Description: Discusses the two most important figures in early Jewish mythologies of evil, the fallen angels Azazel and Satanael.
Brief description: Andrei A. Orlov is Professor of Judaism and Christianity in Antiquity at Marquette University. His previous books include The Greatest Mirror: Heavenly Counterparts in the Jewish Pseudepigrapha; Divine Scapegoats: Demonic Mimesis in Early Jewish Mysticism; Dark Mirrors: Azazel and Satanael in Early Jewish Demonology; and Demons of Change: Antagonism and Apotheosis in Jewish and Christian Apocalypticism, all published by SUNY Press.
Review Quotes:
"...an engaging examination of the two most infamous characters of Second Temple Jewish demonology, the fallen angels Satan and Azazel ... Dark Mirrors will be of interest to students of the scriptures and especially those interested in religious history, whether or not they have prior experience with the early Jewish and early Christian texts he utilizes. The many parallels with LDS understandings of the nature of Satan should be apparent and exciting for most. Orlov is one of the foremost scholars on this genre of extrabiblical texts and much can be gleaned from his adventurous and insightful approach." - BYU Studies Quarterly
"Orlov has succeeded in producing a well-written and closely argued account that will serve as a fine resource in early Jewish and Christian literature for years to come." - H-Net Reviews, H-Judaic
"Andrei Orlov [has] made a name for himself in the academic world by studying rarely examined Jewish pseudo-epigraphic works that have come down to us in Slavonic ... Recommended for academic collections." - AJL Reviews