Demons, Angels, and Writing in Ancient Judaism

'By far the most richly textured and lucid explanation of demonology and angelology I have ever seen. Demons, Angels, and Writing is a consummate work of historical scholarship, capturing the imaginative worlds of ancient Jewish scribes with eloquence and insight. And in taking demons, angels, and the multiplicity of divine forces seriously in ancient religious experience, Reed makes an important contribution to the history of religions more generally.' David Frankfurter, William Goodwin Aurelio Chair of the Appreciation of Scripture, Boston University 'By far the most richly textured and lucid explanation of demonology and angelology I have ever seen. Demons, Angels, and Writing is a consummate work of historical scholarship, capturing the imaginative worlds of ancient Jewish scribes with eloquence and insight. And in taking demons, angels, and the multiplicity of divine forces seriously in ancient religious experience, Reed makes an important contribution to the history of religions more generally.' David Frankfurter, William Goodwin Aurelio Chair of the Appreciation of Scripture, Boston University 'This wide-ranging, immensely learned, study brings a new angle of vision to bear on the transformation of Judaism in the Hellenistic age. Focusing on the new attention to angels and demons, Reed argues that this development has more to do with new conceptions of knowledge than with the theological understanding of evil or with political resistance. This is a major contribution that should stimulate extensive reassessment of Judaism in this formative period.' John J. Collins, Holmes Professor of Old Testament, Yale University