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Apocalypse of Abraham

About this book

Abraham’s Song of Praise

Chapter 17

1 And while he was still speaking (and) look, fire came toward us from every side, and a voice was in the fire like a voice of many waters, like the sound of the sea in its uproar.⁠ 2 And the angel knelt down with me and worshiped. 3 And I wanted to fall facedown on the earth, and the high place where we stood, [at one moment rose upright,] but at another rolled downward. 4 And he said: "Only worship, Abraham, and sing the song which I have taught you;" 5 because there was no earth to fall on. And I only worshiped, and sang the song which he had taught me. 6 And he said: "Recite without stopping." 7 And I recited, and he himself recited the song with me: 8 Eternal, Mighty, Holy El, God alone, Supreme! 9 You who are the source of Your own existence, incorruptible, spotless, Uncreated, pure, immortal, 10 Complete in Yourself, giving Yourself light; Without father, without mother, not born,⁠ 11 Exalted, fiery One! 12 Lover of humanity, kind, generous, jealous for me⁠ and very compassionate; 13 Eli, that is, My God-Eternal, mighty holy Sabaoth, full of glory. El, El, El, El, Jaoel! 14 You are He whom my soul has loved!⁠ Eternal Protector, 15 shining like fire, Whose voice is like the thunder, Whose appearance is like the lightning, all-seeing, 16 Who receives the prayers of those who honor You! [And turns away from the requests of those who hem You in with their provocations, 17 Who frees those living among the godless and those scattered throughout the world in the age subject to decay, renewing the age of the righteous!] 18 You, Light, shine before the light of the morning on Your creatures, [so that it becomes day on the earth,] 19 And in Your heavenly homes there is an inexhaustible light of indescribable splendor from the lights of Your face. 20 Accept my prayer [and be pleased with it], and also the sacrifice which You Yourself prepared through me as I searched for You! 21 Receive me kindly, and show me, and teach me, And tell Your servant as you have promised me!

Texts in conversation

Compare Apocalypse of Abraham 17:10 and Hebrews 7:3

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses · New Testament

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Summary

Hebrews describes Melchizedek from Genesis without parents or genealogy. Similar language is used in the Apocalypse of Abraham, where it describes figures as timeless and without origin, traits connected to the divine in Jewish tradition.

Passages

Apocalypse of Abraham 17:10

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
7 And I recited, and he himself recited the song with me: 8 Eternal, Mighty, Holy El, God alone, Supreme! 9 You who are the source of Your own existence, incorruptible, spotless, Uncreated, pure, immortal, 10 Complete in Yourself, giving Yourself light; Without father, without mother, not born, 11 Exalted, fiery One! 12 Lover of humanity, kind, generous, jealous for me and very compassionate; 13 Eli, that is, My God-Eternal, mighty holy Sabaoth, full of glory. El, El, El, El, Jaoel! 14 You are He whom my soul has loved! Eternal Protector, 15 shining like fire, Whose voice is like the thunder, Whose appearance is like the lightning, all-seeing,
70–150 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Apocalypse of Abraham

Hebrews 7:3

New Testament
1 Now this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, met Abraham as he was returning from defeating the kings and blessed him. 2 To him also Abraham apportioned a tithe of everything. His name first means king of righteousness, then king of Salem, that is, king of peace. 3 Without father, without mother, without genealogy, he has neither beginning of days nor end of life but is like the son of God, and he remains a priest for all time. 4 But see how great he must be, if Abraham the patriarch gave him a tithe of his plunder.
80–90 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Hebrews

References

"... Without Father or Mother or Genealogy - The terms "without father" and "without mother" most commonly refer to children, either illegitimate, orphaned or abandoned. That shameful sense is totally absent from Heb 7:3 ... There are two texts which describe a true deity in this fulsome fashion. Lactantius quotes an ancient oracle of Apollo about god: "Self-produced, untaught, without a mother, unshaken." But this cannot refer to Juppiter, who had a mother. Lactantius quotes Mercury to the effect that a true god must be without both mother and father ... We find evidence from ancient Greek sources, then, that it belongs to a true deity to be both "without father" and "without mother." A comparable passage occurs in the Apocalypse of Abraham ... The form is clearly "negative theology," even if some of the terms suggest a certain transcendence, such as "self-originate," "self-perfected," and "self-devised." We easily recognize phrases about the true eternity of this god — (a) eternal in the past: "unbegotten," "self-originate" and (b) imperishable in the future: "incorruptible" and "immortal." In addition, this god is "without mother, without father, ungenerated," that is, sourceless. Both Lactantius' citations from Greek theology and the Apocalypse of Abraham suggest that when some figure is acclaimed "without father or mother or genealogy," such a one is a true deity ..."
Jerome H. Neyrey, “‘Without Beginning of Days or End of Life’ (Hebrews 7:3): Topos for a True Deity,” CBQ 53.3 (1991): 439–455.

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 17:10 and Hebrews 7:3

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