Testament of Abraham

Dale C. Allison

• Publisher: De Gruyter
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9783110923971
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Jewish Theology

The series Commentaries on Early Jewish Literature (CEJL) is devoted to the study of Jewish documents and traditions that can be dated or traced back to the Hellenistic and Roman periods (ca. 300 BCE–150 CE). The literature covered by the series represents a rich diversity of literary forms and religious perspectives. Formally, these writings include testaments, apocalypses, legends, expansions and interpretations of biblical writings, psalms and prayers, poetry, historiography, and wisdom literature. They witness to an immensely creative period during which many Jews were struggling to preserve a living faith in the wake of social, political, and religious upheavals in the Mediterranean world and the Near East.

Table of contents

• Preface
• Abbreviations
• INTRODUCTION
• I. The Greek Texts
• II. The Other Versions
• III. The Relation of the Two Greek Recensions
• IV. Jewish or Christian?
• V. Local Origin
• VI. Date
• VII. Genre
• VIII. Structure
• IX. Literary Themes and Leading Ideas
• X. Bibliography
• COMMENTARY
• Chapter 1 Abraham’s Virtues, Michael’s Assignment
• Chapter 2 Michael and Abraham meet Each Other
• Chapter 3 Signs and Wonders
• Chapter 4 God commissions Michael again
• Chapter 5 Isaac’s Dream
• Chapter 6 Recognition of Michael’s Identity
• Chapter 7 Isaac’s Dream, Michael’s Interpretation, Abraham’s Refusal
• Chapter 8 God’s Speech
• Chapter 9 Abraham strikes a Bargain
• Chapter 10 Abraham surveys the World
• Chapter 11 Two Ways and Two Gates
• Chapter 12 The Postmortem Judgment
• Chapter 13 The Judgment Interpreted
• Chapter 14 Abraham Repents and Intercedes
• Chapter 15 Abraham reneges
• Chapter 16 God sends Death to Abraham
• Chapter 17 Death reveals Himself
• Chapter 18 The Resurrection of Abraham’s Servants
• Chapter 19 The Interpretation of Death’s Self-Revelation
• Chapter 20 Abraham’s Death
• Index of References
• 1. Bible
• 1.1 Hebrew Bible
• 1.2 Deuterocanonical Writings
• 1.3 New Testament
• 2. Old Testament Pseudepigrapha
• 3. Dead Sea Scrolls and Related Texts
• 4. Apostolic Fathers
• 5. Nag Hammadi Codices
• 6. New Testament Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha
• 7. Rabbinic Literature
• 7.1 Mishnah
• 7.2 Tosefta
• 7.3 Babylonian Talmud
• 7.4 Jerusalem Talmud
• 7.5 Targumic Texts
• 7.6 Other
• 8. Classical and Ancient Christian Writers and Works
• 9. Papyri, Inscriptions
• 10. Ancient Near Eastern, Samaritan, Persian, Sanskrit, Arabic Sources
• Index of Names and Subjects
• Index of Modern Authors