Ishmael b. Phiabi Burned Two: A New Text from the Geniza on a Pharisee-Sadducee Debate

The main purpose of this paper is to analyze the origins of demons presented in the Babylonian Talmud against two backgrounds: (1) the “default” Talmudic teachings on the origins of angels, monsters, and ghosts and (2) the Enochian myth of the fallen angels furnished by the apocrypha and pseudepigrapha. The quantitative and qualitative scrutiny performed in the framework of the Elyonim veTachtonim project shows that the majority opinion has it that it is the godhead who is responsible for the creation of every being. Yet, several accounts (b. Eruvin 18b, b. Sanhedrin 109a, b. Yoma 67b, b. Niddah 61a) are insinuating that the demons are begotten by humans interacting with other demons or angels. These observations suggest that the sages knew the Enochian myth but tried to suppress it to differentiate from the adherents of other religious traditions and to maintain an image of the all-powerful deity.