Abraham Returns to Earth

Chapter 30

1 But while He was still speaking, I found myself on the earth. And I said: "Eternal, [Mighty One], I am no longer in the glory in which I was (while) above, and I do not understand in my heart what my soul longed to understand."

The Ten Plagues

2 And He said to me: "I will tell you what your heart desires, because you have tried to see the ten plagues which I have prepared for the pagans, and have prepared in advance for when the twelve hours of the earth have passed. 3 Listen to what I tell you; this is how it will happen: 4 the first (is) pain of great distress; the second, the burning of many cities; 5 the third, destruction of animals by epidemic disease;⁠ the fourth, hunger of the whole world and of its people; 6 the fifth, destruction among its rulers by earthquake and the sword;⁠ the sixth, increased hail and snow; 7 the seventh, the wild beasts will be their grave; the eighth, hunger and epidemic disease will take turns destroying them; 8 the ninth, punishment by the sword and fleeing in distress; the tenth, thunder and voices and destructive earthquake.⁠

Texts in conversation

Compare 2 Baruch 27:7 and Apocalypse of Abraham 30:6

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses

Summary

In 2 Baruch, God lists famine, earthquakes, violence, and falling fire among the disasters at the end of the age. The Apocalypse of Abraham echoes a similar tradition in the ten plagues God announces against the nations.

Passages

2 Baruch 27:7

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses · Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch

5 And in the fourth part the sending of the sword. 6 And in the fifth part famine and the withholding of rain. 7 And in the sixth part earthquakes and terrors. 8 And in the eighth part a multitude of spectres and attacks of the Shedim. 9 And in the ninth part the fall of fire.

70–135 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 2 Baruch

Apocalypse of Abraham 30:6

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses

2 And He said to me: "I will tell you what your heart desires, because you have tried to see the ten plagues which I have prepared for the pagans, and have prepared in advance for when the twelve hours of the earth have passed. 3 Listen to what I tell you; this is how it will happen: 4 the first (is) pain of great distress; the second, the burning of many cities; 5 the third, destruction of animals by epidemic disease; the fourth, hunger of the whole world and of its people; 6 the fifth, destruction among its rulers by earthquake and the sword; the sixth, increased hail and snow; 7 the seventh, the wild beasts will be their grave; the eighth, hunger and epidemic disease will take turns destroying them; 8 the ninth, punishment by the sword and fleeing in distress; the tenth, thunder and voices and destructive earthquake.

70–150 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Apocalypse of Abraham

References

“... The ten “plagues” here enumerated mark the distressful period which precedes the advent of the new Age; they correspond to the “signs” which are a common feature in the traditional eschatology; cf. 4 Ezra iv. 52-v. 13, vi. 13-28, ix. 1-6, xiii. 16 ff., Ap. Bar. xxv.-xxvii., xlviii. 30-38, lxx., 1 Enoch xcix. 4 f., 7-10, c. 1-6 (Dan. xii.). [...] The fall of fire is one of the portents of the End in Ap. Bar. xxvii. 10. [...] Cf. 4 Ezra vi. 22, Ap. Bar. xxvii. 5-6, Matt. xxiv. 7. [...] Cf. Ap. Bar. xxvii. 3, 4 Ezra ix. 3. [...] Cf. Ap. Bar. xxvii. 7. [...] [Perhaps the passage most closely parallel with our text is Ap. Bar. xxvii. 1-13.] ...”

G. H. Box with J. I. Landsman, The Apocalypse of Abraham (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1918), PDF 53.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

Abraham Returns to Earth

The Ten Plagues

Apocalypse of Abraham32 chapters

Compare 2 Baruch 27:7 and Apocalypse of Abraham 30:6

Summary

Passages

2 Baruch 27:7

Apocalypse of Abraham 30:6

References

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