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.

This book considers the early history of Jewish-Christian relations focussing on the fallen angels.

How do we account for the explosion of demonic activity in the New Testament? Archie T. Wright examines the trajectory of the origin of evil spirits in early Jewish literature. His work traces the development of the concept of evil spirits from the Hebrew Bible (Genesis 6) through post-biblical Jewish literature. "I would in fact recommend this book, not because of the answers it gives, but the questions it raises." -- Philip R. Davies in Journal of Semitic Studies 55 (2010) "This work is marked by several strengths. First, Wright shows an impressive command of the primary and secondary literature. Second, this writer appreciates Wright's tendency to express cautious conclusions regarding historical and source-critical matters. These qualities are especially helpful in a work dealing with the reception history of a given text. Third, Wright has an extremely helpful discussion of the identity of the nephilim of Gen. 6:4 (80-83)." -- Mark D. Owens in Faith & Mission 24 (2007), pp. 68-70

Is there another, perhaps better world than the one where we live? Is there a future for us after death and how does it look like? The articles in this volume describe how ancient Jewish and Christian authors dealt with the above questions and what their answers had to do with their own life experience.

"Abrahamic religions" has gained currency in scholarly and ecumenical circles as a way to refer to Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Carol Bakhos steps back from the convention to ask: What is Abrahamic about these three faiths? She challenges references to Judaism and Islam as sibling religions and warns against uncritical adoption of the term.

The mythical story of fallen angels preserved in1 Enochand related literature was profoundly influential during the Second Temple period. In this volume renowned scholar Loren Stuckenbruck explores aspects of that influence and demonstrates how the myth was reused and adapted to address new religious and cultural contexts. Stuckenbruck considers a variety of themes, including demonology, giants, exorcism, petitionary prayer, the birth and activity of Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the conversion of Gentiles, "apocalyptic" and the understanding of time, and more. He also offers a theological framework for the myth of fallen angels through which to reconsider several New Testament texts the Synoptic Gospels, the Gospel of John, Acts, Paul's letters, and the book of Revelation."

A new explanation of the beginnings of Jewish angelology and demonology, drawing on non-canonical writings and Aramaic Dead Sea Scrolls.