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In Exodus 3, fire surrounds the divine presence in a bush without consuming it. The Apocalypse of Abraham reshapes this test of divine power into a comic failure, as Barisat burns to ashes while supposedly tending the fire for Terah's meal.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Exodus 3:2
Hebrew Bible
1 Now Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to the mountain of God, to Horeb. 2 The angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from within a bush. He looked, and the bush was ablaze with fire, but it was not being consumed! 3 So Moses thought, “I will turn aside to see this amazing sight. Why does the bush not burn up?” 4 When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to look, God called to him from within the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.”
Apocalypse of Abraham 5:11
Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
7 "Pay careful attention, Barisat, [that] the fire do not die down until I come; if, however, it dies down, blow on it that it may burn up again." 8 And I went out and accomplished my purpose. 9 And on returning I found Barisat fallen backwards, and his feet surrounded by fire and horribly burnt. 10 I burst into a fit of laughter, and I said to myself: "Truly, O Barisat, you can kindle the fire and cook food!" 11 And it came to pass, while I spoke (thus) in my laughter he (i.e. Barisat) was gradually burnt up by the fire and reduced to ashes. 12 And I brought the food to my father, and he ate. 13 And I gave him wine and milk, and he was gladdened and blessed his god Merumath.
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Notes and References
“... Here the authors of the Apocalypse of Abraham are drawing on an established
visionary tradition manifested in several biblical accounts, including
Exodus’ theophany of the burning bush. There Moses encounters a bush
that burns but is not consumed, a manifestation of the divine. The motif of
the celestial form embraced by fire also brings to mind the aforementioned
account found in the first chapter of the Book of Ezekiel, where the seer
beholds the Deity enveloped by fire or perhaps even composed of it. ...”
Orlov, Andrei
Heavenly Priesthood in the Apocalypse of Abraham
(p. 28) Cambridge University Press, 2013
* 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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