Abraham, Apocalypse of Abraham, Testament of
Tin:
JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA
the guidance of Yahoel, and assisted bv many otlier an pels, Abraliam offers up his siioritire(C}en. xv.). Imt not withdiit l)einj; disturlicd liy A/azc]. the fallen arehangel and sedueer of niaiikind, as he is eliaraeterized in the Apoealj-pse (in ajrrcenient withtlie Midr. 1" '1"' form (if an unclean Alikir, Yalk., Gen., S -l-l)bird he swoops down "upon the carcasses" (Gen. XV. 11), and, speakinjr with a liuman voice, tries to persuade Abniham to leave the holy place. But Abndiani was not the man to be seduced by SaYahoel spoke to Azazel, saying. tan (Sauh. S!l/<). "Listen. Iliou [evil] adviser, leave this man alone thou canst not lead him astray thou canst not tempt Accordinir to Baba Batra, ITrt. the righteous." Abmliam was one of the three risrhtiims ones, over whom Satan (VimV llie Evil Spirit) had no power. Yahoel then adds that the c<U'Stial jrarments which Satan had worn now bclons to Abraham which isalso expressed in Pirke de Habbi Eliezer. xx. and in Targum Yer. Gen. iii. 'i. where it is said that the garments of light nix m:nD for -nv nuns. G<'n. H. xx. 29) of the lirst two liuiiian beings were made out of The Apocalypse the skin of the primeval serpent. understands Azazel 's siu to liave consisted in "scattering the secrets of heaven upon eartli" (compare Book of Enocli, viii. 1) an<l in devising rebellion against tlie Jliirhtv One (T3X) compare also Gen. R. xix. and Pirke'H. El. xiii. After this interview with Satan, Abraham, borne by a dove (compare Matt. iii. 10), ascended to heaven, the splendor and glory of which are Abraham's describeil at great length, and jiartictiAscension. larly the rivalry of the living creatures about the heavenly throne (NDSn nvn see Tan., ed. Buber; Gen. x.). He also saw there the angels that are born daily, and disappear as .soon as they have sing their hymn (Gen. K. Ixxviii. 1.) He repeats the prayer spoken for him by the angel, especially the following passage: " Thou, O Light, didst shine before the primeval morning [the Slavonic text has " morning-light." a mistranslation of the original
PC'NI )1X or S"cnp Nmnj] ujiouThy creatures, to cause the day to ilhunine the earth by the light of Thj- countenance," which is also found in the ritual. This view rests upon an ancient conceiition known to the students of the ilerkabah mysteries, anil is rendered in Gen. U. iii. 4; "God wrapped Him.self in a garment of light, with which He illuminated the earth from one end to the other." Ascending higher, Abraham reaches the seventh heaven, where he sees the throne, but, he does not see God, as He is iuvisiljle. Here he is shown by God everything that exists in the heavens: the angels, the celestial l)odies. also the earth, and everything that is
moving upon
it.
He
sees, in addition, the
Levi-
athan and its possessions in the nethermost waters (compare Cant. R. on i. 4). and the world founded upon its fins (compare Pirke R. El. ix). Furthermore, lie sees the rivers and their origin, and |iaradise (SyrThe fall of mankind iac Apoc. of Baruch, iv. 4). is explained to him. just as in the Slavonic Book of Baruch and Pirke R. El. xxi. Adam and Eve are led to commit (sexual) siu by Azazel (Satana-El in the Book of Baruch Sama-El in Pirke R. El. ) through his causing them to eat from the forbidden fnnt, a grape from the vine (compare Slavonic Book of Baruch and Bar. 40rt). God informs Abraham that, notwithstanding yeur ha-rn' ("the lustful desire"), and ^C NQHIt Cnj ("the pollution of the serpent"), with which man from that time has been possessed, he has a free will of his own and maj' choose to abstain from sin. Abraham then obtains an insight into the future of both individuals and nations, andespecially is he forewarned of the sufferings of the people of Israel and
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their tinal redemiuion in the Messianic time. The de.struction of the Temple, which sorely grieves Abra-
declared by God to be a neces.sary punishfor the sins of the jieople of Israel; and. as in Pirke H. El. xxviii., a time is hinted for the end of their sulTerings under the four empires. The ilescription of the period preceding the Messianic time is the only part containing Christian interpolations, which are easily separated from the main part, all of which has a decidedly Jewish character. This isevidi-nci'd by the mention of the ten jdagues which shall befidl the heathen nations, a ciaistantly recurring feature in the description of the Messianic time (see Tan., ed. Buber, ii. 30; Ex. R. ix. 13), and by the
ham, ment
is
concluding part of the Apocalypse, which contains the prophecy of tlie gathering of Isniel in the Promised Land, to be ushered in by a trumpet-blast from God (Jellinik. " B. II." vi. TiS), smd by the judgment to he passed upon the heathen anil the wicked. Concerning the date of the composition of the Apocalypse proper, it clearly can not have been written before the destruction of the First Temiile, as it contains Abraham's lamentations over that catastrophe. The emphasis laid on the freedom of tion. will, notwithstanding the fall of man, presupposes a knowledge of the Christian doctrine of sin, against which this pas.sage seems to be directed. But this very opposition to the Christian dogma shows that at the time the Apocalypse was written Chiistlaiuty was not far removed from Judaism, at least not in Palestine, where, since be used
Date of Composi-
a Semitic language, the author must have lived. The last decades of the first century appear to be the lieriod in which the Apocalypse was written. This remark, however, applies to the main ])art of the book, and not to its t'hrislian and (Jnostic interpolations. In connection with these must be considered the statement found in the Apocalypse that Azazel, who is described as being endowed wit h twelve wings (which description coincides exactly with that given in the Ilaggadah. Pirke R. El. xiii.), shares with God the power over Israel. This is, no doubt, the Gnostic doctrine of the God of the Jews as Kakodalmon; and in this connection Ircnaus may be quoted, who says of the Ophitic Gnostics ("Contra'E^fj.vof." i- 30, 9). "et projectibilem serpentem duo habere noniina, Michael et Samael, dicim' " (and they called the wretched serpent two names, Michael and Samael). Thus, iu the
mind of these Gnostics. .Samael (pnijpV CTIJ "the ") and Jllchael were fused into one
entwined serpent
Therefore, it is (juite jirobable that certain being. jiartsof the heretical Apocalypse of Abraham, which was in circidation among the Gnostics (Epiphanius, J]avdi>inv 39, .")) .were incor]iiirateil in the present text. Subtracting, then, the first part, which does not belong to the Apocalypse, and the Gnostic and Christian interpolations, only about three hundred lines remain, and this lumdier would exactly coirespond with the number which, according to the stichometry of Nicephorus,the Apocalypse of Abraham conOutside of this, no trace of the A])ocal_vpsc tained. The (|iotation by Oriis found in ancient writings. gen ("In Lucam," hom. 35) from an apocalypse of Abraham certainly does not refer to the present text. ( ompare also Azazel and Abr.ii am, Testament of. Bibliography: T>ie Ai>i)l<altiti»r Ahraliamx. pii. G. Nattianael Bonwetseh in Stwlirn zur (ii-sch. ih r Tlicnl. iitnl Kirclit:, ed. G. Nattianael Bonwet.si-li ami R. Seeberp, i. 1. I^elpsir. 1837; Schiirer, Geach. Hi. ajO-2.>i Uinzberg, Die HamKi'hih h. <l. KirrUem-iltern. in ilomtisichrift, im, pp.537-»jy, and 18S»,
t
pp. 17-22, 61-75, etc.
ABRAHAM'S BOSOM
p
In the New Testament and in Jewish writings a term signifying the abode
