Testament of Abraham

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The Testament of Abraham is a pseudepigraphic text of the Old Testament. Probably composed
in the 1st or 2nd century CE, it is of Jewish origin and is usually considered to be part of
the apocalyptic literature. It is regarded as scripture by Beta Israel Ethiopian Jews, but not by any
other Jewish or Christian groups. It is often treated as one of a trio of very similar works, the other
two of which are the Testament of Isaac and Testament of Jacob, though there is no reason to
assume that they were originally a single work. All three works are based on the Blessing of
Jacob, found in the Bible, in their style.

Contents
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1Manuscript tradition
2Content
3Significance
4Humor
5Notes
6Resources
7External links

Manuscript tradition[edit]
The Greek text of the Testament of Abraham is preserved in two quite different recensions:

the long recension, which has a more developed, detailed and linear story, survives in about
thirty manuscripts, among which the more important are A,[1] E[2] and B.[3]
the short recension, where the episodes are sometime abrupt and not logically connected but
with probably an earlier wording, has survived in about nine manuscripts, among which the
more important are A[4] and E[5] (manuscript E of the short recension is notable because of the
presence of many semitisms).
There is no consensus among scholars as to which recension is nearer the original, or whether
we shall suppose one or more original texts. The early scholars, as James,[6]:66but also recently
Ludlow,[7] working mainly on the narrative viewpoint, support the priority of the long recension.
This view has been challenged for example by Turner,[8] who studied the text from a linguistic
point of view, and mainly by Schmidt,[9] who worked deeply on manuscript E of the short
recension, which was not available to the early editors.
The text is preserved also in Slavonic,[10] Romanian,[11] Ethiopic (Falasha), Coptic
Bohairic and Arabic. These versions, apart one Romanian recension, follow the content of the
Greek short recension. The Greek Text was first edited, with an English translation and
introduction, by M. R. James[6] in 1892. The Greek text was also early edited by Vassiliev[12] in
1893. in Luc. xxxv. With the exception of x.xi. the work is really a legend and not an apocalypse.
To the above conclusions Schrer,[13] takes objection, and denies the reference in Origen,
asserting that there are no grounds for the assumption of a partial Jewish origin. Kohler[14] on the
other hand has given adequate grounds for regarding this apocryph as in the main an
independent work of Jewish origin subsequently enlarged by a few Christian additions, and it is
Kohler's stance that most scholars follow today.
The Testament of Abraham was likely written originally in Greek, by someone living in Egypt at
the time. This is due to the fact that the vocabulary found in the text is quite similar to the
vocabulary used in the later books of the Septuagint, which were being written at that time, in
addition to other books, such as 3 Maccabees, that we know were written around that time in
Egypt. In addition, there are aspects of the story that seem to reflect aspects of Egyptian life,
such as the three judgments which mirror the three levels of Egyptian government. Unfortunately
these reasons for the place of origin being Egypt are only supported by the long recension of the
Testament of Abraham.[15]
The short recension therefore has no definite place or date of origin. While it would be logical to
assume that it had its origins in the same place and time as the long recension, as there is no
concrete evidence, any Jewish cultural center could therefore be a possibility for its origin.

Content[edit]
This testament deals with Abraham's reluctance to die and the means by which his death was
brought about. Overall, the long recension is about twice as long as the short recension, though
both relate the same overall plot.

Chapter 1 (long recension/short recension): God tells the angel Michael to "Go down to my
friend Abraham and speak to him concerning death, so that he might put his affairs in
order."[16] This exact phrasing comes from the long recension, though the short recension has
a similar wording. The long recension also includes a list of Abraham's virtues, particularly
highlighting his hospitality, and it mentions that he was at the "Oak of Mamre".[17] The
conversation between God and Michael is also longer than in the short recension.
Chapter 2 (long recension/short recension): Michael comes down to earth and finds Abraham
in a field. They greet each other, and Michael dodges a few questions about his origins,
causing Abraham to treat Michael as an ordinary man. Then Abraham invites Michael to his
home and offers Michael the use of a horse to get there, which Michael refuses. The precise
phrasing and order of the conversation changes between the recensions, but the overall
effect of the conversations is very similar between the two recensions. Perhaps the biggest
difference is that in the short recension, Abraham speaks about how he was named, while in
the long recension, the question dodging is longer. Additionally, the long recension mentions
again that Abraham is near the Oak of Mamre.
Chapter 3 (long recension/short recension): On the way back to the house, a tree (specified
as a cypress tree in the long recension) speaks to Abraham, though Abraham does not draw
attention to the tree. When they get to the house, Abraham tells Isaac to wash Michael's feet.
This causes Michael to cry, and his tears become precious stones. In the long recension,
Isaac recognizes that Michael is not human. Additionally, Abraham takes Michael's tears (that
were turned into precious stones). They appear again in the long recension, but are forgotten
in the short recension. In the short recension, Abraham starts the preparations for dinner.
Chapter 4 (long recension/short recension): Michael returns to Heaven and tells God that
Abraham is too niceMichael is unable to tell Abraham of his death. God promises to send a
dream to Isaac that will show Abraham's death. In the long recension, the dinner preparations
start in this chapter, and God says that Michael will have to interpret the dream. The short
recension mentions that all angels worship God at sunset (which explains how Michael went
back to heaven), while the long recension leaves this unexplained.
Chapter 5 (long recension)/Chapter 5-6:6 (short recension): Michael comes back down to
Earth and eats dinner with Abraham. Isaac then goes to sleep and dreams of Abraham's
death, though the contents of the dream are not discussed yet. This causes Isaac to run over
to Abraham and hug him while crying, which in turn causes Abraham and Michael to start
crying as well. Sarah then enters and asks whether all of the weeping is because Michael
said that Lot died. There is little difference between the two recensions in this section.
Chapter 6 (long recension)/Chapter 6:6-6:13 (short recension): Sarah recognizes Michael as
one of the angels in Genesis 18, and Abraham confirms this by remembering that Michael
has the same feet (Abraham washed Michael's feet and those of the three visitors in Genesis
18). In the long recension, Michael's tears (which turned into precious stones) are mentioned
as further proof of Michael's identity.
Chapter 7 (long recension)/Chapter 7:1-18 (short recension): Isaac explains his dream. In it,
a "glorious man"[18] took the sun and the moon from Isaac. Michael reveals his full identity and
states that the sun is Abraham, the moon is Sarah, and the glorious man taking away both
the sun and the moon represents Abraham and Sarah dying. Michael then orders Abraham to
put his affairs in order. In the long recension, Abraham refuses to come.
 Chapter 8 (long recension): In the long recension, Michael runs back to heaven and relates
Abraham's refusal. God gives a speech (that Michael is supposed to relate to Abraham later
on) about how He blessed Abraham, so Abraham should not refuse His will. There is no
analogue of this scene in the short recension (Abraham does not directly refuse to go with
Michael).
Chapter 9 (long recension)/Chapter 7:19-8:2 (short recension): Abraham requests that he be
shown the entire world before he dies, Michael relays that request to God, and God accepts
it. The long recension also includes Michael relaying God's speech and Abraham repenting
his earlier words before making his request.
Chapter 10 (long recension)/Chapter 12 (short recension): In the long recension, the next
event is when Michael takes Abraham on the "Chariot of the Cherubim".[19]Abraham sees the
entire world, including several sinners (murderers, people committing adultery, and thieves).
When he sees the sinners, he requests that they be killed in various ways, and the request is
granted. Analogues of the long recension's chapters 10-13 appear in the short recension, but
the order is changed.
Chapter 11 (long recension)/Chapter 8:3-16, 11:9-12 (short recension): In the long recension,
Michael then takes Abraham to Heaven, where he sees a small gate and a large gate, with a
man on a gold throne seated between them. The man spends most of his time weeping. A
massive crowd travels through the large gate, while a few souls go in the small gate.
Eventually, Abraham finds out that the large gate is where the souls of sinners go to
damnation, the small gate is where the souls of the righteous go to paradise, and the man
is Adam, who rejoices when souls are saved and weeps when souls are damned.
Chapter 12 (long recension)/Chapter 9-10 (short recension): Abraham then goes to the place
where souls are judged. He also finds a soul that is perfectly balanced between good and
evil. In the long recension, a man on a throne judges souls. There are four angels below him,
two angels that act as scribes, one fiery angel, and one angel with scales to weigh the soul.
The balanced soul is being judged when Abraham shows up. In the short recension,
Abraham finds the balanced soul before going to the place of judgement, the judge himself
has only one helper, and when Abraham shows up, a woman who committed adultery with
her daughter's husband, killed her daughter, and then forgot the entire episode is being
judged. For obvious reasons, she is damned.
Chapter 13 (long recension)/Chapter 11:1-11, 13:8-14 (short recension): Abraham asks about
the identity of the judge and his helpers. Michael responds that Abel is the judge. In the short
recension, Abel's helper is Enoch. In the long recension, Michael explains that once final
judgement comes, Abel will be supplemented by two additional judges: after Abel, everyone
will be judged by the 12 tribes of Israel and finally by God. At this point, Michael explains the
purpose of the various angel helpers: one of the scribe angels records every soul's good
deeds, the other scribe angel records every soul's sins, the scale angel is Dokiel, who weighs
the sins and righteous deeds of each soul, and the fiery angel is Puriel, who tests every soul
with fire.
Chapter 14 (long recension): Abraham prays for the balanced soul in Chapter 12, which
convinces God to save the soul. Abraham then decides that his damning of the sinners in
Chapter 10 was a mistake, and prays to God that they be saved. God agrees. There is no
analogue to this scene in the short recension.
Chapter 15 (long recension)/Chapter 12:14-16 (short recension): Abraham and Michael
return to earth. In the short recension, Sarah dies. In the long recension, Abraham again
states that he will not go with Michael, which causes Michael to run back to Heaven and tell
God about what happened.
Chapter 16 (long recension)/Chapter 13:1-8 (short recension): God sends Death, in a pretty
guise, to take Abraham away. In the long recension, Death is capable of disguising himself.
Also, Death tells Abraham who he is, and Abraham professes not to believe him. In the short
recension, Michael disguises Death, and Abraham simply does not realize who Death is.
Chapter 17 (long recension)/Chapter 13:9-14:5 (short recension): Abraham argues with
Death, and continues to refuse to believe that the figure in front of him is Death, because the
figure is too beautiful. Eventually, Abraham convinces Death to reveal himself in all his
 ugliness. At this point, many servants die. In the long recension, 7,000 servants die, while in
the short recension, only 7 servants die.
Chapter 18 (long recension)/Chapter 14:5 (short recension): Abraham prays to God in order
to revive the servants. In the long recension, this is preceded by Death becoming beautiful
again and some discussion about whether the servants were supposed to die. Additionally,
Abraham manages to convince Death to join him in prayer for the servants in the long
recension.
Chapter 19 (long recension): Abraham tries to convince Death to leave him again and send
Michael back down, though Death does not immediately comply. Abraham also convinces
Death to describe the reasons behind his monstrous form. There is no analogue to this scene
in the short recension.
Chapter 20 (long recension)/Chapter 14:6-7 (short recension): Death finally kills Abraham. In
the short recension, this is described as "in a dream".[20] In the long recension, Death entreats
Abraham to go with him now, but Abraham claims to be feeling weak in order to convince
Death to leave for a time. In response, Death convinces Abraham to kiss his hand so that
Abraham will feel better. In fact, this kiss kills Abraham. Abraham's body is buried, and
Abraham's soul is taken up to heaven.

Significance[edit]
When viewed as a religious text, the Testament of Abraham gives a unique message. Beyond the
presence of angels and God and Death, the lesson demonstrated is simply being a good person,
performing good acts, and avoiding bad ones. In the scenes of judgment, there is no distinction
made between whether people are Jewish or Gentile, only whether they have performed good
deeds or bad. The reader is then left with an idea of universally fair treatment, not influenced by
lineage or any other traits, when it comes to judgment, where a person whose sins outweigh their
good deeds will be sentenced to eternal punishment, while one whose good deeds outweigh their
sins will move on to paradise.[21]

Humor[edit]
While this text does have its theological significance, it can also be simply viewed as a story
meant to entertain. Throughout the entire text we find the ever pious Abraham trying to dodge
and avoid Gods will. But this does not mean that Abraham is being portrayed in a non-pious light,
in fact the opposite, he recognizes how good and devout he has been throughout his entire life,
and uses that to his advantage. He is so good at avoiding Gods decree that the only way he
finally has his soul taken away is when Death tricks him.[22]Another humorous character that we
encounter is the Archangel Michael. Gods Commander-In-Chief is an angel who would seem to
be able to make decisions on his own and handle the refusals of Abraham, but he cannot. Every
time that Abraham does something that Michael does not expect, he comes up with some reason
to excuse himself then rushes up to heaven to consult God and find out what he is to do with
stubborn Abraham.[23] With the humanizing of heavenly figures, and the trickery of Abraham, this
is certainly a text meant to induce laughter and one that, despite its clear theological messages,
was also meant to just be read and enjoyed.