Dating the Apocalypse of Abraham is difficult due to the lack of concrete historical references in the book. It refers to the destruction of the temple in chapter 30 and possibly Vesuvius in the same context. The fact the book is interested in the fall of the Temple and the fate of the Jews in the time after the fall of the temple argues for a date at the end of the first century, parallel to 2 Baruch and 4 Ezra. There is some external evidence, but even this evidence is not decisive. Origen, for example, refers to an “Apocalypse of Abraham” used by the Sethians, but is probably not the same as the present Apocalypse of Abraham. The original language of the book appears to have been Hebrew, implying an earlier date and Palestinian origin. The book has an interest in the temple and the priesthood in the first sections. Proper worship of God is important (“recite these words, etc.) Near the end of the book the “eschatology” seems very Christian.
The first seven chapters of the book are a narrative of Abraham’s realization the gods his father Terah crafts are nothing but wood and stone. His father asks him to sell five idols of Marumath, but Abraham loses three in the river. Later, while cooking his father’s dinner he sarcastically asks the god Barisat to watch over the cooking fire while he went to ask his father what he should cook. When he returns, the fire was still going and the god was burning himself. Abraham and Terah argue over this; Abraham says the god is nothing and says the gods are only honored because Terah made them well.
Abraham is pondering the gods when a voice from heaven calls to him and says he is the God of gods and commands him to leave the house of Terah (chapter 8). When he does, it is destroyed with a great thunder and fire. Abraham goes out and prepares a sacrifice, and while he is doing this he has a vision (chapter 9). He falls to the ground without strength and an angel is sent to strengthen him. The angel says he was the one that gave the order to destroy his father’s house and now he will bless Abraham because he was seeking the eternal one (chapter 10). The angel is described in chapter 11 very much like the “man” in Dan 7 or Jesus Christ in Revelation 1.
Abraham and this angel go walked for forty days without eating or drinking and came to the mountain of God. Abraham wants to make a sacrifice, but has nothing. The angel tells him to look behind, and Abraham sees the sacrifice prepared (chapter 12). Abraham performs the sacrifice as commanded, but at the time of the evening sacrifice an unclean bird comes to him and asks what he is doing. This bird, we are told, is Azaz’el. The angel commands Azaz’el to leave (chapter 13). The angel tells Abraham he has been chosen by God and Azaz’el has been sent far from men. At sunset they continue their ascent of the Mountain of God and Abraham sees Gehenna and a great crowd of people running around and prostrating themselves (chapter 15).
Abraham questions the angel as to why he has been brought to this place (chapter 16). The angels tells him to not fear and be strengthened, then fire engulfed them, and the angel knelt with Abraham and worshiped. The angel teaches Abraham a song of worship he is to recite without ceasing (Chapter 17). This song of prayer is filled with repeated attributes and names of God (Eternal One, El, God autocrat), as well as descriptions and titles (light-giver, thunder-voiced, many-eyed). While he is singing this song the fire is rising higher and higher and Abraham sees the cherubim under the throne of fire (chapter 18, cf. Ezek. 1, Rev. 4-5). A voice from the midst of the fire called to him and he is told to look out over the expanse. He sees fire spread out and a multitude of angels and a “host of the invisible glory” (chapter 19).
In the vision Abraham sees all of creation as displayed before him as a huge painting or picture. The vision proceeds as he is told to look at various parts of the image. This is a specialized form of apocalyptic vision known as an ekphrasis, a literary description of a work of art. Any work of art based on another work of art may be described as an ekphrasis, such as music interpreting a painting, for example, but most often ekphrasis is a literary description of a painting or tableaux. He is told to look up at the stars and is told his seed will be as the stars of heaven (chapter 20).
He is then told to look down at his feet and he sees creation and all the creatures prepared for it (chapter 21). He sees the land giving fruit and the Garden of Eden. He asks about this picture of creation and the Lord tells him this is how it was when he created it (chapter 22). But at the right side of this picture he sees Azazel, the one who seduced Eve (chapter 23). Azaz’el is condemned for ruining creation. As he looks at the picture, Abraham is told to look at the crafty adversary Cain, who killed his brother. Abraham sees an “idol of jealousy” like his father used to make, being worshiped by a man. Boys were being slaughtered to this god, but Abraham does not know the god, the worshiper or the temple it is in. The Lord says this is the temple of The Lord and he is angry with the seed of Abraham for this worship (chapter 25). Abraham asks if God has established this judgment on the council of only one (chapter 26) and the Lord tells him to look again at the picture (chapter 26). As he looks again, Abraham sees the Temple burning with fire and being plundered and destroyed (chapter 27). Abraham prays for this evil never to happen, but the Lord says this destruction is just because the people worshiping did not regard God.
Abraham asks what the fate of the people of the time of the destruction of the temple might be and for how long will they suffer (chapter 28). The answer is obscure, “four ascents.” The fourth ascent will be one hundred years, and an hour of that age will be on a hundred years. This seems to have perplexed Abraham too, since he cries out to the Lord and asks how long an hour is in the age (chapter 29). The Lord tells him to count it out himself by looking again at the picture. In 29:9-13 there seems to be evidence Christian influence, since there will come a man at the end of the age who will be trusted by the heathen but the Jews will insult and beat him and many will be offended by him (an obviously Christian element.) Before the age of justice grows the heathen will come upon the seed of Abraham and persecute them. Many righteous of Abraham’s seed will remain.
Chapter 30 lists ten plagues which will happen in the last twelve hours of the earth (these are general cosmological chaos.) Then the trumpet will sound out of the air and the Lord will send his chosen one and he will summon his people from the heathens and the Lord will judge them with fire and deliver them to Azaz’el in Hades. By way of a conclusion, Abraham is asked if he understands what his tribe will encounter in the last days (chapter 31). Abraham acknowledges that he does understand.
Although the book is identified as an apocalypse, it might be fairly descried as an expansion on Genesis 12. Genesis does not really address the question of why God choose Abram, he suddenly appears in Genesis 12 and God simply tells him to go to the land he will show him. Modern theologians discuss whether the Abrahamic covenant was conditional or not, the Apocalypse of Abraham offers a legendary explanation for God’s chose of Abram, he was already a monotheist and well on his way to being a righteous Jew, so God chose to bless him.
I regularly recommend people read at least the first seven chapters of the book as an entry into the pseudepigrapha. And those chapters can be quite humorous as well :]
For an intro to Apocalyptic, I use the Book of the Watchers, although that is less humorous.