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Apocalypse of Abraham

About this book

The Promise of Descendants

Chapter 20

1 And the Eternal Mighty One said to me: "Abraham, Abraham!" 2 And I said: "Here I am." 3 [And He said:] "Look down at the stars beneath you,⁠ and count them [for me],⁠ and report [to me] their number."⁠ 4 And I said: "How could I do that? For I am only a man [of dust and ashes]."⁠ 5 And he said to me: "As great as the stars in number and power, (so will) I make your descendants a nation and a people, set apart for me in my inheritance with Azazel."⁠

Abraham Asks about Evil

6 And I said: "Eternal, Mighty One! Let your servant speak in Your presence, and do not let Your anger flare up against Your chosen one! 7 Look, before You led me up Azazel attacked me with words. How, then, while he is not now in Your presence, have You established Yourself with him?"

Texts in conversation

Compare Pseudo Philo, Biblical Antiquities 18:5 and Apocalypse of Abraham 20:3

Classical · Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses

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Summary

Pseudo-Philo and the Apocalypse of Abraham show Abraham as an astronomer being lifted above the firmament to view the stars below, reflecting ancient Near Eastern cosmology where the stars are attached to a solid dome directly over the earth.

Passages

Pseudo Philo, Biblical Antiquities 18:5

Classical
4 In the night God said to him, “Who are the men who have come to you?” Balaam said, “Why, Lord, do you test the race of man? They cannot bear it, for you knew, more than they, all that was in the world before you founded it. Now enlighten your servant whether it is right that I go with them.” 5 God said to him, “Was it not concerning this people that I spoke to Abraham in a vision, saying, ‘Your offspring will be as the stars of heaven, when I raised him up above the firmament and showed him all the orderings of the stars, and required of him his son for a burnt offering’? He brought him to be laid on the altar, but I restored him to his father. And because he did not resist, his offering was acceptable in my sight, and for the blood of him I chose this people. Then I said to the angels who work subtly, ‘Did I not say of him, “To Abraham I will reveal all that I do”?’
1–100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Pseudo Philo, Biblical Antiquities

Apocalypse of Abraham 20:3

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
1 And the Eternal Mighty One said to me: "Abraham, Abraham!" 2 And I said: "Here I am." 3 [And He said:] "Look down at the stars beneath you, and count them [for me], and report [to me] their number." 4 And I said: "How could I do that? For I am only a man [of dust and ashes]." 5 And he said to me: "As great as the stars in number and power, (so will) I make your descendants a nation and a people, set apart for me in my inheritance with Azazel." 6 And I said: "Eternal, Mighty One! Let your servant speak in Your presence, and do not let Your anger flare up against Your chosen one!
70–150 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Apocalypse of Abraham

References

"... In the ancient world, Chaldea was famous for one thing in particular: it was the home of astronomy and astrology. So great was the association between Chaldea and the study of the stars that the very word 'Chaldean' came to mean 'astronomer' in both Aramaic and Greek. Many interpreters therefore naturally assumed that Abraham the Chaldean must himself have been something of an astronomer. And so a number of early sources present Abraham as both a learned astronomer and a teacher of this occult lore to others ..."
James L. Kugel, The Bible as It Was (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1998), 139–140.

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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Pseudo Philo, Biblical Antiquities 18:5 and Apocalypse of Abraham 20:3

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