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

• Superior document: The Brill Reference Library of Judaism ; 69
• VerfasserIn: Paulsen-Reed, Amy,
• Place / Publishing House: Leiden : : Brill,, [2021]; ©2021
• Year of Publication: 2021
• Language: English
• Series: The Brill Reference Library of Judaism ; 69.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (246 pages)

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?.

Table of 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 -- 1 Methodological Considerations -- 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 -- 2 Conclusions -- 13 Conclusions -- Bibliography -- Index.