ABSTRACT

A recent listing of those who have contended for the Jewish origins of “Gnosticism” (Lahe 2017: 60–6, 122–8) includes leading names in the history of Gnostic studies – Moritz Friedländer, Gershom Scholem, Gilles Quispel, Robert Wilson, Hans-Martin Schenke, Karl-Wolfgang Tröger, Birger Pearson, Kurt Rudolph, and Christoph Markschies (see ch. 2 ). Yet still such a positioning remains interestingly vexed; and this piece is simply designed to introduce various positions on the matter and discuss key relevant issues.