Apocalypse of Abraham
Encyclopedia
The Apocalypse of Abraham is a pseudepigraphic work (a text whose claimed authorship is unfounded) based on the Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...

. Probably composed between about 70–150 AD, it is of Jewish origin and is usually considered to be part of the Apocalyptic literature
Apocalyptic literature
Apocalyptic literature is a genre of prophetical writing that developed in post-Exilic Jewish culture and was popular among millennialist early Christians....

. It has survived only in Old Slavonic
Old Church Slavonic
Old Church Slavonic or Old Church Slavic was the first literary Slavic language, first developed by the 9th century Byzantine Greek missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius who were credited with standardizing the language and using it for translating the Bible and other Ancient Greek...

 recensions—it is not regarded as authoritative scripture by Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...

 or any Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

 group.

Manuscript tradition

The text of the Apocalypse of Abraham has been preserved only in Slavonic
Old Church Slavonic
Old Church Slavonic or Old Church Slavic was the first literary Slavic language, first developed by the 9th century Byzantine Greek missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius who were credited with standardizing the language and using it for translating the Bible and other Ancient Greek...

; it occurs in the Tolkovaja Paleja (or Explanatory Paleja, a Medieval compendium of various Old Testament texts and comments that also preserved the Ladder of Jacob
Ladder of Jacob
The Ladder of Jacob is a pseudepigraphic writing of the Old Testament. It is usually considered to be part of the Apocalyptic literature. The text has been preserved only in Slavonic, and it is clearly a translation from a now lost Greek version...

). The original language of this text was almost surely Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...

: it was translated into Slavonic
Old Church Slavonic
Old Church Slavonic or Old Church Slavic was the first literary Slavic language, first developed by the 9th century Byzantine Greek missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius who were credited with standardizing the language and using it for translating the Bible and other Ancient Greek...

 either directly from Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...

 or from a lost intermediate Greek
Koine Greek
Koine Greek is the universal dialect of the Greek language spoken throughout post-Classical antiquity , developing from the Attic dialect, with admixture of elements especially from Ionic....

 translation. The whole text survives in six manuscripts usually gathered in two families: the main manuscript of the first family is referred to as S edited by Tixonravov in 1863, while the main manuscripts of the other family, which preserve the text integrated in other material of the Tolkovaja Paleja, are referred to as A, B and K.
The first English translation appeared in 1898 in the LDS magazine Improvement Era
Improvement Era
The Improvement Era was an official magazine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints between 1897 and 1970....

, and another notable English translation was produced by G.H. Box and J.I. Landsman some twenty years later.

Date of composition

The relative age of these works can be determined by comparing the legend of Abraham as contained in the Apocalypse with those in the Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....

 and in the Book of Jubilees. The legend of the raven in Jubilees (11:18) and the account of the conversion of Abraham in his boyhood are still unknown to the Apocalypse, while the legend of the fire of the Chaldees is found there still in its incipient stage. The mockery of the idol Barisat is more extended in the Midrash
Midrash
The Hebrew term Midrash is a homiletic method of biblical exegesis. The term also refers to the whole compilation of homiletic teachings on the Bible....

 than in the Apocalypse; also the condemnation of Terah
Terah
Terah or Térach is a biblical figure in the book of Genesis, son of Nahor, son of Serug and father of the Patriarch Abraham, all descendants of Shem. He is mentioned in the Hebrew bible and the New Testament.-Genesis narrative:...

 as an idolater, as related in the Apocalypse, discloses the older Haggadah (Genesis Rashi 39:7), whereas the Book of Jubilees presents the later one (compare Genesis Rashi 30:4, 39:7, where Terah is treated quite mildly). As the Book of Jubilees can not have been written later than 70 (it treats the Temple
Temple in Jerusalem
The Temple in Jerusalem or Holy Temple , refers to one of a series of structures which were historically located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem, the current site of the Dome of the Rock. Historically, these successive temples stood at this location and functioned as the centre of...

 as still existing, and is unaware of its destruction in 70AD), it can be dated prior to this.

The Apocalypse of Abraham narrates the Destruction of the Temple
Siege of Jerusalem (70)
The Siege of Jerusalem in the year 70 AD was the decisive event of the First Jewish-Roman War. The Roman army, led by the future Emperor Titus, with Tiberius Julius Alexander as his second-in-command, besieged and conquered the city of Jerusalem, which had been occupied by its Jewish defenders in...

 so it was written after 70 AD. It is most probably distinct from the Αποκαλυψις Αβρααμ used by the gnostic Sethites
Sethianism
The Sethians were a Christian Gnostic sect who may date their existence to before Christianity. Their influence spread throughout the Mediterranean into the later systems of the Basilideans and the Valentinians. Their thinking, though it is predominantly Judaic in foundation, is arguably strongly...

 according Epiphanius
Epiphanius of Salamis
Epiphanius of Salamis was bishop of Salamis at the end of the 4th century. He is considered a saint and a Church Father by both the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic Churches. He gained a reputation as a strong defender of orthodoxy...

 , while this book was possibly known to the author of the Clementine Recognitions
Clementine literature
Clementine literature is the name given to the religious romance which purports to contain a record made by one Clement of discourses...

 i. 32-33, a text that narrates legends known in the 2nd century AD. For this reason, and in comparison with other apocalyptic texts, the text is usually considered to be written before the half of the 2nd century AD. Within the usually accepted range of 70-150 AD, the date of 79-81 AD has been speculated.

Like all the apocalyptic literature preserved only in Slavonic, there is the problem of possible textual alterations made by the Bogomils
Bogomilism
Bogomilism was a Gnostic religiopolitical sect founded in the First Bulgarian Empire by the priest Bogomil during the reign of Tsar Petar I in the 10th century...

, who were interested in this kind of literature, which contains some traces of the Dualistic
Dualistic cosmology
Dualistic cosmology is a collective term. Many variant myths and creation motifs are so described in ethnographic and anthropological literature...

 principle typical of their beliefs. However the dualistic principle was also a feature of Gnosticism
Gnosticism
Gnosticism is a scholarly term for a set of religious beliefs and spiritual practices common to early Christianity, Hellenistic Judaism, Greco-Roman mystery religions, Zoroastrianism , and Neoplatonism.A common characteristic of some of these groups was the teaching that the realisation of Gnosis...

, which was contemporaneous with the original writing of this text. The main suspected Bogomils' interpolations are 20:5.7, 22:5, 9:7, 23:4-10: as suggested by Rubinkiewicz, but disputed by Sacchi. Scholars suspect that some other interpolations are present: including the whole of chapter 7, and some additions, difficultly determinable in extension, in 29:3-13.

Content

Its title does not fully explain its contents, for about one-third of it might more appropriately be called The Legend of Abraham, as this contains an account of Abraham
Abraham
Abraham , whose birth name was Abram, is the eponym of the Abrahamic religions, among which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam...

's conversion from polytheism
Polytheism
Polytheism is the belief of multiple deities also usually assembled into a pantheon of gods and goddesses, along with their own mythologies and rituals....

 to henotheism
Henotheism
Henotheism is the belief and worship of a single god while accepting the existence or possible existence of other deities...

 quite apart from the apocalypse
Apocalypse
An Apocalypse is a disclosure of something hidden from the majority of mankind in an era dominated by falsehood and misconception, i.e. the veil to be lifted. The Apocalypse of John is the Book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament...

 which follows. The work is notable for its presentation of Judaism and non-Judaism as being diametrically opposed, and its strong iconoclasm
Iconoclasm
Iconoclasm is the deliberate destruction of religious icons and other symbols or monuments, usually with religious or political motives. It is a frequent component of major political or religious changes...

.
  • The text opens with a description of Abraham helping his father Terah
    Terah
    Terah or Térach is a biblical figure in the book of Genesis, son of Nahor, son of Serug and father of the Patriarch Abraham, all descendants of Shem. He is mentioned in the Hebrew bible and the New Testament.-Genesis narrative:...

     who is a maker of idols. Abraham's doubts about idol-worship are awakened by accidents that break the stone image of Merumath and five other idols, that Abraham was supposed to sell. Pondering over this, he objects to his father against such idols, thus causing Terah’s anger. He tests further the powers of the idols by placing a wooden statue of Barisat near the fire, and telling the idol to take care of fire. On returning he finds Barisat burnt. He again strongly explains to his father the uselessness of such idols, but without results (Chapters 1-6).
  • The fire, the water, the earth, and the heavenly bodies are shown to be more worthy than the idols, although each one of these elements is subject to another force, so none of them can claim to be God (Chapter 7, probably a later addition).
  • Abraham is still considering his father's answer when he hears a voice from heaven asking him to leave his father’s house. He has scarcely left the house when a fire descends and burns Terah’s house (Chapter 8).


The apocalyptic section begins with Abraham's sacrifice to God, expanding and modifying the Biblical narrative of :
  • The voice of God orders Abraham to prepare a sacrifice on the high mountain (Mount Horeb
    Mount Horeb
    Mount Horeb, Hebrew: , Greek in the Septuagint: , Latin in the Vulgate: , is the mountain at which the book of Deuteronomy in the Hebrew Bible states that the Ten Commandments were given to Moses by God. It is described in two places as the Mountain of God or perhaps Mountain of the gods...

    ) where he will receive a revelation. Abraham is asked to have a forty days preparation for such event. The angel Yahoel is sent to Abraham, terrified at the experience, to guide him and to teach him how to perform the sacrifice. Yahoel introduces himself as a being "whose name is like unto that of God Himself" followed by a long introduction of his duties. (Chapters 9-11)
  • On Mount Horeb, under the guidance of Yahoel, and assisted by many other angels, Abraham offers up his sacrifice, but not without being disturbed by Azazel
    Azazel
    Azazel or Azazael or Azâzêl is a term used three times in the Hebrew scriptures, and later in Hebrew mythology as the enigmatic name of a character....

    , the fallen archangel and seducer of mankind, who, in the form of an unclean bird, swoops down upon the carcasses, and, speaking with a human voice, tries to persuade Abraham to leave the holy place. Abraham is not seduced and Yahoel fights off Azazel. Yahoel then adds that the celestial garments, originally set aside for Azazel, now belong to Abraham. (Chapters 11-14)


The third part of the Apocalypse of Abraham narrates the ascension of Abraham to heaven:
  • Abraham and Yahoel, borne by a dove, ascend to the heavens: they see a great light and a great crowd in the likeness of men that were changing in aspect, running, prostrating and crying aloud, and a fire came toward them. They kneel down and worship the fire and a divine voice was heard as the sound of rushing waters. Yahoel teaches Abraham a hymn of praise to be sung, by which they ask the Lord to accept their prayer and the sacrifice made the Lord himself. When they reach the seventh heaven Abraham sees a classic example of Merkabah
    Merkabah
    Merkabah is the throne-chariot of God, the four-wheeled vehicle driven by four "chayot" , each of which has four wings and the four faces of a man, lion, ox, and eagle...

    : the throne of God (but he does not see God), the four Living Beings
    Chayot
    The Chayot or Hayyoth are a class of Merkabah, or Jewish Mystical Angel, reported in Ezekiel's vision of the Merkabah and its surrounding angels as recorded in the first chapter of the Book of Ezekiel describing Ezekiel's vision by the river Chebar.Chayot are ranked first on Maimonides' Jewish...

     with aspect of man, lion, ox, and eagle, and the many-eyed wheels
    Ophan
    An Ophan is one of a class of celestial beings called Ophanim described in the Book of Enoch with the Cherubim and Seraphim as never sleeping, but watching the throne of God....

    . Yahoel has the task of mitigating the rivalry among Living Beings. (Chapters 15-18)
  • Abraham is shown by God everything that exists in the heavens: the angels, the celestial bodies, also the earth, and everything that is moving upon it. He sees also the Leviathan
    Leviathan
    Leviathan , is a sea monster referred to in the Bible. In Demonology, Leviathan is one of the seven princes of Hell and its gatekeeper . The word has become synonymous with any large sea monster or creature...

     and its possessions in the nethermost waters, the rivers and their origin, and the Garden of Eden
    Garden of Eden
    The Garden of Eden is in the Bible's Book of Genesis as being the place where the first man, Adam, and his wife, Eve, lived after they were created by God. Literally, the Bible speaks about a garden in Eden...

    . He realizes it is the whole creation as designed by God before God decreed it to exist. (Chapters 19-22)
  • He sees the scene of the Fall: Adam and Eve
    Adam and Eve
    Adam and Eve were, according to the Genesis creation narratives, the first human couple to inhabit Earth, created by YHWH, the God of the ancient Hebrews...

     as huge figures who are led to commit (sexual) sin by Azazel through his causing them to eat from the forbidden fruit (here said to be a grape from the vine). God informs Abraham that, notwithstanding "the pollution of the serpent", the man may choose to abstain from sins. Four main sins are listed: fornication, theft, homosexuality and desire. (Chapters 23-24)
  • Abraham then sees a scene of idolatry with boys being slaughtered, and God explains that it is his Temple and his priesthood full of his anger against the people who came out from Abraham. A vision of the destruction of the Temple
    Siege of Jerusalem (70)
    The Siege of Jerusalem in the year 70 AD was the decisive event of the First Jewish-Roman War. The Roman army, led by the future Emperor Titus, with Tiberius Julius Alexander as his second-in-command, besieged and conquered the city of Jerusalem, which had been occupied by its Jewish defenders in...

     follows and Abraham is explained that this is due to the sin of idolatry on the part of his seed, but the coming of men who will take care of his seed is predicted. (Chapters 25-27)
  • Answering how long the judgment lasts, God reveals a description of the last times: the Age is said to be divided in twelve parts; a character known simply as “a man” will appear from the pagan side, worshiped by many pagans, Jews and by Azazel and insulted and beaten by other Jews; ten plagues will occur and finally, at the sound of the trumpet, the Chosen One (the Messiah
    Messiah
    A messiah is a redeemer figure expected or foretold in one form or another by a religion. Slightly more widely, a messiah is any redeemer figure. Messianic beliefs or theories generally relate to eschatological improvement of the state of humanity or the world, in other words the World to...

    ) is sent to fight the enemies, and the judgment will pass upon the heathen and the wicked. The book is closed by a short promise of the chosen people’s deliverance from oppression. (Chapters 28-32)

Yahoel

Yahoel (or Iaoel) in the Apocalypse of Abraham is the mighty angel
Angel
Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...

 sent to guide Abraham. Yahoel introduces himself as a being possessed of the power of the Ineffable Name
Names of God in Judaism
In Judaism, the name of God is more than a distinguishing title; it represents the Jewish conception of the divine nature, and of the relationship of God to the Jewish people and to the world. To demonstrate the sacredness of the names of God, and as a means of showing respect and reverence for...

 "whose name is like unto that of God Himself". As the angel nearer to God, or perhaps as a manifestation of the power of God himself, Yahoel is said to be also the heavenly choirmaster, the one who teaches the angels their hymn, who has the control over "the threats and attacks of the reptiles", the angel with the chief task of protecting and watching over Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

. These functions were traditionally ascribed to Michael
Michael (archangel)
Michael , Micha'el or Mîkhā'ēl; , Mikhaḗl; or Míchaël; , Mīkhā'īl) is an archangel in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic teachings. Roman Catholics, Anglicans, and Lutherans refer to him as Saint Michael the Archangel and also simply as Saint Michael...

 and mark the gradual transformation of Michael, originally the guardian angel of Israel, into Meṭaṭron
Metatron
Metatron or Mattatron is the name of an angel in Judaism and some branches of Christian mythology. There are no references to him in the Jewish Tanakh or Christian Scriptures...

. Yahoel's body is depict like sapphire
Sapphire
Sapphire is a gemstone variety of the mineral corundum, an aluminium oxide , when it is a color other than red or dark pink; in which case the gem would instead be called a ruby, considered to be a different gemstone. Trace amounts of other elements such as iron, titanium, or chromium can give...

, his face like chrysolite, his hair like snow, his turban like the appearance of the rainbow, his garments like purple and a golden sceptre is in his right hand. Iaoel and Yahoel have been used also as alternate names for Metatron.

Azazel

In the Apocalypse of Abraham, Azazel is portrayed as an unclean
Unclean animals
Unclean animals, in some religions, are animals whose consumption or handling is labeled a taboo. According to these religion's dogmas, persons who handle such animals may need to purify themselves to get rid of their uncleanness.-Judaism:...

 bird which came down upon the sacrifice which Abraham
Abraham
Abraham , whose birth name was Abram, is the eponym of the Abrahamic religions, among which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam...

, the Biblical patriarch, prepared. This is in reference to Genesis 15:11 Birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away.
And the unclean bird spoke to me and said, 'What are you doing, Abraham, on the holy heights, where no one eats or drinks, nor is there upon them food for men. But these all will be consumed by fire and ascend to the height, they will destroy you.' And it came to pass when I saw the bird speaking I said this to the angel: 'What is this, my lord?' And he said, 'This is disgrace, this is Azazel!' And he said to him, 'Shame on you Azazel! For Abraham's portion is in heaven, and yours is on earth, for you have selected here, (and) become enamored of the dwelling place of your blemish. Therefore the Eternal Ruler, the Mighty One, has given you a dwelling on earth. Through you the all-evil spirit [is] a liar, and through you (are) wrath and trials on the generations of men who live impiously. — Apocalypse of Abraham 13:4-9


The Apocalypse of Abraham also associates Azazel with Hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...

. Abraham says to him "May you be the firebrand of the furnace of the earth! Go, Azazel, into the untrodden parts of the earth. For your heritage is over those who are with you" (14:5-6) There is also the idea that God's heritage (the created world) is largely under the dominion of evil. It is "shared with Azazel" (20:5) Azazel is also identified with the serpent which tempted Eve
Eve
Eve is the first woman created by God in the Book of Genesis.Eve may also refer to:-People:*Eve , a common given name and surname*Eve , American recording artist and actress-Places:...

. His form is described as a dragon with "hands and feet like a man's, on his back six wings on the right and six on the left." (23:7)

"A man" in chapter 29

The Apocalypse of Abraham is concerned with the future of the Jewish nation, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

. In chapter 29 an ambiguous character known simply as “a man” appears. The text tells us that some worship this man, while others revile him. He is worshiped even by Azazel
Azazel
Azazel or Azazael or Azâzêl is a term used three times in the Hebrew scriptures, and later in Hebrew mythology as the enigmatic name of a character....

. Apparently, the man has the task of offering some kind of remission for the heathens in the end of days.

According to Jacob Licht (Professor of Biblical Studies, Tel-Aviv University,) this work is a Jewish text, although not one that represents mainstream rabbinic Jewish thought. Licht writes:
The most obvious and perhaps the correct explanation of this passage is to declare it a late Christian interpolation, yet “the man” does not fit the medieval Christian concept of Jesus. His function is not clearly messianic. This problematic passage therefore may have originated in some Judeo-Christian sect, which saw Jesus as precursor of the Messiah, or it may be Jewish, badly rewritten by an early Christian editor Perhaps it reflects a Jewish view of Jesus as an apostle to the heathen, an explanation which would make it unique, and indeed startling.

Sources

  • R. Rubinkiewicz Apocalypse of Abraham, a new Translation and Introduction in ed. James Charlesworth The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Vol 1 ISBN 0385096305 (1983)
  • P.Sacchi Apocalisse di Abramo in ed. P.Sacchi Apocrifi dell'Antico Testamento Vol 3 ISBN 8839405836 (1999)

External links

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