Books by Miryam T Brand
Outside the Bible gives to the English-speaking world the sacred library of ancient Israel. For t... more Outside the Bible gives to the English-speaking world the sacred library of ancient Israel. For the fi rst time in a Jewish context, the vast collection of the extra-biblical texts that comprise ancient Israel's excluded scriptures are available to scholar and general reader alike. From the Dead Sea Scrolls to the Septuagint, Apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha, Josephus, and Philo, this anthology brings together the texts that transformed Jews and Christians at the turn of the fi rst millennium.
Talks by Miryam T Brand
Approaches to sin in Second Temple texts demonstrate the diversity and fluidity of ideas regardin... more Approaches to sin in Second Temple texts demonstrate the diversity and fluidity of ideas regarding sin. Whether the source of sin was considered human or demonic did not affect whether sin was considered subject to human free will or to divine determinism. Rather, the aim of the text, and sometimes the experience it reflected, influenced its portrayal of sin. Moreover, even the texts of a single community, namely, the Dead Sea community, reflect a wide range of views of sin. Some of these views develop ideas that are already found in texts attributed to broader Jewish communities.
An example of this fluidity and the central role played by the aim and genre of the text can be found in the striking contrast between Second Temple prayers and covenantal texts in their portrayal of a human inclination to sin. While prayer texts emphasize the lack of human ability to fight the innate inclination to sin, covenantal texts focus on free will. Prayers describe the human inclination to sin as an expression of the lack of human freedom, underscoring the need to beseech divine aid in order to prevent sin. In covenantal texts, in contrast, the inevitable nature of the desire to sin serves as a further impetus for humans to exercise their free choice and to act against it. Within the framework of covenantal texts, since humans know that they are naturally inclined toward sin, they have no excuse for following their own will.
The description of demonic rule that causes sin can be found in several works of Jewish Pseudepig... more The description of demonic rule that causes sin can be found in several works of Jewish Pseudepigrapha. This paper focuses on the description of this "phenomenon" in three works: Levi’s prayer in the Aramaic Levi Document (ALD), the Plea for Deliverance (column 19 of the Psalms Scroll), and Moses’ prayer in Jubilees 1:19-21. Through comparison of these three works, this paper attempts to draw the contours of demonic "rule" leading to sin as it was perceived in the Second Temple period.
Articles by Miryam T Brand
Encyclopedia of Second Temple Judaism, 2019
Encyclopedia of Second Temple Judaism, 2019
Encyclopedia of Second Temple Judaism, 2019
Iran, Israel, and the Jews: Symbiosis and Conflict from the Achaemenids to the Islamic Republic, 2018
From the time the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered, their parallels to other ancient texts have i... more From the time the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered, their parallels to other ancient texts have intrigued scholars. In particular, researchers have noted similarities between Iranian thought and approaches found in the Qumran scrolls. While the parallels are striking, the manner in which Iranian ideas “influenced” the Qumran Community, and the degree to which such influence was even possible, remains a matter of debate. The present survey will explore some of these similarities, the difficulties that have been raised with the assumption of direct influence, and possible paths to influence from Iranian thought to Qumran texts.
Das Böse, der Teufel und Dämonen – Evil, the Devil, and Demons, 2016
Media by Miryam T Brand
Unbeknownst to many modern Christians, the New Testament's teaching on sin's causes and solutions... more Unbeknownst to many modern Christians, the New Testament's teaching on sin's causes and solutions enters the fray of a lively literary and sectarian discussion. Jewish communities had lots of ideas about how demons influence us to sin, how the Torah can heal us from sin, and the role of closed communities in solving sin. How can we understand this raucous panoply of evil-talk in Second Temple Judaism? Dru Johnson talks with Dr. Miryam Brand about her research on sin and evil in Second Temple Judaism texts (that is: Jewish texts from 400 BCE–100 CE), which is also featured in her highly accessible podcast and blog: http://understandingsin.com/.
Papers by Miryam T Brand
This study addresses the problem of the existence of sin and the determination of its source as r... more This study addresses the problem of the existence of sin and the determination of its source as reflected in texts of the Second Temple period. The study surveys the relevant Apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha, and Dead Sea Scrolls, as well as the works of Philo and (where relevant) Josephus, in order to determine the extent to which texts' presentation of sin is influenced by genre and sectarian identification and to identify central worldviews regarding sin in the Second Temple period. The analysis is divided into two parts; the first explores texts that reflect a conviction that sin's source is an innate human inclination, and the second analyzes texts that depict sin as caused by demons. This study finds that the genre or purpose of a text is frequently a determining factor in its representation of sin, particularly influencing the text's portrayal of sin as the result of human inclination versus demonic influence and sin as a free choice or as predetermined fact. Second Temp...
From Scrolls to Traditions, 2020
Evil Within and Without, 2013
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Books by Miryam T Brand
Talks by Miryam T Brand
An example of this fluidity and the central role played by the aim and genre of the text can be found in the striking contrast between Second Temple prayers and covenantal texts in their portrayal of a human inclination to sin. While prayer texts emphasize the lack of human ability to fight the innate inclination to sin, covenantal texts focus on free will. Prayers describe the human inclination to sin as an expression of the lack of human freedom, underscoring the need to beseech divine aid in order to prevent sin. In covenantal texts, in contrast, the inevitable nature of the desire to sin serves as a further impetus for humans to exercise their free choice and to act against it. Within the framework of covenantal texts, since humans know that they are naturally inclined toward sin, they have no excuse for following their own will.
Articles by Miryam T Brand
Media by Miryam T Brand
Papers by Miryam T Brand
An example of this fluidity and the central role played by the aim and genre of the text can be found in the striking contrast between Second Temple prayers and covenantal texts in their portrayal of a human inclination to sin. While prayer texts emphasize the lack of human ability to fight the innate inclination to sin, covenantal texts focus on free will. Prayers describe the human inclination to sin as an expression of the lack of human freedom, underscoring the need to beseech divine aid in order to prevent sin. In covenantal texts, in contrast, the inevitable nature of the desire to sin serves as a further impetus for humans to exercise their free choice and to act against it. Within the framework of covenantal texts, since humans know that they are naturally inclined toward sin, they have no excuse for following their own will.