observance concerning diet and the calendar, speculations about the angelic powers: all this is part and parcel of the doctrines of Qumran.”71 The parallels between the philosophy and Josephus’s account of the Essenes and with selected portions of the Qumran scrolls are undeniable. However, there remains the absence of any evidence that the Essenes were in Phrygia or the Lycus Valley. The asceticism and mysticism of the philosophy could also comport with a number of other Jewish religious strains, including merkabah mystics or apocalyptic sects.
I want to suggest, in line with a number of researchers, that the background to the philosophy lies in Jewish mysticism.72 First, F. F. Bruce noted the affinities of the Colossian philosophy with merkabah mysticism.73 Merkabah mysticism was a Jewish movement that got its name from its concern with visions of the heavenly chariot (mrkbh) that was with God during Ezekiel’s glorious vision (Ezek 1:4–28). Visions of God’s throne and angelic worship were granted to those who undertook rigorous adherence to the Mosaic law with periods of asceticism and purification as a form of preparation for such visions. Eventually this led to what the later rabbis called the “two powers in heaven” heresy, since the name Yahweh was said to include two deities. There is no doubt that our sources on merkabah mysticism postdate Paul, nonetheless, similar visionary experiences, ascents to heaven, and interest in heavenly worship are attested pre-70 CE (e.g., Pss 29:1–2; 148:1–2; 2 Cor 12:1–4; 1 En. 14:8–23; 4Q405; Apoc. Ab. 17:1–21; Apoc. Zeph. 8:3–4; Ascen. Isa. 7:13—9:33), which provide a backdrop to Col 2:18.74
Second, adherence to regulations of the Mosaic law can be linked to the veneration and appeasement of angels. The law was said to have been given to Moses by God through angels (see Gal 3:19; Acts 7:53; Heb 2:2). As such, keeping the law becomes a tribute to the angels and disobedience to the precepts of the law can result in judgment from angelic beings. There is clear evidence that some Jews taught that circumcision and obedience to the law could protect someone from evil angels.75 Thus, the need to follow the regulations of the Torah in Col 2:14, 16–17 is perhaps connected to the heavenly jurisdiction of the “thrones” and “authorities” who are angelic beings that demand observance of the law. Paul argues in turn that there is no need to placate those cosmic entities whom the Messiah has supremacy over (1:16; 2:8–10) and has subjugated (2:15).
Third, the references to asceticism, visions, and the worship of angels underscore the mystical aspect of the philosophy even more. This is apparent in 2:18 where there are those who “insist” or “delight”76 upon ascetic practices and self-abasement. This self-mortification probably pertains to fasting as an expression of humility (Pss 35:13; 69:10; Isa 58:3, 5; Jdt 4:9). The self-deprivation of fasting was often a means to visionary experiences (Dan 10:2–3; Apoc. Ab. 9:7–10; 12:1–2; T. Isaac 4:1–6; 5:4; 4 Ezra 5:13, 20; 6:35; 9:23–25; 2 Bar. 43:3; Gk. Apoc. Ezra 1:2–7) and this may have enabled participants to have, or claim to have had, visions of ascents to heaven to behold angelic worship (e.g., Isa 6:2–3; Dan 7:10; Luke 2:14; Rev 4–5). That is why this “self-abasement” is closely linked to the “worship of angels” and going into detail about “visions which he has seen.”
But what precisely is the “worship of angels”? Is it the worship of angels themselves or worship with the angels? Traditionally, it has been taken as an objective genitive, meaning worship directed at the angels, which could be occasioned by the view of angels as divine mediators, lesser deities, or stemming from an angel cult in Phyrgia. It is common today to argue that it is a subjective genitive and refers to worship performed by the angels. That corresponds with the narration found in various apocalypses where prophets and saints of old are translated to God’s throne and participate in the praises of heaven.77 The evidence from the Qumran scrolls also shows that angelic worship was much coveted and the liturgy of the sectarians was thought to include the presence of the angels (e.g., 1QH 3:21–22; 1QM 7:4–6; 1QSa 2:8–9; 1QSb 4:25–26). In particular, the Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice (4Q400–5) describe the praise of angels in the heavenly sanctuary where the angels are assembled in military formation and provide anthems of divine blessing to God:
The [Cheru]bim fall before Him and bless Him; as they arise, the quiet voice of God [is heard], followed by a tumult of joyous praise. As they unfold their wings, God’s q[uiet] voice is heard again. The Cherubim bless the image of the chariot-throne that appears above the firmament, [then] they joyously acclaim the [splend]or of the luminous firmament that spreads beneath His glorious seat. As the wheel-beings advance, holy angels come and go. Between His chariot-throne’s glorious [w]heels appears something like an utterly holy spiritual fire. All around are what appear to be streams of fire, resembling electrum, and [sh]ining handiwork comprising wondrous colors embroidered together, pure and glorious. The spirits of the living [go]dlike beings move to and fro perpetually, following the glory of the two [wo]ndrous chariots. A quiet voice of blessing accompanies the tumult of their movement, and they bless the Holy One each time they retrace their steps. When they rise up, they do so wondrously, and when they settle down, they [sta]nd still. The sound of joyous rejoicing falls silent, and the qui[et] blessing of God spreads through all the camps of the divine beings. The sound of prais[es] . . . coming out of each of their divisions on [both] sides, and each of the mustered troops rejoices, one by one in order of rank . . .78
Also central to the discussion is the meaning of the Greek word thrēskeia in Col 2:18. F. O. Francis argues that in 4 Macc 5:7 and Josephus Ant. 12.253 the word thrēskeia is used for the “worship” that belongs to the Jews, not worship of the Jews. He applies it similarly to Col 2:18 as meaning “worship” belonging to the angels, i.e., worship performed by the angels.79 Clinton Arnold correctly notes, however, that “A survey of the usage of thrēskeia fails to turn up one example of a divine being, or a typical object of worship . . . related to thrēskeia in the genitive case that should be taken as a subjective genitive.”80 While this may be true, we have already documented evidence of seers claiming to have partaken of heavenly worship with angelic beings. What is more, Arnold’s otherwise erudite study flounders on the observation that thrēskeia was not used in any of the magical incantations involving angels that he cites and there is no reference to incantations over angelic names in Colossians.81 Alternatively, Loren Stuckenbruck points out there is no need to choose absolutely between an objective genitive (“worshipping the angels”) and a subjective genitive (“worship performed by the angels”) because if someone is insisting on the benefits attained by seeing angelic worship, then they are also attributing something special and majestic to the angels themselves. The problem is not only the superfluity of the ritual and vision for the believer, but also the temptation to venerate angels encountered in the ascent.82 In fact, gaining access to worship of the angels by ascetic practices and appeasing the angels by law observance are not mutually exclusive.
A further factor in favor of defining the philosophy as tied with Jewish mysticism is the use of the word embateuō in 2:18. The word, though ambiguous, seems to be linked to visionary reports of “entering into” or “going into detail about” heavenly ascents and what is seen therein (see 1 En. 14:9).83 Persons in Colossae are perhaps boasting about the worship of the angels that they have seen upon entrance into the heavenly realm and subsequently venerating the angels that accompanied them in their tour of the heavenly court. A plausible scenario, then, is that the teachers advocated the necessity of ascetic practices leading to visionary experiences resulting
