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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 Apocalypse of Abraham 18:6 and Revelation 4:8

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses · New Testament

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Summary

In the Apocalypse of Abraham, each of the six-winged living creatures around God’s throne has the same four faces. In Revelation, the six-winged creatures each look different, one like a lion, one like an ox, one with a human face, and one like an eagle.

Passages

Apocalypse of Abraham 18:6

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
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.
70–150 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Apocalypse of Abraham

Revelation 4:8

New Testament
6 and in front of the throne was something like a sea of glass, like crystal. In the middle of the throne and around the throne were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back. 7 The first living creature was like a lion, the second creature like an ox, the third creature had a face like a man’s, and the fourth creature looked like an eagle flying. 8 Each one of the four living creatures had six wings and was full of eyes all around and inside. They never rest day or night, saying: “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God, the All-Powerful, Who was, and who is, and who is still to come!” 9 And whenever the living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to the one who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever,
92–96 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Revelation

References

“... At the same time we may notice two significant differences: 1. In the Apocalypse of Abraham the h\ayyoµt and the wheels are distinct, as they are in Ezekiel, though the Apocalypse of Abraham shares with other Jewish readings of Ezekiel the view that the wheels are animate creatures who sing the praises of God along with the h\ayyoµt. In the Apocalypse of Abraham, therefore, the many eyes belong to the wheels (18:3,12), but in Revelation they belong to the h\ayyoµt (4:6,8). 2. In the Apocalypse of Abraham each of the four h\ayyoµt has four faces and looks just like the other three. (It may be that there is some tex- tual confusion and that verse 12b originally meant that each crea- ture had four heads and each head four faces, so that each creature had sixteen faces, making a total of sixty-four faces altogether. This interpretation of Ezekiel is found in the Targum [1:6].)20 In Revel- ation, however, each creature is different: one like a lion, one like an ...”
Richard Bauckham, Living with Other Creatures: Green Exegesis and Theology (Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2011), 169.

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 18:6 and Revelation 4:8

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