Ladder of Jacob
The Ladder of Jacob (Hebrew: "Sulam Yaakov" סולם יעקב) is a pseudepigraphic writing of the Old Testament. It is usually considered to be part of the apocalyptic literature. The text has been preserved only in Slavonic, and it is clearly a translation from a now lost Greek version. It is not regarded as scripture by Jews or any Christian group. Manuscript tradition. The text of the "Ladder of Jacob" has been preserved only in Old Church Slavonic; it is found in the "Tolkovaja Paleja", a compendium of various Old Testament texts and comments which also preserved the  Apocalypse of Abraham. The "Tolkovaja Paleja" is a compilation of texts assembled in the 8th or 9th century in Greek and later translated into Slavonic; it is the only translation that has survived. Some plays on words in the "Ladder of Jacob" suggest an original Hebrew text, or a Greek text intended for readers with at least some knowledge of Hebrew. Two recensions of the "Ladder of Jacob" have been identified: a longer one, usually denoted "A", which survives in three manuscripts, and a shorter one, usually called "B", which is represented by the majority of the manuscript tradition. The  chief difference between these is that the shorter recension reduces drastically the prayer of Jacob and omits the name of the angel Sariel (2:2-5:1). Date and origin. The date and origin of the "Ladder of Jacob" are uncertain. It is possible to infer at least three stages: an original work written in a Jewish context after the Destruction of the Temple, the use in early Byzantine world and the final translation in Slavonic around the ninth century. In the Christian stages the text was interpolated to form an anti-Jewish polemic, by adding some comments here and there, omitting  some sentences and adding a Christian conclusion: Chapter Seven has Christian origin. The expectation of a delayed warrior Messiah and the similarities with 2 Baruch, Apocalypse of Abraham and other apocalyptic literature suggest the original text may have been written in the first half of the second century CE. Content. The "Ladder of Jacob" is based on the Biblical dream of Jacob in . Theology. The "Ladder of Jacob", as well as the Apocalypse of Abraham, interpret the experience of Patriarchs in the context of merkabah mysticism. The "Ladder of Jacob" takes a stand on the main issues debated in apocalyptic  literature: the role of the Messiah is limited to that of a warrior, the final victory against the evil and the last judgment are carried out directly by God himself, and it is possible to repent on the last day.