RT Article
T1 Satan and Circumcision: The Devil as the ἄγγελος πονηρός in Barn 9:4
JF Vigiliae Christianae
VO 76
IS 1
SP 60
OP 72
A1 Soon, Isaac T.
LA English
PB Brill
YR 2022
UL https://ixtheo.de/Record/1787494403
AB This study argues that the ἄγγελος πονηρός in Barn 9.4 was Satan. James Carleton Paget, Adolf Hilgenfeld, Ferdinand Prostmeier and Geza Vermes gestured toward this interpretation, but none offered evidence for this identification other than assertion. In Barnabas, there is a constellation of ideas that connect circumcision with Satan, namely circumcision with pagan idolatry (9.6), idolatry to demons (16.7), and finally idolatry and demons to Satan’s ultimate rule (18.1; 20.1). Satan is also related to other obsolete Jewish cultic practices (2.4, 6; 16.1–2, 7). Barnabas also repeatedly describes the devil with the adjective πονηρός. Additionally, the fourth-century papyrus PSI VII 757r reads ἄγγελος ὁ πονηρός, identifying the angel as Satan. The “Ethiopianisation” of Satan as “the black one” (as argued by Clare Rothschild) confirms this reading. Since “Ethiopians” practiced circumcision, the devil as a “the black one” associates Satan with circumcision.
K1 Ethiopians
K1 Circumcision
K1 ἄγγελος πονηρός
K1 Epistle of Barnabas
K1 Satan
DO 10.1163/15700720-bja10035