The Book of Enoch was read and revered across the spectrum of Second Temple Judaism--those forms of Judaism that thrived in the "Intertestamental" period (ca. 500 B.C. to 100 A. D.). The book is more properly referred to as 1 Enoch in order to distinguish it from other books that bore the name Enoch which were composed later than this period (e.g., 2 Enoch, 3 Enoch). Though 1 Enoch was and is not considered canonical Scripture by the majority of Jewis and Christian authorities in antiquity, the book had a very wide readership, including the authors of New Testament books. This fact is well known to scholars who work in the original languages of both the New Testament and 1 Enoch. The content of 1 Enoch can be found in a number of passages in the New Testament as well as certain of its theological conceptions. Though the scholarly literature on 1 Enoch is plentiful, no commentary for the interested lay person exists--until now. A Companion to the Book of Enoch: A Reader's Commentary, Volume 1: The Book of the Watchers (1 Enoch 1-36) was written to fill this void and help students of the Bible understand and appreciate this important and influential ancient book. This "reader's commentary" does not require original language facility on the part of its user. Rather, the purpose of a Reader's Commentary is to help readers of 1 Enoch comprehend what the book's content with greater insight and clarity. Consequently, this Reader's Commentary on 1 Enoch is not written for scholars. Anyone who has decided to devote the time to reading 1 Enoch, perhaps for the first time, will find this resource eminently useful. A Companion to the Book of Enoch: A Reader's Commentary is based on the translation of 1 Enoch by R. H. Charles (1917). Important original language insights and differences in manuscripts of 1 Enoch are noted and explained as are theological concepts.

The Book of Enoch was read and revered across the spectrum of Second Temple Judaism--those forms of Judaism that thrived in the "Intertestamental" period (ca. 500 B.C. to 100 A. D.). The book is more properly referred to as 1 Enoch in order to distinguish it from other books that bore the name Enoch which were composed later than this period (e.g., 2 Enoch, 3 Enoch). Though 1 Enoch was and is not considered canonical Scripture by the majority of Jewis and Christian authorities in antiquity, the book had a very wide readership, including the authors of New Testament books. This fact is well known to scholars who work in the original languages of both the New Testament and 1 Enoch. The content of 1 Enoch can be found in a number of passages in the New Testament as well as certain of its theological conceptions. Though the scholarly literature on 1 Enoch is plentiful, no commentary for the interested lay person exists--until now. A Companion to the Book of Enoch: A Reader's Commentary, Volume 1: The Book of the Watchers (1 Enoch 1-36) was written to fill this void and help students of the Bible understand and appreciate this important and influential ancient book. This "reader's commentary" does not require original language facility on the part of its user. Rather, the purpose of a Reader's Commentary is to help readers of 1 Enoch comprehend what the book's content with greater insight and clarity. Consequently, this Reader's Commentary on 1 Enoch is not written for scholars. Anyone who has decided to devote the time to reading 1 Enoch, perhaps for the first time, will find this resource eminently useful. A Companion to the Book of Enoch: A Reader's Commentary is based on the translation of 1 Enoch by R. H. Charles (1917). Important original language insights and differences in manuscripts of 1 Enoch are noted and explained as are theological concepts.

Fifty years after James Bruce brought a copy of the Book of Enoch, found in Ethiopia, to England, Richard Laurence made a first modern translation. Later, R.H. Charles made another translation using some Greek excerpts, and more Ethiopian texts. Then recently, Michael A Knibb, using many texts, and partial texts, put together an ?adequate' translation. Yet, all of these translations are rough, obscure, and confusing to Christians of today. The Dead Sea Scrolls contained many copies and partial copies of the Book of Enoch, In the Dead Sea scrolls, there were found 17 copies. Comparitively, there were 30 copies of Psalms, 25 copies of Deuteronomy, 19 of Isaiah, 15 of Genesis and Exodus, 14 Of Jubilees. Jude validated The Book Of Enoch with his quote from it. Using all of the sources now available, along with an in-depth study of book, I have prepared this paraphrase/translation. Along with such, I have included an commentary to help in its comparison with the Bible. John D. Ladd was raised the son of an Assemblies of God pastor. He attended Northeast Bible College, in Pennsylvania, and later, Malone College, in Canton, Ohio. He pastored for many years, was ordained in the Assemblies of God, but later left to pastor independent churches. Preferring teaching to preaching, he has spent many years studying, reading books from the early church period, and translating\paraphrasing them for ease of use by Christians of today. This book of Enoch's has been translated, paraphrased, and now is being given commentary, to compare it with the Bible's message, to test it by the Word of God. How does it compare? Is it in agreement with the message and prophetic teachings of the Bible?

The rediscovery of Enochic Judaism as an ancient movement of dissent within Second Temple Judaism, a movement centered on neither temple nor torah, is a major achievement of contemporary research. After being marginalized, ancient Enoch texts have reemerged as a significant component of the Dead Sea Scrolls library unearthed at Qumran. Enoch and Qumran Origins is the first comprehensive treatment of the complex and forgotten relations between the Qumran community and the Jewish group behind the pseudepigraphal literature of Enoch. The contributors demonstrate that the roots of the Qumran community are to be found in the tradition of the Enoch group rather than that of the Jerusalem priesthood. Framed by Gabriele Boccaccini's introduction and James Charlesworth's conclusion, this book examines the hypotheses of five particularly eminent scholars, resulting in an engaging and substantive discussion among forty-seven specialists from nine countries. The exceptional array of essays from leading international scholars in Second Temple Judaism and Christian origins makes Enoch and Qumran Origins a sine qua non for serious students of this period. Contributors: William Adler Matthias Albani Jeff S. Anderson Albert I. Baumgarten Andreas Bedenbender Stefan Beyerle Gabriele Boccaccini James H. Charlesworth John J. Collins Michael A. Daise James R. Davila Torleif Elgvin Mark A. Elliott Hanan Eshel Peter W. Flint Ida Fröhlich Florentino Garca Martnez Claudio Gianotto Lester L. Grabbe Ithamar Gruenwald Charlotte Hempel Matthias Henze Martha Himmelfarb Michael A. Knibb Klaus Koch Helge S. Kvanvig Armin Lange Erik W. Larson Timothy H. Lim Corrado Martone George W. E. Nickelsburg Pierluigi Piovanelli Émile Puech Annette Yoshiko Reed John C. Reeves Henry W. Morisada Rietz Paolo Sacchi Lawrence H. Schiffman Loren T. Stuckenbruck David W. Suter Shemaryahu Talmon Eibert J. C. Tigchelaar Patrick Tiller Liliana Rosso Ubigli James C. VanderKam Jacques van Ruiten Benjamin G. Wright III

In this study of the rabbinic heretics who believed in Two Powers in Heaven, Alan Segal explores some relationships between rabbinic Judaism, Merkabah mysticism, and early Christianity. Two Powers in Heaven was a very early category of heresy. It was one of the basic categories by which the rabbis perceived the new phenomenon of Christianity and one of the central issues over which Judaism and Christianity separated. Segal reconstructs the development of the heresy through prudent dating of the stages of the rabbinic traditions. The basic heresy involved interpreting scripture to say that a principal angelic or hypostatic manifestation in heaven was equivalent to God. The earliest heretics believed in two complementary powers in heaven, while later heretics believed in two opposing powers in heaven. Segal stresses the importance of perceiving the relevance of rabbinic material for solving traditional problems of New Testament and gnostic scholarship, and at the same time maintains the necessity of reading those literatures for dating rabbinic material. Please note that Two Powers in Heaven was previously published by Brill in hardback, ISBN 90 04 05453 7 (no longer available).

The truth about demons is far stranger—and even more fascinating—than what's commonly believed. Are demons real? Are they red creatures with goatees holding pitchforks and sitting on people's shoulders while whispering bad things? Did a third of the angels really rebel with Satan? Are demons and "principalities and powers" just terms for the same entities, or are they different members of the kingdom of darkness? Is the world a chaotic mess because of what happened in Eden, or is there more to the story of evil? What people believed about evil spiritual forces in ancient biblical times is often very different than what people have been led to believe about them today. And this ancient worldview is missing from most attempts to treat the topic. In Demons, Michael Heiser debunks popular presuppositions about the very real powers of darkness. Rather than traditions, stories, speculations, or myths, Demons is grounded in what ancient people of both the Old and New Testament eras believed about evil spiritual forces and in what the Bible actually says. You'll come away with a sound, biblical understanding of demons, supernatural rebellion, evil spirits, and spiritual warfare.