Praxis of the Voice: The Divine Name Traditions in the Apocalypse of Abraham

(ProQuest: ... denotes non-USASCII text omitted.) A large portion of the Apocalypse of Abraham, a Jewish work known only in its Slavonic translation, deals with the celestial tour of the eponymous hero of the text. In the work's elaborate account of the tour, which depicts Abraham's initiation into the heavenly mysteries, an important detail often found in other apocalyptic texts is missing. The authors of the Slavonic work seem deliberately to eschew anthropomorphic depictions of the deity that often mark climactic points in other early Jewish apocalyptic accounts. This reluctance to endorse traditions of the divine form appears to be quite unusual, given that other features of the pseudepigraphon exhibit explicit allusions to motifs and themes of the Merkabah tradition. Several distinguished scholars of early Jewish mysticism have previously noted that the Apocalypse of Abraham might represent one of the earliest specimens of Merkabah mysticism, the Jewish tradition in which the divine form ideology arguably receives its most advanced articulation.1 Yet despite many suggestive allusions in their depiction of the heavenly realities, the authors of the Apocalypse of Abraham appear very reluctant to endorse one of the most crucial tenets in the divine chariot lore: the anthropomorphic depiction of the Glory of God. The reluctance seems rather puzzling in view of some close similarities in angelological imagery that the Apocalypse of Abraham shares with the first chapter of the book of Ezekiel, the formative account of the Merkabah tradition, where the ideology of the divine form looms large.2 It has been previously noted that the seer's vision of the divine throne found in the Apocalypse of Abraham relies significantly on Ezekiel's account and stands in direct continuity with Merkabah tradition.3 At the same time, however, scholars observe that the Slavonic pseudepigraphon shows attempts to depart from the overt anthropomorphism of this prophetic book. Christopher Rowland, for example, notes that the shift from anthropomorphism is apparent in the portrayal of the divine throne in ch. 18 of the Apocalypse of Abraham. Notwithstanding the many allusions to Ezekiel 1 in the depiction of the throne room in chs. 18 and 19 of the Apocalypse, Rowland highlights a radical paradigm shift in the text's description of the deity, noting "a deliberate attempt... to exclude all reference to the human figure mentioned in Ezek 1." For Rowland, this shift entails that "there was a definite trend within apocalyptic thought away from the direct description of God."4 These observations about anti-anthropomorphic tendencies of the Slavonic apocalypse are intriguing and deserve further investigation. Even a cursory look at the text reveals that, despite an extensive appropriation of the visionary motifs and themes, the authors appear to be avoiding anthropomorphic depictions of the deity and some other celestial beings.5 This tendency leads to the creation of a new apocalyptic imagery that combines traditional and novel elements. This article will investigate these new conceptual developments in the Apocalypse of Abraham and seek to understand their place in the larger anticorporeal ideology of the Slavonic pseudepigraphon. I. THE BIBLICAL BACKGROUND OF THE SHEM TRADITION The Apocalypse of Abraham is a Jewish work probably composed in Palestine in the early centuries of the Common Era.6 The text can be divided into two parts.7 The first part (chs. 1-8) of the work represents a haggadic account of Abraham's rejection of the religious practices of his father, Terah. The second, apocalyptic part covers the rest of the work (chs. 9-32) and depicts the patriarch's ascension to heaven, where he is accompanied by his angelus interpres, Yahoel, during his initiation into the heavenly and eschatological mysteries. The first eight chapters of the pseudepigraphon take the form of midrashic elaboration and recount the early years of Abraham, who is depicted as a reluctant helper to his idolatrous father, Terah. …