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Daniel 10 links a heavenly revelation with abstaining from rich food, wine, and oil. The Apocalypse of Abraham echoes these restrictions but extends the fast to forty days, preparing Abraham for the revelation promised on a high mountain.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Daniel 10:3
Hebrew Bible
3 I ate no choice food, no meat or wine came to my lips, nor did I anoint myself with oil until the end of those three weeks. 4 On the twenty-fourth day of the first month I was beside the great river, the Tigris. 5 I looked up and saw a man clothed in linen; around his waist was a belt made of gold from Ufaz. 6 His body resembled yellow jasper, and his face had an appearance like lightning. His eyes were like blazing torches; his arms and feet had the gleam of polished bronze. His voice thundered forth like the sound of a large crowd. 7 Only I, Daniel, saw the vision; the men who were with me did not see it. On the contrary, they were overcome with fright and ran away to hide.
Apocalypse of Abraham 9:7
Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
7 But abstain from every form of food that proceeds out of the fire, and from the drinking of wine, and from anointing (yourself) with oil, forty days, 8 and then set forth for me the sacrifice which I have commanded you, in the place which I will show you, on a high mountain, 9 and there I will show you the ages which have been created and established, made and renewed, by my Word, 10 and I will make known to you what shall come to pass in them on those who have done evil and (practised) righteousness in the generation of men.
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Notes and References
“... David Halperin notes the Mosaic flavor of this passage, observing that “in preparation, Abraham must
abstain from meat, wine, and oil (Apocalypse of Abraham, Chapter 9). The immediate source of this
last detail seems to be Daniel 10:3. But, significantly, it recalls the abstentions of Moses and Elijah
(Exodus 34:28, Deuteronomy 9:9, 18, 1 Kings 19:7–8); for like Moses and Elijah, Abraham is to have
his experience on ‘the Mount of God, the glorious Horeb. ...”
Orlov, Andrei
Heavenly Priesthood in the Apocalypse of Abraham
(p. 98) 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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