Includes bibliographical references and index.

Preliminary Material / John C. Reeves -- Preface and Acknowledgments / John C. Reeves -- Supplemental Abbreviations and Short References / John C. Reeves -- From Forefathers to Heralds: The Transformation of Biblical Primeval History / John C. Reeves -- Manichaeism and the Biblical Forefathers / John C. Reeves -- The Forefathers as Authors in Late Antique and Medieval Near Eastern Religious Traditions / John C. Reeves -- The CMC Apocalypse Fragments and Jewish Pseudepigrapha / John C. Reeves -- The Apocalypse of Adam / John C. Reeves -- The Apocalypse of Sethel / John C. Reeves -- The Apocalypse of Enosh / John C. Reeves -- The Apocalypse of Shem / John C. Reeves -- The Apocalypse of Enoch / John C. Reeves -- Conclusion / John C. Reeves -- Reassessing Syro-Mesopotamian Gnosis and Jewish Traditions: Some Concluding Remarks / John C. Reeves -- Bibliography / John C. Reeves -- Index of Citations / John C. Reeves -- Index of Ancient and Medieval Authorities / John C. Reeves -- Index of Modern Authors / John C. Reeves.

This volume examines the transmission of biblical pseudepigraphic literature and motifs from their largely Jewish cultural contexts in Palestine to developing gnostic milieux of Syria and Mesopotamia, particularly that one lying behind the birth and growth of Manichaeism. It surveys biblical pseudepigraphic literary activity in the late antique Near East, devoting special attention to revelatory works attributed to the five biblical forefathers who are cited in the Cologne Mani Codex : Adam, Seth, Enosh, Shem, and Enoch. The author provides a philological, literary, and religio-historical analysis of each of the five pseudepigraphic citations contained in the Codex , and offers hypotheses regarding the original provenance of each citation and the means by which these traditions have been adapted to their present context. This study is an important contribution to the scholarly reassessment of the roles played by Second Temple Judaism, Jewish Christian sectarianism, and classical gnosis in the formulation and development of Syro-Mesopotamian religious currents.

Description based on print version record.