From the Watchers to the Sethites to the Magi: Reinterpretations of Genesis in the Syriac Revelation of the Magi

From the Watchers to the Sethites to the Magi: Reinterpretations of Genesis in the Syriac Revelation of the MagiHenochSyriaca.org: The Syriac Reference PortalThe National Endowment for the HumanitiesThe International Balzan Prize FoundationDavid A. Michelsoncbsc_adminRecord added to Zotero bycbsc_adminSyriaca.org: The Syriac Reference Portalhttp://syriaca.org/cbss/2QETV4CP/tei

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2024-08-15-04:00

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CREATED: This bibl record was autogenerated from a Zotero record.Bradley N.RiceFrom the Watchers to the Sethites to the Magi: Reinterpretations of Genesis in the Syriac Revelation of the Magihttp://syriaca.org/cbss/2QETV4CPhttps://www.zotero.org/groups/a_comprehensive_bibliography_on_syriac_studies/items/2QETV4CPhttps://www.zotero.org/groups/4861694/items/2QETV4CPHenoch41:22019226-242The present article examines the depiction of the Magi and their homeland in the <i>Revelation of the Magi</i>, a Christian apocryphon that purports to offer the perspective of the Magi themselves on their journey to Bethlehem. In this text the Magi come not simply “from the East” (Matt 2:1), but from a faraway land called “Shir,” a mysterious place at the edge of the world with a mountain, the “Mount of Victories,” which the Magi would regularly ascend in anticipation of the star that would guide them to Bethlehem. While previous studies of the <i>Revelation of the Magi</i> have tended to associate the Mount of Victories with Zoroastrianism and identify Shir with China, this article argues that the distant land of the Magi rather lies in the mists of primordial history, and that it belongs to an interpretation of Genesis 6:1-4 according to which the “sons of God” are no longer fallen angels, but the children of Seth who live on the edge of paradise. Rice, Bradley N. “From the Watchers to the Sethites to the Magi: Reinterpretations of Genesis in the Syriac Revelation of the Magi.” Henoch 41:2 (2019): 226–42. Bradley N. Rice, From the Watchers to the Sethites to the Magi: Reinterpretations of Genesis in the Syriac Revelation of the Magi, Henoch 41:2 (2019): 226–42.Cave of TreasuresGen 6:1-4GenesisIV-VII CEMagiNT apocryphaOld TestamentParadiseRevelation of MagiSethexegesismountain