ENGLISH

Heavenly Priesthood in the Apocalypse of Abraham

Book information

Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Year
2013
ISBN
110703907X, 9781107039070
Language
english
Format
PDF
Filesize
1 MB (1358277 bytes)
Pages
224\228
Topic
Religion
Scanned
yes
Time added
2014-07-18 14:17:50

Description

The Apocalypse of Abraham is a vital source for understanding both Jewish apocalypticism and mysticism. Written anonymously soon after the destruction of the Second Jerusalem Temple, the text envisions heaven as the true place of worship and depicts Abraham as an initiate of celestial priesthood. Andrei A. Orlov focuses on the central rite of the Abraham story - the scapegoat ritual that receives a striking eschatological reinterpretation in the text. He demonstrates that the development of the sacerdotal traditions in the Apocalypse of Abraham, along with a cluster of Jewish mystical motifs, represents an important transition from Jewish apocalypticism to the symbols of early Jewish mysticism. In this way, Orlov offers unique insight into the complex world of the Jewish sacerdotal debates in the early centuries of the Common Era. The book will be of interest to scholars of early Judaism and Christianity, Old Testament studies, and Jewish mysticism and magic.

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