The Apocryphon of Jannes and Jambres the Magicians

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The Astrolabe

An ancient instrument for solving problems of location and distance, as well as time

Astrolábon órganon is the word used in Ptolemaeus Syntaxis 5.1 to describe a form of armillary sphere consisting of both fixed and rotating rings for determining the ecliptic co-ordinates of stars. Also called astrolabe were two-dimensional representations of the celestial sphere: over fixed disks with a representation of the horizon of the earth (in each case for a specific geographic latitude) and its parallels up to the zenith lies a rotating representation of the heavens (called ‘spider’ or ‘net’) with zodiac and indicators for some of the brightest stars. On the back is an indicator (‘alidade’) with visor plates for calculating the height of the stars. The astrolabe allows its user to determine the hours of day and night, the positions of stars, and the height and depth of objects on earth (mountains, buildings, wells). The oldest extant descriptions of the flat, planispheric astrolabe come from Iohannes Philoponus, 6th century AD, and (in Syrian) from Severus Sebokht, c. 660 AD. Indirect references may date back as early as Theon (4th cent.). Between the 8th and the 9th centuries the Arabs appropriated the knowledge of the astrolabe. At the end of the 10th century and again in the 12th century, they passed it on to Western Europe, where astrolabes were constructed up until the 17th cent. Today, one Byzantine astrolabe (from 1062) is extant, as are some 750 Arabic-Islamic astrolabes and approximately the same number of European astrolabes.

This information is abstracted from Brill's New Pauly, the English edition of the authoritative Der Neue Pauly, Encyclopaedia of the Ancient World. The encyclopaedic coverage and high academic standard of the work, the interdisciplinary and contemporary approach and clear and accessible presentation have made the New Pauly the unrivalled modern reference work for the ancient world. For more information see www.brillsnewpauly.com or visit our website catalog: www.brill.nl/bnp
Brill’s New Pauly and the complete original Der Neue Pauly, the recognized standard reference works for students and scholars of the ancient world are also available online. This dual-language edition offers basic and advanced search facilities and is fully browsable. New English translations are added as they become available. See www.paulyonline.brill.nl for more information and a demo version.

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Publications & Services> Books> Book Series> The Apocryphon of Jannes and Jambres the Magicians

The Apocryphon of Jannes and Jambres the Magicians

P. Chester Beatty XVI (with New Editions of Papyrus Vindobonensis Greek inv. 29456 + 29828 verso and British Library Cotton Tiberius B. v f. 87). Edited with Introduction, Translation and Commentary. With Full Facsimile of All Three Texts

Albert Pietersma

Books

Available
Publication year: 1994


Series:	Religions in the Graeco-Roman World, 119
ISBN-13 (i)The ISBN (International Standard Book Number) has been changed from 10 to 13 digits on 1 January 2007:	978 90 04 09938 8
ISBN-10:	90 04 09938 7

Cover:	Cloth with dustjacket
Number of pages:	xvii, 349 pp. 19 illus.

List price:	€ 176.00 / US$ 261.00

Reviews

'It is our good fortune that Pietersma presents his editio princeps of this material in such a full, interesting and elegant fashion.'
L.H.F., Old Testament Abstracts, 1995.
'...an edition and translation of the fragments accompanied by an excellent commentary.'
M.A. Knibb, Society for Old Testament Study, 1995.
'Avec un art certain, l'auteur sait reconstituer les lacunes tout en adoptant une position très prudente, pour éviter les reconstitutions hasardeuses. Cet excellent commentaire, agrémenté de nombreux index, s'adresse tant aux spécialistes du judaïsme égyptien et aux papyrologues grecs qu'à ceux qui s'intéressent à l'histoire de l'exégèse biblique ou aux origines du christianisme en Egypte.'
Jean-Daniel Dubois, Archives de Sciences Sociales des Religions, 1994.
'A splendid study of this lost work about the magicians who attempted to aid the Pharaoh in his contest with Moses. A critical contribution to studies of apocrypha and pseudepigrapha which should be added to research collections as well as seminary libraries to supplement holdings in biblical and related literature.'
C. Thomas McCollough, Religious Studies Review, 1996.
'A. Pietersma est arrivé a un résultat vraiment impressionnant…'
Michel van Esbroeck, Bulletin des Publications Hagiographiques.

Readership

All those interested in biblical literature and literatures based on the Bible, students of Graeco-Roman religion, the early history of the Faust legend, as well as Greek philologists and papyrologists.

About the author(s)

Albert Pietersma, Ph.D. (1970) in Near Eastern Studies, University of Toronto, is Professor of Near Eastern Studies, University of Toronto. He has published numerous articles and books on Septuagint Studies as well as on papyrus manuscripts in Greek and Coptic, including The Acts of Phileas Bishop of Thmuis (Geneva, 1984).

The focus of this volume is the editio princeps of Papyrus Chester Beatty XVI: The Apocryphon of Jannes and Jambres, composed in Greek, perhaps as early as the first century C.E. A full commentary accompanies the edited text.
An introductory section discusses the numerous references to the two magicians, who appear in Jewish, Christian and Pagan literatures as Moses' crafty opponents at the time of Israel's exodus from Egypt. Their exploits are recounted in over half a dozen languages, from the Syriac east to the Latin west and from Egypt's deserts to King Alfred's court.
The Apocryphon is placed in its Graeco-Roman context, but is also discussed as a backdrop for the Faust saga of European literature. A basic book for anyone interested in biblical and related literatures.

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