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In 3 Enoch, Acher mistakes Metatron for a god. Rabbinic tradition in Genesis Rabbah has angels mistake Adam in the same way, until his sleep reveals that their supposed god is human.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
3 Enoch 16:2
Hebrew Book of Enoch
Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
But when Acher came to behold the vision of the Merkaba and fixed his eyes on me, he feared and trembled before me and his soul was frightened even to departing from him, because of fear, horror and dread of me, when he saw me sitting upon a throne like a king with all the ministering angels standing by me as my servants and all the princes of kingdoms adorned with crowns surrounding me: in that moment he opened his mouth and said: "Indeed, there are two Divine Powers in heaven!" At once Bath Qol (the Divine Voice) went forth from heaven from before the Shekina and said: "Return, you backsliding children (Jer. iii. 22), except Acher!"
Genesis Rabbah 8:10
Aggadah
Rabbinic
This is analogous to a king and a governor who were in a chariot, and the residents of the province wanted to salute the king by proclaiming: Domine. But they did not know which one he was. What did the king do? He pushed him [the governor] out of the chariot, and then they all knew that he was the governor. So, when the Holy One blessed be He created Adam the first man, the ministering angels erred concerning him and sought to proclaim “holy” before him. What did the Holy One blessed be He do? He cast a deep slumber upon him, and everyone then knew that he was [merely] a man. That is what is written: “Desist from man, who has breath in his nostrils, for in what way is he worthy?” (Isaiah 2:22).
Date: 500 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
“... Despite the prominent role that Enoch-Metatron plays in the “two
powers” controversy, the initial background of this theme about the
erroneous veneration of the exalted humanity appears to originate not in the
Enochic, but in the Adamic tradition.182 Jarl Fossum’s research
demonstrates that the motif of the misplaced adoration of Adam by the
angels appears in several forms in the rabbinic literature.183 Thus, from
Gen. R. 8:10 one can learn that when God created man in his own image
“the ministering angels mistook him [for a divine being] and wished to
exclaim ‘Holy’ before Him.... What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do?
He caused sleep to fall upon him, and so all knew that he was [only a
mortal] man.”184 In the Alphabet of Rabbi Akiba the angels’ erroneous
behavior is explained through reference to Adam’s gigantic body:185
This teaches that initially Adam was created from the earth to the firmament. When
the ministering angels saw him, they were shocked and excited by him. At that time
they all stood before the Holy One, blessed be He, and said to Him; “Master of the
Universe! There are two powers in the world, one in heaven and one on earth.” ...”
* 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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