Names of Authority in the Demonologies of Ancient Judaism and Christianity

The Dead Sea Scrolls offer unusually direct evidence for the demonological world surrounding the Synoptic Gospels. This chapter reads Qumran texts including 11Q11 and 4Q510–511 alongside Jewish pseudepigrapha such as Jubilees and 1 Enoch to clarify the ancient background of later beliefs about demonic affliction.

Morris focuses on authoritative words and powerful names in ancient anti-demonic formulas, then follows their continued use in Christian traditions. The comparison reveals both real differences and substantial continuity between ancient and modern ideas of possession.

Published as chapter 2 of an interdisciplinary Oxford University Press collection, the study joins biblical scholarship, religious history, and the anthropology of possession. The official Oxford chapter page provides the abstract, citation, DOI, and institutional or purchase access to the complete text.