The Apocalypse of Abraham in Its Ancient and Medieval Contexts

Amy Paulsen-Reed, Th.D. (2016), studied Hebrew Bible at Harvard Divinity School, where she focused on ancient Jewish biblical interpretation. Her early academic interests were modern Hebrew and Russian language and literature, which developed into a scholarly focus on biblical Hebrew and pseudepigraphal, apocalyptic, and Rabbinic literature. She is currently pursuing a career in publishing as the Academic Sales Manager and Acquisitions Editor at Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, MA.

Acknowledgments


 Introduction


1 Laying the Groundwork

 1 Methodological Considerations




2 From Byzantium to Bulgaria

 1 Early Bulgarian Literary Activity


 2 The Popularity of the Pseudepigrapha in Bulgaria


 3 The Indices of Forbidden Books in Bulgaria


 4 Literary Compilations and Works in Bulgaria


 5 Translation Practices


 6 Bulgarian Literary Creativity




3 The Bogomils

 1 Bogomil Beliefs


 2 The Spread of Bogomilism


 3 Bogomil Literary Activity




4 From Bulgaria to Rus

 1 Literary Activity in Rus




5 Jews in Slavic Lands

 1 Translations from Hebrew into Slavonic?


 2 Conclusions




6 The Original Language of the Apocalypse of Abraham


7 The Structure and Unity of the Apocalypse of Abraham

 1 Structure


 2 Textual Unity




8 Christian Emendations and Interpolations


9 The Themes, Messages and Functions of the Apocalypse of Abraham

 1 Did the Destruction of the Second Temple Create a Religious Crisis?


 2 Theodicy


 3 Idolatry


 4 The Law


 5 Purity and Ritual


 6 Asceticism


 7 Eschatology


 8 The Romans


 9 Grief and Distress


 10 Knowledge


 11 Creation


 12 Free Will


 13 Function




10 4 Ezra, 2 Baruch, and the Apocalypse of Abraham: A Comparative Analysis

 1 Introduction

 1.1 The relationship between 4 Ezra and 2 Baruch




 2 4 Ezra


 3 2 Baruch


 3 Conclusions




11 The Social Setting of the Apocalypse of Abraham

 1 Methodological Considerations


 2 Apocalyptic Literature and Sectarianism


 3 The Social Setting of Opaque Texts: Lessons from Midrash Studies


 4 Conclusions




12 The Exegetical Context of the Apocalypse of Abraham

 1 Rabbinic Parallels


 2 Conclusions




13 Conclusions


Bibliography


Index