Texts in Conversation
Revelation describes Death as a rider on a pale horse, with Hades following behind. The Testament of Abraham also personifies Death, one who calls himself the destroyer of the world and appears beautiful to the righteous but frightening to sinners.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Revelation 6:8
New Testament
7 Then when the Lamb opened the fourth seal I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come!” 8 So I looked and here came a pale green horse! The name of the one who rode it was Death, and Hades followed right behind. They were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill its population with the sword, famine, and disease, and by the wild animals of the earth. 9 Now when the Lamb opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been violently killed because of the word of God and because of the testimony they had given.
Testament of Abraham 17:2
Pseudepigrapha
1 Then Abraham got up and went into his house, and Death went along with him. Abraham went up to his room, and Death went up with him. Abraham lay down on his couch, and Death came and sat by his feet. Then Abraham said: Go away, go away from me, because I want to rest on my couch. 2 Death said: I will not go away until I take your spirit from you. Abraham said to him: By the immortal God I order you to tell me the truth. Are you death? Death said to him: I am Death. I am the destroyer of the world. 3 Abraham said: I beg you, since you are Death, tell me whether you come to everyone like this, in such loveliness and glory and beauty. Death said: No, my Lord Abraham. It is your righteous deeds, and the boundless sea of your hospitality, and the greatness of your love toward God that have become a crown on my head. I approach the righteous in beauty and great peace and gentleness, but I come to sinners in great decay and fierceness and the deepest bitterness, and with a fierce and merciless look. Abraham said: I beg you, listen to me, and show me your fierceness and all your decay and bitterness.
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Notes and References
... The New Testament includes a few passages where Death is hypostatized along with the figure Hades: ‘Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire’ (Revelation 20:14, Revised Standard Version. See also 21:4). In another passage from the book of Revelation, part of John’s vision of the fourth seal, Death is personified as a rider upon a pale horse. With Hades following, ‘they were given power over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth’ (6:8, Revised Standard Version). Greek ideas of the personification of Death share several significant parallels with the Testament of Abraham’s portrayal of Death, even though the role and status of Thanatos is not plainly given in Greek texts. ...
Ludlow, Jared W.
Abraham Meets Death: Narrative Humor in the Testament of Abraham
(pp. 101-102) Sheffield Academic Press, 2002
* 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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