Texts in Conversation
Pseudo-Philo and the Apocalypse of Abraham describe Abraham being lifted above the solid firmament to view the stars below, following ancient Near Eastern cosmology where the stars are attached to a solid dome just over the earth.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Pseudo Philo Biblical Antiquities 18:5
Classical
4 In the night God said to him, “Who are the men who have come to you?” Balaam said, “Why, Lord, do you test the race of man? They cannot bear it, for you knew, more than they, all that was in the world before you founded it. Now enlighten your servant whether it is right that I go with them.” 5 God said to him, “Was it not concerning this people that I spoke to Abraham in a vision, saying, ‘Your offspring will be as the stars of heaven, when I raised him up above the firmament and showed him all the orderings of the stars, and required of him his son for a burnt offering’? He brought him to be laid on the altar, but I restored him to his father. And because he did not resist, his offering was acceptable in my sight, and for the blood of him I chose this people. Then I said to the angels who work subtly, ‘Did I not say of him, “To Abraham I will reveal all that I do”?’ 6 “Jacob also, when he wrestled in the dust with the angel who was over the praises, did not let him go until he blessed him. And now, you think to go with these men and curse those whom I have chosen. But if you curse them, who is it that will bless you?”
Apocalypse of Abraham 20:3
Pseudepigrapha
1 And the Eternal Mighty One said to me, “Abraham, Abraham!” 2 And I said, “Here am I!” 3 And he said, “Look from on high at the stars which are beneath you and count them for me and tell me their number!” 4 And I said, “Would I be able? For I am [but] a man.” 5 And he said to me, “As the number of the stars and their host, so shall I make your seed into a company of nations, set apart for me in my lot with Azazel. 6 And I said, “Eternal Mighty One! Let your servant speak before you and let your fury not rage against your chosen one.
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Notes and References
"... Genesis Rabbah (44:12) also interprets the reference to YHWH bringing Abram 'outside' in an overtly cosmological manner, in a way that appears both to presuppose and to censure his use of astrology outright (Such an interpretation of the lifting above the firmament is, in fact, represented in the so-called Midrash Aggadah of Solomon Buber (based on a Mediaeval manuscript from Aleppo), which explicitly says (ad loc.) that although most humans are "under their constellation" (bënê ädäm tahat mazzäläm) which 'therefore judges them' (lëpikäk hammazzäl dän ötäm), Abra(ha)m is "above the dome of the firmament, in which the constellations are" (lëmalá mikktppat häräqta sehammazzäl säm), and therefore, presumably, exempt from astrological influence) ..."
Wikander, Ola
"Go Out from Your Sign": Rashi to Genesis 15:5 as a Reference to Astrological Primary Direction - Its Background in Rabbinic Literature and Parallels in Abraham bar Hiyya
(pp. 1-5) Old Testament Essays Vol.33, No. 3, 2020
* 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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