Texts in Conversation
Joseph and Aseneth echoes the imagery of Ezekiel by describing the heavens opening, a brilliant light, and a shining heavenly figure that overwhelms the seer. Just as Ezekiel collapses near the Kebar River, Aseneth falls on her face before the figure.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Ezekiel 1:1
Hebrew Bible
1 In the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month, while I was among the exiles at the Kebar River, the heavens opened and I saw a divine vision. 2 (On the fifth day of the month—it was the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s exile— 3 the Lord’s message came to the priest Ezekiel the son of Buzi, at the Kebar River in the land of the Babylonians. The hand of the Lord came on him there.) 4 As I watched, I noticed a windstorm coming from the north—an enormous cloud, with lightning flashing, such that bright light rimmed it and came from it like glowing amber from the middle of a fire.
Date: 600–501 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
Joseph and Aseneth 14:3
Pseudepigrapha, Hebrew Bible Expansions
1 And, when Asenath had finished making her confession to the Lord, look, the morning star also rose in the sky in the east; 2 and Asenath saw it and was delighted and said: "Has the Lord God heard my prayer? For this star is a messenger and herald of the light of the great day." 3 And look, close by the morning star the sky was torn open and a great and indescribable light appeared. 4 And when she saw it Asenath fell on her face on the ashes, and at once a man came to her from heaven, sending out rays of light, and stood above her head. And, as she lay on her face, the divine angel said to her, "Asenath, stand up." 5 And she said: "Who is it that called me? For the door of my room is shut and the tower is high, and how then has he come into my room?"
Date: 100 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... For our purposes, however, the most instructive example of borrowing from Ezekiel 1-2 appears in Joseph and Aseneth. In the book's fourteenth chapter, the heavens are split and a great light appears. Aseneth then falls on her face. A heavenly 'man', the commander of the host of the Most High, descends and calls to her. When she raises her head to see him, his face is like lightning, his eyes like sunshine, his hair a flame of fire and a burning torch ..."
Dale C. Allison, “Acts 9:1–9, 22:6–11, 26:12–18: Paul and Ezekiel,” JBL 135.4 (2016): 807–26.
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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