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In Daniel 3, a fourth figure appears in the furnace and the three men emerge unharmed. The Apocalypse of Abraham reshapes this fiery test into a failure in the story of Barisat, a supposed god whose burning feet end with him reduced to ashes.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Daniel 3:25
Hebrew Bible
24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was startled and quickly got up. He said to his ministers, “Wasn’t it three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?” They replied to the king, “For sure, O king.” 25 He answered, “But I see four men, untied and walking around in the midst of the fire! No harm has come to them! And the appearance of the fourth is like that of a god!” 26 Then Nebuchadnezzar approached the door of the furnace of blazing fire. He called out, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the most high God, come out! Come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego emerged from the fire.
Apocalypse of Abraham 5:9
Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
9 And on returning I found Barisat fallen backwards, and his feet surrounded by fire and horribly burnt. 10 I burst into a fit of laughter, and I said to myself: "Truly, O Barisat, you can kindle the fire and cook food!" 11 And it came to pass, while I spoke (thus) in my laughter he (i.e. Barisat) was gradually burnt 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 gladdened and blessed his god Merumath. 14 And I said to him: "O father Terah, do not bless your god Merumath, and do not praise him, but rather praise your god Barisat because, loving you more, he has cast himself into the fire to cook your food!"
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Notes and References
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
(pp. 44-45) SAGE; Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha 18.1, 2008
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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