Review of Orlov, Dark Mirrors

H-JUDAIC BOOK REVIEW:

Andrei A. Orlov. Dark Mirrors: Azazel and Satanael in Early Jewish Demonology. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2011. xv + 201 pp. $75.00 (cloth), ISBN 978-1-4384-3951-8.

Reviewed by Archie Wright (Regent University)
Published on H-Judaic (October, 2012)
Commissioned by Jason Kalman

Reflecting on Opposites

Andrei A. Orlov is a specialist in Jewish apocalypticism and mysticism, Second Temple Judaism, and Old Testament pseudepigrapha. Within the fascinating field of Second Temple Jewish apocalyptic literature, Orlov is considered among the leading experts in the field of Slavonic texts related to Jewish mysticism and Enochic traditions. This volume, Dark Mirrors: Azazel and Satanael in Early Jewish Demonology, demonstrates his expertise. The book furthers the ongoing discussion in Second Temple Period (2TP) demonology; in particular, it is focused on two of the leading figures, the so-called demonic beings Azazel and Satanael. Orlov explores the mediating role of these paradigmatic celestial rebels in the development of Jewish demonological traditions from Second Temple apocalypticism to later Jewish mysticism. Throughout his discussion, he makes use of lesser-known Jewish pseudepigraphical materials in Slavonic.

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I am not entirely persuaded that Satanael is a figure in "early Jewish Demonology," since he does not appear in any demonstrably early Jewish text. (Azazel and Satan, of course, do.) The Slavonic book of 2 Enoch did exist in a Byzantine Greek form, as is demonstrated by the recently discovered Coptic fragments of it, but an earlier date and Jewish provenance are still debatable. I do think that at least parts of it are probably early and Jewish, but the edited form of even the short recension may still contain substantial Christian (or other?) Byzantine-era material. But that is an aside. This sounds like an interesting and important book that I am going to need to read.