Solomon's Bookcase Steven Griffin

In our fourth annual Christmas installment, an Oak Tree grove dedicated to Thor, the northern European god of thunder, is visited by Saint Boniface in 723 CE.  Boniface takes it upon himself to dispose the world of this oak, and in its place, anoint a small evergreen as the "new" symbol of everlasting life.

With the vast majority of what would call the "Old Testament" composed and edited, and with Judea under continual military and political threats from outside, the Jewish theological literature did not simply freeze in place.  In these last few centuries leading into the 1st c. CE, scrolls such as 1 Enoch, Jubilees, and Tobit demonstrate that the views of angels, demons, and the roles of these beings in everyday life are very much continuing to be developed.
Books:
John J. Collins.  Daniel.  Hermeneia.  Minneapolis:  Fortress Press, 1993.
Michael Heiser.  Demons:  What the Bible Really Says About the Powers of Darkness.  Lexham Press:  Bellingham, WA, 2020.
Michael Heiser.  Angels:  What the Bible Really Says About God's Heavenly Host.  Lexham Press:  Bellingham, WA, 2018.
John Walton, "Demons in Mesopotamia and Israel."  In Windows to the Ancient World of the Hebrew Bible.  Bill Arnold, Nancy Erickson, and John Walton, eds.  Eisenbrauns:  Winona Lake, 2014.  229-45.
George Nickelsburg.  1 Enoch.  Hermeneia.  Minneapolis:  Fortress Press, 2001.  2 vols.
James VanderKam.  Jubilees.  Hermeneia.  Minneapolis:  Fortress Press, 2018.  2 vols.
James VanderKam.  "Demons."  In Demons:  The Demonology of the Israelite-Jewish and Early Christian Literature in the Context of their Environment.  Tübingen:  Mohr Siebeck, 2003.  339-64.
James VanderKam.  "Mastema in the Qumran Literature and the Book of Jubilees."  In Sibyls, Scriptures, and Scrolls:  John Collins at Seventy.  Joel Baden, Hindy Najman, Eileen Schuller, eds.  JSJSup 175; Leiden:  Brill, 2017.  1346-60.
Karel Van der Toorn.  "The Theology of Demons in Mesopotamia and Israel – Popular Belief and Scholarly Speculation."  In Demons:  The Demonology of the Israelite-Jewish and Early Christian Literature in the Context of their Environment.  Tübingen:  Mohr Siebeck, 2003.  61-83.
Géza Xeravits.  "The Angel's Self-Revelation in Tobit 12."  In Sibyls, Scriptures, and Scrolls:  John Collins at Seventy.  Joel Baden, Hindy Najman, Eileen Schuller, eds.  JSJSup 175; Leiden:  Brill, 2017.  1399-1417.
Artwork:
"Norandino and Lucina Discovered by the Ogre," Giovanni Lanfranco (1582-1647).

A session at the 2021 American Academy of Religion's Annual Meeting, consisting of 3 papers, reflected on the ancient wisdom that might be found from the period of late antiquity in regards to isolation.  How did the early hermits of the Christian faith view their lives of isolation and separateness, and how might we draw from their perspectives and lessons learned during a pandemic or period of involuntary solitude in our own lives?

After the Battle of Hastings in September of 1066, William the Conqueror was in a tremendous hurry to consolidate his power, and thus elected to arrange his coronation ceremony on Christmas Day of that same year.  The chaos that ensued was certainly not according to plan!

Angels are often portrayed as messengers, yet the prophet Isaiah describes a very different type of "angelic" encounter with 6-winged flying creatures bathing in smoke.  Isaiah doesn't even seem that surprised to see them - perhaps there's a reason for that?  Oh, and we'll talk about the Angel of Death.  Not his real name, but he's kind of a big deal.
Books:
1.  "Sarapu."  In The Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago.  Chicago:  Oriental Institute, 1962.  Pgs. 102-5.
2.  John Walton.  "Demons in Mesopotamia and Israel."  In Windows to the Ancient World of the Hebrew Bible.  Bill Arnold, Nancy Erickson, and John Walton, eds.  Winona Lake, IN:  Eisenbrauns, 2014.  Pgs. 229-45.
3.  T.N.D. Mettinger.  "Seraphim."  In Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible.  Karel van der Toorn, Bob Becking, Pieter van Horst, eds.  Leiden: Brill, 1999.  Pgs. 742-4.
Music:
Clip from The Ten Commandments.  Paramount Pictures, 1956.
Clip from Evan Almighty.  Universal Pictures, 2007.
Alexander Nakarada.  "Vopna."  Creative Commons license.  www.serpentsoundstudios.com
Artwork:
Seraphim, from the Hagia Sofia, Istanbul.  Unknown date and artist.

Judge-to-be Gideon, a resistance fighter under oppression by a foreign army, is visited by a divine messenger.  Gideon has some pretty direct questions for his angelic visitor, and remains somewhat unconvinced that his commissioning as a deliverer of his people is in fact legit.
Books:
1. Tammi Schneider.  Judges.  Berit Olam: Studies in Hebrew Narrative and Poetry.  David Cotter, ed.  Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2000.
2.  Trent Butlet.  Judges.  Word Biblical Commentary.  Bruce Metzger, ed.  Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2009.
3.  Samuel Meier.  "Angel." In Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible.  2nd ed.  Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 1999.
Artwork:
Hendrik Heerschop.  "The Sacrifice of Gideon."  1653.