The Apocalypse of Abraham is one of the few Pseudepigrapha texts that focuses almost exclusively on Abraham. It is unique for telling stories from Abraham’s youth, that share the problems he had with his idolatrous father and his coming to know of the true God. Various episodes unfold that show the ridiculousness of idolatry in Abraham’s eyes, such as when the images break and new ones have to be made by mortal hands. Abraham wonders, “What is this inequality of activity which my father is doing? Is it not he rather who is god for his gods, because they come into being from his sculpting, his planning, and his skill? They ought to honor my father because they are his work” (Apoc. Abr. 3.2–4).^[3] Abraham also wonders how lifeless objects are able to hear prayers and grant blessings (see 4.3–4; 6.3). In an especially comical scene, Abraham tells one of the images to watch over the fire that is cooking their meal. When he returns, the image has been burned up in the fire. Abraham laughs and later tells his father that he should give praise to this god because “he threw himself into the fire in order to cook your food” (5.14). But rather than come to understand his foolishness, Abraham’s father acknowledges the power of this god and states he would make another one who could prepare his food the next day. These powerless actions by the images only strengthen Abraham’s belief in their uselessness. These portrayals of idolatry and Abraham’s father’s growing anger provide the background and rationale for why Abraham will need to “wander from [his] father’s house” as stated in Gen. 20:13. Specifically, Abraham is visited by the Lord who tells him, “You are searching for the God of gods, the creator, in the understanding of your heart. I am he. Go out from Terah, your father, and go out of the house, that you too may not be slain with the sins of your father’s house” (Apoc. Abr. 8.3–4). As soon as Abraham departs, the house and everything in it burns to the ground (8.5–6).

Abraham’s prophetic ministry begins with his travels from Mesopotamia towards Canaan and neighboring regions. While the Apocalypse of Abraham gives the reason for Abraham’s departure as being at odds with his father’s idolatry, other Pseudepigrapha texts share likely motives for his exodus by creating new accounts about Abraham’s refusal to participate in the building of the tower of Babel and the subsequent efforts by the builders to punish him in a furnace of fire.

Pseudo-Philo in the Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum is unique in placing Abraham into the story of the tower of Babel and the fiery furnace (cf. Daniel 3; 2 Maccabees 7). Abraham was among those who refused to add bricks to the tower, and instead Abraham emphasized his knowledge of the one Lord whom they worshipped (LAB 6.3–4). Despite the threat of death, Abraham trusted in God that he could be preserved from the furnace (and if not, then he must have a serious sin worthy of fiery death: see 6.9–11). Abraham was thrown into the furnace:

In his honor, they named that place by the name of Abram.

As the story continues, God chooses Abram from among the people to be spared from the dividing of language. The Lord says explicitly that he will take Abraham out of their land to a special land where he will establish his covenant with him “and will bless his seed and be lord for him as God forever” (7.4). Pseudo-Philo thus inserts Abraham in the story of the tower of Babel, perhaps as background for why Abraham left his homeland for Canaan and why he is considered so righteous that the Lord wants to establish the covenant with him.

Some Pseudepigrapha texts (and other Second Temple Jewish texts) relate Abraham’s knowledge of astrology, or the Chaldean science, he gained while in Mesopotamia, and which he then spread to other areas as part of his travels. Two brief excerpts assigned by scholars under Pseudo-Eupolemus,^[4] and classified among Pseudepigrapha texts, show a different approach some Hellenistic Jews had towards Abraham and other early figures by making them not only spiritual leaders for themselves, but cultural leaders and pioneers for neighboring peoples. 44In the case of Abraham, he was born in Mesopotamia and “excelled all in nobility and wisdom; he sought and obtained the knowledge of astrology and the Chaldean craft, and pleased God because he eagerly sought to be reverent” (Ps.-Eupol. 9.17.3). Abraham departed from the land of Chaldeans with knowledge about astrology and went to Phoenicia where he shared it.^[5] When famine hit, Abraham went to Egypt where he “lived in Heliopolis with the Egyptian priests and taught them much: He explained astrology and the other sciences to them” (9.17.8), though Abraham claims that the initial discovery of this knowledge goes back to Enoch. The second excerpt gives a much briefer summary of these events: “After Abraham had learned astrology, he first went to Phoenicia and taught it to the Phoenicians; later he went to Egypt” (9.18.2). Another citation in Eusebius’ Praeparatio Evangelica, from an earlier source, shares a similar tradition. Artapanus in his Judaica relates that Abraham “came to Egypt with all his household to the Egyptian king Pharethothes, and taught him astrology, that he remained there twenty years and then departed again for the regions of Syria” (Art. 9.18.1).

The tradition of Abraham learning astrology himself and then teaching this science to others, particularly to the Egyptians, becomes commonplace in other Second Temple Jewish texts. Jubilees and Josephus’ Antiquities both share accounts of Abraham coming to learn knowledge about the stars, and Josephus goes on to explain how Abraham passed on the science of astronomy to the Egyptians (Ant. 1.8.2). Philo, in De cherubim, said that Abram “delighted in the lofty philosophy which investigates the events which take place in the air, and the sublime nature of the beings which exist in heaven” (Cher. 1:4). But, unlike his Chaldean neighbors, Abraham properly understood their relation to the true God so he was not merely an astronomer, but a wise man who perceived the heavens. “The man [Abraham] who had been bred up in this doctrine, and who for a long time had studied the philosophy of the Chaldaeans, as if suddenly awakening from a deep slumber and opening the eye of the soul, and beginning to perceive a pure ray of light instead of profound darkness, followed the light, and saw what he had never seen before, a certain governor and director of the world standing above it, and guiding his own work in a salutary manner, and exerting his care and power in behalf of all those parts of it which are worthy of divine superintendence” (Abr. 70).

The elevation of cultural figures over non-Jewish communities is not exclusive to Abraham. For example, Eupolemus claims Moses was the first wise man, and that he taught the alphabet to the Jews, and from the Jews it was disseminated to the Phoenicians who in turn passed it on to the Greeks (Fr. 1.26). Enoch, Abraham claims in another likely text from Eupolemus, first discovered astrology.^[6] But Abraham becomes a favorite target in this promotion of Jewish ethnic pride 45because of his dramatic spiritual experiences and his travels throughout the region where he could transfer knowledge and influence others. This phenomenon has been explored by Erich Gruen and others as examples of Jews elevating their kings and religious figures to impact neighboring peoples and to reinforce a sense of cultural superiority.^[7] It is also indicative of what became a major motif in Jewish folklore and rabbinic literature: Abraham’s mastery of Chaldean science.^[8]

Besides teaching other peoples, Abraham is known as a teacher within his own extended family. In the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, Abraham was an important teacher about God, the covenant, and other practices. In the Testament of Levi (T. Levi 9.12), Levi recounts how he and Judah visited their grandfather Isaac who taught them things he had learned from his father, Abraham, related to the law of Moses and other ways to worship the Lord.^[9]

The key event in Abraham’s prophetic ministry is the establishment of the Abrahamic covenant as recorded in Genesis 12, 15, and 17. Various Pseudepigrapha texts extend the discussion of this vital covenant.^[10] The Psalms of Solomon, while focusing primarily on the Davidic covenant, makes a couple of references to the Abrahamic covenant: “For you chose the descendants of Abraham above all the nations, and you put your name upon us, Lord, and it will not cease forever. You made a covenant with our ancestors concerning us, and we hope in you when we turn our souls toward you” (Pss. Sol. 9.9–10); “Your compassionate judgments (are) over the whole world, and your love is for the descendants of Abraham” (18.3). These passages highlight Abraham as the origin of this covenant along with the eternal efficacy this covenant has on his descendants.

Pseudo-Philo (LAB 8) follows the storyline of Genesis by making allusions to Abraham dwelling in Canaan with Lot, his nephew, and Sarai, his wife. The story of Lot in the city of Sodom is briefly alluded to while Abraham remained in the land of Canaan where, through a theophany, the covenant was restated. “And God appeared to Abram, saying, ‘To your seed I will give this land, and your name will 46be called Abraham, and Sarai, your wife, will be called Sarah. And I will give to you from her an everlasting seed, and I will establish my covenant with you.’ And Abraham knew Sarah, his wife, and she conceived and bore Isaac” (LAB 8.3). The covenant and promises extended to Abraham are repeated a few more times in the text as reminders of God fulfilling his prophecies. “And there will be fulfilled the covenant that God established with Abraham when he said, ‘Indeed your sons will dwell in a land not their own and will be brought into bondage and afflicted 400 years.’ And behold from the time when the word of God that he spoke to Abraham was spoken, there are 350 years” (9.3). God also tells Balaam that the promise of Abraham’s descendants becoming as numerous as the stars in the heaven is being fulfilled, a promise God told Abraham when he “lifted him above the firmament and showed him the arrangements of all the stars” (18.5).

In Pseudo-Philo’s version of Joshua reestablishing the covenant with the Israelites in the newly-entered land, the story of Abraham is recounted to encourage righteousness in the face of adversity. “When all those inhabiting the land were being led astray after their own devices, Abraham believed in me and was not led astray with them. And I rescued him from the flame and took him and brought him over all the land of Canaan and said to him in a vision, ‘To your seed I will give this land’” (Ps.-Philo 23.5). When Abraham inquired how he would have posterity from his barren wife, the Lord commanded him to bring a sacrifice and then placed him in a deep sleep where he saw the afterlife and the place of judgment.^[11] Then God promised him that he would have offspring “from one who is closed up” (23.7), which, according to Pseudo-Philo, was fulfilled in Sarah’s seventh month of pregnancy.

Within 4 Ezra, Ezra is being told that as the father of a new nation—because the old Judah has been scattered and destroyed because of wickedness—he will have Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the twelve Minor Prophets as leaders for his people (4 Ezra 1.38–9). These covenant people hearken back to the initial covenant established with Abraham in Gen. 17:1-8. In reflecting back on the establishment of this covenant, 4 Ezra discusses how God chose Abraham “and you loved him and to him only you revealed the end of the times, secretly by night. You made with him an everlasting covenant, and promised him that you would never forsake his descendants; and you gave to him Isaac” (4 Ezra 3.13–15).

Another Ezra text, the Greek Apocalypse of Ezra, has a dialogue between Ezra and God debating over theological principles, with Ezra turning to the example of Abraham for support of his perspective. In this episode, Ezra wonders why God created his children if he was only going to wipe them out. How then would he receive glory from his creations? God responded that he would be glorified by his angels. So Ezra pressed further, “Lord, if this was your calculation, why did you form man? You said to Abraham our father, ‘I will surely multiply your seed as the stars of the heaven and as the sand along the shore of the sea.’ And where is your 47promise?” (Gk. Apoc. Ezra 3.9–10). The Lord never directly responds to this point, but it is another example of a Pseudepigrapha text focusing on the Abrahamic covenant and its blessings for Abraham’s posterity.

The second, much longer part of the Apocalypse of Abraham (chapters 9–32) recounts the actual apocalypse experience Abraham has, wherein we learn a little more about his character and the special covenant relationship he developed with God. In the first place, he is selected by God to receive this vision after he has fulfilled God’s requested sacrifices (as outlined in Genesis 15). It reiterates that the covenant will come through him. At the start, Abraham is overcome with spiritual power and collapses to the ground like a stone. An angel is sent to strengthen him and guide him. The angel, Iaoel, greets Abraham as “friend of God who has loved you” (Apoc. Abr. 10.5). The angel encourages Abraham to proceed because “a venerable honor has been prepared for you by the Eternal One. Go, complete the sacrifice of the command. Behold, I am assigned (to be) with you and with the generation which is predestined (to be born) from you. And with me Michael blesses you forever. Be bold, go!” (10.15–17).

As part of his experience, Abraham sees Azazel, but refuses to worship him. Iaoel commands Azazel to depart because “you cannot deceive him [Abraham], because he is the enemy of you and of those who follow you and who love what you wish. For behold, the garment which in heaven was formerly yours has been set aside for him, and the corruption which was on him has gone over to you” (13.13–14). Iaoel then turns to Abraham and encourages him, “Know from this that the Eternal One whom you have loved has chosen you. Be bold and do through your authority whatever I order you against him who reviles justice [i.e., Azazel]” (14.2–3).

Abraham then has a direct worship experience with God wherein he recites grand praises culminating in seeing the throne of God. Abraham ends with the plea, “Receive me favorably, teach me, show me, and make known to your servant what you have promised me” (17.21). Abraham is then given a vision of all the firmaments and God’s many creations. God’s voice commands, “Look at the expanses which are under the firmament to which you have now been directed and see that on no single expanse is there any other but the one whom you have searched for or who has loved you” (19.3). Then, like in Genesis 15 and 18, Abraham is told to look at the stars and is promised, “As the number of the stars and their power so shall I place for your seed the nations and men” (20.5).

The apocalypse experience of Abraham briefly connects back to the earlier part of the story that discussed Abraham’s father’s idolatry, when Abraham sees someone worshipping an idol, “like a carpenter’s figure such as my father used to make” (25:1). God later asks Abraham why his father, Terah, did not obey Abraham’s voice and “abandon the demonic worship of idols until he perished, and all his house with him?” (26:3). Abraham responded that “it did not please him to obey me, nor did I follow his works” (26:4). The Apocalypse of Abraham ends with another connection to Genesis, with an allusion to the prophecy in Gen. 15:13 that Abraham’s descendants would be enslaved in an alien land for a season (see 32:2-3).

Throughout the Apocalypse of Abraham we see some of Abraham’s characteristics common to other texts that resulted in such a strong covenant relationship. He is 48exactly obedient to God’s commands especially in his sacrifices, which lead to his revelatory experience.^[12] He becomes worthy to enter the presence of God’s throne and praises him while earlier rejecting Azazel. Abraham is inquisitive, always seeking to learn, such as in the Testament of Abraham when he asks to see the entire created world before his death (T. Abr. A9.6) or all the faces of Death (A19.5–6). Like other apocalypses, he has an angelus interpres, but the Apocalypse of Abraham goes beyond this by also having the Lord directly interpreting things for Abraham. This divine dynamic puts Abraham on a higher level than a typical prophet and affords him special privileges. Abraham’s status as friend of God is solidified, and God reiterates his promise that Abraham will be the father of many nations.

An interesting text about Melchizedek includes interactions between him and Abraham, some of which correspond to the Genesis account, but parts of which expand upon their experiences there. In the Story of Melchizedek attributed (most likely falsely) to Athanasius,^[13] Melchizedek has to escape from his father who was trying to sacrifice him. He went up on Mount Tabor and hid in the forest. After a seven-year span of time there, during which his hair and fingernails grew out to great lengths, God ordered Abraham to go up on Mount Tabor. Abraham’s first order of business was to shave Melchizedek, cut his nails, clothe him, and then be blessed by him.

Three days later Melchizedek came down with a horn of oil and blessed Abraham, saying, “Blessed are you by the Most High God, and henceforth your name will be perfected: your name will no longer be Abram, but your name will be perfect, (i.e.) Abraham” (12.1–2). Even later, as Abraham was returning from defeating the kings who had kidnapped Lot, Melchizedek gave him a cup of pure wine in which he had put a piece of bread (see 13.1) an apparent retelling of their encounter in Gen. 17:18-20, where Melchizedek brought forth bread and wine and blessed Abram. While the Story of Melchizedek primarily focuses on Melchizedek 49and attempts to explain some aspects of his story in Genesis and the New Testament (how he knows Abraham and why he has no family), it reiterates Abraham’s status as a messenger of God and shares his blessing under the hands of Melchizedek. In addition, it gives a different meaning to Abraham’s name change, from one of being the father of nations (see Gen. 17:4-5), to being perfect.

Another aspect of Abraham’s covenant relationship with God is the test to offer his son Isaac to the Lord, the Akedah. A few Pseudepigrapha texts allude to this formidable experience, but it is not a central focus and, with one exception discussed below, is usually brought up as evidence of Abraham’s unfaltering faithfulness, which further solidified the covenant. Philo the Epic Poet, whose brief fragments are usually listed alongside Pseudepigrapha texts due to his unknown origin, refers to the Akedah of Isaac when discussing Abraham. In the midst of Eusebius’ discussion of Abraham in Praeparatio Evangelica, Eusebius cites some words from Philo praising the greatness of Abraham:

In Pseudo-Philo’s work, the Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum, God recounts his request for Abraham to offer his son, Isaac, as a burnt offering. “And he brought him to be placed on the altar, but I gave him back to his father and, because he did not refuse, his offering was acceptable before me” (LAB 18.5). Later in the Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum, following the defeat of Sisera, Deborah and the people sang a hymn which included several elements from Abraham’s story.^[14] The first 50element was his deliverance from the furnace after refusing to help build the tower of Babel. “And he [God] chose our nation and took Abraham our father out of the fire and chose him over all his brothers and kept him from the fire and freed him from the bricks destined for building the tower” (32.1). The second element was the miraculous birth of Isaac to the formerly-barren Sarah. For some unexplained reason, this miracle led to the angels being jealous of him, “and the worshiping hosts envied him” (32.1).^[15] Perhaps the angels’ jealousy gives the reason behind the third element unique to this text: God’s request of Abraham to sacrifice his new son, Isaac. “And since they were jealous of him, God said to him, ‘Kill the fruit of your body for me, and offer for me as a sacrifice what has been given to you by me.’ And Abraham did not argue, but set out immediately” (32.2). The ensuing dialogue between Abraham and Isaac explores the motivation and perspective of each participant in the sacrifice, which is repeated later in the story of Jephthah’s daughter who stated, “Do you not remember what happened in the days of our fathers when the father placed the son as a [burnt offering], and he did not refuse him but gladly gave consent to him, and the one being offered was ready and the one who was offering was rejoicing” (40.2). Yet before Abraham carried out the task to kill him,

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Abraham’s willingness is thus lauded and the covenant relationship is solidified from one generation to another.

One “gap” that is missing in Genesis at the end of Abraham’s life is Abraham giving a final blessing to his son, Isaac, like Isaac will give to Jacob (Genesis 27–28), and Jacob to his twelve sons (Genesis 49). One Pseudepigrapha text exploits this opportunity to create a unique depiction of the character Abraham. The Testament of Abraham is one of the most interesting depictions of Abraham among the Pseudepigrapha texts because, while it hearkens back to some characteristics and episodes from the Genesis account, it also modifies, even reverses them, resulting in quite a different Abraham.^[17] The beginning of the story, for example, recounts Abraham’s characteristic hospitality to any who may visit him, but it also puts his age just before death at 995 years, far beyond Genesis’s 175 years (cf. T. Abr. 1.1 with Gen. 25:7). Abraham’s status as God’s friend is repeated several times in the text (T. Abr. 1.6; 4.7; 8.2) as his obedience and faithfulness is lauded; however, Abraham is anything but obedient in the Testament of Abraham. He constantly refuses God’s messengers and will not bless Isaac and make a disposition of his goods so that he can properly die (9.4–6). Even after promising to follow Michael to heaven, after a requested journey above the earth, he reverses course and continues his stubbornness (15.1–10). This duplicitous characterization seems to have made ancient copyists uneasy to the point that they “corrected” these flaws and created a shorter version, known today as Recension B, which keeps many elements of the story of Recension A, but without the same negative traits of Abraham.^[18] Since these two recensions or versions have significant differences, we will treat each separately with comparisons drawn between them.

Recension A shows God’s favor upon Abraham as God’s friend, but puts some distance between Abraham and God since God always speaks to Abraham through an intermediary, and Abraham’s requests to God are relayed through an intermediary (a significant difference from the Apocalypse of Abraham seen above). When it is time for Abraham to die, God wants to afford him the opportunity to properly pass on his possessions and a last blessing to his son Isaac before dying. God’s desire is transmitted through the archangel Michael and sets up the perfect testamentary opportunity for Abraham, a setting which occurs several times in the story, but in the end no testament is given because of Abraham’s repeated refusals (Recension A 20.1–11). Abraham is seen as the beneficiary of God’s blessings in 52fulfillment of God’s promises to bless Abraham “as the stars of heaven and as the sand by the seashore, and he lives in abundance, (having) a large livelihood and many possessions, and he is very rich. But above all others he is righteous in all goodness, (having been) hospitable and loving until the end of his life” (1:5; cf. Gen. 22:17 where the promise is posterity, but here it is prosperity).

The dialogue between Abraham and Michael leaves it unclear whether Abraham knows who Michael is, as Abraham experiences things and hides them from others until confronted by the truth from Sarah and Isaac, whereupon Abraham claims he knew all along (6:6-7). With everything out in the open, Abraham is given the opportunity to share a last testament with his family and follow Michael to heaven (to die). Abraham hesitates. He says he will follow Michael but only if and after he is given a tour above the earth. Michael secures permission from God for such an experience, but has to be commanded to stop it shortly thereafter because Abraham begins killing some sinners he sees committing sins (far different from his merciful concern for the inhabitants of Sodom in Genesis) (10:12-15). God worries that Abraham will destroy everything that exists because he lacks mercy since he has not sinned. Instead, Abraham is taken to the place of judgment where he can learn mercy, which is accomplished as the whole process of judgment is described and interpreted. Abraham now asks to restore to life those sinners he earlier destroyed, and his request is granted (14:10-15).

At this point of the story, one would think Abraham would willingly follow Michael and proceed to his death, but despite his earlier promise to follow Michael after the heavenly journey, he still refuses. God turns to plan B and sends the actual character Death (Thanatos) to secure Abraham’s soul, but only after beautifying himself in appearance and smell (16:1-6). Abraham continues his stubbornness, but is physically affected by Thanatos’s presence. Still, he requests to see Death’s many faces and learn more about him. When Death reveals his many faces, thousands of Abraham’s servants instantly die (17:18). Abraham castigates Death for killing his servants and then requests that they pray together to restore them to life. So, in one of the most ironic scenes in ancient literature, Death prays with Abraham to bring people back to life (18:8-11). Eventually Death convinces Abraham to grasp or kiss his hand whereupon Abraham’s soul leaves his body and angels escort his precious soul to heaven.^[19]

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As mentioned above, some ancient Jewish and Christian interpreters and copyists felt uncomfortable with this unusual depiction of Abraham which seems to reverse many of Abraham’s characteristics that are lauded and set forth as models for others to follow in other texts, so they altered the story in an effort to reform this duplicitous characterization.^[20] The resulting story in Recension B still maintains some of the narrative elements of Recension A, but they no longer make sense without the surrounding context or narrative development. Instead, Recension B foregrounds Abraham’s thoughts and intentions, thereby changing and giving explanations for some of Abraham’s unusual, stubborn actions, and it ties the story much closer to the biblical account.

One question that naturally arises about this text is why it presents Abraham in this surprising manner. It never denigrates Abraham to the point where his status or salvation is endangered, but it feels comfortable to use him in an entertaining fashion. It seems to be a function of creating “historical fictions” under Greek novelistic influence in order to attract readers’ attention to see these characters in a new light.^[21] Thus, entertainment seems to be behind this text like other Hellenistic Jewish texts (e.g., Tobit, Judith) that appear to signal their playfulness with obvious historical inaccuracies, but are still didactic in promoting faithfulness in a diaspora setting where they felt comfortable enough to poke fun at their heroes.^[22]

Many Pseudepigrapha texts go beyond Genesis’ Abrahamic account and focus on Abraham’s post-mortal status as a heavenly figure, one who, because of his righteousness, sits eternally as God’s friend, and who continues to watch over, and even in some cases intercede on behalf of, his posterity. His heavenly station is frequently tied up with his son and grandson, as the three—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—stand together as beneficiaries of the covenant blessings and are the eternal possessives in the common title for the deity, i.e., the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In the midst of a grand eschatological vision for Levi in the Testament of Levi, Abraham is elevated to a brief comparison with the divine. “The heavens will be opened, and from the temple of glory sanctification will come upon him, with a fatherly voice, as from Abraham to Isaac” (T. Levi 18.6). Abraham’s status as father of fathers is here symbolized by his fatherly voice and is compared to the temple, sanctification, and the glory of the Most High. At the end of the eschatological events, the righteous will trample on the wicked spirits “and the Lord will rejoice in his children; he will be well pleased by his beloved ones forever. Then Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will rejoice, and I [Levi] shall be glad, and all the saints shall be clothed in righteousness” (18.12–14). Here we see Abraham listed with his son and grandson, emphasizing not only their continued existence, but their continuing care over their covenant children.

In a similar eschatological vein of combining the three patriarchs and their immortality, the Testament of Judah shares another passage about Abraham and the great things that will happen to his descendants. After being promised future leadership and judgment over the nations, Judah is promised that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will be resurrected to life and that he and his brothers will be chiefs (wielding) scepters in Israel (T. Jud. 25.1).

The Testament of Benjamin has a brief reference to Abraham as part of its ending exhortation to righteousness. In this case, not only are Abraham’s descendants mentioned, but Abraham’s progenitors as well. Abraham stands in the middle of a righteous line of patriarchs who will be glorified and rejoice at the righteousness of their posterity. “‘Keep God’s commandments until the Lord reveals his salvation to all the nations.’ And then you will see Enoch and Seth and Abraham and Isaac and Jacob being raised up at the right hand in great joy” (T. Benj. 10.5–6).

Abraham’s elevated status in the heavenly realm can be seen in a few other texts as well. In the Sibylline Oracles (Sib. Or. 2.245–49), Abraham is listed with Isaac, Jacob, and others as ones who will be resurrected in the last days. Specifically, Abraham is called “Great Abraham,” the only one with an adjectival title. In another list of “righteous ones” residing in Paradise, found in the Apocalypse of Zephaniah, Abraham is mentioned along with Isaac and Jacob and others, where an angel converses with them “as friend to friend speaking with one another” (Apoc. Zeph. 9.4–5). Later in this text, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are seen interceding for the saints in torment. “Then at a certain hour daily they come forth with the great angel. He sounds a trumpet up to heaven and another sound upon the earth. All 55the righteous hear the sound. They come running, praying to the Lord Almighty daily on behalf of these who are in all these torments” (11.4–6). 3 Enoch relates a vision of the righteous souls in heaven which includes Abraham: “I saw the souls of the fathers of the world, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the rest of the righteous, who had been raised from their graves and had ascended into heaven. They were praying before the Holy One, [asking him to redeem his children on the earth] . . .” (3 En. 44.7). After God explains and details their many sins which prevent him from delivering them, “at once Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob began to weep. Then the Holy One, blessed be he, said to them: ‘Abraham, my friend, Isaac, my chosen one, Jacob, my firstborn, how can I save them at this time from among the nations of the world?” (44.10, my emphasis).

As Ezra proceeds in 4 Ezra through his visionary experience, he begins asking many questions of the Lord including whether the righteous may intercede for the ungodly. The Lord responds that they will not because “everyone will bear his own righteousness or unrighteousness” (4 Ezra 7.105). Ezra disputes the Lord’s answer because there are examples from the past of the righteous successfully praying for the wicked such as Abraham praying for the people of Sodom (7.106). “If therefore the righteous have prayed for the ungodly now, when corruption has increased and unrighteousness has multiplied, why will it not be so then as well?” (7.111). The Lord acknowledges Abraham’s intermediary role as an example of the strong praying for the weak, but stated that it is only effective in this present world and once the immortal age begins, “no one will then be able to have mercy on him who has been condemned in the judgment, or to harm him who is victorious” (7.115). This perspective may contradict some of the other Pseudepigrapha texts about Abraham that emphasize Abraham’s continued function in overseeing the spiritual welfare of his descendants (e.g., Apoc. Zeph. 11.4–6; T. Levi 15.4), or it may imply that there will come a time when even that assistance from Abraham will no longer be possible (but until the final Day of Judgment, he can still intercede).^[23]

The “bosom of Abraham” shows up in the New Testament parable of Lazarus and the rich man (see Lk. 16:22). One Pseudepigrapha text, the Apocalypse of Sedrach, which is heavily Christianized and whose Jewish origin is increasingly doubted, similarly reports that the righteous will be received in the bosom of Abraham.^[24] This phrase seems to be dependent upon the New Testament rather 56than on Jewish sources, but regardless it reemphasizes Abraham’s heavenly location and his eternal destiny as the locus for the righteous.^[25]

The Testament of Isaac is a derivative work of the Testament of Abraham and often shows up alongside it and the Testament of Jacob as the Testaments of the Three Patriarchs, and thus not surprisingly makes some connections to that text. Near the beginning of the testament, the archangel Michael is sent to Isaac to prepare him for his death just as he had done with Abraham (T. Isaac 2.1). When the angel first meets Isaac, Isaac notes that he resembles his father Abraham (2.3).^[26] In the ensuing dialogue, Michael explains that he has been sent to take Isaac up to heaven to be with his father. “For your father Abraham is awaiting you; he himself is about to come for you, but now he is resting. There has been prepared for you the throne beside your father Abraham” (2.6–7). Isaac is promised that he, Abraham, and Jacob would be above everyone else in the kingdom of heaven. “You shall be entrusted with this name for all future generations: The Patriarchs. Thus you shall be fathers to all the world . . .” (2.8–9). The patriarchal triumvirate is thus declared in heaven for all the future generations as further testimony of their everlasting existence as well as in their formative roles as fathers ruling on thrones through the eternities.^[27] Even the chief of the angels, Michael, ministers to Abraham in the heavens (see 2.11).

Later in the text, Isaac meets Abraham in heaven and they proceed to the throne of God to worship him (Testament of Isaac 6). Abraham is identified as one of the “godly ones” and Isaac joins Abraham and the saints in prostrating themselves and praising God before the curtain and the throne of God. The Lord pronounces a blessing and singles out Abraham: “Excellent is your coming, O Abraham, faithful one; excellent is your lineage, and excellent is the presence here of this blessed lineage. So now, everything which you ask in the name of your beloved son Isaac you shall have today as a covenant forever” (6.7–8). Abraham then begins bargaining with the Lord—similar to his petitions on behalf of the wicked inhabitants of Sodom—on what would be required for salvation. Rather than have a strict rule that required multiple acts, Abraham inquires about exceptions and barters down to the bare minimum needed to achieve salvation (see 6.9–23). Within this dialogue, God mentions that those that do some of the required acts will be given to Abraham “as a son in my kingdom” (6.18), reiterating Abraham’s location and status in heaven.

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In the final testament scene, Jacob heavily weeps over his dying father Isaac. Witnessing this scene of great distress, Abraham petitions the Lord to remember also his [grand]son Jacob (see 6.31). From Abraham’s petitions and actions in this chapter, we see Abraham’s role as a watchful ancestor over his descendants.

The text ends with the exhortation to observe the memorial of Isaac’s death, which seems to have fallen on the same date as Abraham’s death. They were also to memorialize Abraham’s offering of Isaac for on that day,

Another reference to Abraham is found in the Testament of Jacob where his “guardian angel” comforts Jacob before his death and blesses the name of “your father Abraham, for he has become the friend of God” because of his generosity and love of strangers (T. Jac. 2.12). Acceptance of strangers is a principle that Jacob says the patriarchs taught, and following their examples would allow the patriarchs to intercede on their behalf and would be the way to enter into heaven where they reside. “These are the ones whom the Arabs have designated as the holy fathers” (7.12). “Be generous to strangers and you will be given exactly what was given to the great Abraham, the father of fathers” (7.22).

The Genesis episodes about Abraham are frequently passed down in the Jewish and Christian reception history of Abraham traditions. The Pseudepigrapha texts sometimes follow this pattern, but in the characteristic fashion of Pseudepigrapha texts, new stories are created to fill in gaps or expand on the canonical record. New accounts about Abraham’s youth and afterlife status, lacking from Genesis, are most noteworthy, and create a type of panegyric lauding Abraham’s hospitality and righteousness. This results in Abraham’s immortal, heavenly status where he can serve as an intermediary for his descendants and a model for God’s covenant people to aid them in receiving the same heavenly destination he did.

His youth was dominated by contests with his father over idolatry, which eventually led him to leave his homeland for a new promised land. This is one of the various explanations given for why Abraham left Mesopotamia, along with fleeing the Tower of Babel and sharing knowledge with others. Thus, some Abrahamic Pseudepigrapha texts point out that Abraham is not only for the Jewish people; they raise him to a universal status among the neighboring peoples as well. Abraham thus becomes a cultural pioneer who shares knowledge with others, like 58the Phoenicians and Egyptians. His travels throughout the region provide the opportunity for dissemination of this scientific knowledge, but even more importantly its relationship to the knowledge of the one true God.

Some texts try to explain the rationale for the Akedah as well as the subsequent blessings that resulted from it. Pseudo-Philo, for example, proposed an explanation for why Abraham would offer his son Isaac in sacrifice: to soothe the jealousy of the angels.

The lack of a testament for Abraham before his death in Genesis is exploited by the Testament of Abraham which plays with this notion by providing several ideal testamentary settings, only to have Abraham die before giving one, thus staying true to the original account but in a radically unexpected way.

Throughout the variety of texts about Abraham in the Pseudepigrapha, one can see great honor and reverence bestowed upon this venerable patriarch. Abraham’s hospitality and righteousness are frequently modeled as the ideal for God’s covenant people. Abraham’s ministry denotes a new age or time which pushes God’s children into new spiritual experiences after the Fall of Adam and the Flood of Noah. He is viewed as the father not only of the covenant, but of the people themselves. As such, his fatherly voice and teachings are heeded. He is usually closely connected with his posterity by the frequent reference to the patriarchal triumvirate: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It highlights the fulfillment of God’s covenant promises of numberless seed and a line through which the covenant could be passed down.

Many Pseudepigrapha texts go beyond Genesis’s mortal Abrahamic account and focus on Abraham’s post-mortal status as a heavenly figure, one who, because of his righteousness, sits eternally as God’s friend, and who continues to watch over, and even in some cases intercede on behalf of, his posterity. These texts highlight Abraham’s immortal existence (usually through resurrection), and his continued role among his posterity as “father of fathers” manifested by his care, intercession, and rejoicing for his children. In fact, Abraham’s heavenly elevation becomes the locus for the righteous, to dwell eternally with him in his bosom. Abraham is thus consistently found among the righteous ones, usually as one of the preeminent ones noted by the exceptional, and eternally earned title, “friend of God.”