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- What it is: An anonymous ancient Jewish work in which Abraham rejects idols and receives revelations about heaven, evil, and human history.
- Date: Scholars usually place its composition in the late first or early second century CE.
- Where it survives: Complete only in Old Church Slavonic, in a version generally understood to derive from Greek.
- How they differ: The Apocalypse concerns Abraham's revelations; the separate Testament concerns his reluctance to die and the judgment of souls.
The Apocalypse of Abraham is an anonymous ancient Jewish work that tells how Abraham rejected his father's idols, ascended to heaven, and received visions of humanity's history and final judgment. Usually dated to the late first or early second century CE, it survives complete only in Old Church Slavonic. It is distinct from the Testament of Abraham, a narrative about Abraham's death. Both are commonly classified among the Old Testament pseudepigrapha rather than the biblical canon.
This guide explains the work's identity, probable date and authorship, and the movement from its opening story to its heavenly revelations. It then addresses its place outside the biblical canon, the languages in which these Abraham traditions survive, and related guides for further context.
What it is, and how the Testament differs
The Apocalypse combines a story of Abraham's early life with revelations about heaven and the course of history. Its central concerns are the relationship between idolatry, evil, Israel's suffering, and divine justice. Abraham's movement away from his father's worship leads into an account of heavenly knowledge. This combination of narrative and revelation makes the work especially important for the study of ancient Jewish apocalyptic visions.
The Testament is a separate work, not an alternative title. It begins with God's decision that Abraham's earthly life must end and the dispatch of the archangel Michael. Abraham's hospitality and reluctance to die shape the narrative. During a supernatural tour he witnesses wrongdoing and the judgment of souls, with Abel appearing as a judge. His severity toward sinners contrasts with God's patience and mercy. Death becomes a speaking character: despite its title, the work chiefly tells of Abraham's death rather than collecting his final instructions.
When, where, and by whom was it written?
The Apocalypse is usually dated to the late first or early second century CE. Its depiction of the destruction of the sanctuary is generally understood against the background of the Roman destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in 70 CE. That connection provides a historical setting for interpreting the work, rather than a precise year of composition. The dating remains a scholarly estimate.
The author is anonymous. Attribution to the biblical patriarch Abraham is a literary device, not evidence that Abraham composed the work. Its ancient Jewish character supplies a cultural setting, but a particular place of composition and a named writer are not known. The Testament is also anonymous and generally regarded as Jewish in origin; its usual dating spans the first or second century CE.
What the Apocalypse contains
The work is conventionally divided into 32 chapters and has two principal sections. The opening portrays Terah, Abraham's father, as both a maker and a worshipper of idols. Abraham recognizes that manufactured objects cannot protect themselves from damage or destruction, exposing the absurdity of worshipping them. This opening narrative ends with the destruction of Terah's house by fire, before the account turns to sacrifice and revelation.
The sacrificial episode draws on the covenant ceremony in Genesis 15. Yahoel serves as Abraham's heavenly guide, while Azazel appears at the sacrifice as an unclean bird. Azazel is a major adversarial figure associated with wickedness and humanity's corruption. The episode thus connects the narrative of sacrifice with the work's exploration of evil, before Abraham's ascent brings him into the setting of the heavenly visions.
During the ascent, Abraham sees the divine throne and its heavenly attendants. This vision draws on biblical imagery associated with Ezekiel's visions. Abraham is also shown Adam and Eve, connecting humanity's beginnings with the problem of evil. The revelations extend across the course of human history and culminate in divine judgment. Their scope reaches beyond Abraham's own life to the history and fate of humanity.
Why it is not in most Bibles
Neither work belongs to the Jewish biblical canon or to the biblical canons generally used by Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant churches. Both are commonly classified among the Old Testament pseudepigrapha. That classification describes their place among ancient writings associated with biblical figures; it does not make them part of those biblical collections. Their association with Abraham and their canonical status are separate matters.
Their scholarly importance rests on the evidence they offer for ancient interpretations of Abraham beyond the narratives preserved in Genesis. The Testament is especially useful for studying traditions about death and judgment. These are historical and literary reasons for studying a text outside the canon. They do not require treating its account as biblical narrative or adopting the religious outlook expressed within it.
How the works survive
The complete Apocalypse survives only in Old Church Slavonic, also described as Old Slavonic. The surviving Slavonic version is generally understood to have been translated from Greek, but no complete Greek text survives. The distinction matters to the account of transmission: the language preserving the complete work is Slavonic, while Greek stands behind that version according to the usual scholarly understanding.
The Testament has a different manuscript tradition. It survives in two principal Greek recensions, conventionally called the long and short recensions. Their differences concern narrative arrangement and detail, not simply length. Versions also survive in Slavonic, Romanian, Coptic, Arabic, and Ethiopic. Although the work is generally regarded as Jewish in origin, its surviving forms were transmitted by Christians. These facts describe its preservation rather than establish a single discovery or publication event.
Where to go next
The guide to the pseudepigrapha gives context for the classification used here.
The guide to the Second Temple texts offers a related area of study.
The edition on this site is titled The Apocalypse of Abraham; the library also holds The Testament of Abraham.
Keep exploring
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Every book’s page plays the opening of its audiobook. Open The Apocalypse of Abraham below and press play.
The Apocalypse of AbrahamAttributed to AbrahamHear a sample
The Testament of AbrahamAnonymousHear a sample
The Complete 88-Book Ethiopian BibleHear a sample
Questions about the Apocalypse of Abraham
What is the Apocalypse of Abraham?
It is an anonymous ancient Jewish narrative and revelation attributed to Abraham. The story moves from his rejection of Terah's idols to a sacrifice, an ascent to heaven, and visions of human history. Its revelations address evil and divine justice, ending with judgment rather than remaining solely an account of Abraham's early life.
What is the difference between the Apocalypse of Abraham and the Testament of Abraham?
The Apocalypse centers on Abraham's rejection of idols and his revelations; the Testament centers on his approaching death. In the Testament, Michael brings the divine summons, Abraham resists leaving the world, and a supernatural journey exposes him to wrongdoing and the judgment of souls. They are separate works with different narrative purposes.
Who wrote the Apocalypse of Abraham?
Its author is unknown; the attribution to Abraham is literary rather than evidence of authorship by the patriarch. Scholars generally understand it as an ancient Jewish work and usually place its composition in the late first or early second century CE. That dating does not identify an individual author.
What language does the Apocalypse of Abraham survive in?
It survives complete only in Old Church Slavonic, also called Old Slavonic. Scholars generally understand this version as a translation from Greek, although no complete Greek text survives. The complete surviving language and the language behind the translation are therefore different parts of the work's transmission history.
Is the Apocalypse of Abraham in the Bible?
It is not part of the Jewish biblical canon or the biblical canons generally used by Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant churches. It is commonly grouped among the Old Testament pseudepigrapha, alongside the separate Testament of Abraham. Scholars study both as evidence of ancient interpretations of Abraham beyond Genesis.
