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Apocalypse of Abraham

About this book

The Burning of Barisat

Chapter 5

1 I thought about my father's anger and went out; [and after I had gone out] my father called out: "Abraham!" 2 And I said: "Here I am." 3 And he said: "Gather up the splinters of the wood from which I made gods of pine wood before you came; and prepare my midday meal." 4 And when I gathered the splinters of wood, I found under them a small god which had been lying among the brushwood on my left, 5 and his forehead was inscribed with: God Barisat. 6 And I did not tell my father that I had found the wooden god Barisat under the chips. And when I had put the splinters in the fire to prepare food for my father, as I was going out to ask about the food, I placed Barisat in front of the burning fire, and threatened him by saying: 7 "Pay careful attention, Barisat, [that] the fire does not go out until I return; but if it goes out, blow on it so that it burns again." 8 And I went out and did what I had planned. 9 And when I returned I found Barisat fallen backward, and his feet surrounded by fire and horribly burned.⁠ 10 I burst out laughing, and I said to myself: "Truly, Barisat, you can light the fire and cook food!" 11 And while I spoke (thus) as I laughed he (i.e. Barisat) was gradually burned up by the fire and reduced to ashes.⁠ 12 And I brought the food to my father, and he ate. 13 And I gave him wine and milk, and he was pleased and blessed his god Merumath. 14 And I said to him: "Father Terah, do not bless your god Merumath, and do not praise him, but praise your god Barisat because he loves you more and has thrown himself into the fire to cook your food!"⁠ 15 And he said to me: "And where is he now?" 16 [And I said:] "He is burned to ashes in the fierce fire and is reduced to dust." 17 And he said: "Barisat is very powerful! I (will) make another today, and tomorrow he will prepare my food."

Texts in conversation

Compare Apocalypse of Abraham 5:9 and Revelation 1:15

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses · New Testament

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Summary

In the Apocalypse of Abraham, Abraham laughs at Barisat after fire burns the idol's feet and reduces it to ashes. In Revelation, Jesus' feet look like bronze refined in a furnace, the same picture of a divine figure with fiery feet.

Passages

Apocalypse of Abraham 5:9

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
9 And when I returned I found Barisat fallen backward, and his feet surrounded by fire and horribly burned. 10 I burst out laughing, and I said to myself: "Truly, Barisat, you can light the fire and cook food!" 11 And while I spoke (thus) as I laughed he (i.e. Barisat) was gradually burned up by the fire and reduced to ashes. 12 And I brought the food to my father, and he ate. 13 And I gave him wine and milk, and he was pleased and blessed his god Merumath. 14 And I said to him: "Father Terah, do not bless your god Merumath, and do not praise him, but praise your god Barisat because he loves you more and has thrown himself into the fire to cook your food!"
70–150 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Apocalypse of Abraham

Revelation 1:15

New Testament
12 I turned to see whose voice was speaking to me, and when I did so, I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the lampstands was one like a son of man. He was dressed in a robe extending down to his feet, and he wore a wide golden belt around his chest. 14 His head and hair were as white as wool, even as white as snow, and his eyes were like a fiery flame. 15 His feet were like polished bronze refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. 16 He held seven stars in his right hand, and a sharp double-edged sword extended out of his mouth. His face shone like the sun shining at full strength.
92–96 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Revelation

References

“... This detail invokes an important theophanic feature often found in several visionary accounts where the anthropomorphic figure of the deity is depicted with fiery feet or a fiery lower body. [...] Another important testimony to this prominent motif can be found in the first chapter of the book of Revelation, a text possibly contemporaneous with the Apocalypse of Abraham, which in many aspects shares the theophanic paradigm of the book of Ezekiel and the book of Daniel. Revelation 1.15 reads: His head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow; his eyes were like a flame of fire, and his feet were like burnished bronze, refined as in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of many waters… It is apparent that the tradition found in the book of Revelation is related to the one found in the Apocalypse of Abraham since it refers to the feet of the deity ‘refined as in a furnace’, a feature which might implicitly point to the theophanic traditions of the fiery test, that will be explored in detail later in our study. ...”
Andrei A. Orlov, “‘The Gods of My Father Terah’: Abraham the Iconoclast and the Polemics with the Divine Body Traditions in the Apocalypse of Abraham,” JSP 18.1 (2008): 40–41.

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 5:9 and Revelation 1:15

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