted from students who were privy to its oral evaluation and discussion (i.e., you were present while we ‘went over it’ but you neglected to do it beforehand). In the event of one’s absence, ‘late’ submissions bear the following penalties: one day late/one letter grade; two days late/two letter grades; three or more days late/U. Please note: these ‘days’ are calendar days, not class meeting days. For accounting purposes, letter grades bear the following values: A=95; A-=92; B+=88; B=85; B-=82; C+=78; C=75; C-=72; U=35. An untyped written assignment, seminar paper, or final project automatically receives the grade U, as do those typed submissions which violate the required parameters or which the instructor deems physically unacceptable and/or grammatically incomprehensible.
3) Since your diligent physical participation is critical for the success of this course, attendance at class meetings will be monitored by the instructor. One absence is regrettable; two absences are the limit of tolerability. Three (3) or more absences will result in an automatic U for the course. Please note that the instructor does not distinguish ‘excused’ from ‘unexcused’ absences. Unsanctioned late arrivals and early departures will be tallied as absences.
c. Assistance and solicitation of criticism is your right as a member of the class. It is not a privilege to be granted or withheld. Do not hesitate to request it nor wait too late in the course for it to be of help.
Rough Course Outline
Jan 12
Introduction
Required:
Gershom Scholem, “Merkabah Mysticism,” Encyclopaedia Judaica. Also available in his Kabbalah (Jerusalem, 1974), 373-76.
David J. Halperin, “A New Edition of the Hekhalot Literature,” Journal of the American Oriental Society 104 (1984): 543-52. Available on-line at Atkins Library.
John C. Reeves, “Profiling the Chaldean Dualist Milieu.” Unpublished essay; for this class you need only look at Theodore bar Konai’s report on the Hewyāyē (pp. 28-30 of the Adobe file).
Start your readings for next week!
Jan 19
Introduction (cont’d): typology and themes
Required:
Layton, Gnostic Scriptures, 5-22.
Rudolph, Gnosis, 9-272.
Jonas, Gnostic Religion, 31-99.
Continuing consideration of text(s) from Theodore bar Konai
Jan 26
What is Gnosticism? (Part 1)
Required:
King, 5-148.
Apocalypse of Adam
Required:
Layton, Gnostic Scriptures, 52-64.
Feb 2
What is Gnosticism? (Part 2)
Required:
King, 149-247.
Apocryphon of John
Required:
Layton, Gnostic Scriptures, 23-51; 163-69.
Feb 9
Rethinking “Gnosticism” (Part 1)
Required:
Williams, 3-138.
Hypostasis of the Archons
Required:
Layton, Gnostic Scriptures, 65-76.
Feb 16
Rethinking “Gnosticism” (Part 2)
Required:
Williams, 139-266.
More patristic testimonia
Required:
Layton, Gnostic Scriptures, 159-62; 170-214.
Reeves, “Profiling Chaldean Dualism.” (Adobe file)
Feb 23
A Jewish gnosis?
Required:
Scholem, Major Trends, 40-79.
Scholem, Jewish Gnosticism, 1-8; 65-74.
Altmann, “Gnostic Background.”
“3 Enoch”
Required:
Philip S. Alexander’s translation from OTP 1:223-315.
March 2
A Jewish gnosis? (cont’d)
Required:
Scholem, “Yaldabaoth Reconsidered.”
Quispel, “Judaism ….”
Dahl, “Arrogant Archon.”
Sefer Yetsirah
Required:
Reeves, “Sefer Yetsirah.” (Adobe file)
March 9
No class (spring break)
March 16
A Jewish gnosis? (cont’d)
Required:
Stroumsa, Another Seed, 1-34; 125-34.
Dan, “Jewish Gnosis?”
Alexander, “Comparing ….”
March 23
Jewish ditheism?
Required:
Segal, Two Powers, 3-155.
March 30
Jewish ditheism? (cont’d)
Required:
Segal, Two Powers, 159-267.
Apr 6
Further echoes of ‘two powers’ speculative complexes
Required:
Hayman, “Monotheism.”
Fishbane, “Measures.”
Jonas, Gnostic Religion, 130-46.
Apr 13
No class (Pesah)
Apr 20
The Mandaean ‘Problem’
Required:
Rudolph, Gnosis, 343-66.
Rudolph, “Problem.”
Jonas, Gnostic Religion, passim.
Apr 27
Research projects and concluding business
Template for Seminar Papers
Each seminar paper will have a similar structure. You will first concisely summarize and highlight the primary points or arguments of the secondary sources assigned for each week’s meeting. Then you will either (1) identify and briefly assess the implications of these points, arguments, etc. for the postulated existence of a ‘Jewish gnosticism,’ or (2) discuss how the assigned primary source readings lend support to or undermine their points, arguments, etc. The papers should be no longer than five (5) typed pages (single-spaced is fine) and fall due the evening of each class (beginning January 19) that is dedicated to a particular theme or work.
Supplemental Bibliography for RELS 6603 Gnosticism and Jewish Literature of Late Antiquity
Items included in the chrestomathy appear in boldface
Philip S. Alexander, “Comparing Merkavah Mysticism and Gnosticism: An Essay in Method,” Journal of Jewish Studies 35 (1984): 1-18.
______, “The Fall into Knowledge: The Garden of Eden/Paradise in Gnostic Literature,” in A Walk in the Garden: Biblical, Iconographical and Literary Images of Eden (ed. P. Morris and D. Sawyer; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1992), 91-104.
______, “Jewish Elements in Gnosticism and Magic c. CE 70-c. CE 270,” in The Cambridge History of Judaism, Volume Three: The Early Roman Period (ed. William Horbury, W. D. Davies, and John Sturdy; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999), 1052-78.
Alexander Altmann, “The Gnostic Background of the Rabbinic Adam Legends,” Jewish Quarterly Review n.s. 35 (1944-45): 371-91; reprinted in his Essays in Jewish Intellectual History (Hanover, N.H.: University Press of New England, 1981), 1-16.
______, “Gnostic Motifs in Rabbinic Literature,” in his The Meaning of Jewish Existence: Theological Essays 1930-1939 (ed. Alfred I. Ivry; Hanover, N.H.: Brandeis University Press, 1991), 117-32.
______, “A Note on the Rabbinic Doctrine of Creation,” Journal of Jewish Studies 6-7 (1955-56): 195-206; reprinted in his Studies in Religious Philosophy and Mysticism (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1969), 128-39.
Bernard Barc, “Samaèl – Saklas – Yaldabaôth: Recherche sur la genèse d’un mythe gnostique,” in Colloque international sur les texts de Nag Hammadi (Québec, 22-25 août 1978) (ed. Bernard Barc; Louvain: Peeters, 1981), 123-50.
David Biale, Gershom Scholem: Kabbalah and Counter-History (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1979).
Matthew Black, “An Aramaic Etymology for Jaldabaoth?” in The New Testament and Gnosis: Essays in Honour of Robert McLachlan Wilson (ed. A. H. B. Logan and A. J. M. Wedderburn; Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1983), 69-72.
Nils A. Dahl, “The Arrogant Archon and the Lewd Sophia: Jewish Traditions in Gnostic Revolt,” in The Rediscovery of Gnosticism: Proceedings of the International Conference on Gnosticism at Yale … (2 vols.; ed. Bentley Layton; Leiden: Brill, 1981), 2:689-712.
Joseph Dan, Gershom Scholem and the Mystical Dimension of Jewish History (New York: New York University Press, 1987).
______, “Jewish Gnosticism?” Jewish Studies Quarterly 2 (1995): 309-28; reprinted in his Jewish Mysticism (4 vols.; Northvale, N.J.: Jacob Aronson, 1998-99), 1:1-25.
______, “Samael and the Problem of Jewish Gnosticism,” in Perspectives on Jewish Thought and Mysticism (ed. A. L. Ivry; Amsterdam: Harwood Academic Publishers, 1998), 257-76.
______, “Samael, Lilith, and the Concept of Evil in Early Kabbalah,” AJS Review 5 (1980): 17-40.
______, “Yaldabaoth and the Language of the Gnostics,” in Geschichte-Tradition-Reflexion: Festschrift für Martin Hengel zum 70. Geburtstag (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1996), 1:557-64.
Nathaniel Deutsch, The Gnostic Imagination: Gnosticism, Mandaeism, and Merkabah Mysticism (Leiden: Brill, 1995).
______, Guardians of the Gate: Angelic Vice Regency in Late Antiquity (Leiden: Brill, 1999).
Jean Doresse, The Secret Books of the Egyptian Gnostics: An Introduction to the Gnostic Coptic Manuscripts Discovered at Chenoboskion (trans. Philip Mairet; New York: Viking Press, 1960).
Francis T. Fallon, The Enthronement of Sabaoth: Jewish Elements in Gnostic Creation Myths (NHS 10; Leiden: Brill, 1978).
Michael Fishbane, “The ‘Measures’ of God’s Glory in the Ancient Midrash,” in Messiah and Christos: Studies in the Jewish Origins of Christianity presented to David Flusser on the Occasion of his Seventy-fifth Birthday (ed. Ithamar Gruenwald, Shaul Shaked, and Gedaliahu G. Stroumsa; Tübingen: J. C. B. Mohr, 1992), 53-74.
Jarl E. Fossum, “Gen 1,26 and 2,7 in Judaism, Samaritanism, and Gnosticism,” Journal for the Study of Judaism 26 (1985): 202-39.
______, The Name of God and the Angel of the Lord (WUNT 36; Tübingen: J. C. B. Mohr, 1985).
Moritz Friedländer, Der vorchristliche jüdische Gnosticismus (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1898).
Heinrich Graetz, Gnosticismus und Judenthum (Krotoschin: B. L. Monasch, 1846).
Henry Green, “Gnosis and Gnosticism: A Study in Methodology,” Numen 24 (1977): 95-134.
Ithamar Gruenwald, “Aspects of the Jewish-Gnostic Controversy,” in his From Apocalypticism to Gnosticism (Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 1988), 221-32.
______, “Jewish Merkavah Mysticism and Gnosis,” in his From Apocalypticism to Gnosticism (Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 1988), 191-205.
______, “Jewish Sources for the Gnostic Texts from Nag Hammadi?” in his From Apocalypticism to Gnosticism (Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 1988), 207-20.
______, “Knowledge and Vision: Towards a Clarification of Two ‘Gnostic’ Concepts in the Light of Their Alleged Origins,” Israel Oriental Studies 3 (1973): 63-107.
______, “The Problem of the Anti-Gnostic Polemic in Rabbinic Literature,” in Studies in Gnosticism and Hellenistic Religions presented to Gilles Quispel on the Occasion of his 65th Birthday (ed. R. van den Broek and M. J. Vermaseren; Leiden: Brill, 1981), 171-89.
Peter Hayman, “Monotheism – A Misused Word in Jewish Studies?” Journal of Jewish Studies 42 (1991): 1-15.
______, Sefer Yesira: Edition, Translation and Text-Critical Commentary (TSAJ 104; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2004).
Moshe Idel, Kabbalah: New Perspectives (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1988).
______, “Subversive Catalysts: Gnosticism and Messianism in Gershom Scholem’s View of Jewish Mysticism,” in The Jewish Past Revisited: Reflections on Modern Jewish Historians (ed. David N. Myers and David B. Ruderman; New Haven: Yale University Press, 1998), 39-76.
Hans Jonas, The Gnostic Religion: The Message of the Alien God and the Beginnings of Christianity (2d rev. ed.; Boston: Beacon Press, 1963).
______, “Response to G. Quispel’s ‘Gnosticism and the New Testament’,” in The Bible in Modern Scholarship: Papers Read at the 100th Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature, December 28-30, 1964 (ed. J. Philip Hyatt; Nashville: Abingdon, 1965), 279-93.
Richard Kalmin, “Christians and Heretics in Rabbinic Literature of Late Antiquity,” Harvard Theological Review 87 (1994): 155-69.
Karen L. King, What is Gnosticism? (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2003).
Bentley Layton, The Gnostic Scriptures: A New Translation with Annotations and Introductions (Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1987).
______, “Prolegomena to the Study of Ancient Gnosticism,” in The Social World of the First Christians: Essays in Honor of Wayne A. Meeks (ed. L. Michael White and O. Larry Yarbrough; Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 1995), 334-50.
Saul Lieberman, “Appendix: How Much Greek in Jewish Palestine?” reprinted in his Texts and Studies (New York: Ktav, 1974), 228-34.
George W. MacRae, “The Jewish Background of the Gnostic Sophia Myth,” Novum Testamentum Studies 12 (1970): 86-101.
Arthur Marmorstein, “The Background of the Haggadah,” Hebrew Union College Annual 6 (1929): 141-204.
Stuart S. Miller, “The Minim of Sepphoris Reconsidered,” Harvard Theological Review 86 (1993): 377-402.
Birger A. Pearson, “Friedländer Revisited: Alexandrian Judaism and Gnostic Origins,” Studia Philonica Annual 2 (1973): 23-39.
______, Gnosticism, Judaism, and Egyptian Christianity (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1990).
______, “Jewish Sources in Gnostic Literature,” in Jewish Writings of the Second Temple Period: Apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha, Qumran Sectarian Writings, Philo, Josephus (CRINT 2:2; ed. Michael E. Stone; Assen/Philadelphia: Van Gorcum/Fortress Press, 1984), 443-81.
______, “Philo and Gnosticism,” in ANRW II.21.1 (1984), 295-342.
______, “The Problem of ‘Jewish Gnostic’ Literature,” in Nag Hammadi, Gnosticism, & Early Christianity (ed. Charles W. Hedrick and Robert Hodgson, Jr.; Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, 1986), 15-35.
______, “Use, Authority and Exegesis of Mikra in Gnostic Literature,” in Mikra: Text, Translation, Reading and Interpretation of the Hebrew Bible in Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity (CRINT 2:1; ed. Martin Jan Mulder; Assen/Philadelphia: Van Gorcum/Fortress Press, 1988), 635-52.
Gilles Quispel, “Judaism, Judaic Christianity and Gnosis,” in The New Testament and Gnosis: Essays in Honour of Robert McLachlan Wilson (ed. A. H. B. Logan and A. J. M. Wedderburn; Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1983), 47-68.
John C. Reeves, Heralds of That Good Realm: Syro-Mesopotamian Gnosis and Jewish Traditions (NHMS 41; Leiden: Brill, 1996).
______, “An Origin for Barbēlō?” Unpublished manuscript essay.
______, “Profiling the Chaldean Dualist Milieu.” Unpublished manuscript essay.
______, review of Deutsch, Guardians of the Gate …, in Jewish Quarterly Review 92 (2002): 628-31.
______, “Sefer Yesira.” Unpublished manuscript edition of Hebrew text, English translation, and annotations.
Kurt Rudolph, Gnosis: The Nature and History of Gnosticism (trans. Robert McL. Wilson; San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1983).
______, “Problems of a History of the Development of the Mandaean Religion,” History of Religions 8 (1969): 210-35.
Peter Schäfer, Geniza-Fragmente zur Hekhalot-Literatur (TSAJ 6; Tübingen: J. C. B. Mohr, 1984).
______, The Hidden and Manifest God: Some Major Themes in Early Jewish Mysticism (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1992).
______, Mirror of His Beauty: Feminine Images of God from the Bible to the Early Kabbalah (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2002). See esp. pp. 58-146.
______, Synopse zur Hekhalot-Literatur (TSAJ 2; Tübingen: J. C. B. Mohr, 1981).
Gershom G. Scholem, “Jaldabaoth Reconsidered,” in Mélanges d’histoire des religions offerts à Henri-Charles Puech (Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1974), 405-21.
______, Jewish Gnosticism, Merkabah Mysticism, and Talmudic Tradition (2d ed.; New York: Jewish Theological Seminary of America, 1965). Pp. 1-8; 65-74.
______, Kabbalah (Jerusalem: Keter, 1974; repr. New York: Meridian, 1978).
______, Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism (3d rev. ed.; New York: Schocken, 1961). Pp. 40-79; 355-69.
______, On the Kabbalah and Its Symbolism (trans. Ralph Manheim; New York: Schocken, 1965).
______, On the Mystical Shape of the Godhead: Basic Concepts in the Kabbalah (trans. Joachim Neugroschel; New York: Schocken Books, 1991).
______, Origins of the Kabbalah (trans. Allan Arkush; Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1987).
Alan F. Segal, Two Powers in Heaven: Early Rabbinic Reports about Christianity and Gnosticism (Leiden: Brill, 1977).
Carl B. Smith, No Longer Jews: The Search for Gnostic Origins (Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, 2004).
Gedaliahu A. G. Stroumsa, Another Seed: Studies in Gnostic Mythology (NHS 24; Leiden: Brill, 1984). Pp. 1-34; 125-34.
______, “Gnosis and Judaism in Nineteenth-Century Christian Thought,” Journal of Jewish Thought and Philosophy 2 (1992-93): 45-62.
Isaiah Tishby, “Gnostic Doctrines in Sixteenth Century Jewish Mysticism,” Journal of Jewish Studies 6-7 (1955-56): 146-52.
Karl-Wolfgang Tröger, “The Attitude of the Gnostic Religion towards Judaism as Viewed in a Variety of Perspectives,” in Colloque international sur les texts de Nag Hammadi (Québec, 22-25 août 1978) (ed. Bernard Barc; Louvain: Peeters, 1981), 86-98.
Michael Waldstein, “Hans Jonas’ Construct ‘Gnosticism’: Analysis and Critique,” Journal of Early Christian Studies 8 (2002): 341-72.
Michael A. Williams, Rethinking ‘Gnosticism’: An Argument for Dismantling a Dubious Category (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1996).
Robert McL. Wilson, The Gnostic Problem: A Study of the Relations Between Hellenistic Judaism and the Gnostic Heresy (London: A. R. Mowbray, 1958).
______, “Jewish ‘Gnosis’ and Gnostic Origins: A Survey,” Hebrew Union College Annual 45 (1974): 179-89.
Orval Wintermute, “A Study of Gnostic Exegesis of the Old Testament,” in The Use of the Old Testament in the New and Other Essays: Studies in Honor of William Franklin Stinespring (ed. James Efird; Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 1972), 241-70.
Elliot R. Wolfson, “Beyond the Spoken Word: Oral Tradition and Written Transmission in Medieval Jewish Mysticism,” in Transmitting Jewish Traditions: Orality, Textuality, and Cultural Diffusion (ed. Yaakov Elman and Israel Gershoni; New Haven: Yale University Press, 2000), 166-224.
______, “The Tree That is All: Jewish-Christian Roots of a Kabbalistic Symbol in Sefer ha-Bahir,” Journal of Jewish Thought and Philosophy 3 (1993): 31-76; reprinted in his Along the Path: Studies in Kabbalistic Myth, Symbolism, and Hermeneutics (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1995), 63-88, 187-223.
Edwin M. Yamauchi, Pre-Christian Gnosticism: A Survey of the Proposed Evidences (2d ed.; Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book House, 1983).