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Apocalypse of Abraham

About this book

The Throne of Glory

Chapter 18

1 And while I was still reciting the song, the mouth of the fire which was on the surface rose high into the air. 2 And I heard a voice like the roaring of the sea; and it did not stop because of the great abundance of fire. 3 And as the fire rose higher and higher, I saw under the fire a throne of fire, and all-seeing beings around it, reciting the song, and under the throne four fiery living creatures singing, 4 and they all looked alike, each one of them with four faces.⁠ 5 And their faces looked like those of a lion, a man, an ox, and an eagle.⁠ Four heads [were on their bodies] [so that the four creatures had sixteen faces]; 6 and each had six wings; from their shoulders, [and their sides] and their hips. 7 And with the (two) wings from their shoulders they covered their faces, and with the (two) wings which (sprang) from their hips they covered their feet, while they spread the (two) middle wings to fly straight ahead.⁠ 8 And when they had finished singing, they looked at one another and threatened one another. 9 And when the angel who was with me saw that they were threatening each other, he left me and went running to them 10 and turned the face of each living creature away from the face directly opposite it, so that they could not see each other's threatening faces. 11 And he taught them the song of peace which has its origin [in the Eternal One]. 12 And as I stood alone and looked, I saw behind the living creatures a chariot with fiery wheels, each wheel full of eyes all around; 13 and over the wheels was a throne that I saw, and it was covered with fire, and fire encircled it all around,⁠ and look, an indescribable light surrounded a fiery crowd. 14 And I heard its holy voice like the voice of a man.

Texts in conversation

Compare Ezekiel 1:26 and Apocalypse of Abraham 18:13

Hebrew Bible · Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses

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Summary

In Ezekiel, a figure like a human sits on the throne above the living creatures. In the Apocalypse of Abraham, Abraham sees the throne above fiery wheels, covered and surrounded by fire, but he describes no one seated on it.

Passages

Ezekiel 1:26

Hebrew Bible
22 Over the heads of the living beings was something like a dome41, glittering awesomely like ice, stretched out over their heads. 23 Under the platform their wings were stretched out, each toward the other. Each of the beings also had two wings covering its body. 24 When they moved, I heard the sound of their wings—it was like the sound of rushing waters, or the voice of the Sovereign One, or the tumult of an army. When they stood still, they lowered their wings. 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.
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Ezekiel

Apocalypse of Abraham 18:13

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
9 And when the angel who was with me saw that they were threatening each other, he left me and went running to them 10 and turned the face of each living creature away from the face directly opposite it, so that they could not see each other's threatening faces. 11 And he taught them the song of peace which has its origin [in the Eternal One]. 12 And as I stood alone and looked, I saw behind the living creatures a chariot with fiery wheels, each wheel full of eyes all around; 13 and over the wheels was a throne that I saw, and it was covered with fire, and fire encircled it all around, and look, an indescribable light surrounded a fiery crowd.
70–150 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Apocalypse of Abraham

References

“... The description of God's throne in the Apocalypse of Abraham (ch. 18) is notable for the absence of any reference to a figure sitting on the throne. As we have seen, the description of the throne-chariot clearly owes much to Ezekiel 1, which makes the lack of any figure on the throne all the more significant. It is clear that Jaoel is the companion of the throne of glory. [...] While there is no explicit evidence from the Apocalypse of Abraham to suggest that Jaoel was the one whose seat was on the throne of God, it is not impossible that we have a theological description here which reflects that found in Ezekiel 1 and 8, where the human figure on the throne leaves the throne to function as the agent of the divine will. ...”
Christopher Rowland, The Open Heaven: A Study of Apocalyptic in Judaism and Early Christianity (London: SPCK, 1982), 102–103.

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 1:26 and Apocalypse of Abraham 18:13

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