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Considered by many to be 'the last important product of the Apocalyptic movement', The Apocalypse of Abraham is an apocryphon, a work that belongs to a body of prophetic Abrahamic literature flourishing about the time of Christ. The text details the Destruction of the Temple and thus was written after 70 AD. It is considered part of the Apocalyptic literature but not regarded as authoritative scripture.
This book examines the multiple contexts for the pseudepigraphal Apocalypse of Abraham, including the ancient Jewish milieu in which it was originally written and its medieval Christian Slavic setting.
The Apocalypse of Abraham, which has been preserved in old Slavonic literature, falls into two distinct parts (cf. the somewhat similar case of The Ascension of Isaiah). The first part, contained in chaps. i.-viii., consists of a Midrashic narrative based upon the legend of Abraham's conversion from idolatry, which has several peculiar features.1 The second part (chaps. ix.-xxxii.) is purely apocalyptic in character, and contains a revelation made to Abraham about the future of his race, after his (temporary) ascent into the heavenly regions, under the guidance of the archangel Jaoel, who here seems to play the part of Metatron-Michael. It is based upon the account of Abraham's trance-vision...
The Apocalypse of Abraham is a vital source for understanding both Jewish apocalypticism and mysticism. Written anonymously soon after the destruction of the Second Jerusalem Temple, the text envisions heaven as the true place of worship and depicts Abraham as an initiate of celestial priesthood. Andrei A. Orlov focuses on the central rite of the Abraham story – the scapegoat ritual that receives a striking eschatological reinterpretation in the text. He demonstrates that the development of the sacerdotal traditions in the Apocalypse of Abraham, along with a cluster of Jewish mystical motifs, represents an important transition from Jewish apocalypticism to the symbols of early Jewish mysticism. In this way, Orlov offers unique insight into the complex world of the Jewish sacerdotal debates in the early centuries of the Common Era. The book will be of interest to scholars of early Judaism and Christianity, Old Testament studies, and Jewish mysticism and magic.
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George Herbert Box discusses here a pseudepigraphic work of the Old Testament; the Apocalypse of Abraham. A prime example of the early apocalyptic literature, no copies of this document survives in Hebrew, Greek or other ancient languages. Although the original manuscript is dated to the late 1st or 2nd century AD, the only surviving manuscript today is in Slavonic script. Despite this, the age and traditional sources of the writing have sparked some interest from religious scholars. The author translates and gives his own commentary to the Apocalypse of Abraham, with hundreds of annotations of the text cross-referencing books of the Old and New Testament. In providing such an exhaustive and heavily annotated analysis, George Herbert Box seeks to prove the value and relevance of this text in the wider Judeo-Christian tradition. In spite of its origins, the Apocalypse of Abraham is considered non-canonical and of little importance in both Judaism and Christianity. However, its unique characters and narration of how the apocalypse will unfold roused new interest since the 19th century, alongside other apocryphal texts such as the Book of Jasher.
George Herbert Box discusses here a pseudepigraphic work of the Old Testament; the Apocalypse of Abraham. A prime example of the early apocalyptic literature, no copies of this document survives in Hebrew, Greek or other ancient languages. Although the original manuscript is dated to the late 1st or 2nd century AD, the only surviving manuscript today is in Slavonic script. Despite this, the age and traditional sources of the writing have sparked some interest from religious scholars. The author translates and gives his own commentary to the Apocalypse of Abraham, with hundreds of annotations of the text cross-referencing books of the Old and New Testament. In providing such an exhaustive and heavily annotated analysis, George Herbert Box seeks to prove the value and relevance of this text in the wider Judeo-Christian tradition. In spite of its origins, the Apocalypse of Abraham is considered non-canonical and of little importance in both Judaism and Christianity. However, its unique characters and narration of how the apocalypse will unfold roused new interest since the 19th century, alongside other apocryphal texts such as the Book of Jasher.