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Apocalypse of Abraham

About this book

The Angel Yahoel

Chapter 10

1 And when I heard the voice of Him who spoke these words to me, (and) I looked here and there 2 and look, there was no human breath, and my spirit was terrified, and my soul left me, and I became like a stone, and fell down on the earth, for I had no more strength to stand on the earth. 3 And while I was still lying facedown on the earth, I heard the voice of the Holy One speaking: "Go, Jaoel, who bears my name, through my unutterable Name consecrate that man for me, and strengthen him (so that he recovers) from his trembling." 4 And the angel He had sent to me came in the form of a man, and took my right hand, and stood me on my feet,⁠ 5 and said to me: "Stand up, [Abraham,] Friend of God who loves you;⁠ do not let human fear make you tremble! 6 For look, I have been sent to you to strengthen you and bless you in the name of God, who loves you, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. 7 Do not be afraid, and hurry to Him. 8 He who moves those who are with me on the seventh expanse on the heavenly vault calls me Jaoel. I am a power through the unutterable Name that dwells in me.⁠ 9 I have been assigned, by His command, to restrain the threatening attack of the living creatures of the Cherubim against one another, and to teach those who carry Him the song for the seventh hour of the human night. 10 I am appointed to restrain the Leviathans, for the attack and threat of every reptile are subject to me. 11 [I have been ordered to open Hades, to destroy those who revere the dead.] 12 I was ordered to set fire to your father's house with him inside, because he revered dead (idols). 13 I have been sent to bless you now, and the land which the Eternal One, whom you have called on, has prepared for you, 14 and I have traveled over the earth for your sake. 15 Stand up, Abraham! Go without being afraid; be very glad and joyful; and I am with you! For eternal honor has been prepared for you by the Eternal One. 16 Go, fulfill the sacrifices you were commanded to make. For look, I have been appointed to be with you and with the descendants destined (to spring) from you; 17 and with me Michael blesses you forever. Take courage, go!"

Texts in conversation

Compare Apocalypse of Abraham 10:8 and 3 Enoch 12:5

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses

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Summary

In the Apocalypse of Abraham, Yahoel's power comes from God's name within him. In 3 Enoch, Metatron similarly receives God's name, identifying the angels' authority in the God who sends them.

Passages

Apocalypse of Abraham 10:8

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
7 Do not be afraid, and hurry to Him. 8 He who moves those who are with me on the seventh expanse on the heavenly vault calls me Jaoel. I am a power through the unutterable Name that dwells in me. 9 I have been assigned, by His command, to restrain the threatening attack of the living creatures of the Cherubim against one another, and to teach those who carry Him the song for the seventh hour of the human night. 10 I am appointed to restrain the Leviathans, for the attack and threat of every reptile are subject to me.
70–150 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Apocalypse of Abraham

3 Enoch 12:5

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses · Hebrew Book of Enoch
2 And He made me a robe of honour on which were fixed all kinds of beauty, splendour, brilliance and majesty. 3 And he made me a royal crown in which were fixed forty-nine costly stones like the light of the globe of the sun. 4 For its splendour went forth in the four quarters of the Araboth Raqia', and in (through) the seven heavens, and in the four quarters of the world. And he put it on my head. 5 And He called me THE LESSER YHWH in the presence of all His heavenly household; as it is written (Ex. xxiii. 21): "For my name is in him".
400–600 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 3 Enoch

References

“... one encounters familiar references to the Angel of the Lord figure. This associ- ation becomes an important conceptual devise already in b. Sanh. 38b, where Metatron’s name is defined as “similar to his Master, for it is written: For My name is in him.” Reflecting on this excerpt from the Babylonian Talmud, Ger- shom Scholem notices a connection of this passage not only to the Angel of the Lord tradition but also to the Yahoel figure. He observes that the talmudic tra- dition from the beginning of the fourth century, according to which Metatron is the angel of YHWH, is also “found in the tenth chapter of the Apocalypse of Abraham ... where the angel Yahoel says to Abraham: ‘I am called Yahoel ... a power in virtue of the ineffable name that is dwelling in me.’” Similarly, in Sefer Hekhalot the endowment of Metatron with the office of the Lesser YHWH coincides with a reference to the Angel of the Lord tradition from Exodus. Thus, from 3 Enoch 12:5 one learns that the deity called the great angel “the lesser YHWH in the presence of his whole household in the height as it is written, ‘My name is in him.’” The close ties between Metatron and the Angel of the Lord figure were not forgotten in later mystical lore. Michael Miller suggests that “Eleazar of Worms must have known these [traditions] for his interpretation the dictum: ‘My Name is in him’ of Metatron, to mean that ‘the great name is inscribed on his heart’ (MS Paris-BN 850, fol. 83b).”51 ...”
Andrei A. Orlov, Yahoel and Metatron: Aural Apocalypticism and the Origins of Early Jewish Mysticism (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2017), 155.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Apocalypse of Abraham 10:8 and 3 Enoch 12:5

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