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Ladder of Jacob

About this book
Chapter 8

1 Now at his coming will images of bronze and stone and all graven things utter their voice for three days.⁠ 2 And they announce to the wise men and let them know what will happen on earth, and by the star will they know the way to him,⁠ when they see him on earth whom the angels do not see above. 3 Then will the Almighty be found in a body on the earth, and encompassed by the arms of a mortal, and he renews the state of man and gives life to Eve, who died through the fruit of the tree. 4 Then will the deceit of the godless one be overcome, and all idols fall on their faces, for they will be put to shame by one who is adorned with honour, because they made lying inventions. 5 From then on they will not have power to rule or to give prophecies, for their honour will be taken from them, and they will remain without glory. 6 For he who has come takes the power and might from them, and repays to Abraham the truth which he promised him. 7 Then he rounds off all that is sharp, and he makes every rough thing smooth, and he casts all unrighteousness into the depths of the sea; and he does wonders in heaven and on the earth. 8 And he will be wounded in the midst of the house of the beloved; but when he is wounded, then also the saving and the end of all corruption draws near. 9 For those who have wounded him shall themselves receive a wound which shall not be healed for them for ever. 10 But all creatures shall worship the wounded one, and many shall hope in him, and everywhere, and among all the Gentiles, shall he be known. 11 But those who have known his name shall not be put to shame, and his own might and his years shall not fail for ever.⁠

Texts in conversation

Compare Psalm 102:27 and Ladder of Jacob 8:11

Hebrew Bible · Pseudepigrapha, Hebrew Bible Expansions

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Summary

In Psalm 102, a psalmist whose own days have been cut short contrasts that with God, whose years never end. In the Ladder of Jacob, a wounded figure whom all creatures worship is said to have years that never fail, echoing the psalm's claim about God.

Passages

Psalm 102:27

Hebrew Bible
23 He has taken away my strength in the middle of life; he has cut short my days. 24 I say, “O my God, please do not take me away in the middle of my life. You endure through all generations. 25 In earlier times you established the earth; the skies are your handiwork. 26 They will perish, but you will endure. They will wear out like a garment; like clothes you will remove them and they will disappear. 27 But you remain; your years do not come to an end. 28 The children of your servants will settle down here, and their descendants will live securely in your presence.”
600–201 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Psalms

Ladder of Jacob 8:11

Pseudepigrapha, Hebrew Bible Expansions
8 And he will be wounded in the midst of the house of the beloved; but when he is wounded, then also the saving and the end of all corruption draws near. 9 For those who have wounded him shall themselves receive a wound which shall not be healed for them for ever. 10 But all creatures shall worship the wounded one, and many shall hope in him, and everywhere, and among all the Gentiles, shall he be known. 11 But those who have known his name shall not be put to shame, and his own might and his years shall not fail for ever.
1–100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in the Ladder of Jacob

References

“... Our passage is alluded to in Lad. Jac. 7:35, but there are several problems in regard to this allusion. First, the work has survived in highly unsatisfactory form, known only from the Slavonic Explanatory Palaia, the editors of which took great liberty with the texts that they utilized, removing text, rearranging texts, melding disparate works, and changing the wording to make their products anti-Jewish. Chapter 7, in which our allusion occurs, probably should be seen as a separate work, juxtaposed to the end of the book. This chapter contains various oracular prophecies on the birth and crucifixion of Christ (OTP 2:401–2). Alluding to 102:27 in Lad. Jac. 7:35, and speaking of Christ, it reads, “His own dominion and years will be unending forever.” Thus, as in Heb. 1:10–12, the allusion to Ps. 102 is used in support of an aspect of Christology. ...”
George H. Guthrie, "Hebrews" in Beale, G. K., and D. A. Carson, editors. Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007), Heb 1:10–12.

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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Psalm 102:27 and Ladder of Jacob 8:11

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