The Stoning of the Devil (Ramy al-Jamarat) in Coptic Christian Apocrypha
Two Coptic Christian texts to be included in the second volume of New Testament Apocrypha: More Noncanonical Scriptures (edited by me and Brent Landau) allude, perhaps, to the Ramy al-Jamarat, a ritual performed by Muslims during the Hajj pilgrimage that involves throwing stones at the devil. If indeed the writers of these Christian apocrypha are aware of the ritual, then these texts illustrate Muslim-Christian interaction in Egypt and perhaps open up questions about pre-Islamic origins of the ritual.
The longest version of the account appears in a fragmentary text sometimes referred to as the Homily on the Life of Jesus and His Love for the Apostles. Some scholars believe the lost beginning includes an attribution to Evodius, the successor of Peter as bishop of Antioch, but in Coptic Christianity he is considered the second bishop of Rome. The text has been reconstructed on the basis of three manuscripts, all dated to the tenth century and deriving from the White Monastery. Today the pages of these manuscripts are dispersed among various European collections. Timothy Pettipiece has prepared a translation for MNTA 2, the first complete translation of the text in English. The text retells certain stories from the Gospels—the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, the raising of Lazarus, and Peter’s confession at Caesarea Philippi—but with significant expansions. Between these stories are weaved three new episodes: an effort to make Jesus king of Judea (inspired by John 6:15), the apostles’ encounter with the devil and his demons disguised as fishermen, …
