Andrei A. Orlov, Heavenly
Priesthood in the Apocalypse of Abraham (Cambridge University Press, 2013)
224 pages. ISBN: 110703907X, 9781107039070.
Description from the publisher: The Apocalypse of Abraham is
a vital source for understanding both Jewish apocalypticism and mysticism.
Written anonymously soon after the destruction of the Second Jerusalem Temple,
the text envisions heaven as the true place of worship and depicts Abraham as
an initiate of celestial priesthood. Andrei A. Orlov focuses on the central
rite of the Abraham story - the scapegoat ritual that receives a striking
eschatological reinterpretation in the text. He demonstrates that the
development of the sacerdotal traditions in the Apocalypse of Abraham, along
with a cluster of Jewish mystical motifs, represents an important transition
from Jewish apocalypticism to the symbols of early Jewish mysticism. In this
way, Orlov offers unique insight into the complex world of the Jewish
sacerdotal debates in the early centuries of the Common Era. The book will be
of interest to scholars of early Judaism and Christianity, Old Testament
studies, and Jewish mysticism and magic.
About the author from the publisher: Andrei A. Orlov is
Professor of Judaism and Christianity in Antiquity at Marquette University. His
recent publications include Divine
Manifestations in the Slavonic Pseudepigrapha (2009), Selected Studies in the Slavonic Pseudepigrapha (2009), Concealed Writings: Jewish Mysticism in the
Slavonic Pseudepigrapha (2011) and Dark
Mirrors: Azazel and Satanael in Early Jewish Demonology (2011).
Partial previews are available at Google Books and Amazon.
Partial previews are available at Google Books and Amazon.
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