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The Apocalypse of Abraham describes heavenly beings changing form while singing praise. Genesis Rabbah echoes this temporary life of angelic singers in its account of new angels created each day, giving heavenly praise a continually renewed company.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Apocalypse of Abraham 15:7
Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
2 And the Angel took me with the right hand and set me on the right wing of the pigeon, and set himself on the left wing of the turtle dove, which (birds) had neither been slaughtered nor divided. 3 And he bore me to the borders of the flaming fire 4 [and we ascended as with many winds to the heaven which was fixed upon the surface. 5 And I saw on the air] on the height, to which we ascended a strong light, which it was impossible to describe, 6 and behold! in this light a fiercely burning fire for people, many people of male appearance, 7 all (constantly) changing in aspect and form, running and being transformed, and worshipping and crying with a sound of words which I did not know.
Genesis Rabbah 78:1
Aggadah
Rabbinic
Rabbi Ḥelbo said in the name of Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman: No heavenly group lauds and repeats, but rather, each day the Holy One blessed be He creates a new group of angels, and they recite a new song before Him, and they go on their way. Rabbi Berekhya said: I responded to Rabbi Ḥelbo: ‘But is it not written: “Release me, as dawn has broken,” and the time for me to recite song has arrived?’ He said to me: ‘Strangler! Do you seek to strangle me?’ I said: ‘What is that verse that is written: “Release me, as dawn has broken”?’ He said to me: ‘These are Mikhael and Gavriel, who are heavenly princes, as all of them are replaced, but they are not replaced.’
Date: 500 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
“... The description refers to the host of angels who are born daily, sing their song of praise before God,
and then disappear; cf. Genesis rabba lxxviii. 1: Rabbi Helbo in the name of R. Samuel bar Nahman said:
“One angel-host never repeats the song of praise, but every morning God creates a new angel-host and these
cantillate a new song before Him and then disappear.” They are created daily out of the stream of fire that
proceeds from the holy hayyoth (ibid.); cf. Ps. civ. 4. Cf. also 2 Enoch xxix. 3: “And from the fire I made
the ranks of the spiritual hosts, ten thousand angels, and their weapons are fiery, and their garment is a
burning flame”; see further Weber, p. 166 f. ...”
Box, G. H., with J. I. Landsman
The Apocalypse of Abraham
(p. PDF 35) Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1918
* 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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