Apocalypses Real and Alleged in the Mani Codex
-
Upload
applicative -
Category
Documents
-
view
215 -
download
0
Transcript of Apocalypses Real and Alleged in the Mani Codex
-
7/27/2019 Apocalypses Real and Alleged in the Mani Codex
1/15
Apocalypses Real and Alleged in the Mani Codex
Author(s): David FrankfurterSource: Numen, Vol. 44, Fasc. 1 (Jan., 1997), pp. 60-73Published by: BRILLStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3270382.
Accessed: 15/09/2014 23:34
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at.http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp
.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of
content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].
.
BRILLis collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Numen.
http://www.jstor.org
This content downloaded from 130.49.198.5 on Mon, 15 Sep 2014 23:34:04 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=baphttp://www.jstor.org/stable/3270382?origin=JSTOR-pdfhttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/stable/3270382?origin=JSTOR-pdfhttp://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=bap -
7/27/2019 Apocalypses Real and Alleged in the Mani Codex
2/15
APOCALYPSES
REAL AND
ALLEGED
IN THE MANI
CODEX1
DAVID
FRANKFURTER
Summary
The
florilegium
f
revelations
hatMani adduces s
proof
f
his
own
authority
n
theCologneMani Codexhas stimulatedesearchnto hecirculationnd nfluence
of
Jewish
pocalypses
mong
he various
Jewish-Christian
ects of late
antiquity.
But it
has also
proved
frustrating,
ince not
one of the
apocalyptic
texts hat
Mani
quotes
matches xtant
pocalypses
n the name of
Enoch, Adam,
Seth,
or
Enosh.
Considering
he breadth
f the Enoch iterature
ow
known rom
extual
and
patristic
ources,
ncluding
anichaean
iterature,
he
bsence
of a
parallel
or
Mani's
Enoch- quotation
ay
e
reason o
suspect
hatMani nventedhis
uotation
as well
as the
others.
This
paperproposes
n
interpretation
f Mani's
apocalyptic
florilegium
hat
epends
not
on the
historicalxistence f the
putative
exts uton
Mani's
own
distinctive
cheme f
propheticineage
nd
authority.
t is
argued
hat
Mani's universalist
iew
of mission nd
religion
ed him o revise
xisting
chemes
of
Jewish
evelatory
eroes hatwere raditionalo Jewishnd
Jewish-Christianects
and that
nvoked
he
patriarchs
onstitutivef Jewish
dentity,
ike
Abraham,
oses,
and
Elijah.
In
contrast,
ani
promotes
is
relevation's
cumenical
ppeal
by casting
himself
n
a line of biblical
figures
ho
in
the ate
antique
worldhad
especially
universalist
ignificance:
dam, Seth,
and Enoch
(all
antediluviannd
therefore
pre-covenantal)
nd Paul
(Mani's
model f an
ecumenical
missionary).
For those cholarsnterestedn the life-contextf Jewishpoca-
lypses
n
antiquity
ani's
odd ittle
utobiography,
On
the
Origin
f
His
Body,
as
proved
tself veritable indfall.2orhere
mong
he
various
eminiscences
f
Mani's ife
he
disciple
araies
uoted
Mani
explicitly
nvoking
apocalypses
f
Adam,
ethel, nosh, hem,
nd
Enoch.
If the
Mani codex
had
already
astly
xpanded
ur knowl-
edge
of
the ncient ewish-Christian
roup
he
Elchasaites,
hen
Mani
through
araies
revealed
heir
ibrary
atalogue.
Or
did he?
I would
ike
to
suggest
hat his
highly
esirable
s-
sumption
ay
be
premature
ndthat his
florilegium
f
apocalyptic
?
Koninklijke
rill,
eiden
1997)
NUMEN,
Vol.
44
This content downloaded from 130.49.198.5 on Mon, 15 Sep 2014 23:34:04 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp -
7/27/2019 Apocalypses Real and Alleged in the Mani Codex
3/15
Apocalypses
eal and
Alleged
n
theMani
Codex
61
incipits
ssembled
y
Mani
might
e
governed-at
east
n
part-by
an ideological cheme. want t leasttolayoutthepossibilityhat
the
florilegium's
lleged
sources
were
nvented
or
he
purpose
f
locating
Mani
in the
ineage
f
a
particularype
f
revelatory
ero.
I.
Problems
n the Sources
of
the
Florilegium
Let
us look first
t the
framing
aterial
n which
he
lleged poc-
alypses
ppear:
[Thus]
first
dam
...]
said
[in]
his
Apocalypse]:..
Likewise,
lso
Sethel,
his
son,
has writtenhus n
his
Apocalyps
,
saying:
I
opened
my yes
and beheld efore
my
face
an
angel],...
Again
n
the
Apocalypse
f
Enosh
t reads
hus:
In thethird
ear,
n the
tenth
month,
went ut for
walk nto
hedesert
and,...
Likewise,
lso,
Shem
poke
n this
way
n
his
Apocalypse:
..
Again
Enoch
spoke
n
this
way
n
his
Apocalypse:
..
Likewise
we know
hat he
apostle
Paul was
snatched
p
to thethird ea-
ven,
..
In
conclusion,
ll
themost lessed
postles,
aviors,
vangelists,
nd
prophets
of thetruth-each f them eheld nsofars the ivinghopewas revealed o
him
for
proclamation.
nd
they
wrote
own,
bequeathed,
nd stored
p
for
remembrance
or
the]
futureons of
the
divine]
pirit,
who will
understand
the
ense
of
[his]
voice.3
It
is
quite
obvious,
rom form-critical
erspective,
hat his
ist s
not
a
libraryatalogue.
ven
f
the
ntroductoryhrases
nd
the c-
curate
uotation
f
he
aulinematerial
ight
mply
he
rior
iterary
existence
f the
estimonies,
he
ext
owhere
ives
ny
xplicit
ndi-
cation fdocumentingooksreadamong heElchasaites rothers.4
The
ist
functions,ather,
o
ground
ani's
wn
oncept
f
author-
ity
n
a
sacred
ineage
f
predecessors.
his
function
merges
ost
vividly
n
the
reface
nd onclusion
othe
ist:
...
[E]ach
one
of
theforefathers
howed
is
own
pokalypsis
o his
elect,
which
he chose
and
brought
ogether
n that
eneration
n
which e
appeared,
ndhow
he
wrote
it)
and
bequeathed
it)
to
posterity
..
Also
in
this
way,
t
s
fitting
or
he
ll-praiseworthy
postle
Mani),
through
whom
nd from
whom
has
come
to us
the
hope
nd
nheritance
f
ife,
o
write
tous ...5
This content downloaded from 130.49.198.5 on Mon, 15 Sep 2014 23:34:04 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp -
7/27/2019 Apocalypses Real and Alleged in the Mani Codex
4/15
62
David
Frankfurter
The
ist
goesbeyond
mere
ineage
oreflecthe
ntrinsic
mportance
ofturningne's revelationsntotext.Morethan imply rivileged
to
meet
angels
and
tour
heaven,Adam,
Sethel,
nd
the
restwere
specifically
nstructedo write
own their
evelations.
n
a
world
replete
with
egends
f
prophets,
ral
teachings
f
prophets,
nd ru-
mors
f
new
prophets
ani
put pecial
mportance
n the
book
as
the
guarantee
f authentic
nd
authoritativeevelation.6
nd,
ince
Mani
criticized
oroaster,
he
Buddha,
nd
Jesus
or ot
writing
own
heir
ipsissima
erba,
Jewish
pocalypsesmay
have
nitially
tood
s
the
paradigmsfproperlyecordedeavenlyeachings.7heir motional
call-narratives
nd
glorious
upernatural
magery
choed
Mani's own
intense
eligious
xperiences
f
his
heavenly
win. But even
more,
their
elf-conscious
cribality
ith
ts ntrinsic
mplication
f
heav-
enly
uthority
resented
tself s the
uintessentialay
of
stablishing
one's
message
n
a
competitive
eligious
world.8
But
then,
rom
literary
erspective,
e are
talking
boutMani's
appeal
not o
particular
istoricalexts
ut athero
the dea
of
Jewish
apocalypses,
heir
ypical
tructuresnd
visions,
nd
their
onstruc-
tions
f
iterary
uthority.
Now,
when omeone
ays
thathe
is
quoting
omething
nd
gives
the
itle,
he
historian
ends
o
believe
hat
ook existed. he
Epistle
of
Jude,
fter
ll,
quotes
the Enochic
Book
of
the Watchers
1:9)
accurately
n
citing
what Enoch
prophesied
Jude 4).
Butthis
ind
of
assumption
an
in
many
ases be
highly
misleading.
hatfourth-
century
istoriographical
nigma
nown
s the
Historia
ugusta
ites
numerous
ooks
whose existence
s
highly
oubtful.9 nd
in
such
bibliolatrous ultures s theMiddleEast
produced,
mongwhom
themere
notion
f book or
source
arried
mythical
vertones,
he
citation f
books
could
be an
maginative
ct,
n
appeal
to the
notion
of
heavenly
r
secret
ooks
and one's
own authorial
ineage
o
such
books.'0
Why
n this
articular
ase should
we
be
skeptical
bout he
existence
f the
ited
books?
My
and
perhaps
thers'
uspicions
hat hese ooks
may
not
have
been
all
there
were
nitially
aised
y
the
uotation
rom he
apoc-
alypse of Enoch, which has no parallel in extantEnoch literature.
This content downloaded from 130.49.198.5 on Mon, 15 Sep 2014 23:34:04 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp -
7/27/2019 Apocalypses Real and Alleged in the Mani Codex
5/15
Apocalypses
eal and
Alleged
n
theMani
Codex
63
This
observation
ould
be
insignificant
ere
t not
for
he
normity
ofthe xtantorpus fEnochbooks ndfragments.11husonemight
begin
o
wonder,
as Mani
or
Baraies
coined
kind f
archetypal
Enoch
apocalypse,
heverisimilitude
f whichwould
be
guaranteed
by
its
similarity
o other
noch
apocalypses
f the ancient
world,
with
ome
of which
we know
Maniwas
acquainted?12
And
since
none
of theother
apocalypses,
f
Adam, Seth,
or
Enosh,
match
nown
seudepigrapha
ither,
ight
hey
oo
be made
up
along
he ame
ines-
pretending
o
be the
evelatory
estimonies
of antediluvianeroeswhom nyone f that eriodwouldhaveex-
pected
o issue
apocalypses?
At
this
point
one
needs
to
propose
ome kind
of rationale or
the
nvention
f
apocalypses
n these
figures'
ames. And this
ra-
tionale
must
ie in Mani's
selection
f antediluvian
igures.
The
scholar
of
early
Judaism,
or
example,
ould
hardly
void notic-
ing
that
fairly arge
corpus
of
pseudepigrapha
n
the names
of
post-diluvian
igures-Abraham,
oses, saiah,
Zephaniah,
aruch,
Ezra-thatwereprobablyirculatinguitewidely y
thethird
en-
tury
ave not
been
quoted
n
Mani's
florilegium.
hat
meaning
might
we infer
rom
selection
f revealers
ctive
efore
he
flood?
II.
Themes
n theConstruction
f
the
Florilegium:
he
Genealogy f
the
True
Prophet
One
must
egin
with
he
traditionf therevealer-list
tself,
pon
which
Mani's
apocalyptic
lorilegium
eems
o
be based.
Scholars
f
Mani andhisworldhavenoted hestrongnfluencef that ncient
Semitic
notion
f
the
True
Prophet,
divinemediator
igure
e-
lievedto
rest
upon
certain
igures
n
history
t intervals
ontinuing
up
through
he
nd
of theworld.14
he idea of
a chainof
especially
privileged
eers
ecame
articularly
opular
mong
ewish-Christians
of
the
Middle
East,
who
employed
t
to describe
he
nature
f
the
di-
vine
presence
n Jesus.
or
example,
iscussions
f theTrue
Prophet
in the
Pseudo-Clementine
exts ffer he
ist:
Adam,
Enoch,Noah,
Abraham,saac,
Jacob,
nd
Moses.15 mong
he
lchasaites
oothere
This content downloaded from 130.49.198.5 on Mon, 15 Sep 2014 23:34:04 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp -
7/27/2019 Apocalypses Real and Alleged in the Mani Codex
6/15
64
David
Frankfurter
was
the
view,
according
o
Hippolytus,
that here s one
[Christ]
aboveandthat e is infusedntomany odiesfrequentlynd now s
inJesus. 16
piphanius
dds that he
heavenly igure
oncerned
is a
spirit
nd
stands bove
the
ngels...
He
comes nto he
worldwhen
he
wishes,
forhe
came into
Adam and
appeared
o the
patriarchs
clothed
with
body.
He is the
same who went o
Abraham,
saac
and
Jacob
nd who came at the nd
of
the
imes
n
human orm
s
Jesus.
n
its
emphasis
n
Abraham
nd often
Moses,
n
its
echoes
of
the
peregrinations
f Wisdom
n Ben
Sira,
n
its
very
asis n the
BookofDeuteronomy,heTrueProphetradition ust e said to be
Jewish
n
essence.'8
The
prophet
lchasai
himself,
ounderfMani's
birth-community,
seems
o have
been
viewed
n
Elchasaite
raditions an
avatar f the
True
Prophet.
ndeed,
here
s
some
vidence
hat
he
lchasaites
ook
Mani as
theFalse
Prophet,
heTrue
Prophet's egative
ounterpart
in the
nd-times.19
o
in
one senseMani understoodis own
position
in the
hain
f
patriarchs
n
quite
raditional
erms: e s
the
ecipient
of
greatmysteries
nd
secrets
evealed
y
his
heavenly
Twin
just
as
the
antediluvian
eers had encountered
hem
with
ngels.20
And
here Mani's
development
f the True
Prophet
radition ade
a
crucial
addition:
the
revelatoryineage
consisted
ot
simply
f
legendary
appearances
as
in
thePseudo-Clementine
exts)
ut of
legendary
pocalypses,
exts n which
the seers had recorded
he
wisdom
hey
had
received,
tandingymbolically
s
monumentso
each
encounter
ith
he
heavenly
orld.21
By
the
hird
entury
E
the erm
pokalypsis
adcome
o
be reified
as a
category
f iteraryenre.We see this evelopmentn therefer-
ence
titles
f the
Nag
Hammadi
ibrary,
n
the
omplaint
f
Synesius
of
Cyrene
hat
eople
around
imwere
producing
dreams hat
hey
call
apocalypses,
hich
illed
im
with
read,
nd
n
the
witness f
Porphyry
o
apokalypseis
fZoroaster
ndZostrianus
ndNicotheus
and
Allogenes
nd
Messus
and other
eople
of
thekind. 22
ut this
reification
f
apokalypsis
id notrendert
as
some
mundane
pecies
of codex.
ForthePseudo-Clementine
omilies
he rue
pokalypsis
is what s untaught, ithout isions nddreams,what becomes
This content downloaded from 130.49.198.5 on Mon, 15 Sep 2014 23:34:04 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp -
7/27/2019 Apocalypses Real and Alleged in the Mani Codex
7/15
Apocalypses
eal
and
Alleged
n the
Mani
Codex
65
known ot
by
nstructionut
understanding,
nd which
hereby
is-
tinguisheshe ust andpurefrom heunjust nd impious ecipient
of
heavenly
nowledge.23
n Mani's
usage apokalypsis
onstitutes
model
for the disclosure f
heavenly
ecrets,
ringing
ogether
n
one
concept
heaffective
mpact
f
revelation
n
the
seer,
he
self-
authenticating
ature f the
lleged
xperience
nd the
nsuing
ext,
and
the
egendary
reparation
f
that
ext s a
sacred
bject
ransmit-
ted
amonggenerations.
The
mpact
f
his
dealized
ense
f
pokalypsis
merges
n
Mani's
other rucial hange o theTrueProphetineage.Deeply nfluenced
by
Marcionite
otions f
biblical
heology
nd
authority
ani
had
once
come nto
onflict ith he
lchasaites verhis
ppeal
o
Pauline
and
other Gentile
cripture,
here
he Elchasaites
ave
primary
authority
o
texts,
iblical
nd
extracanonical,
hat
were
firmly
ooted
in
Judaism
ndJewish-Christian
radition.24
uthow
hen ouldMani
reconcile
his fascination
ith he True
Prophet
raditionr
with
Jewish
pocalypticism
ith
is neo-Marcionite
deology?
Mani
must
have
understood ewish
pocalypses
nd their eers
ndependently
f
the
Jewish
iblical radition
in
its
broad
ense).25
And it
is in
this
separation
f
apocalypticism
rom
ts Jewish
asis that
he
essential
Jewish
atriarchs
f
the True
rophet
radition-and
ndeed f
most
extant
pocalypses-were
hoved
side
n favor f more
mysterious,
antediluvian
atriarchs
ike
Adam, eth,
nd Enoch.
IlL.
The
Significance
f
the
Antediluvianeer in the
Manichaean
Mission
Antediluvian
eroeshad
become,
n
early
Judaism,
he
putative
discoverers
nd
spokesmen
orwhatever reas of
knowledge
were
not
obviously
iblical
and
sometimes
atently
oreign:
strology,
alchemy,magic.26
n this
way by
Mani's era these
particular
e-
brew
igures
ad achieved
place
among
hemost
mportant
f
a vast
number
f
egendary
eers n the
Mediterranean
orld,
ike
Zoroaster,
Hermes
Trismegistos,
ystaspes,
stanes,
nd
such
namesas have
come
down
o us
only
n the
ncipits
o
magical
pells.27
This content downloaded from 130.49.198.5 on Mon, 15 Sep 2014 23:34:04 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp -
7/27/2019 Apocalypses Real and Alleged in the Mani Codex
8/15
66
David
Frankfurter
With
uch
ssociations,
ntediluvian
igures
and
their
lleged
writ-
ings)couldfunctionmuchbetters ecumenical-pan-Mediterrane-
an--culture-heroes
even
syncretizing
ith
ther
cumenical
ulture
heroes),
han he
patriarchs
nd
prophets,
hose
deep,
covenantal
links
o
Jewish
and
Jewish-Christian)
dentity
nd
religious
oncerns
constituted
n
integral
art
f
their
egends.
phraem yrus
nd
Au-
gustine
f
Hippo
make clear that
Manichaeans ad no
use forthe
Hebrew
rophets,
od,
or Bible
n
general
nd
that he ect
actually
put
much
higher
tore
n
Sibylline,
ermetic,
nd
Orphicwritings,
whichrepresentedkindofrevelatoryclecticism ndecumenism
that
was basic
to theManichaeanmovement.28
Certainly
brahamould
omeoff
s a
legendarystrologer,
oses
as a
legendary
agos.
Butfrom
n
ancient
ewish-Christian
erspec-
tive,
or
in
Mani's
particular
deological
world,
hese
figures
were
inseparable
rom
he
Jewish raditions
hrough
hich he
Babylonian
sects
defined
hemselves.29 ne
could
scarcely
magine
zra
being
credited
ith
n
ecumenical
message;
nd theHebrew
rophets,eg-
endary
rusaders
or he
worship
f the
one
god
YHWH,
were of-
ten
singled
ut fordisdain
n Manichaean
radition.30 ntediluvian
figures
ould,
to be
sure,
ppear
s Jewish
ulture
eroes--even
s
proto-priests-in
arly
Jewish
pocalypses
ike
Enoch ndJubilees.
But
their
iteraryntiquity
eems o haverendered
hem
afe
for
c-
umenical
ppropriation--even
agnetic
n
their
otential
or
pan-
Mediterranean
uthority.
hus
a
figure
ike
Enoch or Seth
could be
brought
ogether
ith he
Greco-Egyptian
ermes
Trismegistos;
n
Apocalypse
f Adam
from
ag
Hammadi
rounds particularly
c-
umenical ompendiumfsavior raditionsrom round heMediter-
ranean
world;
nd Seth
functions
s a
primary
nostic evealer
n
three
Nag
Hammadi
ractates
nd
as the
ole
object
f
a Manichaean
hymn
rom
gypt.3'
t is
precisely
his
cope
of
revelatory
uthority
that
Manichaeans
oth
njoyed
nd
promoted.32
We
must
lso
recognize
hat
ach antediluvian
atriarch
n Mani's
apocalyptic
lorilegium
s
cast
as
a kind of
apostle
to
outsiders.33
This content downloaded from 130.49.198.5 on Mon, 15 Sep 2014 23:34:04 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp -
7/27/2019 Apocalypses Real and Alleged in the Mani Codex
9/15
Apocalypses
eal and
Alleged
n
theMani
Codex
67
Indeed,
t was not
ust
Marcionite ttitudes hat
ed
Mani
to af-
filiate imselfwith lineageofpre-Jewishatriarchs.Mani's en-
tire
elf-image
as
as
missionary
o the
world,
s
one
spreading
a
religion
cross all
ethnic
oundaries. t is of
particular
mpor-
tance
hat
his
very
lorilegium
oncludeswith he
xample
f
Paul's
ascent,
for
Paul and his own
self-consciously
cumenical
mission
provided
Mani
with
his
greatest
model.34Mani
(and
consequently
Manichaeism)
onceived
imself s the
culminationf
all
religions,
an
apostle
o
thecosmos
at
large,
nd
thus
ranscendent
f
all
par-
ticular octrinesndreligions.5He would,ndeed, ignalhisfurther
shift
rom he
Elchasaites'
uasi-Jewish
rame f referencen
plac-
ing
himself
n
prophetic
uccession
with
oroaster nd
Buddha.36
In
all
these endeavorsMani
departed
rom he
essentially
ewish
Christianity
f the
Babylonian
ects,
rom
heir
pocalyptic
iterature
and
True
Prophet
ineages,
rom hat
ntire
enus
of Hebraistic
identity
hat
lsewhere
ought
evelatoryuthority
n
Testamentsf
Abraham,saac,
and
Jacob
r
apocalypses
f saiah or
Zephaniah.37
It
was, ronically,recisely
his Hebraistic
hristianity
hat eems
to
have
dominated
he
Egyptian
h6ra
ntowhich
Manichaeanmis-
sions
moved
n the
ater hird
entury
E;
and a
hymn
rom ne of
these
Egyptian
Manichaean
ommunities
rings
heManichaean
e-
jection
of
post-diluvian
iblical
heroes
nto tark elief.The
hymn
holds
up
the dentical
eries f antediluvianeroes s
appears
n
the
CMC's
apocalyptic
lorilegium-Adamhrough
noch-but now as
paragons
f
fortitudender
tress,
s
martyrs.38
he
significance
f
this
martyrologicalequence merges
gainst
he ontrast
f
contem-
poraneous
hristian
martyrological
iterature
particularly
hat iter-
ature
n circulation
n
Egypt
nd North
Africa),
which
ommonly
cast
theHebrew
rophets
s
proto-martyrs
nd derived
he ranscen-
dent
powers
of
martyrdom
rom,
specially, ost-diluvian
iblical
tradition.
ne
reads n such iterature
f
enthusiastic
artyrs
laim-
ing
the
names f
prophets,
egends
f
prophets'
martyrdoms,
isions
and ascents
redited
o
martyrs.39
he Manichaean
ymn,
hich x-
tendsfrom
he antediluvian
eroes o
a
series
of
apostolic
martyrs,
This content downloaded from 130.49.198.5 on Mon, 15 Sep 2014 23:34:04 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp -
7/27/2019 Apocalypses Real and Alleged in the Mani Codex
10/15
68
David
Frankfurter
thus
raws
pon
he
ypicallyhird-century
bsessionwith
martyrdom
while till efusingo exalt nybut ntediluvianeers.
IV
Conclusions
Perhaps
Mani's
most uccinct
xpression
f this
cumenical,
an-
religious cope
appears
t the nd
of
the
Kephalaia:
The
writings
ndthewisdom
nd the
pocalypses
ndthe
parables
ndthe
psalms
f ll
earlier
religions]
ere
athered
verywhere
nd
ame o
my
re-
ligion]
ndwere dded
o
hewisdom hich
revealed.
s
water ill
e
added
towaterndbecomesmuchwater,o were he ncientooks ugmentedy
mywritings
ndbecame
great
isdom,
he ike fwhich
as
not
roclaimed
(hitherto)
n
all
ancient
enerations.40
Ancient
ooks,
s
Mani conceives
hem,
re
precursors
o
his
own
revelation.
But
even
more,
heir
nternational
ature- of all
earlier
religions] -immediatelyositions
im
beyond
Judaism
r
Jewish-Christian
dentity.
ntediluvian
atriarchs
nd their
utative
writings
ould serve his
positioning;
ost-diluvian
atriarchs
ho
taughtbout ovenantndpriestlyurityorreceiveduch eachings
from
ngels)
wouldnot.
What
then
does
this
paper uggest
bout
Mani's
apocalypses?
t
offers
literary-or, eally,
deological--context
n which he
poca-
lyptic
lorilegium
ight
unctionven
without
eferring
o
historically
extant
exts.
That
s,
the
florilegium
ould
onstitute
nly
hemost
general
llusion
o
apocalyptic
exts
n
historicalirculation.
t
was
produced
ot o document
ibrary oldings
r
sources
onsulted ut
rather ith he sheer nterestsfself-promotionithin sacred in-
eage
of
revealers,
evealers
ho,
n
Mani's
view,
ppropriately
rote
down
heirwisdom.
Mani-through
araies-thus
chosenot he
pa-
triarchs
f the
True
Prophet
radition,
ewish
atriarchs
n
whose
names we
have numerous
xtant
pocalypses,
ut
an
antediluvian,
pre-Jewish
istof
patriarchs
ho
might ymbolize
is
ecumenical,
pan-religious
uthority.
This
s
no conclusive
rgumentgainst
hehistorical
xistence f
the
cited
textswithin
Mani's
own
literarymilieu;
but
it
is at the
This content downloaded from 130.49.198.5 on Mon, 15 Sep 2014 23:34:04 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp -
7/27/2019 Apocalypses Real and Alleged in the Mani Codex
11/15
Apocalypses
eal and
Alleged
n the
Mani
Codex
69
very
east
corrective
gainst iewing
he ist
uncritically
s
a
major
witness o theuse of apocalypsesn antiquity. ather, e maybe
looking
t
a more ubtle
oncept
f
apocalyptic
ext
n
ate
antiquity,
in
which
he
production
f
a
book
becomes
necessary
omponent
of
a seer's
egend.
University
f New
Hampshire
DAVID
RANKFURTER
Department
f
History
Durham,
H
03824-3586,
USA
1
A
previous
ersion f
this
aper
was
presented
o theManichaeism
roup
fthe
Society
f Biblical
Literature,
995 Annual
Meeting, hiladelphia
A.
am
grateful
for
he omments
f
Martha
immelfarb,
illiam
dler,
nd
specially
ohn
eeves,
whose
forthcoming
ook
Heralds
of
That
Good
Realm
Leiden:
Brill)
will
provide
the
most
omplete
nalysis
o date
of the ext nder
iscussion.
2 In
general
n the
Cologne
Mani Codex
nd ts
ignificance
ee Albert
enrichs
and
Ludwig
Koenen,
Ein
griechischer
ani-Codex
P.
Colon.
nv.
nr.
780),
ZPE
5
(1970):
97-217;
Albert
enrichs,
Mani and the
Babylonian aptists:
historical
confrontation,
SCP
77
(1973):
23-59;
Ludwig
Koenen,
From
Baptism
o the
GnosisofManichaeism, heRediscoveryfGnosticism,ed.Bentley aytonNu-
men
upp
41;
Leiden:
Brill,
981),
734-756;
thamar
ruenwald,
Manichaeismnd
Judaism
n
Light
f
the
Cologne
Mani
Codex,
PE 50
(1983):
29-45;
and
the on-
ference
olume
Codex
Manichaicus
oloniensis:
Atti el
Simposio
nternazionale,
ed.
Luigi
Cirillo
Cosenza:
Marra,
986).
3
CMC
48.16-18;
50.8-12; 52.8-13; 55.10-12;
58.6-8;
60.13-16,
d. &
tr.
Ron
Cameron
nd Arthur
.
Dewey,
The
Cologne
Mani Codex:
Concerning
he
Origin
of
His
Body ,
SBLTT 15
(Missoula
MT: Scholars
ress,
1979),
36-49
following
edition
f
Albert enrichs
nd
Ludwig
Koenen,
Der
K61ner
Mani-Kodex
P.
Colon.
inv.
nr.
780],
ZPE 19
[1975]: 1-85).
4
Compare,
.g.,
a
library
ist n theAshmolean
Museum,
Oxford:
P.
Ash.
nv.
3,
ed.
C.H.
Roberts,
Two Oxford
apyri,
NW
37
(1938):
185-188.
A
closer
analogue
o
Mani's
list
might
e that n
4
Macc 18:
10-19,
sp.
14-18,
n which
biblical
heroes
re listed
n their
apacities
s
authors.
am
indebted
o Pamela
Eisenbaum
or
his eference.
5
CMC
47.1-16;
62.9-63.7,
d. & tr.
Cameron/Dewey,
ologne
Mani
Codex,
36-37,
48-51.
6
This
privileging
f
thebook
certainly
ad
much roader
ate
antique
urrency:
see,
for
xample,
Geo
Widengren,
heAscension
f
the
Apostle
nd the
Heavenly
Book,UppsalaUniversitetsrsskrift950: 7 (Uppsala:Lundequistska,950).
This content downloaded from 130.49.198.5 on Mon, 15 Sep 2014 23:34:04 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp -
7/27/2019 Apocalypses Real and Alleged in the Mani Codex
12/15
70
David
Frankfurter
7
H.-J.
olotsky
nd Carl
Schmidt,
ephalaia
1
(Manichaische
andschriftener
staatlichen useen,Berlin1; Stuttgart940),7.27 ff. See also JesP. Asmussen,
Manichaean
iterature,
ersian
Heritage
eries
22
(repr.
elmar
NY:
Scholars'
Fac-
similes
nd
Reprints,
975),
12,
15-16.
8
Cf. Henri-Charles
uech,
Le
manichdisme:
on
fondateur,
a
doctrine
Paris:
Mus6e
Guimet,
949),
66-67;
Henrichs,
Mani
and
the
Babylonian
aptists,
8-
29,
and
L.J.R.
Ort,
Mani's
Conception
f
Gnosis,
e
Origini
ello
Gnosticismo
(Colloquio
di Messina 13-18
Aprile
966,)
ed.
Ugo
Bianchi
Numen
upp
12;
Lei-
den:
Brill,1970),
606-607;
John .
Reeves,
Jewish
seudepigrapha
n
Manichaean
Literature:
he
Influence f
the
Enochic
Library,
racing
he
Threads:Studies n
the
Vitality
f
Jewish
seudepigrapha,
d.
John . Reeves
Atlanta:
cholars
ress,
1994),173-184.
9
See
Sir Ronald
Syme,
Bogus
Authors,
onner
Historia-Augusta-Colloquium
1972/1974
1976):
311-321.
10
Note
thatMoses
de
L6on
deployed
umerous
seudo-citations
f
secret ooks
to
ground
is Zohar n
the
bibliophilic
raditionsf
thirteenth-century
udaism,
ra-
ditions
hat hemselves
erved o locate
any
new revelation
ccording
o archaic
authorities.
ee Daniel Chanan
Matt,
ohar: the
Book
of
Enlightenment
Ramsey
NJ:
Paulist,
983),
9,
25-27.
11
n the
Testaments
f
the Twelve
atriarchs
Books
of Enoch
are
repeatedly
citedas authoritesor schatologicaletail:T.Sim.5:4; T.Levi 10:5; 14:1; 16:1;
T.Jud.
8:1;
T.Zeb.
3:4;
T.Dan
5:6;
T.Naph.
4:1;
T.Ben. 9:1.
Some
citations
ecall
materials
n Enoch
e.g.,
T.Levi
16:1
=
1
En
89:59
ff),
while thers
re
so
vague
s
merely
o
appeal
to
Enoch
writings
or
uthority
n
eschatological redictions
e.g.,
T.Sim.
5:4;
T.Jud.
18:1).
One
thus
detects oth he
authors'
articular
egard
or
the extant
Enoch
texts nd their
roader evotion o a
general
myth
f
Enoch
scripture.
ee
R.H.
Charles,
he
Books
of
Enoch,
r
1
Enoch
Oxford:
Clarendon,
1912),
xxv-lxxvi,
n
intertextual
arallels,
nd
H.W. Hollander nd
M. De
Jonge,
The
Testaments
f
the Twelve
atriarchs:
Commentary
SVTP
8; Leiden:
Brill,
1985),
39-40,
on
thematic
onsistency
mong
he
Enoch
citations.
12On Mani'sknowledge f some Enochiana ee John . Reeves,Jewish ore
in Manichaean
Cosmogony:
tudies n theBook
of
GiantsTraditions
Cincinnati:
Hebrew
Union
College
Press,
1992).
13
Although
nce
having
roposed
a
library ontaining
ritingsllegedly
u-
thored
y
thesebiblical forefathers'
among
he
Elchasaites
Jewish
ore,
208),
John
eeves
now
approaches
onclusions imilar o mine n his
forthcoming
tudy
of
Mani's
florilegium,
eralds
f
That
GoodRealm:
Syro-Mesopotamian
nosis nd
Jewish
raditions,
ag
Hammadi
tudies
Leiden:
Brill,
1996),
especially
6-17.
14
See
esp.
Hans-Joachim
choeps,
ewish
hristianity:
actional
isputes
n
the
Early
Church,
r.
Douglas
R.A.
Hare
Philadelphia:
ortress,
969),
65-71;
and on
This content downloaded from 130.49.198.5 on Mon, 15 Sep 2014 23:34:04 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp -
7/27/2019 Apocalypses Real and Alleged in the Mani Codex
13/15
Apocalypses
eal and
Alleged
n
the
Mani
Codex
71
the
radition's
egacy
n Mani:
Puech,
e
manicheisme,1-62,
144-146
n.241;
Hen-
richs,Maniand theBabylonian aptists, 4-55;MichelTardieu, e manicheisme
(Paris:
Presses
universitaires
e
France,
1981),
19-25;
Jarl ossum,
The Name
of
God
and
the
Angel
of
the
Lord
(Tilbingen:
Mohr/Siebeck,
985),
158-162;
and
Reeves,
Pseudepigrapha,
74.
15
Ps-Cl
Hom
17.4.3;
Rec
2.47.
16
Hippolytus,
ef
10.29.2,
ed. & tr.
A.F.J.
Klijn
and G.J.
Reinink,
atristic
Evidence
or
Jewish-Christian
ects,
NovT
Supp
36
(Leiden:
Brill,
1973),
122-123.
Cf.
Ref
9.14.1.
17
Epiphanius,
an.
30.3.4-5,
d.
&
tr.
Klijn/Reinink,
atristic
vidence,
78-179.
18
See
Lucien
Cerfaux,
Le
vrai
prophite
es
Cl6mentines,
echerches
e sci-
encereligieuse 8 (1928): 160-162, ndesp.Fossum, he NameofGod, 111-159,
on
filiation
ith
Jewish
Prophet
fter
Moses.
In Ps-Cl
Rec 3.61 a
list
of ten
ux-
taposed
good
and
evil)
pairs
lso reflects basis
n
Jewish
radition:
xtending
from
Abel
(vs.
Cain)
to Christ
vs.
Antichrist),
he ist
ncludes
Abraham,saac,
Jacob,
nd
Moses before
heSon of
Man, Peter,
nd
the
sower
f
the
word. Han
Drijvers
rgues
hat,
more han
ust
Jewish-Christian,
heTrue
Prophet
iscourses
are
actually
nti-Marcionite
olemics,making
Mani's own
dependence
n this ra-
dition
ll
themore
ronic: Adam nd
theTrue
Prophet
n the
Pseudo-Clementines,
Loyalitdtskonflikte
n
der
Religionsgeschichte.
estschrift
iir
Carsten
Colpe,
ed.
C. Elsas andH.G. KippenbergWirzburg:K6nigshausen Neumann,990),314-
323
[=
Drijvers,
istory
nd
Religion
n Late
Antique
yria
London:
Variorum,
1994),
XIV].
19
Ludwig
Koenen,
Manichaean
Apocalypticism
t the
Crossroads f
Iranian,
Egyptian,
ewishnd
Christian
hought,
odexManichaicus
oloniensis,
86-291;
John
.
Reeves,
The
Elchasaite'
anhedrin f the
Cologne
Mani Codex n
Light
of
Second
Temple
Jewish ectarian
ources,
JS
2
(1991):
88-91.
20
Gedaliahu
troumsa,
Esotericismn Mani's
Thought
nd
Background,
odex
Manichaicus
oloniensis,
55.
21
The
subsequently
ore stablished
ist,
wherein ani follows
esus, oroaster,
andtheBuddha,will mplyMani'ssuperiorityyvirtue fhishaving ixed isactual
teachings
n
writing.
22
Synesius,
p.
54;
Porphyry,
Plotini 6. See in
general
Morton
mith,
On
the
History
f APOKALYPTQ
and
APOKALY,
IS,
Apocalypticism
n
theMediter-
ranean
World nd the
Near
East,
ed.
David
Hellholm
Tiibingen:
Mohr/Siebeck,
1983),
9-20.
23
Ps-Cl Hom.
17.14-18;
18.6-7
quotations
rom
7.18;
18.6).
I
am indebted o
William
Adler
for
his eference.
24
Henrichs,
Mani
and
the
Babylonian aptists,
1-53.
This content downloaded from 130.49.198.5 on Mon, 15 Sep 2014 23:34:04 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp -
7/27/2019 Apocalypses Real and Alleged in the Mani Codex
14/15
72
David
Frankfurter
25
That
s,
as it
encapsulated
otions f
purity,
eligious dentity
n time
and
space (including otions f covenant),nd otherworldlyediation,ll of which
might
e
appropriated
or,
occasionally
nherited)
y
Jewish-Christiansn
Syria
and Palestine
or
eligious
elf-definition.
26
As,
for
xample,
n Ps-Cl Rec 4.27
and the
Rabbinic
magical
pocalypse
Sefer
Ha-Razim.
Enoch
s
already
epresented
s such
a
culture ero
n
Jubilees
(4:17-18)
and
Pseudo-Eupolemus
apud
Eusebius,
raep.
Evang.
9.17.9);
see
James
C.
VanderKam,
noch
and
the
Growth
f
an
Apocalyptic
radition
CBQMS
16;
Washington
C: Catholic
iblical
Association,
984),
180-184.
27
See
in
general
Joseph
Bidez and Franz
Cumont,
es
mages
hellenises
-2
(Paris:
Les Belles
Lettres,
938;
repr.
New York:
Arno,
1975),
and Hans
Dieter
Betz, TheFormationfAuthoritativeraditionntheGreekMagicalPapyri, ewish
and Christian
elf-Definition
,
ed. Ben F.
Meyer
nd
E.P.
Sanders
Philadelphia:
Fortress,
982),
161-170,
36-238.
28
Augustine,
ontra
austum
3.1;
15.1;
Ephraem,
rose
Refutations
ed.
Mitch-
ell)
2.208.
See
in
general
eeves,
Heralds
of
ThatGood
Realm, -7,
12-14.
29
Abraham:
James
.
Bowley,
The
Compositions
f
Abraham,
n
Reeves
ed.),
Tracing
he
Treads,
31.
Abrahams ncluded
n
but ne
Manichaean
rophet-lineage
(out
of
twelve
xtant),
ecorded
y
the
chronographer
l-Shahrastani:ee
Tardieu,
Le
manicheisme,
2,
and
Reeves,
Heralds
of
that
Good
Realm,
11. Moses: John
G. Gager,Moses in Greco-Romanaganism, BLMS 16 (Nashville:Abingdon,
1972),
134-161,
argely
n
testimony
f
PGM. The
attempt
o
render he
patriarchs
as
ecumenical
ulture-heroes
ppears
most
prominently
mong
the
fragments
f
Judeo-Hellenistic
uthors
ike
Eupolemus
apud
Eusebius,
raep.
Evang.
9.26.1),
Pseudo-Eupolemusapud
Eusebius, bid.,
.17.2-9),
nd
Artapanus
apud
Eusebius,
ibid.,
.18.1;
9.23.1-4;
9.27.1-37).
30
On
the Manichaean
distastefor Hebrew
prophets
ee
Acta Archelai 11
(=
Epiphanius,
anarion
6.30.1-2);
bn
al-Nadim,
ihrist
.1
(tr.
Bayard
Dodge,
The Fihrist
f
l-Nadim
New
York nd London:
Columbia
University
ress,
1970],
2:794).
31ApocalypsefAdamNHCV,5) 77.26-82.28.OnEnoch-Hermesynthesesee
VanderKam,
noch
nd
the
Growth
f
n
Apocalyptic
radition,81-183,
nd
Fodor,
The
Origins
f theArabic
Legends
f
the
Pyramids,
cta
Orientalia
ungaricae
23
(1970):
340-341.
Enoch's
tatus
mong
he
Egyptian
nostic
roups
esponsible
for
he
Pistis
Sophia
and the
Books of Jeu
mplies
synthesis
ith hoth-Hermes:
see
J.T.
Milik,
The Books
of
Enoch
Oxford:
Clarendon,
976),
98-100.
Hymn
to Seth:
ed.
C.R.C.
Allberry,
Manichaean salm-Book
(Stuttgart,
938),
144-
146,
with iscussion
y
Andr6
Villey,
saumes
des
errants:
crits
maniche'ens
u
Fayyum
Sources
gnostiques
t
manicheennes: Paris:
Du
Cerf,
994),
237-246.
On
Seth-Thoth
yntheses
ee
Josephus,
nt.
1.69-71;
Gospel
of
the
Egyptians
NHC
This content downloaded from 130.49.198.5 on Mon, 15 Sep 2014 23:34:04 PM
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp -
7/27/2019 Apocalypses Real and Alleged in the Mani Codex
15/15
Apocalypses
eal
and
Alleged
n
theMani
Codex
73
III.68);
Three
teles f Seth
NHC
VII,
5);
and
dditionalources
iscussedn
Walter
Scott, ermetica (Oxford:Oxford niversityress, 924-1936; epr. oulder O:
Shambhala,
985),
491-492;
Garth
owden,
The
Egyptian
ermes:
An
Historical
Approach
o the
Late
Pagan
Mind
Cambridge:
ambridge
niversity
ress,
1986),
29-31.
32
Samuel N.C.
Lieu,
Manichaeism
n
theLater Roman
Empire
nd Medieval
China:
A Historical
urvey
Manchester:
.P.,
1985),
51,
and
Koenen,
Manichaean
Apocalypticism,
88-291,
on Mani's use of a
Gnostic
Apocalypse f
Nikotheos.
Augustine
lsewhere
emarks hat
Manichaeans
nteponunt
onnullas
pocryphas
(De
Haeresibus
6.15,
CCSL
46:318).
33
A
crucial bservation
y
Martha
Himmelfarb,
Revelation nd
Rapture:
he
TransformationftheVisionaryn theAscentApocalypses, ysteriesnd Reve-
lations:
Apocalyptic
tudies ince the
Uppsala Colloquium
SPSS
9,
ed.
JohnJ.
Collins
nd
JamesH.
Charlesworth
Sheffield:
SOT
Press,
1991),
79-81.
34
See
Peter
Brown,
The
Diffusion
f
Manichaeism
n
the Roman
Empire,
Religion
nd
Society
n
the
Age
of
Saint
Augustine
London:
Faber&
Faber,
972),
94; Henrichs,
Mani
and the
Babylonian
aptists,
2-33;Tardieu,
e
manichdisme,
25-27;
and
Hans
Dieter
Betz,
Paul in the
Mani
Biography,
odex Manichaicus
Coloniensis,
15-234.
35 See CMC
104.12-105.8.
36
See Tardieu, e manichdisme,1-25.
37
Cf.
Puech,
Le
manichdisme,
2-63. On
Hebraistic
dentity
n
general
ee
Robert
Murray,
Jews,
Hebrews
nd
Christians: ome Needed
Distinctions,
ovT
24
(1982):
194-208,
sp.
205-207,
nd on its
nfluence
n
Coptic
radition,
avid
Frankfurter,
The
Legacy
of theJewish
pocalypse
n
Early
Chistian
ommunities:
Two
Regional
rajectories,
n TheJewish
pocalyptic
eritage
n
Early
Christian-
ity,
d.
by
James . VanderKam
nd WilliamAdler
Corpus
Rerum
udaicarum
d
Novum
Testamentum
11.4;Assen/Maastricht:
an
Gorcum;
Minneapolis:
ortress,
1996),
161-194.
38
Psalmof
Forebearance,
d.
Allberry,
anichaean salm-Book
, 142,
with
commentaryyVilley, saumesdeserrants,15-222.
39
On
the
nature
f
third-centuryartyrdom
deology
n
Egypt
ee David Frank-
furter,
The
Cult
of the
Martyrs
n
Egypt
efore onstantine:
he Evidence f
the
Coptic
Apocalypse
fElijah, VigChr
8
(1994):
25-47.
Compare,
n
North
frica,
Cyprian, pp.
31 and
32.
40
Kephalaia
154,
d. Carl Schmidt nd
H.J.
Polotsky,
Ein
Mani-Fund
n
Agyp-
ten,
PAW
Phil.-Hist,
1933):
86,
tr.
Kurt
Rudolph,
nosis
San
Francisco:
arper
&
Row,
1983),
335.