Pseudepigrapha

What are the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs?

The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs claim to be the final words of the sons of Jacob. Just as Jacob gave his final “testament” in Genesis 49, each of these Testaments claim to the last words of a patriarch to their sons. The genre of testament is common in the literature of the Second Temple period and there are many other “testaments,” yet there is no set pattern for the collection. Unlike the apocalypses, the testaments contain a number of elements with the “last words of a famous man” motif the only real common element.

Image result for The Twelve Sons of JacobThe Testament of the Twelve has been found in several translations, including an Aramaic fragment found among the Cairo Genizah documents in 1910 and at Qumran. This evidence implies the original language of the book was Aramaic, although R. H. Charles argued for a Hebrew original based on “mistranslations” of Semitic phrases in the Greek text.  H. C. Kee, on the other hand, argues the original was Greek based on terms for piety for which there are no real Hebrew equivalents (OTP 1:777).

The books have been dated as early as 250 B.C. based on similarities to the Septuagint, but is seems more likely they come from the Maccabean period. For example, T. Levi 18:2 is often taken as a reference to John Hyrcanus (137-107 B.C.) Craig Evans is more specific in identifying date and authorship: the Testaments “were written between 109 and 106 B.C. E. by a Pharisee who greatly admired John Hyrcanus at the zenith of the Maccabean (or Hasmonean) dynasty” (Ancient Texts, 40). Since many fragments of the books are found at Qumran, a mid- to late-second century B.C. date seems plausible.

As with any of this literature, we must also deal with the probability there are Christian interpolations in the text. These are especially problematic when the text refers to the Messiah. Kee estimates ten of these are Christian. For example, T.Levi 4:1, 14:2, both referring to violence towards the Son and refer to him as “savior of the world.” It is sometimes difficult to separate what is “too Christian” from what is representative of a developing Jewish worldview from which Christianity also developed in the first century. Marinus de Jonge, for example, argued the Testaments were entirely Christian, with some Jewish material at the core (Marinus De Jonge, Studies On The Testaments Of The Twelve Patriarchs: Text And Interpretation [Leiden: Brill, 1975]). The most obvious problem will be messianic prophecies in the “apocalyptic” portions of the Testaments. Some of these will be consistent with the Old Testament and other pseudepigrapha, others will show a clear Christian influence. Both have value for understanding the New Testament and the development of a distinct Christian eschatology, but it is critically important not to mix the Christian with the Jewish.

These books contain ethical admonitions which are akin to the wisdom literature. An elder giving instruction to his children is quite in keeping with Proverbs, for example. Each of the books has a general ethical theme built around the experience of the patriarch. In T.Reuben 3:11-15, for example, Reuben explains his sin against Jacob as a warning against lust. T.Simeon deals with envy and jealousy. Most of the Testaments include a mini-apocalypse. T. Levi contains visionary experience which is more akin to apocalyptic than the other testaments, but the thrust of the book is still ethical. In chapter 13, for example, the writer admonishes his children to “fear the Lord with a whole heart.” The Testaments refer to the Book of Enoch several times, indicating the influence of the apocalyptic text on later Jewish writings (T.Rub. 5:6, T.Sim 5:4, T.Levi 14:1, T.Jud 18:1, T. Dan 5:6, T.Naph 4:1, T.Ben 9:1).

These testaments use the story of Joseph in Genesis as a general framework around which they build their ethical teaching. As such these elements are “expansions” of biblical material (as with Susanna, Bel and the Dragon, the additions to Esther, etc.) The brothers repent of the foolish things they did in the biblical story (T.Rub. 3). Joseph is praised highly (T.Sim. 5, “nothing evil resided in Joseph, cf. Tobit, who is praised in similar ways as a super-righteous model for Jews in the Diaspora).

The expansions necessarily become more imaginative for the brothers who are not featured in an Old Testament story (Issachar, for example). Most of the Testaments have a death notice and a reference to the burial of the patriarch, often in a coffin as Joseph in Gen. 50:22-26. Judah is an exception, he does not wish to be buried like a rich man, and is buried in Hebron “with his fathers.” In T.Sim. 8 there is a tradition that the wizards of Egypt knew Joseph would depart Egypt when there was a great plague and darkness in the land. This is a “prediction” of the plague of darkness (Ex. 10:21-23) and the death of the firstborn in (Ex. 11:1-10).

The value of the Testaments for New Testament studies is twofold. First, the ethical sections provide a backdrop for the ethical teaching found in the Gospels and in the Pauline letters. Just as the Testaments deal with ethical problems of Jews living in a pagan world, Paul often deals with the problem of Christian ethics in a pagan environment.  It is something of a surprise to find less parallels to the ethical content of the Gospels (especially the Sermon on the Mount) than the Pauline literature. For a brief recent review of potential Pauline parallels to first century Judaism, see Udo Schnelle, Apostle Paul: His Life and Theology, (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2005), 70-75.

A second element of this literature which is important for New Testament studies is to be found in the various apocalyptic sections. Of first importance here is T.Levi, but each of the testaments have a mini-apocalypse which contributes to the overall-eschatology of the Testament of the Twelve.

The Antichrist in the Apocalypse of Elijah

Since the Apocalypse of Elijah is strongly influenced by the book of Revelation, especially 11:1-12, it is unsurprising to find a great deal about a future Antichrist in this apocalypse. Jewish apocalypses anticipated a coming king who would persecute God’s people as Antiochus IV Epiphanes did before the Maccabean revolt, as well as a rescue from that oppression by a representative of God (a messiah). These themes are found in both Revelation and 2 Thessalonians in the New Testament.

Apocalypse of Elijah

 

Apocalypse of Elijah 3 concerns the Antichrist. He will appear and claim to be the Christ (1), and he will perform all sorts of miracles (5-13), including the “messianic” signs of healing the blind, deaf, and lame. He will not be able to raise the dead, however. The Antichrist is physically described in 14-18. He can transform himself into a child or an old man, but the sign on his head cannot change.

A brief “digression” in 2-4 of this chapter describes the coming of the true Christ. He will come like a covey of doves with the sign of the cross leading him. Why doves? Possibly because Jesus gave the “sign of Jonah” as a sign of his return. The name Jonah means “dove” (OTP 1:744 note e). The whole world will see this sign, and then he will come with all of his angels (cf., Matt 24:27, the “sign of the son of man” will be seen by all).

Apocalypse of Elijah 4 concerns martyrdom at the hands of the Antichrist. Tabitha, the woman raised from the dead by Peter in Acts 10, goes up to Judea and “scolds” the Antichrist. She is killed at sunset but raised from the dead in the morning and proceeds to continue her tirade (1-6). Elijah and Enoch also preach against the Antichrist, are killed, and raised to life on the fourth day (7-20). The son of lawlessness will then persecute all the believers, many of whom will be killed by these gruesome tortures (21-29). Sixty of these righteous people are put to death in Jerusalem (30-33).

The activities of the Antichrist are further expanded in Chapter 5. While he continues to persecute, the Lord will take pity on the righteous and send sixty-four thousand angels who will take up those with the seal of God on their heads into heaven, rescuing them from the wrath of the Antichrist (1-6). This is an exciting passage for later developments in eschatology since it appears to teach an escape from the tribulation for righteous people well before the end of the period and the return of Christ. If this is a correct reading of the text, this is an early reference to a sort of “pre-tribulational rapture.”

Apoc. Elijah 5:2 -4 On that day the Christ will pity those who are his own. And he will send from heaven his sixty-four thousand angels, each of whom has six wings. The sound will move heaven and earth when they give praise and glorify. Now those upon whose forehead the name of Christ is written and upon whose hand is the seal, both the small and the great, will be taken up upon their wings and lifted up before his wrath.

These days will be a time of general chaos and disaster (7-14), and the Antichrist will continue to pursue the righteous (15-21). The Lord himself will “take up fiery wings” and go out to fight on behalf of his saints. A cosmic fire will go out from the Lord, and the final judgment will begin (22-29). The Antichrist will be specially judged (30-31), and Enoch and Elijah will return in spiritual flesh (32-35). The Antichrist will melt like ice in their presence, and he will “perish like a serpent.”

After the judgment, Christ the King will come from heaven along with all his saints (36-39). He will remain on earth for one thousand years and then create a new heaven and a new earth without a devil or sinners in it. The thousand-year kingdom is another adaptation of Revelation.

The Days of Tribulation in the Apocalypse of Elijah

The Apocalypse of Elijah is not strictly speaking an apocalypse. It is strongly influenced by the book of Revelation, especially 11:1-12 (the appearance of two witnesses in Jerusalem). There are dozens of possible ways to interpret the two witnesses, from literal people (Elijah and Moses, Elijah and Enoch) to figurative (the Old and New Testament, two volcanoes, etc.) The book does not contain any of the sorts of things we expect in a true apocalypse: heavenly journeys, thinly veiled reviews of history, revelation of mysterious secret knowledge, or angelic guides.

Coptic translations of a Greek original of the Apocalypse date to the fourth century. The book is clearly dependent on Revelation and appears to quote 1 John 2:18. A date of the mid-second century seems probable (OTP 1:730). If the book was a Christian re-working of a Jewish original, then some material may still be older (There is a Hebrew Apocalypse of Elijah which may stand in the background of the book, but no one has systematically studied the possibility of a Hebrew to Greek to Coptic translation). The book may reflect Egyptian Christianity, but this is unclear.

Apocalypse of Elijah

The Apocalypse of Elijah is interesting to study New Testament eschatology because it contains various interpretations and extensions of key eschatological vocabulary, such as Antichrist and the kingdom. The book has a strong theme of martyrdom, especially in the fourth chapter.

The word of the Lord comes to Elijah and confronts him over love of the word (chapters 1-2). This verse is roughly the same as 1 John 2:15, but it is not an exact quote. Since the subject matter is common, there is no reason to assume that the writer of this apocalypse knew 1 John.

The God of Glory has had mercy on his people in the past, and at the present time, he has come as a man to save us from sin (3-7). This text says God did not inform anyone of his plan to become incarnate and says God “changed himself into a man.” This is an underdeveloped Christology and does not seem aware of later Trinitarian thinking. God will preserve his people from the man of lawlessness, the term used by Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2 for the antichrist of popular apocalypses. The writer may have been aware of Paul, but the term is general enough that it may have been a common way of describing the apocalyptic oppressor.

The sinners will pass on to “thrones of death” because they have “alienated themselves” from God (8-12). In the last days, there will be deceivers who teach false doctrine and “make God their belly” (13-14), a very similar description of the last days as found in 2 Tim 4:1-5 and the false teachers Paul addresses in Philippians (3:19 especially.)  Fasting is of importance to our writer – God ordained the fast because it purifies the heart and hands, heals disease and casts out demons (15-22). Related to the fast is double-mindedness in prayer (23-27). The person who is double-minded in prayer is “darkness to himself.”

Apocalypse of Elijah 2 concerns the “kings of Assyria and the dissolution of the heaven and the earth (1). From the west, a “king of peace” will arise, but he will, in fact, be a man of injustice and will take vengeance on Egypt with much bloodshed (2-16). While he is never directly called the Antichrist, this king of peace is modeled after an Antichrist figures of the past (Antiochus IV Epiphanies, for example). That an antichrist-like character will arise out of the east is common in the Sibylline Oracles, which play on the Nero-Myth. Note that Revelation 8 describes a demonic army crossing from the east; the river Euphrates is dried up to give the east access to the west.

He commands peace but will appoint priests and establish idols, even commanding that the wise be seized.  The writer gives us some “signs” so that we will know who the king of peace is when he comes (17-28). The material in 17-28 only appears in a recently published manuscript from the Chester Beatty Library (OTP 1:741, note e2). Elijah weeps for Egypt, which will bear the brunt of the attack of this king of peace (29-38). The days will be so bad people will beg the rocks to fall on them and kill them, but they will not die (33-34, cf. Rev 6:16). Nursing women will be forced to suckle snakes, and blood will be drawn from their breasts (35-36). Verses 39-41 are fragmentary but appear to have described the return of the Jews to Jerusalem. The Assyrians and Persians will fight a war in those days (42-50), and the whole land will hail the Persians. At the end of this time, there will be peace and prosperity, and the dead will rise (51-53). Curiously, no royal matter will be allowed to be brought for three and a half years. Typically, the “time, times and half a time” period from Daniel is the duration of persecution, the reign of an antichrist, etc. This is one of the few direct references to this three-and-a-half-year period in the pseudepigrapha.

Apocalypse of Adam

The Apocalypse of Adam is a Gnostic text found among the Nag Hammadi codices. It is written in Coptic but was likely translated from Greek. The date is difficult to determine. The book may refer to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, but the allusion is not certain. McRae concludes a date anywhere from the late first through the fourth century is possible (OTP 1:708). The book is a Jewish-Gnostic text with some general parallels to Christian doctrine (the redeemer myth, for example.)

apocalypse of adam

Apocalypse of Adam 1:1-3 gives the setting of the apocalypse, and the conclusion to the book calls this secret knowledge given to Seth as a holy baptism.

Apoc.Adam 8:16-17 These are the revelations which Adam made known to Seth his son, and his son taught his seed about them. This is the secret knowledge of Adam which he imparted to Seth, which is the holy baptism of those who know the eternal knowledge through the ones born of the word and the imperishable illuminators, those who came from the holy seed: Jesseus, Mazareus, Jessedekeus, [the living water].

In his seven-hundredth year, Adam taught his son Seth about how he and Eve used to walk in the glory of God and knowledge of the eternal. The text is difficult to read because of the esoteric Gnostic content, but also because lines are occasionally missing. The book represents a form of Christian theology which has combined with Judaism and mystery religions to form something entirely different. The value for New Testament backgrounds is limited, although we can see how some New Testament elements mutate into Gnostic ideas in a book like the Apocalypse of Adam.

The fall is described in 1:4-12. There is no biblical fall here at all: the ruler of the aeons withdrew from Adam and Eve in wrath. As a result, they lost their knowledge and glory and served the creator God in fear and subjugation. Adam has a vision after this “fall” in which three men (or angels) appear in glory and announce explain to Adam about the aeon from which he and Eve were created (chapter 2).

Adam relates the predication of the flood which was given to him in his vision (chapter 3). The story is only vaguely related to the biblical version and is unlike 1 Enoch as well. Noah is called Deucalion, a son of Prometheus and the hero of the Greek flood myth (OTP 1:713 note e). After the flood, the Earth is divided among the three sons of Noah (chapter 4) with a special emphasis on Seth. The children of Ham and Japheth are judged with fire by the great aeon for going over to another (chapter 5).

In chapter six Adam relates the coming of the Illuminator. He will pass knowledge onto the sons of Noah. He will do miracles, and he appears to pass along secret knowledge of Seth (the text is corrupt here.) The powers of God will ask about this Illuminator since he appears to be more powerful than they are. His origin is given in Chapter 7. This lengthy poetic section lists thirteen kingdoms from which the Illuminator came, each ending with the rather obscure line “and thus he came to water.” Unlike other lists of kingdoms in the pseudepigrapha, this one is not thinly veiled history, but rather gnostic theology. Each kingdom lists some place from which the Illuminator came.

  • The first kingdom has a corrupt line at the critical moment, but it does say he was nourished in the heavens.
  • He came from a great prophet, taken by a bird when he was a child
  • He came from a virgin’s womb and was cast out of the city with his mother
  • Armies were sent to seek the virgin
  • He was cast into the sea and the abyss received him
  • Dragons brought him to caves and he became a child. A spirit came down on him and he received glory and power
  • He came from a cloud and a rock which enveloped the earth
  • One of the nine Muses went to be alone and the angels nourished him.
  • His god begot him in his hand
  • A daughter conceived by her father and she put the child in a tomb in the desert
  • He came from “two luminaries.”
  • Every birth of a ruler is a word and a mandate.

This seed will fight against the “powers” and be victorious (8:1-8) and a voice is heard from heaven promising even more wisdom will be sent by angels in the future (8:9-15). The last two verses are a conclusion describing the book as the secret wisdom of Seth “which is the holy baptism” and knowledge of those born of the world and the imperishable illuminators.

There may be some kind of relationship between the Apocalypse of Adam and Revelation 12. There are numerous points of comparison, although the Apocalypse of Adam was written much later. David Aune lists this books as a “possible Gnostic source” for Revelation 12, citing the suggestion of J. M. Robinson (Revelation 6-16, 1998; See also D. M Parrott, “The 13 Kingdoms of the Apocalypse of Adam: Origin, Meaning and Significance” NovT 31 (1989): 67-87).

 

Apocalypse of Abraham

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.

Image result for Abraham terah's idolsThe 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.