Secret Societies in Ancient Judaism

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael E. Stone
Keyword(s):  
Hierarchical Organization ◽  
Secret Society ◽  
Secret Societies ◽  
Roman World ◽  
Ancient Judaism ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
Special Knowledge ◽  
Different Levels

This chapter deals with the sources available for knowledge of Jewish esoteric groups, distinguishing between “insider” and “outsider” sources. The Essenes and the Qumran covenanters as a secret society are introduced. The keeping of secrets in the Greco–Roman world and the consequent importance of archaeology in discovering these secrets are briefly discussed. Typical features of secret societies are given: gradual initiation and limitation of membership, hierarchical organization with different levels, and stages of admission to the special knowledge. The main categories are “secret–open,” not “sectarian–normative,” as in previous studies. Analogous secret cults in the Greco–Roman world are also listed.

Secret Groups in Ancient Judaism

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael E. Stone
Keyword(s):  
Second Temple ◽  
Interesting Case ◽  
Georg Simmel ◽  
Secret Societies ◽  
Roman World ◽  
Ancient Judaism ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
Jewish Society ◽  
Secret Knowledge ◽  
Working Out

The thesis advanced in this work is that the model of a secret or esoteric group is fruitful for studying various movements and groups in the Greco–Roman world. This is worked out in the extremely interesting case of the Essenes and the Qumran covenanters, for which we have available not only outsider descriptions but also the very documents that embody at least part of their secret teachings. This approach to analysis is not intended to supplant the sect/normative pattern for describing Ancient Judaism, but to supplement it, adding a very fruitful unexplored dimension to the analysis of ancient Jewish society. By attributing, in the footsteps of Georg Simmel, and more recently L. Hazelrigg, the organization and dynamic of secret societies to the need to guard the secret knowledge, it provides ways of understanding the organization and practice of the Qumran covenanters Essene sect, which were previously unperceived. Having established the theoretical framework, having shown that such groups existed in both non-Jewish and Jewish society in the Greco–Roman world, the book then proceeds to analyze in detail the working out of this dynamic in the cases of the Therapeutae and the Essenes, supplementing this with investigation of whether there is evidence for this same dynamic elsewhere in Second Temple Jewish society. Moreover, this analysis bears on the overall “fit” of these groups in the society of the period, so richly endowed with names of and evidence for different groups in that society.

Healing and Protective Magic: Defense against the Dark Arts

2019 ◽  
pp. 116-148
Author(s):  
Radcliffe G. Edmonds III
Keyword(s):  
Ancient World ◽  
Potential Harm ◽  
Divine Power ◽  
Roman World ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
Special Knowledge ◽  
Everyday Problems ◽  
Extraordinary Means

This chapter looks at the tradition of protective and healing magic in the Greco-Roman world. While normal strategies of defense and protection against one's enemies and the ordinary perils of life in the ancient world could be employed in everyday problems, for extraordinary crises, extraordinary means with extraordinary efficacy were needed. Such means were needed not only to ward off potential harm but also to heal the damage already done. Special knowledge might be required to determine the necessary remedy for an unusual or serious problem, whether that knowledge was transmitted in the traditional lore about various plants and minerals or in systematic treatises that compiled the arcane lore for scholarly minded philosophers and doctors. Either the traditional lore or the occult knowledge might be labeled as “magic.” Protective and curative magic channeled divine power in special ways to achieve its extraordinary effects, and so, like other forms of magic in the ancient Greco-Roman world, it was at times viewed askance as superstition and at other times eagerly sought as the only solution to otherwise insuperable problems.

The Social Organization of Secrecy

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael E. Stone
Keyword(s):  
Social Organization ◽  
Dead Sea ◽  
Social Structures ◽  
Secret Societies ◽  
Ancient Judaism ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
The Social ◽  
Role Of Women ◽  
Roman Antiquity

In this chapter we study the mysteries and secrecy in Greco–Roman antiquity. The cults of Mithras and Isis as mysteries and revelations to their initiates, as well as the “Mithras Liturgy” and magical elements of the ascent, are examined. Secret groups have tripartite social structures. There is evidence for secret societies in Ancient Judaism other than Essenes and Therapeutae. The identification of the Qumran covenanters and of the Essenes is explored. We look at cryptic writing and secrecy within groups. The role of women in some groups is discussed. Past discoveries of Dead Sea manuscripts and documents are outlined.

Paul’s Defense: Masculinity and Authority in 2 Corinthians 10–13

2021 ◽  
pp. 0142064X2110248
Author(s):  
Kyung Min Kim
Keyword(s):  
Hegemonic Masculinity ◽  
Essential Element ◽  
Church Members ◽  
Cultural Assumptions ◽  
2 Corinthians ◽  
Roman World ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
Power And Control ◽  
Paternal Control ◽  
And Control

In 2 Cor. 10–13, Paul tries to prove his authority as a reliable leader by using two different masculinity standards. Paul manifests his power and control over the Corinthian church members by using an image of paterfamilias (11.2-3; 12.14). Paternal control of others was an essential element of hegemonic masculinity in the Greco-Roman world. Moreover, Paul proves his manliness by revealing his endurance and submission to divine authority (11.21b–12.10) according to the Hellenistic Jewish masculinity. I argue that Paul is embedded in these different cultural assumptions regarding masculinity and that he refers to these assumptions to persuade Gentile and Jewish groups in the Corinthian church.

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