In a recent publication a scholar suggests that the Talmud preserves teachings only against astrology, and claims that astrology never obtained a foothold within Judaism, remaining only a sectarian phenomenon “at variance with normative Judaism.” The suggestion and claim should not go unchallenged. The present paper looks at the debates over astrology preserved in the Talmud, scans the major relevant sections in the Pseudepigrapha—with an introduction of a Jewish astrological document which should become a new addition to the Pseudepigrapha—reviews the astrological documents found in Cave 4 near Khirbet Qumran, and points again to the abundant evidence of zodiacal wheels and other astrological symbols in early Palestinian synagogues. The necessary breadth precludes exhaustive discussion in any area.

Qumran dualism and its possible relation to Johannine ‘dualism’ has been a subject of considerable interest and discussion. In the light of recent studies and with the subsidence of the Qumran fever, the time may be opportune for a fresh assessment of the evidence. In this paper we shall confine ourselves to the crucial passage in IQS iii, 13–iv, 26. After examining the type of dualism reflected there, we shall proceed first to investigate the Johannine ‘dualism’ sepqrately, secondly to draw comparisons and contrasts, and finally to ask whether we are thereby led to any conclusions about the provenance of the Johannine tradition.