At the origin of the Watchers tradition is the single enigmatic reference in Genesis 6 to the "sons of God" who had intercourse with human women; producing a race of giants upon the earth. That verse sparked a wealth of cosmological and theological speculation in early Judaism. Here leading scholars explore the contours of the Watchers traditions through history; tracing their development through the Enoch literature; Jubilees; and other early Jewish and Christian writings. This volume provides a lucid survey of current knowledge and interpretation of one of the most intriguing theological motifs of the Second Temple period.
#1297060 in Books Peter Lampe 2003-09-01Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.21 x 1.23 x 6.14l; 1.89 #File Name: 0800627024544 pagesFrom Paul to Valentinus Christians at Rome in the First Two Centuries
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. DetailedBy W. MooreA scholarly approach to the history of Christians in Rome around Paul's day. A little laborious read; but interesting.0 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Scholarly; but has a point of viewBy Jerry RussellRich with information; but seems to be coming from a veiled Christian apologetic viewpoint; and occasionally reaches conclusions that aren't really justified by the evidence he presents.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Groundbreaking Study That's Still Worth a ReadBy Rico is the Best!This was a groundbreaking study of early Roman Christianity when it was released several years ago; and it's still important and worth a read. Lampe is extremely knowledgeable and thorough; and his research and presentation is everything that you'd expect from German scholarship.It does get a bit speculative in places (such as hypothetical reconstructions of imperial edicts); but for the most part his conclusions seem plausible enough...just keep in mind that a good deal of it is hypothetical. And where he's dealing with pure facts as opposed to speculative reconstruction; it's an amazing marshalling of disparate evidence—archaeological data; obscure inscriptions; literary evidence; and more all combined to present a coherent picture of early Roman Christianity. That's really what makes the work shine; it rare to find a book that successfully masters so many different fields of study.The one word of caution I would give is that Lampe makes frequent use of primary sources in both Latin and Greek. About half the time a translation is included; and half the time it is not. If you're interested in a book like this; it's likely that you have the scholarly chops to handle Greek and Latin. But a few readers might find themselves in a position like mine—my Greek is very good; but my Latin is very poor. So be prepared to handle both languages to get the most out of this excellent work.
