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Apocalypse of Abraham

About this book
Chapter 11

1 And I stood up and saw the one who had taken my right hand and stood me on my feet: 2 and the appearance of his body was like sapphire, and the look of his face like chrysolite,⁠ and the hair of his head like snow,⁠ 3 and the turban on his head like the appearance of the rainbow,⁠ and his clothing like purple;⁠ and a golden scepter was in his right hand. 4 And he said to me: "Abraham!" And I said: "Here I am, your servant." And he said: "Do not let my appearance frighten you, or let my speech trouble your soul. 5 Come with me and I will go with you, visible until the sacrifice, but invisible forever after the sacrifice. 6 Take courage, and come!"

Texts in conversation

Compare Ezekiel 1:28 and Apocalypse of Abraham 11:3

Hebrew Bible · Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses

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Summary

In Ezekiel, the light around God's glory looks like a rainbow. In the Apocalypse of Abraham, the angel Jaoel, who leads Abraham toward God's throne, wears a rainbow-colored turban as a sign of that glory.

Passages

Ezekiel 1:28

Hebrew Bible
25 Then there was a voice from above the platform over their heads when they stood still. 26 Above the platform over their heads was something like a sapphire shaped like a throne. High above on the throne was a form that appeared to be a man. 27 I saw an amber glow like a fire enclosed all around from his waist up. From his waist down I saw something that looked like fire. There was a brilliant light around it, 28 like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds after the rain. This was the appearance of the surrounding brilliant light; it looked like the glory of the Lord. When I saw it, I threw myself face down, and I heard a voice speaking.
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Ezekiel

Apocalypse of Abraham 11:3

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
1 And I stood up and saw the one who had taken my right hand and stood me on my feet: 2 and the appearance of his body was like sapphire, and the look of his face like chrysolite, and the hair of his head like snow, 3 and the turban on his head like the appearance of the rainbow, and his clothing like purple; and a golden scepter was in his right hand. 4 And he said to me: "Abraham!" And I said: "Here I am, your servant." And he said: "Do not let my appearance frighten you, or let my speech trouble your soul. 5 Come with me and I will go with you, visible until the sacrifice, but invisible forever after the sacrifice.
70–150 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Apocalypse of Abraham

References

“... The mention of the rainbow is reminiscent of Ezekiel 1.28 (cf. Rev. 4.3), where God's glory is compared to the bow in the clouds. An angel with a rainbow around his head appears also in Revelation 10.1, ...”
Christopher Rowland, The Open Heaven: A Study of Apocalyptic in Judaism and Early Christianity (London: SPCK, 1982), 102.

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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Ezekiel 1:28 and Apocalypse of Abraham 11:3

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