The Apocalypse of Abraham in its ancient and medieval contexts / Amy Paulsen-Reed.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Paulsen-Reed, Amy, author.

Series:

The Brill Reference Library of Judaism ; 69.

The Brill Reference Library of Judaism ; 69

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Apocalypse of Abraham--Criticism, interpretation, etc.

Apocalypse of Abraham.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (246 pages)

Place of Publication:

Leiden : Brill, [2021]

Summary:

The Apocalypse of Abraham is a pseudepigraphal work that narrates Abraham's rejection of idol worship and his subsequent ascent to heaven, where he is shown eschatological secrets through angelic mediation. This fascinating text was only preserved in Old Church Slavonic and must be studied as both a medieval Christian and an ancient Jewish text. This monograph addresses the following questions: -Why were medieval Slavs translating and reading Jewish pseudepigrapha? -How much, if at all, did they emend or edit the Apocalypse of Abraham ? -When in antiquity was it most likely written? -What were its ancient Jewish social and theological contexts?.

Contents:

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1 Laying the Groundwork

1 Methodological Considerations

2 From Byzantium to Bulgaria

1 Early Bulgarian Literary Activity

2 The Popularity of the Pseudepigrapha in Bulgaria

3 The Indices of Forbidden Books in Bulgaria

4 Literary Compilations and Works in Bulgaria

5 Translation Practices

6 Bulgarian Literary Creativity

3 The Bogomils

1 Bogomil Beliefs

2 The Spread of Bogomilism

3 Bogomil Literary Activity

4 From Bulgaria to Rus

1 Literary Activity in Rus

5 Jews in Slavic Lands

1 Translations from Hebrew into Slavonic?

2 Conclusions

6 The Original Language of the  Apocalypse of Abraham

7 The Structure and Unity of the  Apocalypse of Abraham

1 Structure

2 Textual Unity

8 Christian Emendations and Interpolations

9 The Themes, Messages and Functions of the  Apocalypse of Abraham

1 Did the Destruction of the Second Temple Create a Religious Crisis?

2 Theodicy

3 Idolatry

4 The Law

5 Purity and Ritual

6 Asceticism

7 Eschatology

8 The Romans

9 Grief and Distress

10 Knowledge

11 Creation

12 Free Will

13 Function

10 4 Ezra, 2 Baruch, and the  Apocalypse of Abraham: A Comparative Analysis

1 Introduction

1.1 The relationship between 4 Ezra and 2 Baruch

2 4 Ezra

3 2 Baruch

3 Conclusions

11 The Social Setting of the  Apocalypse of Abraham

2 Apocalyptic Literature and Sectarianism

3 The Social Setting of Opaque Texts: Lessons from Midrash Studies

4 Conclusions

12 The Exegetical Context of the  Apocalypse of Abraham

1 Rabbinic Parallels

13 Conclusions

Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

Other Format:

Print version: Paulsen-Reed, Amy The Apocalypse of Abraham in Its Ancient and Medieval Contexts

ISBN:

9789004430624

Publisher Number:

10.1163/9789004430624 DOI