Ascension of Isaiah
i. 1, And it came to pass in the twenty-sixth year i. x, 2*= of the reign of Hezekiah king of Judah that he (or
dom of called Manasseh his son. Now he was his only one. Isaiah.
2, And he called him into the presence of Isaiah
i. a. In the Greek Legend it is the twenty-fifth year.
Of the reign. Lit. ‘in the reign’; but I take the phrase to be equal to ém rod BaciAéws ‘ECexiov. Cf. 1 Mace. xiii. 42, xiv. 27; Prol. of Eccles. ; Hag. i. 1, ii. 1, &e.
2. Isaiah the son of Amoz the prophet. The word prophet here is no doubt to be taken with Isaiah and not with Amoz. Amoz is mentioned in the Old Testament in 2 Kings xix. 2 and Isa. i. 1, ii, 1, &. In iv. 22 he is wrongly identified with Amos, the eighth-century prophet—a confusion that the writer shares in common with many of the Greek and Latin Fathers. This mistake on the part of the latter may be due to the fact that the LXX inaccurately represents DY the prophet and YON the father of Isaiah by one and the same form “Apés, One and the same form also is used in Ethiopic for the two names, On the other hand there wasan old Talmudic tradition to the effect that Amoz, the father of Isaiah, was a prophet also. In Megilla, 10°, the writer seeks to prove by a very obscure line of argument that Amoz, the father of Isaiah, was a prophet. If
B
i, 20-69 = editorial addition.
the son of Amoz the prophet, and into the presence of Jésib the son of Isaiah, in order to deliver unto him the words of righteousness which the king himself had seen: 3. And of the eternal judgements and the torments of Gehenna, and of the * prince *
this was even a current tradition, the confusion in iv. 22 becomes still more intelligible.
Jéséb, This name is found in Isa. vii. 3: TAWA, "Iacov8. In the Ethiopic version of our book, it is found variously as Jéséb, Josib, Jdsab, Joséb.
2b_s5* describe the vision of Hezekiah which he saw in the fifteenth year of his reign. These verses were inserted by the editor to prepare for the vision which is recounted in iii, 13-iv. 22. They give a brief description of it. This vision may in all probability be taken to be the testament of Hezekiah (see below). The evidence for this conclusion we shall now give. The vision is definitely ascribed to Hezekiah in verse 2: ‘which the king himself had seen.’ In verse 4 the same idea recurs: ‘words... which he himself had seen in the fifteenth year of his reign during his illness,’ and most probably in verse 5: ‘the written words which Samnas the scribe had written’; and again later in the same verse according to MS. a: ‘words ... which only the king had seen.’ That this idea is not an invention of the Ethiopic translation is clear from the Greek Legend, i. 2, which speaks of ‘The words which Hezekiah the king himself had seen during his illness’ (see p. 139). Nay, more, Georgius Cedrenus (see p. 29) quotes iv. 12 of our book as derived from the ‘Testament of Hezekiah’ (Ataéqen ‘ECexiov). Though little value need be attached to the evidence of Cedrenus individually, yet the rest of the evidence, when combined with it, is sufficient to show that the final editor of our apocrypha had seen and used a book purporting to be a work of Hezekiah, and iii. 13-iv. 22 appears to be the Testament in question.
3. This verse gives the contents of Hezekiah’s vision or prophecy.
Of the eternal judgements. be read, ‘of the judgements of this world.’ MSS. do not give genitive here but the accusative.
Gehenna. Mentioned only in iv. 14.
CHAPTER I. 2-4 3
of this world, and of his angels, and his authorities and his powers, 4. And the words of the faith of the Beloved which he himself had seen in the
And of * the prince* of this world. So Dillmann proposes. a reads, ‘ which is the eternal place of punishment’: bc ‘and of the place of punishment of this world.’ For phrase see ii, 4, iv. a, x.29. The reference is to the Antichrist in iv. 2.
Angels .. . authorities .. . powers, i.e. “Ayyedot, éfovoiat, Suvdpes. The very same list is found in 1 Pet, iii. 22 imorayévrory abr dyyAov Kal eovordy wai duvdpewv. Cf. Eph. i. 21, iii. 10, vi. 12; Col. i. 16, ii. 10, 15.
4. The Beloved. This Messianic title is found throughout most of the book: i. 4, 5, 7, 13; iii. 13, 17, 18; iv. 3, 6, 9, 18, 27; v. 153 vil. 17, 23; viii. 18, 25; ix. 12. There are good grounds for believing this title pre-Christian. These are so excellently given by Canon Robinson in Hastings’ Bible Dictionary, ii. 501, that I take the liberty of reproducing them here. (1) ‘It is used in the Old Testament (6 #yarnpévos, LXX) as a title of Israel; e.g. Deut. xxxii. 15, xxxiii. 5, 26, where it renders ‘Jeshurun,” as it does also in Isa. xliv. 2; again in Isa, v. 1, 7 6 iyanquévos and 6 dyamqrdés render J) and WwW respectively. It was natural, therefore, that, like “the titles “Servant” and “Elect,” it should be transferred from the people to the Messiah. (2) At the period when the Gospels were written “the Beloved” and ‘‘the Elect ” were practically interchangeable terms, for Matthew writes 6 dyamyrés pov (xii. 18) in citing Isa. xlii. 1, where the Hebrew is ‘1a (LXX, 6 éxAekrds vov); and Luke (ix. 35) substitutes 6 enhereypevos for 6 dyannrés in the words spoken in the Transfiguration. (3) These two substitutions suggest that, whatever may have been the original meaning of the phrase 6 vids you 6 dyanyrés (Mark i. 11, ix. 7), both Matthew and Luke regarded 6 dyamnrés as a separate title, and not as an epithet of vids. And it is interesting to note that the old Syriac version emphasized this distinction by rendering “My Son and My Beloved.” (4) In Eph. i. 9 St. Paul uses év 79 Hyennpévy as equivalent to é& 7$ Xpiord in a context in which he is designedly using terms derived from Jewish sources, (5) Certain passages of the LXX where 6 dyarnrés occurs were explained by Christian interpreters as Messianic (Ps. xliv. (xlv.)
BQ fifteenth year of his reign during his illness. 5. And he delivered unto him the written words which Samnas the scribe had written, and also those which Isaiah, the son of Amoz, had given to him, and also to the prophets, that they might write and store up with him what he himself had seen in the
tit. ; Zech. xii. 10). (6) Lastly we have several passages in early Christian writings in which 6 7yarnpévos is used as a title of Christ, e.g. Barn. iii. 6, iv. 3,8. Cf Clem. Rom. lix. 2, 3; Ign. Smyrn., inser. ; Herm. Sim. IX. xii. 5; Acts of Thecla, c. 1 ; 6 dyarnrés is also used, but usually with vids or vais (Herm. Sim. V. ii. 6; Mart. Polyc. 14; Ep. ad Diogn. 8; Acts of Thecla, vu. aq; in the last three cases in a liturgical formula).’
Fifteenth year of his reign during his illness. See a Kings xx. 1-6; Isa, xxxviii. r-20. According to the Old Testament text Hezekiah reigned twenty-nine years, and his illness fell out fifteen years before he died. Hence the date harmonizes with the Old Testament chronology. This verse is almost wholly réproduced in the Greek Legend : see i. 2 (p. 141).
5%. The written words which Samnas the scribe had written. These words appear to relate to the vision of Hezekiah which was written out by Shebna the scribe after declaration of the king. The writing (AND) composed by Hezekiah during his illness (Isa. xxxvili. 9) may have suggested the idea in our text.
Samnas. See also vi. 17. In Greek Legend, i. 3 Zwpvds. In the LXX the Hebrew form maw is reproduced by Swpvds or Zofvas. See 2 Kings xviii. 18, 26; Isa. xxii. 15, XXXVI. 3, II, 22, XxXXvVii. z.
5°-6 describe the vision of Isaiah, vi—xi. 40, which he saw in the twentieth year of Hezekiah’s reign, vi. r.
Those which Isaiah... had given him. This is evidently the vision which Isaiah saw in the twentieth year of Hezekiah. See next verse.
Which Isaiah, the son of Amoz, had given to him and also to the prophets. Sobe. areads, ‘which Isaiah the son of Amoz and the prophets also had given to him.’
Store up with him what he himself had seen in the king’s house. Cf. Greek Legend, i. 2, The vision is that of Isaiah recorded
CHAPTER I. 4-7 5
king’s house regarding the judgement of the angels, and the destruction of this world,and regarding the garments of the saints and j their ¢ going forth, and regarding }their} transformation and the persecution and ascension of the Beloved. 6. In the twentieth year of the reign of Hezekiah, Isaiah had seen the words of this prophecy and had delivered them to Jésib his son. And whilst he (Hezekiah) gave i. 6°-13*=
AA . . M ty - commands, Jésib the son of Isaiah standing by, fox af
7. Isaiah said to Hezekiah the king, but not in the Isaiah. presence of Manasseh only did he say unto him: ‘ As the Lord liveth, whose name has not been sent into this world, and as the Beloved of my Lord
in vi.-xi. It is specially mentioned that this vision was experienced in the king’s palace ; see vi. 10-15. a@ reads, ‘store up with him what the king alone had seen’; bd (with a grammatical correction), ‘store up with him the vision which had been in the king’s house.’
Judgement of theangels. The only references to this judgement are found in x. 12, iv. 18,
Destruction of this world. See x. 12, iv. 18.
Garments of the saints. See vii. 22, viii. 14, 26, ix. 9, 24, 25 (xi. 35), iv. 16, 17.
+ Their+ going forth, and regarding + their + transformation. The pronouns are all but certainly wrong. The words should refer tothe Messiah. Cf. iii. 13 of the Greek [7] éféAevors [rod dya}nyrod «+» [Kal 4] perapdppwors adrod ; also Greek Legend, i. 2. Thus these words could refer to iii. 13 as well as the account in vi.-xi.
The persecution and ascension of the Beloved. The former is mentioned in iii. 13 (cf. iv. 13, ix. 14, xi. 19,20). The ascension in ix. 16, X. 14, xi. 23-32, iii. 18, iv. 13.
q. Manasseh was barely more than eight in the twenty-sixth year of Hezekiah’s reign.
As the Lord liveth, &c. The familiar Hebrew idiom 93 min'"N, The Greek is to be found in Greek Legend, ii. 8, iii. 13.
The Spirit which speaketh in me. Cf. ix. 36.
liveth, and the Spirit which speaketh in me liveth, all these commands and these words will be made of none effect by Manasseh thy son, and through the agency of his hands I shall depart mid the torture of my body. 8. And Sammael Malchira will serve
And as the Beloved. . . in me liveth. Editorial addition.
These commands. Referred to in the close of i. 6 and in ii. 1.
I shall depart, dc. There seems to have been a loss of the words ‘from this life’ or ‘ from life’ in his Ethiopic text. See Greek Legend, i. 8, 13.
8. Sammael = DNOD, Sammael was originally one of the chief archangels. But with a view to make the earth his kingdom he tempted Eve (Jalkut Shim Beresh. 25). Thenceforward he appears as the chief of the Satans (Debarim rabba, 11), and as the angel of death (Targ. Jer. on Gen. iii. 6). Moreover, just as Michael was the angelic patron of Israel, so Sammael was its special foe (Shem. rabba, 18). See Weber’s Jiidische Theologie?, 169, 218, 219, 253, from which these statements have been drawn.
Sammael is mentioned also in i. 11; ii. 1; iii. 19; v. 15, 16; vii. 9; xi. 41. On the various activities of Sammael and his relation to Beliar, see later notes on this verse,
Malchiré. Whence this name is derived I know not. It appears here to be a surname of Sammael. The name recurs in v. 8 (MS. a) as Milchiras, where see note. In xi. 41 Sammael has the surname Satan.
And he will become a follower of Beliar. Since these words most probably go back to a Hebrew original, we shall render: ‘so that he will become,’ &. Cf. ii. 4.
Beliar. Mentioned also in i.g; ii. 4; iii. 11, 13; iv. 2, 14, 16, 18; v. 1,4 (ac), 15. The form Berial is simply a corruption of the Ethiopie version ; for in the Greek version on iii, 11, 13 we have BeAlap, and in the Latin version in the same verses Beliac, a slip of the scribe for Beliar. In many cases the Ethiopic MSS. still retain the correct form : ¢ always right except in v. 1: aright ini. 9 and v.4:biniv.16. In v. 4, however, this reading seems corrupt. In Jubilees, i. 20, we find Belchér, and in xv. 33 of the same work Béléar and Biliar in the two best MSS. All these forms point
CHAPTER I. 7, 8 7
Manasseh, and execute all his desire, and he will become a follower of Beliar rather than of me:
to BeAlap. Beliar is spoken of also in 2 Cor. vi. 15; in Jubilees, as we have already noticed, the Sibylline Oracles, and the Test. XII Patriarchs. In Jubilees the references are i. 20, ‘spirit of Beliar’; XV. 33, ‘sons of Beliar.’ In the former passage Beliar is conceived as an evil spirit. In the Sibylline Oracles, ii. 167, Beliar is to come as the Antichrist and work many signs: while, according to iii. 63-73, he is to proceed from the emperors of Rome, and after working many great signs and deceiving even the elect he and his followers are to be burnt up. In the Testaments of his II Patriarchs, Beliar appears at times as the source of immoral deeds and at times as the Antichrist. Thus he is the source of impurity, Reub. 6, and of lying, Dan. 5. He cannot overcome a chaste man, Reub. 4, and flees from men who beware of wrath and lies, Dan.5. He sends seven evil spirits against man, Reub. 2. His works are to the Law of the Lord as darkness unto light, Lev. 19 (ef. 2 Cor. vi. 15). The spirits of Beliar will be punished, Lev. 3. The Messiah will war against him and wrest from him his captives, Dan. 5, and bind him, Lev. 18. Beliar is closely connected with the tribe of Dan: see.5, also Bousset, Antichrist Legend, 26, 171, 172. On the derivation and Old Testament meanings of the words, see Encyclopaedia Biblica, cols. 525-527.
Relation of Sammael to Beliar. In some respects their functions are identical, but in others they are clearly distinguishable. They are identical in the following respects. Both Sammael and Beliar dwell and rule in the firmament, vii. 9, iv. 2: both take possession of Manasseh, Sammael, ii. 1; Beliar, i. 9, iii. 11, v. 1: both are wroth with Isaiah for his visions, Sammael, v. 15 ; Beliar, iii. 13, v. 1, both have Isaiah sawn in sunder through Manasseh, Sammael, xi. 41; Beliar, v.15: both are ultimately to be overcome, Sammael, to be destroyed, v. 15 ; Beliar to be cast into Gehenna, iv. 16. But in certain respects they are to be differentiated, and Sammael herein appears to be the inferior of Beliar. Thus Sammael exerts himself to make Manasseh the subject of Beliar, i.8 (ii. 4). Beliar, moreover, has his subordinate kings (Satanic or human ?), iv. 16; he is the prince (or king) of this world, i. 3, iv. 2; and, as in the Sibyllines, he is the Antig. And many in Jerusalem and in Judea he will cause to abandon the true faith, and Beliar will dwell in Manasseh, and by his hands I shall be sawn asunder. 10. And when Hezekiah heard these words he wept very bitterly, and rent his garments, and placed earth upon his head, and fell on his face. 11. And Isaiah said unto him: ‘The counsel of Sammael against Manasseh is consummated: nought will avail thee.’ 12. And on that day Hezekiah resolved in his heart to slay Manasseh his son. 13. And Isaiah said to
christ, iv. 2. This earth will be the scene of his parusia, iv. 2, and of his manifestation, iv. 18.
9. True faith. Literally, ‘ faith of truth’ or ‘ of righteousness.’
Beliar will dwell, dc. In the Greek Legend Beliar is replaced by Satan, just as Sammael in verse 11 : see i. 9, where much of this verse is reproduced.
ro. See Greek Legend, i. 10.
Ir. Counsel of Sammael .. . is consummated. The Greek Legend, i. 11, is clearer: Sef yap mAnpwOfvat tiv Bovddy rod Sarava rd. Observe that the familiar term Satan replaces Sammael.
Nought will avail thee. Cf. Greek Legend, i, 11 ode dpedqous ceavroy obdéy.
12, And on that day. Emended from be = ‘on this day and’: a = ‘on those words,’ See Critical Note, where Greek Legend is quoted. These words have hitherto been wrongly connected with the preceding verse.
1g. I shall inherit the heritage, dc. See viii. 12.
i-ii. 1. The sense and partly the diction of many clauses in i-ii, 1 are reproduced in the Opus Imperfectum in Matthaeum Homil. i. (printed among the works of Chrysostom, vol. vi. xx-xxi, Montfaucon). See also Fabricius, Codex Pseud. p. 10943 Laurence, 149; Dillmann, p. 65. ‘Providentia autem Dei sic eum dispensavit vocari, quia (ii. 1) obliturus fuerat omnem conversationem patris sui sanctam et omnia beneficia Dei pro merito eius collata in ipsum, et (i. 8, ii. 4) stimulatus ab insurgente diabolo, qui solet insurgere super genus humanum ad evertendum,
CHAPTERS I. g—II. I 9
Hezekiah : ‘the Beloved hath made of none effect thy design, and the purpose of thy heart will not be
accomplished, for with this calling have I been called i. 13'= editorial
and I shall inherit the heritage of the Beloved.’ addition. ii, 1. And it came to pass after that Hezekiah ii. 1-iii. 12
died and Manasseh became king, that he did not oe
remember the commands of Hezekiah his father Isaiah.
gesturus omnia, quae Deum ad iracundiam provocarent. Denique cum aegrotasset Ezechias in tempore quodam, et venisset ad eum Esaias propheta visitandum, (i. 1, 6") vocavit Ezechias filium suum Manassen et coepit ei mandare, quod debeat Deum timere, quaomodo regere regnum et alia multa. (i. 7) Et dixit ad eum Esaias : vere” quia non descendunt verba tua in cor eius, sed et me ipsum oportet per manum eius interfict (i. 10, 12) Quod audiens Ezechias volebat filium suum interficere, dicens: quia melius est me sine filio mori quam talem filium relinquere, qui et Deum exasperet et sanctos eius persequatur. Tenuit autem eum vix Esaias propheta, dicens : (i. 1g) irritum faciat Deus consilium tuum hoc, videns Ezechiae religionem, quia plus amabat Deum quam filium suum.’ I have italicized the words that are drawn from our book and added the references. On value of this text see Introd., pp. xl.-xli.
8-12. A somewhat different account of this interview of Isaiah and Hezekiah is found in the Talmud Berachoth, 10°. ‘What is the meaning of the words ‘Thou shalt die and not live”? ‘Thou shalt die in this world and not live in the next world.” He said: ‘Wherefore is all this?” He answered him: ‘Because thou hast not practised fruitfulness and increase.” He rejoined : “ Because it was revealed to me by the Holy Spirit that unprofitable children would spring from me.” He replied : “What concern hast thou in the secrets of the All Merciful? Thou shouldest have done what was commanded thee, and the Holy One, blessed be He, may do what pleases Him.” He replied thereto: ‘“‘Give me thy daughter : perhaps my merits and thine together will bring it about that profitable children may spring from me.” Then replied he: ‘“‘The judgement is already determined regarding thee.” ’
ii. 1. Manasseh ... forgat. These words represent a paronomasia in Hebrew, nw m2, This was observed by the author but forgat them, and Sammael abode in Manasseh and clung fast to him. 2. And Manasseh forsook the service of the God of his father, and he served Satan and his angels and his powers. 3. And he turned aside the house of his father which had been before the face of Hezekiah (from) the words of wisdom and from the service of God. 4. And Manasseh turned aside his heart to serve Beliar ;
of the Opus Imperfectum in Matthaewm. See p. 8. ‘Providentia Dei sic eum (i.e. Manasseh) dispensavit vocari, quia obliturus fuerat.’ See Greek Legend, iii. 2. The same play on words is found in Genesis xli. 51.
Commands of Hezekiah. See i. 6, 7.
Sammacel abode, dc. See note on i. 8. x
2. This verse is found in its entirety in Greek Legend, iii. 2.
3. Turned aside the house of his father which had been before the Jace of Hezekiah. Such is the obvious and literal translation of the Ethiopic text. The Ethiopic verb (rendered ‘turned aside’) is used in this sense in the next verse and in iv.9; v. 8. This rendering is supported by the Greek Legend, iii. 3 eféAwe mévra tov olxov Tod narpds adrod. Dillmann (followed by Beer) translates : ‘mutavit in domo patris sui ea, quae coram facie Ezechiae fuerant.’ This rendering is based on a rare idiom, in accordance with which the word ‘house’ can stand in a locative sense without a preposition after verbs meaning ‘sojourning,’ &c., as in Gen. xxiv. 23; xxxviii. 11 ; Luke xix. 5. Such a verb is not indeed expressed in Num. xxx. 11; the sense, however, implies it. Since, however, our text neither expresses nor admits of such a verb, Dillmann’s rendering is very questionable, even if the Greek Legend was not decisive on this point.
(From) the words of wisdom and from the service of God. The text makes these words the object of the verb. I have supplied the preposition in accordance with the Greek Legend, iii. 3 dad ris Tov Geod Aatpelas Kal npookyycews.
4. Beliar, the angel of lawlessness, See on iv. w.
Beliar .. . the ruler of this world, Cf. i.3; x. 29; John xii. 31; xvi. 11 6 dpxav Tod Kécpov Tovrou: 2 Cor, iv. 4 6 eds Tov aldvos
CHAPTER Il. 1-7 II
for the angel of lawlessness, who is the ruler of this world, is Beliar, whose name is Matanbfichts. And he delighted in Jerusalem because of Manasseh, and he made him strong in apostatizing (Israel) and in the lawlessness which were spread abroad in Jerusalem. 5. And witchcraft and magic increased and divination and auguration, and fornication, [and adultery], and the persecution of the righteous by Manasseh and [Belachira, and] Tobia the Canaanite, and John of Anathoth, and by (Zadok) the chief of the works. 6. And the rest of the acts, behold they are written in the book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. 7. And, when Isaiah, the son of Amoz, saw the lawlessness which was being perpetrated in Jerusalem and the worship
rovrov : Eph. vi. 12 mpds rods xocpoxpdropas rod oxdrous rovrou : ii, a rdv dpxovra ris efovotas Tob dépos.
Matanbichis. So MSS. ac. b reads ‘Matanbakas.’ In v. 3 it appears as Méchémbéchis. It has been conjectured to be derived from NP {FD = worthless gift: see Liicke, i, 282.
Made him strong. So rightly emended by Dillmann.
In apostatizing. See 2 Kings xxi. 9, which gives this idea. G* less good : ‘in apostasy.”
5. See 2 Chron. xxxiii. 6 (LXX) é#Andovifero nai édappakevero kat olwvi{ero. Also 2 Kings xxi. 6. See Greek: also Greek Legend, iii. 3.
[And adultery], Bracketed as an addition on the Ethiopic. Wanting both in G@ and Greek Legend, iii. 3.
Persecution. See 2 Kings xxi. 16.
(Belachird and], I have bracketed these words as they are absent from the Greek. Moreover the name is evidently introduced for the first time in ii. 12. Z
Anathoth. See Encyclopaedia Biblica in loc.
(Zadok). Supplied from the Greek.
6. a Kings xxi. 17; 2 Chron. xxxiii. 18.
Us = ditorial ddition.
of Satan and his wantonness, he withdrew from Jerusalem and settled in Bethlehem of Judah. 8. And there also there was much lawlessness, and withdrawing from Bethlehem he settled on a mountain in a desert place. go. And Micaiah the prophet, and the aged Ananias, and Joel and Habakkuk, and his son Jésib, and many of the faithful who believed in the ascension into heaven, withdrew and settled on the mountain. 10. They were all clothed with garments of hair, and they were all prophets. And they had nothing with them but were naked, and they all lamented with a great lamentation because of the going astray of Israel. 11. And these eat nothing save wild herbs which they gathered on the mountains, and having cooked them, they lived thereon together with Isaiah the prophet. And they spent two
7. His wantonness. Greek has nopriy atrot : Greek Legend, iii. 8 dowriay.
g. This verse, which could not have appeared as it stands in the Jewish Martyrdom of Isaiah, is an editorial addition drawn largely and almost verbally from vi. 7. The clause ‘withdrew and settled on the mountain’ is repeated from ver. 8 ; the misleading phrase ‘his son’ and the clause ‘many of the faithful
. . ascension into heaven’ are the editor’s own.
Habakkuk. Eth. has Enbiqdm = Greek ’Apfaxovp.
11. Herbs. Dillmann refers to 2 Kings iv. 38sqq. This living on herbs may be designed to prepare them to receive supernatural disclosures. A similar preparation was made by Daniel, x. 2,3. In4 Ezra ix. 26, Ezra, when preparing for a divine revelation, declares : ‘ De herbis agri manducavi.’ Similarly in xii. 51 ‘Sedi in campo septem diebus ... et manducabam de fioribus solummodo agri, de herbis facta est esca mihi in diebus illis.’ See Clemen, Z. /, W. T. 1896, p. 396.
CHAPTER II, 7-12 13
years of days on the mountains and hills. 12. And after this, whilst they were in the desert, there was a certain man in Samaria named Belchira, of the family of Zedekiah, the son of Chenaan, a false
12-16 introduce Belchiraé and give certain details of his history. The subject of verse 11 is resumed in iii. x.
12. Belchird, See ii. 5, 12, 16; iii. 1,6, 12; v. 2, 3, 4, 5, 12, 15. There are many difficulties connected with this name in our book. The first is concerned with the form of the word. Thus it has four forms in the Greek Papyrus Fragment : ii. 12 BeAryetdp ; iii. ra BeAyeipd; and Bexepa ii. 16; iii. 1; and MeAxepd iii. 6. The first appears to be merely a variant of the second. Next the form Beyxerpds occurs once in iii. 10 of the Greek Legend. In the Latin Fragment iii. 1, 11 only Bechira is attested. The same variance prevails within the Ethiopic version. Thus we find Belchira attested by a in ii. 1a; ili. 11; v. 2: Balchira by all MSS. in iii. 1,6; v. 3, 5, 15; and by be in ii. 5, 135 iii. Ia; v. 2, 12; and by bin v. 4; Belachiré by « in ii, 5: Melachiré by a in v. 1a: Milchiras by a in v. 8; fbchira by a, Abchira by bin ii. 16. Nowas regards Ibchira it is clear that it goes back to Bexepé. Balchira is simply a later orthographic variant of Belchira, which, though only found in a, is clearly the olderform. Belachira is very closely akin to Greek forms of the name in ii, 12 and iii. 12 of the Greek Fragment. Thus with
the exception of Melachiré in v. 12 (a), Milchirds in v. 8 (a), and MeAxe:pd in ii. 6, G’, all the above forms go back to Bexerpé and BeAxerpa.
But what are we to make of MeAxerpa in iii, 6, of Melachtra in v. 12 (a) and the closely related forms—Malchira in i. 8, Milchiras in v. 8? We may dismiss Malchira i. 8 from consideration as a surname of Sammael. As regards the rest they are clearly variants or equivalents of Belchira ; for over against MeAxeipa in iii. 6 all MSS. of E give Balchira, and rightly according to the context. In like manner Milchirds and Melachira are equivalents of Balchira, for whereas the former are attested only by a, the latter is read by tc. They are, however, ancient variants, for if we turn to the Greek Legend, we find frequent mention of a false prophet MeAxias. It is this Melchias in the Legend who addressed to Isaiah the words attributed to Milchirasin a in v.8 (a) of our book. And just as Milchiras clearly prophet, whose dwelling was in Bethlehem. Now fHezekiahf the son of Chandni, who was the brother of his father, and in the days of Ahab, king of Israel, had been the teacher of the 400 prophets of Baal, had himself smitten and reproved Micaiah the son of Amada the prophet. 13. And he, Micaiah,
stands for an impersonation of the devil (see v. 9) and is actually so designated by Ambrose on Ps. cxviii, so Melchias is in the Legend called A:dBodos by Isaiah. Melachira in v. 12 is the same as Milchirds in v. 8, and as MeAxias in the Greek Legend. Thus at an early date in the tradition the name of the false prophet was sometimes written as Belchiré (with its variants) and Melchira (with its variants). From the presence of 7 in the great majority of the variants, it follows that Bexepd is a secondary form of BeAxepd. Gesenius, Studien und Kritiken, 1830, pp. 244-246, derives Belchira from mopba= mp bya =lord of the world. i ; ®
Zedekiah, the son of Chendan = Xedexias vids Xaavé (B Xavava A) = MIYIS"}2 MPT, Seer Kings xxii. 11, The Greek Fragment gives =. v. Xavavi.
Bethlehem. Bethany in the Greek.
Hezekiah the son of Chandni. Undoubtedly the same as the Zedekiah just mentioned. Indeed, as the Greek Fragment shows, for Hezekiah we should read Zedekiah. This is not a mere slip of the Ethiopic translation; for it appears from the Chron. Pasch. (p. 98 B joav pevdorpopijrat ECexias .. . nai ddA v’ and 96 C Pevdonpopijrat Sedexias . . . at GAA: rerpaxdorcoci—quoted. by Dillmann, p. 66) that these two different Greek transliterations of the same Hebrew name were current. As the Greek proves, however, they have no right in our text.
Brother of his father. This Zedekiah was an uncle of Belchira.
Of Baal. This is an error on the part of the writer. He has confounded the prophets mentioned in 1 Kings xxii. 6 with those mentioned in 1 Kings xviii. 22.
Smitten. 1 Kings xxii. 24.
Son of Amdadd, Son of Imlah. Various forms assumed by this name in Greek MSS. are Iepaa, IeuiAa, IexAa, See Holmes and Parsons, LXX on 2 Chron, xviii. 8,
CHAPTER II, 12-16. 15
had been reproved by Ahab and cast into prison. (And he was) with Zedekiah the prophet: they were with Ahaziah the son of * Ahab, king in Samaria*. 14. And Elijah the prophet of Tébén of Gilead was reproving Ahaziah and Samaria, and prophesied regarding Ahaziah that he should die on his bed of sickness, and that Samaria should be delivered into the hand of Leba Nasr because he had slain the prophets of God. 15. And when the false prophets, who were with Ahaziah the son of Ahab and their teacher Jalerjas of Mount } Joel t, had heard—16. Now he was a brother of Zedekiah—
13. (And he was). Supplied from G’.
*Ahab, king in Samaria*. See Critical Note in loc.
14. Of Tébon of Gilead. Cf. 1 Kings xvii. 1 (LXX) 6é OecBeirns éx @coBav Hs Tadadd. Here we observe that our text takes ‘awn in 1 Kings xvii. 1 as signifying é« GecBéy or ‘from Thisbe,’ a town of Naphtali. So also Josephus, Ant. viii. 13. 2 mpophryns . . . é wbdews @eceBdvns ris Tadadiridos xwpas. This Thisbe (@:c24) is mentioned in Tobit i. 2. Further, it omits 6 @ecBeirnjs, as does MS. A of the LXX. The above Hebrew word, according to the Massoretic punctuation, = ‘of the sojourners of.’
Prophesied regarding Ahaziah. See 2 Kings i. 1-6.
Leba Nésr. Corrupt for Salmanassar. Cf. Apoc. Bar. Ixii. 6 and 4 Ezra xiii. 40 (Dillmann).
.15. tJoel t+. See note 16, p. 87.
16. Now he was o brother. For ‘he’ E has fbchira (a), G? Bexepd. I have followed L, which omits this name. But the more natural rendering of E would be: ‘Now that Belchira was a brother,’ &. Inverse 12 Belchira is said to be a nephew of Zedekiah. Grenfell and Hunt appear to be right in relating the ‘he’ to Jalerjas.
+Aguarén}. Corrupt for Gomorrha. Gomorrha used contemptuously for Samaria. See iii. 10.
(Slew). Supplied from G?L', when they had heard, they persuaded Ahaziah the king of ¢ Aguarén + and (slew) Micaiah.
iii. 1. *And Belchira* recognized and saw the place of Isaiah and the prophets who were with him ;. for he dwelt in the region of Bethlehem, and was an adherent of Manasseh. And he prophesied falsely in Jerusalem, and many belonging to Jerusalem were confederate with him, and he was a Samaritan. 2. And it came to pass when Alagar Zagar, king of Assyria, had come and captured Samaria and taken the nine (and a half) tribes captive, and led them away to the * mountains * of the Medes and the rivers of Tézén; 3. This (Belchira), whilst still a youth, had escaped and come to Jerusalem in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, but he walked not in the ways of his father of Samaria; for he feared Hezekiah. 4. And he was found in the days of Hezekiah speaking words of lawlessness in Jerusalem. 5. And the servants of Hezekiah accused him, and he made his escape to
iii. 1. *.And Belchird* recognized. Text corrected from G? Li.
Confederate with him. According to G? we should have the same verb here as in the preceding sentence: ‘was an adherent of.’
2. Alagar Zagér, i. v. Salmanassar.
(And a half). The words in brackets are supplied from the Greek and Latin. Israel is so designated also in the Apoe. Bar. lxii. 5, Ixxvii. 19, lxxviii. 1; also in the Syriac and Arabic versions of 4 Ezra xiii. 40 and in John of Malalas, p. 158. See my Apoc. Bar., p. 124.
*Mountains*. E = dpa, ‘boundaries,’ corrupt for épy, as in G'L*, yet see note on p. 89.
Taz6n, i.e. Gozan. See a Kings xvii. 6, xviii. 11.
CHAPTER III, I-10 17
the region of Bethlehem. And * they * persuaded ... 6, And Balchira accused Isaiah and the prophets who were with him, saying: ‘Isaiah and those who are with him prophesy against Jerusalem and against the cities of Judah that they shall be laid waste and (against the children of Judah and) Benjamin also that they shall go into captivity, and also against thee, O lord the king, that thou shalt go (bound) with hooks and iron chains’: 7. But they prophesy falsely against Israel and Judah. 8. And Isaiah himself hath said: ‘I see more than Moses the prophet.’ 9. But Moses said: ‘No man can see God and live’; and Isaiah hath said: ‘I have seen God and behold I live.’ 10. Know,
5. *They* persuaded... E reads, ‘he persuaded,’ but G? gives plural. As Grenfell and Hunt propose, we should most probably supply Belchira as object of the verb and the false prophets as its subject.
6. Those who. The Greek and Latin give ‘the prophets who.’
(Against the children of Judah and). Supplied from L'.
(Bound) with hooks and iron chains = év yadedypas nat év médaus. The words are clearly based on 2 Chron. xxxiii. 11, ‘The captains. . . took Manasseh in chains (or with hooks) and bound him with fetters.’ Since the LXX renders xaréAaBov Mavacc? év Secpois wai einoav airdy év mésas, our text is independent of it. Tadedypa is a LXX rendering of O'NM in Ezek. xix. 9.
q. G? makes an addition here against E and Lt.
8-9. These verses are referred to by Origen, In LIesaiam Homil. i. 5 (Lommatzsch, xiii. 245, 246) ‘ Aiunt ideo Isaiam esse sectum a populo quasi legem praevaricantem et extra scripturas annuntiantem. Scriptura enim dicit: ‘nemo videbit faciem meam et vivet.” Iste vero ait: ‘Vidi Dominum Sabaoth.” Moses, aiunt, non vidit et tu vidisti? Et propter hoc eum secuerunt et condemnaverunt eum ut impium.’
9g. No man can see God, &e. Exod. xxxiii, 20.
I have seen God, &c. Isa. vi. 1.
therefore, O king, that *heislying*. And Jerusalem also he hath called Sodom, and the princes of Judah and Jerusalem he hath declared to be the people of Gomorrah. And he brought many accusations against Isaiah and the prophets before Manasseh. 13. But Beliar dwelt in the heart of Manasseh and in the heart of the princes of Judah and Benjamin and of the eunuchs and of the councillors of the king. 12. And the words of Belchira pleased him [exceedingly], and he sent and seized Isaiah. 13.
Testament For Beliar was in great wrath against Isaiah by
of Hezekiah =iii, 13>—iv. 18.
reason of the vision, and because of the exposure wherewith he had exposed Sammael, and because through him the going forth of the Beloved from the seventh heaven had been made known, and His transformation and His descent and the likeness
to. *Heislying*. Emended with L'G?. See Crit. note. Text = ‘they are lying prophets.’ But verses 8-10% refer to Isaiah only.
Jerusalem also he hath called Sodom, &c. Based on Isa. i. 10: ‘Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom ; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah.’ Cf. Jerome’s Comm. in Ies. i, 10 ‘ Aiunt Hebraei ob duas causas interfectum Isaiam': quod principes Sodomorum et populum Gomorrhae eos appellaverit, et quod, domino dicente ad Mosen Non poteris videre faciem meam, iste ausus sit dicere Vidi dominum sedentem super thronum excelsum et elevatum.’ The same tradition is found in the Talmud, Jebam. fol. 49°.
11. Beliar. See note oni. 9.
1a. I have connected ‘and the words... exceedingly’ with verse 12 and not with rz asin preceding editions. ‘Exceedingly’ is an addition of E.
13. The exposure. G® has here the word deypariopés which is only found once elsewhere. Cf. Matt. i. 19 for the verb.
The going forth of the Beloved, &c. These words describe the contents of vi.-xi.
CHAPTER III. 10-16 19
into which He should be transformed (that is) the likeness of man, and the persecution wherewith He should be persecuted, and the tortures wherewith the children of Israel should torture Him, and the coming of His twelve disciples, and the teaching, and that He should before the Sabbath be crucified upon the tree, and should be crucified together with wicked men, and that He should be buried in the sepulchre, 14. And the twelve who were with Him should be offended because of Him: and * the watch of * those who watched the sepulchre: 15, And the descent of the angel of the Christian Church, which is in the heavens, whom He will summon in the last days. 16, And that (Gabriel)
The coming of His twelve disciples, and the teaching. The terser form of G’ may be right: 7 ray dbbexa pabnreia. Here the words appear to mean the instruction given to the Twelve, but in verse 21 the instruction given by the Twelve.
Before the Sabbath be crucified upon the tree, and should. These words are not found in G*, but are supported by our text in xi. 20.
14. Offended because of Him. Matt. xxvi. 31.
* The watch of * those who were watching. So emended with G? by a slight change of vocalization from corrupt text of (a) ‘ those watchers also were watching’; bc attempt to emend: ‘the watchers also watching.’ Cf. Matt. xxviii. 4.
15. Angel of the Christian Church. Of. Rev. ii. 1, 8, 12a, &e. G? has simply ‘Church,’ but the Ethiopic phrase means nothing more,
Whom He will summon. The text may also be rendered ‘who will summon.’
16. And that (Gabriel) the angel of the Holy Spirit. I have with the Greek connected these words with those that follow rather than with those that precede, as earlier editions, and accordingly have placed them in verse 16. This angel is, as Grenfell and Hunt assume, Gabriel. This name fills the lacuna in the G? (see also next note). He and Michael, according to the
C2 the angel of the Holy Spirit, and Michael, the chief of the holy angels, on the third day will open the sepulchre: 17. And the Beloved sitting on their shoulders will come forth and send out His twelve
Greek, open the Sepulchre. This agrees with the Gospel of Pet. 9, which tells that two angels descended and stood on the tomb. In Matt. xxviii. 2 only one angel is mentioned as descending, but in Luke xxiv. 4, John xx. 12 two angels appeared after the Resurrection. In E the verb ‘will open’ is in the singular, but the Greek is decisive, and its evidence is supported by verse 17.
Angel of the Holy Spirit. Cf. iv. at, vii. 23 (viii. 14), ix. 36, 39, 40, X. 4, xi. 4, 33; Herm. Mand. xi. g 6 dyyedos rod mpopyrixot mvedpatos, Here and in xi. 4 this angel appears to be Gabriel, but elsewhere in the book to be the Holy Spirit.
Michael, the chief of the holy angels. The mention of Michael in this connexion points to the writer being a Jewish Christian. Michael is not again referred to in this book save in the Latin version ix. a3, 42.
17. The Beloved. The Ethiopic has ‘that Beloved.’ Here as frequently the Ethiopic has rendered the definite article by the demonstrative.
Sitting on their shoulders, i.e. of the Angel of the Holy Spirit and of Michael. Cf. Luke xxiv. 4; John xx. 12; Gospel of Pet. 10 rods Sto rév Eva tropotvras.
Will come forth and send out His twelve disciples. These words are loosely quoted in the Rest of the Words of Baruch ix. 18 Abrds yap édedoerar wat &fedevoerar Kal emadggerar éavr@ dkdexa | aroordéAous iva ebayyeriCovra: év trois éévectv. In the work cited these words are put into the mouth of Jeremiah. When the people heard them they were enraged, and said ix. 20 raira nddw éori ta phyata 7a ind ‘Hoalov rod viod ’"Apds cipnuéeva, AéyorTos Sr, Eidov rdv @edv wat Tov vidvy tov @eov. See Rendel Harris’ edition, pp. 20-21, 64.
His twelve disciples. ‘The Twelve’ are mentioned elsewhere in 13, 14, 21,iv.3,and xi.2a, The expression is a stereotyped one. This usage of course springs from the Gospels. It does not include St. Paul. Cf. Acts vi. 2; Rev. xxi. 14. In this sense it is used by St. Paul himself, 1 Cor. xv. 5. In the above passage it cannot
CHAPTER III. 16-21 21
disciples: 18. And they will teach all the nations and every tongue of the resurrection of the Beloved, and those who believe in His cross will be saved, and in His ascension into the seventh heaven whence He came: 19. And that many who believe in Him will speak through the Holy Spirit: 20. And many signs and wonders will be wrought in those days. 21. And afterwards, on the eve of His approach, His disciples will forsake the teaching of the Twelve Apostles, and their faith, and their love
include St. Paul; for the reference is to the commission given to the Apostles before the Ascension. The very next words iii, 18a are based on command given in Matt. xxviii. 19. Even as late as the third century, in the list of the Twelve given by the ‘ Ecclesiastical Canons of the Holy Apostles,’ the name of St. Paul is not included. On the other hand he figures as one of the Twelve in the Greek of the Apology of Aristides (ch. xv).
18. Cf. Matt. xxviii. 19, where the Ethiopic rendering of pabnredw is the same as here, though the meaning of pabyretw is here different.
Believe in His cross. Of. ix. 26.
Ascension. The Ethiopic word means rather ‘ resurrection.’
ar. On the thought of the verse cf. Acts xx. 29, 30; 1 Tim. i. 6, iv. 4, 12; 2 Tim. iii, 1; a Pet. ii. 1.
Afterwards. Not in Greek.
Teaching. Gk. mpopnteia, See verse 13, where the same thought is expressed by yaéyreia. It is noteworthy that the word here is not day. Yet if this portion of the Ascension of Isaiah were late, there could hardly fail to be here the stereotyped expression 5:dax7) ray Sd5exa.
Their faith. G? reads ‘the faith.’ In this case wiorts should be taken objectively as equivalent to ‘the Christian faith,’ as in the Pastoral] Epistles, 1 Tim. i. 19 (see Bernard in loc.), iv. 1, 6, v. 8, &c. ; Jude iii. 20.
Their love and their purity. These words relate to the inward disposition, and connote respectively a man’s duty to his and their purity. 22. And there will be much contention on the eve of [His advent and] His approach. 23. And in those days many will love office, though devoid of wisdom. 24, And there will be many lawless elders, and shepherds dealing wrongly by their own sheep, and they will ravage (them) owing to their not* having* holy shepherds. 25. And many will change the honour of the garments of the saints for the garments of the covetous, and there will be much respect of persons in those days and
neighbour and to himself. The latter is more than chastity, and signifies purity of life and motive (see Bernard, 1 Tim. iv. 12).
It is noteworthy that the above three substantives are found together though not in the same order in 1 Tim. iv. 12, where Timothy is bidden to be a pattern for believers év dydng, év miore, év dyvela.
22. Much contention. The Ethiopic translator is far afield here as he not unfrequently is when he meets the word aipeas. Instead of ‘much contention’ read ‘many heresies.” Compare 2 Pet. ii. 1 ‘Among you also there shall be false teachers who shall privily bring in destructive heresies.’
[His advent and]. These words I have bracketed as a duplicate rendering of év 7@ éyyilew abtrdv.
24. They will ravage (them) owing to their not having holy shepherds. Instead of ‘ holy’ the Greek gives ‘pure.’ The above rendering is based on an emendation of a, which as it stands = ‘they will ravage owing to their not... the holy shepherds.’ The dots indicate a vox nulla, which however by a change of one letter = dia 7d ph yew as we actually have in G’. The words ‘holy shepherds,’ which in a is in the nominative, should be in the accusative as G’? has it. G* = ‘who will be ravaged through not having pure shepherds.’
25. Garments of the saints. A special form of dress is here designated. Harnack (Chronol. d. Alichristlichen Litteratur, 575) conjectures that the dress here referred to is that of the ascetics.
Covetous. Cf. 2 Tim. iii. 1, = & éoxdrats Hyépas ... €oovra... guddpyupot.
CHAPTER III. 22-30 23
lovers of the honour of this world. 26. And there will be much slander and vainglory at the approach of the Lord, and the Holy Spirit will withdraw from many. 27. And there will not be in those days many prophets, nor those who speak trustworthy words, save one here and there in divers places, 28. On account of the spirit of error and fornication and of vainglory, and of covetousness, which shall be in those, who will be called servants of that One and in those who will receive that One. 29. And there will be great hatred in the shepherds and elders towards each other. 30. For there will be great jealousy in the last days; for
26. Much slander. There is here a dittography in E which = ‘slanderers [and slanderers] much,’ i. e. two different plural forms in E of the same singular, or rather the first word means ‘slander.’ See Crit. Note.
27. Prophets. There is no mention of the apostles. Their age therefore seems past, and that of the prophets to have taken their place as in Rev. where the apostles are only mentioned once as living contemporaries xviii. 20 (ii. 2 ?) but the prophets throughout : cf. x. 7, xi. 18, xvi. 6, xviii. 24, &e.
Trustworthy words. Since G* here is merely icxvpa and E is a literal rendering of that word, we are forced by the context to give it an unnatural meaning. It is hardly possible to believe that Aadodvres ioxupa is aught else than a bad rendering of a Semitic original. The rest of the verse points also in this direction. I find that icxvpds is used once as a rendering of JONI by Aquila and Theodotion in Deut. vii. 9.
Save one here and there in divers places. G? shows that the idiom is thoroughly Semitic: 4 ¢fs wat ef(s) nat eis év tézo1s Kal Térots.
28, The spirit of error. This phrase is found in 1 John iv. 6. Cf. 1 Tim. iv. 1. ,
Covetousness. See verse 25.
Receive that One, i.e. the Beloved. Cf. iv. 9.
every one will say what is pleasing in his own eyes. 31. And they will make of none effect the prophecy of the prophets which were before me, and *these* my visions also will they make of none effect, in order to speak after the impulse of their own heart.
IV. 1. And now Hezekiah and Jésib my son, *these* are the days of the *completion of the world*, 2. After it is consummated, Beliar the great ruler, the king of this world, will descend, who hath ruled it since it came into being ; yea, he will descend from his firmament in the likeness of a man,
30. Every one will say, dc. Of. Hermas, Sim. ix. 22,
gi. *These*. MSS. give At: = ‘which’ corrupt for an: = ~ ‘these.’
iv. 1. See Critical Note, p. 95.
Hezekiah and Jéséb my son. Editorial addition.
2. Beliar, the great ruler. See note on ii. 4. The Ethiopic may be rendered ‘angel’ or ‘archon’ or ‘ruler.’ From iv. 4, however, where the same Ethiopic word is a rendering of apxav, it is obviously a rendering of the same word here.
King of this world. In ii. 4 he is called ‘the ruler of this world’: in x. 29 ‘ the prince of this world.’ The two latter = 6 dpxwv robrou Tod Kécpov. See note on ii. 4.
From his firmament. This firmament is subsequently referred to in vi. 13, vii. 9-12, x. 29, as the dwelling-place of Sammael (and probably of Beliar). Unlike St. Paul, who in some way conceived evil powers to have their abode in heaven—Eph. vi. 12 7d. mvevparixd Tis Tovnplas év Tots émoupaviois—the writer of this book admits them to no higher place than the firmament which lies immediately below the first heaven. See my edition of | the Slavonic Enoch, xxix. 5 note.
Lawless king. In ii. 4 ‘the angel of lawlessness.’ In 2 Thess. ii. 3 the Antichrist is ‘the man of lawlessness.’ Lawlessness is the characteristic of Antichrist : see Introduction, pp. liv, lxii.
Slayer of his mother. For other references to the matricide see Sibyll, Or. iv. 121, v. 145, 363, viii. 71, &e.
2-3. Who himself (even) this king 3. Will persecute the plant, ce.
CHAPTERS III. 30—IV. 3 25
a lawless king, the slayer of his mother: who himself (even) this king 3. Will persecute the _plant-which the Twelve Apostles of the Beloved
We must here follow the Greek (seep.95). MS. dof E, itis true, comes very near to this : ‘who himself (is) the king of this world and he will persecute the plant.’ See Critical Note in loc.
It is quite clear that these words and the rest of verse 3 belong to the historical Nero. The rest of the passage has to do with the Antichrist only.
3. Will persecute. It is of importance to observe that, just as in Revelation (xvii. 6; xix. 2), the persecution under Nero is the only persecution known to this writer. Hence he was not acquainted with that of Domitian, Tacitus, Agric. 44: this persecution extended to Palestine: Hegesippus in Eusebius, Hist, iii. 19-20.
The plant which . .. have planted. From the Greek riv gureiay dv putevcovow we seem bound to conclude that the writer was acquainted with Matt. xv. 13 réca pureia jy ode ipdrevcer 6 maTnp pou, where ¢uteia is used apparently for the first time in existing literature as the equivalent of the classical Greek gu7réy or gdrevya. It naturally means ‘a planting.’ The idea goes back to the Old Testament. Judah was ‘the plant’ of God’s delight, Isa. v. 7. This thought is adopted by the Enochic writers and
ghoreloped t in various directions. Thus Israel is ‘the plant o ighteousness’ (Eth. En. xciii. 5), ‘the plant of Uprightness’ Cet En. xclii, 2), &c. See my edition of Enoch, x. 16 note. The writer in the text has taken over this idex trom, Fudaisin and applied it naturally to the Christi an Church. _Itis only, — therefore;-in-point of diction and not of thought | that our text is dependent on Matt. xv. 13; for there the phrase is applied to Siero pera eerste
The Twelve Apostles. St. Paul is not included in the Twelve by this writer, though the doctrine of the resurrection taught in iv. 16-17 is certainly derived from 2 Cor. v. See note on iii. 17.
Of the Twelve one will be delivered into his hands. The Greek is peculiar, 7av dudena . . . rails xepolv abrov mapadotycera. The missing word of three letters I have supplied by eis in the Greek text, p. 95. Thus we have ray dwdexa els. From E, however, we should expect é# ray Sddexa (cf. Acts xxi. 8 dvros tx trav énra have planted. Of the Twelve one will be delivered into his hands. 4. This ruler in the form of that king will come and there will come with him all the powers of this world, and they will hearken unto him in all that he desires. 5. And at his word the sun will rise at night and he will
and Rey. xxii. 11 é« TOv énrd = ‘one of the seven’). This idiom is found in Ethiopic, though not so frequently as in Hebrew.
Of the Twelve one will be delivered up. It is probable that it is St. Peter whose martyrdom is referred to here. The reference can only be to St. Peter or St. Paul; for the martyrdom took place under Nero. That it is St. Peter rather than St. Paul appears to follow from the inference drawn on iii. 17 that our writer does not include St. Paul in the number of the Twelve. I am not aware of any writer who does so till half a century later.
4. This ruler. MSS. ad add ‘ Berial’ against c and Greek.
With him all the powers of this world. In Rev. xx. 7-9 Satan assembles the nations from the four corners of the earth to attack the camp of the saints and the holy city. A closer parallel is to be found in Rev. xvi. 14, where the kings of the whole world are gathered together ‘unto the war of the great day of God.’ This expectation that all the kings and nations of the earth should combine against Israel goes back as far as Ezekiel xxxviii. 2—xxxix. 16. See also Zech. xiv. 2sq.; Eth. En. lvi, xe. 13, 16; Sibyl. Or. iii. 319-322, 663-674. By early Christian writers this expectation was transformed so that the assault of the world powers was conceived as directed against the young Christian Church.
5. The sun will rise at night and he will make the moon to appear at the sixth hour, Similar portents are attributed to the Beliar Antichrist in Sibyll. Or. iii. 64-66, which may be a contemporary work of a Hellenistic Jew. It is quoted on p. lxviii of the Introduction. The same idea as one of the signs of the end of the world is reproduced by the author of 4 Ezra v. 4 ‘Si autem tibi dederit altissimus vivere, et videbis post tertiam turbatam,
Et relucescet subito sol noctu Et luna interdie.’ The Antichrist will make fire come down from heaven (Rev.
make the moon to appear at the sixth hour. 6. And all that he hath desired he will do in the world: he will do and speak like the Beloved and he will say: ‘I am God and before me there has been none.’ 7. And all the people in the world will believe in him. 8. And they will sacrifice to him and they will serve him saying: ‘This is God and beside him there is no other.’ g. And the greater
xiii. 13), and perform signs and lying wonders (Rev. xiii. 14, xix. 20; 2 Thess. ii.9). For later Christian references to such magical wonders of the Antichrist see Bousset’s Antichrist Legend, 175 sqq.
6. He will do and speak like the Beloved. So ac. b reads ‘He will make himself like to the Beloved.’ The Antichrist is the caricature of Christ. Like Him he is to have his advent and his manifestation and to be a worker of miracles: and as Christ is at the head of the kingdom of God, so he is supreme over the kingdom of evil.
I am God and before me there has been none. See iv. 8, x. 13. Cf. 2 Thess. ii. 4 where the Antichrist ‘exalteth himself above all that is called God . .. setting himself forth as God.’ In Sibyll. Or. v. 33, 34 (=xii. 85, 86) it is said of Nero redivivus: ez’ dvaxdppe | icdfov OG airév. This no doubt is the blasphemy on the part of the Neronic Antichrist mentioned in Rev. xiii. 5, 6: ‘And there was given to him a mouth speaking great ' things and blasphemies, and he opened his mouth for blasphemy against God.’ The impious claims of Caligula were never forgotten by the Jews. Philo writes (Leg. ad Caium, ii. 569) 6 Tdios éaurdv éferupucey ob éyav pdvoy, dAAd Kal oldpevos elvat Beds. The claims of the Caesars are most probably answerable for this particular feature in the Antichrist Legend. Domitian went to still greater lengths in this direction, Suetonius, Domit. 13 ‘Dominus et Deus noster hoe fieri iubet. Unde institutum posthac, ut ne scripto quidem ac sermone cuiusquam appellaretur aliter.’
q, 8. Cf. Rev. xiii. 4, 8, 12.
9. This deceiving of the faithful is attributed to false Christs in Matt. xxiv. 24; Mark xiii.22. Only those who were faithless in their lives according to 2 Thess. ii. 10-12 should succumb to the deceits of the Antichrist.
number of those who shall have been associated together in order to receive the Beloved, he will turn aside after him. io. And there will be the power of his miracles in every city and region. 11, And he will set up his image before him in every city. 12. And he shall bear sway three
Associated . . . to receive the Beloved. Thus the Christians had organizations designed to keep them ready for the Parusia. Cf. iii, 28 ; iv. 13.
Io, See verse 5. The lying wonders spoken of here contain an allusion probably to the trickery of the priesthood devoted to the worship of the emperors throughout the cities of the East,
II. Set up his image before him in every city. In Rev. xiii. 14 the false prophet commanded those ‘that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, who hath the stroke of the sword and lived, i.e. Nero redivivus. In both these passages the image is set up with a view to the divine worship of the Antichrist. The historical ground for such an expectation is furnished by the command of Caligula that his statue should be placed in the temple and sacrifices offered to it. See Philo, De Leg. ad Caium, §§ 44 sqq.; Josephus, Ant. xviii. 8. 2. Images of the Roman emperors were erected in various cities of the East, and to these divine honours were paid. Caligula ordered Petronius, the Governor of Syria, to compel the Jews to join in the worship paid to him by the other provinces of the empire. The attempt to enforce such worship in the synagogues of Alexandria, though carried out at the cost of much bloodshed, failed finally, and the altar raised at Jamnia to the emperor was actually razed to the ground. This defiance of the imperial authority led to the above-mentioned orders of Caligula for the erection of his statue in Jerusalem,
12. Three years and seven months and twenty-seven days. Computed according to the Julian reckoning this period amounts, as Liicke (Einleitung in die Offenbarung, ii. 285) has pointed out, to 1335 days, the actual number found in Dan. xii. 12 and adopted therefrom by our writer. This period points back to the ‘time and times and half a time’ in Dan. vii. 25; xii. 7; Rev. xii. 14, in other words three and a half years. The same period is years and seven months and twenty-seven days. 13. And many believers’ and saints having seen
otherwise described as forty-two months in Rev. xi. 2, xiii. 5, or as twelve hundred and sixty days in Rev. xi. 3, xii. 6, in which case the month is reckoned at thirty days, or as 1290 days in Dan. xii. 11 and the Arajxn ’E{exiov (see Clemen in the Z. f. W. T., 1896, pp. 404 8q.).
The above three and a half years has a special significance in apocalyptic literature as the period of the reign of Antichrist, or the period of the last and worst woes; cf. Rev. xiii. 5, xii. 6,14. Itis referred to as ‘the times of the Gentiles’ in Luke xxi. 24, which belongs to the interpolated Jewish Apocalypse. This apocalyptic period has affected also Luke iv. 25 and James v. 17. For though the famine in Elijah’s time lasted, according to 1 Kings xviii. 1, three years, it is said in Luke iv. 25 and James v. 17 to have lasted three anda half years. The same period is mentioned in 4 Ezrav. 4 ‘Thou wilt see it (the Roman Empire) troubled after the third (time).’ The Latin is ‘ post tertiam’ which =yerd tiv tpirnv. With this we should understand dpay rather than 7pépay as Blass.
This verse is reproduced in Cedrenus (ed. Bonn. i. 120-121) : ey 7H SiadnKn "ECextov Bacidéas “Iovéa Aéyer ‘Hoalas 6 mpophrys kparioa tov dyrixpioroy ern > Kat phvas éwrd, ywopeva hpépas agg’, wai pera 7d Tov dvtixpioroy BAnOfvar év TG Taprapy, édciv tov Sdeondrny rav Srov Xpicrdv roy Gedy Hydv, yevéobac Be nal dvdoraow kat dytandéiocw xaddv re kal xaxdv. Two difficulties present themselves here. The first concerns the name which Cedrenus assigns to our book, the Testament of Hezekiah, though attributing the Vision to Isaiah. The name we take to be rightly transmitted, see pp. xiii-xiv. 2 note.. The attribution of the words recorded to Isaiah may refer to Isaiah’s interpretation of Hezekiah’s Vision or may be a mere error of Cedrenus. The statements made in i. 2, 4 undoubtedly convey the idea that the book relates to the visions of Hezekiah. See note on i. 2.
The second difficulty has to do with the number 1290. This number is not found elsewhere with a like meaning except in Dan. xii. 11. I cannot discover any satisfactory solution of this difficulty, nor yet which of the two authorities has preserved the number correctly.
13. Dillmann renders differently ; ‘Et multi(quidem erunt)
Him for whom they were hoping, who was crucified, Jesus the Lord Christ, [after that I, Isaiah, had seen Him who was crucified and ascended]
fideles et sancti quum viderunt eum quem ipsi sperabant.. . et credentes quoque in eum—ex iis pauci, &c.’ Thistranslation appears to be doubly erroneous. It is against the sense of the context and against the grammar. It is against the context ; for this recounts the triumphs of the Antichrist at the close of the Christian era and not the conversion of men to Christianity who had personally seen Christ. Hence the words which Dillmann adds ‘quidem erunt’ are to be rejected. But even if he were right, the text would be senselessly tautological. The thought of ‘credentes in eum’ is already given by ‘fideles.’ It is against the grammar ; for the literal rendering of the Ethiopic should be not ‘et credentes quoque in eum’ but ‘et ii quoque qui eredebant in eum.’ The equivalent of ‘quoque’ in the Ethiopic is a particle, and is suffixed to the relative and not to the verb. In other words we have here a second class, distinct from that just mentioned. The first is composed of believers who had seen Christ, the second of believers who had not. To this question we shall return presently.
The words ‘And many believers and saints... believers in Him’ represent a nominativus pendens in E, which reflects in all likelihood a similar phenomenon in G; for in the Greek Legend, which was built on the Greek of the Ascension, this anomaly is found in the following passages: ii. 1; iii. 11, 19. Hence we may restore the Greek as follows: xal woAAol pey morot kai boro iddyres els dv adrol FAm ov Tov oravpwHévra Incovv rov Kupioy Xpiorov [pera 76 eve ‘Hoalay ideiy abrdv tov cravpabévra xat dvaBavra), of 8¢ cat morevorres eis abrév—dAlyor & abr&v, K.7.A.
We see that two classes of the faithful are discriminated in this verse; believers who had seen Christ personally and believers who had not. That this distinction was afamiliar one in the first century of our era is clear from the New Testament.
Thus in St. John xx. 29, ‘Because thou hast seen Me, thou hast believed : blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed’; and 1 Pet. i. 8, ‘whom not having seen ye love.’ A kindred thought appears in St. Luke x. 23, ‘ Blessed are the eyes which see the things which ye see; for I say and those also who were believers in Him—of these few in those days will be left as His servants,
unto you, that many prophets and kings desired to see the things which ye see and saw them not.’
Of the above two classes our text declares that few will be left. We have therefore, here, a guide to the date of this section of the book. Though somewhat vague, it is sufficiently definite to enable us to conclude that the author cannot have written later than 100 a.p, Eusebius (H. £. iii. 32. 8) holds that with the martyrdom of Simeon, bishop of Jerusalem, the last of those who had seen and heard Christ had passed away. (mapednAdvda re % yeved éxeivy Tov abrais dxoais THs évOéou copias émaxotca Karynfiwpévov.) Simeon’s death, which took place under Trajan (H. £. iii. 32. 3 éi Tpaiavod Kaicapos), has been assigned to various years between 102 and 110 A.D. Hence only a few, as our text has it, of those who had been personal followers of Christ could have been living between 90 and too a.p. Another passage in Eusebius (H. £. iii. 39. 4, 7) should be adduced here as bearing on the present question. In this passage Papias, who is quoted by Eusebius, claims to have met two men, Aristion and John the Elder, who had been personal followers of our Lord. Papias was bishop of Hierapolis in the first half of the second century. His book (Aoyiow kuptaxdv éfnyqoes) may be set down to the third or fourth decade in that century; that his meeting with John and Aristion was in the first we may reasonably infer if we combine this passage of Papias with that quoted above.
Thus we conclude that our text points to 100 a.p. as the terminus ad quem. We have elsewhere seen that the form of the Antichrist myth attested in the text could hardly have arisen earlier than 884.p. Hence the composition of the above section goes back to 88-100 A.D.
We must deal now with individual points of interpretation in this verse.
For whom they were hoping. See second note oniii.g. For this idea compare Luke ii. 25, where Simeon is described as ‘ waiting for the consolation of Israel’; also 1 Tim. i. 1, ‘ Christ Jesus our hope’; Col. i. 27; Ignatius, Magn. 11. In St. John v. 45 we have an exact parallel in diction, Mwajjs, eis dv bpeis jAmixare.
[After that I, Isaiah ... who was crucified and ascended]. This while they flee from desert to desert, awaiting the coming of the Beloved. 14. And after (one thousand) three hundred and thirty-two days the Lord
awkward clause is an editorial addition made to adapt the Testament of Hezekiah to its present context.
Few will be left. Cf St. Luke xviii. 8, ‘when the Son of man cometh, shall he find the faith on the earth ?’
Flee from desert to desert. This flight of believers before the Antichrist is a familiar feature in Jewish Apocalypses. Thus this flight is enjoined in the Jewish Apocalypse interpolated in Mark xiii. 14-16, ‘ when ye see the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not (i.e. the Antichrist) . . . letthem that are in Judaea flee unto the mountains,’ &c. In Rev. xii. 14 it is said that the stay of believers in the wilderness, whither they had fled (xii. 6) would be for ‘a time and times and half a time,’ that is for three and a half years, the period during which Antichrist should be supreme, as we have already seen. For references in later Christian writers to this subject see Bousset, Antichrist Legend, pp. 212-217.
For instances of such flights to the desert owing to persecutions in the past see 1 Kings xviii. 4, 13, xix. 4, 8,9, 13; 1 Mace. ii. 28, 29; 2 Macc. v. 27, vi. 11, x. 6; Pss. Sol. xvii. 19; Heb. xi. 37, 38.
Awaiting the ing of the Beloved = dmexbeydpevor THy mapovolay airov. Cp. 1 Cor. i. 7; Phil. iii. 20; Heb. ix. 28; also 1 Thess. i, ro.
There is thus in this verse no occasion for resorting to heroic measures with Bousset (Antichrist Legend, p. 138), who proposes to excise ‘who was crucified, Jesus the Lord Christ... His servants while they,’ to insert a negative before ‘were hoping.’ The text would in this case contain a reference to the Antichrist ; ‘And many believers and saints having seen him for whom they were (not) hoping will flee from desert,’ &e«. Such a eryptic reference to the Antichrist as the personage ‘for whom they were not hoping,’ after such a lengthy and explicit account as precedes would indeed be an anti-climax. The whole context is against Bousset’s proposal.
14. It will be observed that the text reads merely ‘three hundred and thirty-two days.’ I have with Liicke, Gfrérer, will come with His angels and with the armies of the holy ones from the seventh heavén with the glory of the seventh heaven, and He will drag Beliar into Gehenna and also his armies. 15. And He will give rest to the godly whom He shall find
and Dillmann inserted ‘one thousand.’ Dillmann is probably right in regarding ‘two’ as an Ethiopic corruption of ‘ five.’ The text would then agree with iv. 12.
The Lord will come with His angels and with the armies of the holy ones from the seventh heaven. Of. 2 Thess. 1. 7, ‘At the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with the angels of His power.’ See also Eth. En. i. 4,9; Jude 14; 1 Thess. iii. 13.
Drag Beliar into Gehenna. In Rev. xix. 20 the two forms of the Antichrist are cast into the lake of fire = Gehenna. Cf. Apoc. Bar. xl. 2, where the Antichrist is slain by the hands of the Messiah ; 2 Thess. ii. 8, where he is slain by the word of Christ. Destruction (amwAcia)is the destination of the Neronic Antichrist, Rev. xvii. 8, 11.
15-17. The first resurrection.
15. Give rest to the godly. So also in 2 Thess. i. 6, 7, ‘If so be that it is a righteous thing with God to recompense those that afflict you with affliction and you that are afflicted with rest at the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ from heaven’ (dvramodotvat ».. bpiv rots OAtBopévors dveow). This rest, which is connected with the parusia, is synonymous with ‘the times of refreshing’ which are to ‘come from the presence of the Lord,’ Acts iii. 19 (Saws Av ZAOwor Keupot dvayitews dnd mpoodrov Tod Kupiov). Cf. also Heb. iv. 1.
Whom He shall find in the body. Cf. 1 Thess. iv. 17, ‘Then we that are alive that are left shall be caught up together with them in the clouds.’ In earlier literature a special blessing is pronounced on those who survive the coming of the kingdom. Dan. xii. 12; Sibyll. Or. iii. 371 © paxapiords, éxeivoy bs és ypdvov éocera: avnp (so most though not the best MSS.) ; Pss. Sol. xvii. 50 paxdpior of yvdpevor év tais Hpépats éxelvas. But according to certain writers those who were to participate in this blessing must be found in Palestine on the advent of the kingdom. See my note on xxix. 2 of the Apocalypse of Baruch, The idea goes back to Joel ii. 32.
in the body in this world, [and the sun will be ashamed]: 16. And to all who because of (their) faith in Him have execrated Beliar and his kings. But the saints will come with the Lord with their garments which are (now) stored up on high in the seventh heaven: with the Lord they will come, whose spirits are clothed, they will descend
[And the sun will be ashamed]. Though these words are not found in the chief MSS. of the LXX which presuppose a different text to the Massoretic, they are in one uncial and seventeen cursives, which add them after the ordinary text of the LXX according to Parsons and Holmes’ edition. Since the Ethiopic version of Isaiah xxiv. 23 agrees exactly with the LXX, the interpolation is not due to an Ethiopic scribe, but was made in the Greek text.
16. Beliar and his kings, Have we here a reminiscence of the intermediate stage of the Neronic myth which is partially preserved in Rev. xvii? See Rev. xvii. 12-13 : also Introduction, pp. lx-Ixi.
The saints will come with the Lord. Cf. 1 Thess. iii, 13, ‘At the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints’ : iv. 14, ‘Even so them that are fallen asleep in Jesus will God bring with Him.’
With their garments which are stored up on high in the seventh heaven. This idea goes back to 2 Oor. v. 1, ‘If the earthly house of our tabernacle be dissolved, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.’ In the Slavonic Enoch xxii. 8-10, the garments of the blessed are said to be composed of God’s glory. They are ‘ garments of life,’ Eth. En. lxii. 16; eviii. 12. Compare also Rev. ili. 4, 5,18; iv. 43 vi. Iz; vii. 9, 13, 143; 4 Ezra ii. 39, 45; Herm. Sim. viii. 2. In the next place since according to the Ascension of Isaiah the final abode of the blessed is heaven, the spiritual bodies, or garments of the faithful, are said to be already there.
Whose spirits are clothed. Only the righteous shall have spiritual bodies. This is the Pauline doctrine : see my Eschatology, pp. 390 sqq. It is to be observed further that as their spirits are already clothed (see also ix. 9, where the departed righteous are represented as already vestured in these garments or and be present in the world, and He will strengthen those, who have been found in the body, together with the saints, in the ¢ garments of the-saints, and the Lord will minister to those who have kept watch in this world. 17. And afterwards they will turn themselves upward in their garments, and their body will be left in the world. 18. Then
spiritual bodies), they have in reality already attained to the resurrection. This is also the later Pauline teaching: see above-quoted work, pp. 395, 399 sqq-
Will descend and be present in the world. This view is contrary to all the teaching of the New Testament, save of Rev. xx. 1-6; for it implies a stay, whether long or short, on earth of the saints who have descended from heaven with Christ. There is no reference to this event in vi.-xi. Apparently a feast is to be celebrated ; for it is said that Christ will minister to the faithful.
He will strengthen those, who have been found in the body... in the garments of the saints. If the text is right, it may be best taken as follows : ‘He will strengthen those who have been found in the body together with the saints (who are) in the garments of the saints’; i.e. He will bless together the living saints who are on earth, and the departed and glorified saints who have come down from heaven. But the text maybe corrupt. Thus the clause ‘those who have been found in the body’ is misleading if taken by itself. It is not ‘the living’ that will be blessed, but ‘the living saints.’ Hence omit ‘ together with’ before ‘the saints,’ and read ‘the saints who have been found in the body.’ But again the verb ‘will strengthen’ seems wrong. It = éuoxdoa, which may be a corruption of évvce: or émevdtces, Then we should have: ‘He will clothe the saints who have heen found-in.the. body, Sith. the e garments of the Saints,” ar ee
The Lord will minister to those who have kept wat watch, che dc. From Luke xii. 37. Our text does not agree with the Ethiopic version of Luke. The words ‘minister’ and ‘ kept watch’ go back to the Luean Saxovqce and ypryopotvras.
17. The words ‘and their body will be left in the world’ show that this verse does not refer to the saints that had accompanied the Lord, but to the saints ‘who had been found
DZ the voice of the Beloved will inwrath rebuke the things of heaven and the things of earth and the mountains and the hills and the cities and the desert and the forests and the angel of the sun and that of the moon, and all things wherein Beliar manifested himself and acted openly in this world, and there will be [a resurrection and] a judgement
in the body.’ The awkwardness of the clause ‘ will turn themselves upward’ belongs to the text. It could also be translated ‘will return above’; but this could not be said of those who had not yet been above, Or again, if instead of AQ(\; = ‘ above’ we read HAOA« = ‘from above,’ as in ix. 9, the first half of the sentence could be rendered: ‘And afterwards they will be transformed in their garments from above.’ With this we might compare Phil. iii. 21, ‘who shall fashion anew the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed tothe body of His glory’: also 1 Cor. xv. 52, 53, ‘We shall all be changed ... for this corruptible must put on incorruption.’
18. Angel of the sun. Cf. Rev. xix. 17, ‘An angel standing in the sun.’ See Eth. En. lx. ra-21, on the angels or spirits of the thunder, hoar-frost, mist, rain, &c. : Ixxv, xxx, on the angels of the stars. Also Rev. vii. 1, 2, on the angels of the winds; xiv. 18, the angel of fire ; Jubilees, ii, on the angels fire, hail, hoar-frost, thunder, &c.
That of the moon. So be. a reads ‘the moon.’
Beliar manifested himself. The Antichrist reveals or manifests himself (2 Thess. ii. 3) just as the Christ.
The second resurrection and the judgement of the wicked.
There will be [a resurrection and] a judgement in their midst. This statement, if genuine, is peculiar. It seems to identify the resurrection with the raising of wicked men to judgement. The righteous dead have already been raised; for they accompanied the Lord at His parusia, iv. 14-16: the living righteous have been transformed and removed from this world, iv. 15-17. Accordingly, if the text is authentic, there is taught in iv. 14-17 a resurrection to life in which only the righteous have part, and in iv. 18 a resurrection to condemnation which does not take place till all the risen and glorified in their midst in those days, and the Beloved will cause fire to go forth from Him, and it will consume all the godless, and they will be as though they had not been created. 19. And the rest of iy, 19-v. 14 the words of the vision is written in the vision ~ditorial ~ addition. of Babylon. 20. And the rest of the vision regarding the Lord, behold, it is written in the parables according to my words which are written in the book which I publicly prophesied. 21. And the descent of the Beloved into Sheol, behold, it is
righteous have been raised to heaven. Such a view of the first and second resurrections would be unique. It does not agree with Rev. xx. 4, 11-13, the only passage where these two resurrections are mentioned in the New Testament. For in Revelation the first resurrection is that in which only the martyrs participate, and the second is the general resurrection, in which the rest of the departed righteous and all the wicked dead are raised to judgement. Nor does it harmonize with the interpolated (?) verses in John v. 28-29, where the general resurrection is spoken of as a resurrection of life to the righteous, and a resurrection of judgement to the wicked. Nor, again, does it agree with the Pauline doctrine of the resurrection, though the writer has undoubtedly assimilated some of the chief elements of that doctrine, as we have seen above. I have therefore bracketed the words ‘a resurrection and.’ The text then would deal only with the judgement of the wicked.
Will cause fire to go forth, &c. Cf. 2 Thess. i. 8, ii. 8; Is. xi. 4; 4 Ezra xii. 33, xiii. 38, 49: see my Apoc. Baruch xxix, 3, note. The Ethiopic is literally ‘will cause fire to ascend.’ I have taken it to be an awkward rendering of dvjce nip.
As though they had not been created. From Job x. 19 (Dillmann),. The text seems to teach annihilation.
19. The vision of Babylon. Of. Isa. xiii. 1 (LXX) Spacis jy eldev *Hoalas vids ’Apds xara BaBvAdvos.
2x. The descent of the Reloved into Sheol... is written in the section, where the Lord says: ‘Behold, my Son will understand.’ written in the section, where the Lord says: ‘Behold, my Son will understand.’ And all these things, behold they are written [in the Psalms] in the parables of David, the son of Jesse, and in the Proverbs of Solomon his son, and in the words of Korah, and Ethan the Israelite, and in the words of Asaph, and in the rest of the Psalms also which the angel of the Spirit inspired, 22. (Namely) in those which have not the name written,
This quotation is taken from Isa. lii. 13, where the LXX has "180d ouvfioe 6 mais pov. Tais has been rendered ‘son’ by the Ethiopie translator. It is hard to recognize in Isa. lii. 13-liii. any reference to his Descent in Hades. Perhaps it isin the LXX of liii, 8 dwd tév dvopi@v. Tod Aaod pou HxOn cis Odvarov. The last three words imply myab 22, which Cheyne accepts as the original text over against. the Mass. 105 you. The LXX phrase may have been interpreted in this way by early Christians.
[in the Psalms] in the parables. ‘In the Psalms’ may be regarded as an explanatory marginal gloss on ‘in the parables’ (=& rais napaBodais), which was subsequently incorporated in the text ; mapaBorn goes back of course to wD and must bear in such cases the meaning of the latter. In the present instance ‘parable’ (= wD) means ‘song’ or ‘poem,’ as in Pss, xlix. 4 ; Ixxviii. 2; Job xxvii. 1; xxix. 1.
Dillmann, on the other hand, takes the words ‘in the Psalms’ as a general title embracing ‘the parables of David’ and ‘the proverbs of Solomon.’
Ethan, the Israelite. Here the text shows dependence on the LXX. See titles of Pss. lxxxviii. and lxxxix, where Ethan is called 7 "IopanAciry ; and 1 Kings iv. 27, where he is surnamed tov "ECpanhirny (A, Zapeirnv B).
Inspired literally = caused to speak,
22. In those which have not the name written. I.e. the Psalms to which no author’s name is prefixed. For ‘in those’ (bc), a reads ‘and in those.’ and in the words of my father Amos, and of Hosea the prophet, and of Micah and Joel and Nahum and Jonah and Obadiah and Habakkuk and Haggai and Zephaniah and Zechariah and Malachi, and
in the words of Joseph the Just and in the words of Daniel.
My father Amos. See note on i. 2.
Amos, and of Hosea, dc. We have here a list of the twelve Minor Prophets, The order in which they are enumerated is neither that of the Hebrew nor of the LXX, but comes nearer to the latter. The list of these prophets in 4 Ezra i. 39, 40 follows the order of the LXX. It is remarkable that there is no mention of Isaiah and Jeremiah in our text. The prophecies of the former, it is true, have been referred to elsewhere (see iii, 31, iv. 19, vi. 1), and as the writer claims to be Isaiah, such an omission may seem natural. The same peculiar phenomena, however (as Nitzsch has remarked), are attested by 4 Ezra i. 39, 40, where not only are Isaiah and Jeremiah omitted but also Daniel.
Words of Joseph the Just. This book is probably with Dillmann to be identified with the pseudepigraph Ipocevx?) rod Iwanp (see Fabricius, Cod. Pseud. V. T. i. pp. 761-769; Schiirer, Gesch. d. Jiidischen Volkes, iii. 265, 266). It appears on several lists of extra-canonical books and is said to have consisted of 1100 o7rixor. Marshall (Hastings’ Bible Dictionary, ii. 778) has drawn attention to its antichristian character. The only existing fragments of this work, for the preservation of which we are indebted almost exclusively to the writings of Origen, clearly betray this animus. See In Joan. tom. ii. c. 25 (Lommatsch, i. 147, 148), Fragm. Comment. in Genes. tom. iii. ¢. 9 (Lommaitsch, viii. 30, 31) Philocalia, ¢. 23 (Lommatsch, xxv. 223, 224), In all these passages it is not Joseph, however, but Jacob who is the speaker. Jacob claims in these to be ‘an angel of God,’ ‘the first servant in God’s presence’ (6 év mpoawmg Set Aerroupyos mpHTos), whereas the angel who wrestled with Jacob and who was identified by Christians with the Messiah was only eighth in rank. But, most remarkable of all, Jacob declares himself to be the ‘first-begotten of every creature animated by God’ (mpwréyovos mavrds (wou (wov-
Martyrdom of Isaiah =v. r>-14, v. 1. On account of these visions, therefore, Beliar was wroth with Isaiah, and he dwelt in the heart of Manasseh and he sawed him in sunder with a wooden saw. 2. And when Isaiah was being sawn in sunder Balchira stood up, accusing him, and all the false prophets stood up, laughing: and rejoicing because of Isaiah. 3. And Balchira, with the aid of Mechémbéchtis, stood up ‘before Isaiah, [laughing] deriding; 4. And Balchira said to Isaiah: ‘Say: “I have lied in all that I have spoken,
pévov b1d Geov). This phrase undoubtedly recalls Col. i. 15 mpuwrdétokes Taans erigews,
On the other hand, Nitzsch (Theologische Studien und Kritiken, 1830, pp. 228, 229) thinks that the Joseph referred to in the text is Joshua the son of Josedek, mentioned in Sir. xlix. 12, or Joseph the husband of Mary, Matt. i. 19 (@v Siatos),
v. 1. And he sawed him in sunder. With these words the martyrdom of Isaiah is resumed which broke off at ii. 12.
3. Balchird, with the aid of Mechémbéchis. So allMSS. There is no asyndeton as Beer supposes. So Zohak acts with the aid of Ahriman. See Introd. pp. xlvii-xlviii. Dillmann emends into ‘Belchira and Mechémbéchis,’ because the verbs ‘stood up’ and ‘deriding,’ are in the plural. We must rather change the verbs into the singular. Balchira is the tool of Beliar, and is identified with him in verse 9. This identification appears also in Ambrose: see on verse 4. For Mechémbéchis see ii. 5.
[Laughing] deriding. ‘Laughing’ is a doublet: there is no copula in ab. It is added in the late MS. c.
4-8. Balchira (0. Beliar ac) tempts Isaiah.
4. Say: ‘I have lied in all that I have spoken.’ These words and | part of verse 8 are quoted (as Laurence, p. 148, discovered) in the Commentary of Ambrose on Ps. exviii (ed. Bened. vol. i. 1124): ‘Fertur prophetae cuidam, et plerique ferunt, quod Esaiae, in carcere posito, cum mole imminentis urgeretur exitii, dixisse diabolum; Dic quia non a Domino locutus es, quae dixisti, et omnium in te mentes affectusque mutabo, ut quiindignantur injuriam absolutionem in te conferant,’
CHAPTER V. I-II 41
and likewise the ways of Manasseh are good and right. 5. And the ways also of Balchiré and of his associates are good.”’ 6. And this he said to him when he began to be sawn in sunder. 7. But Isaiah was (absorbed) in a vision of the Lord, and though his eyes were open, he saw them (not). 8. And Balchira spake thus to Isaiah: ‘Say what I say unto thee and I will turn their heart, and I will compel Manasseh and the princes of Judah and the people and all Jerusalem to reverence thee. g. And Isaiah answered and said: ‘So far as I have utterance (I say): Damned and accursed be thou and all thy powers and all thy house. 10. For thou canst not take (from me) aught save the skin of my body.’ 11. And they seized and sawed in sunder Isaiah, the son of Amoz, with a wooden
7. Saw them (not). The negative must be supplied as in vi. Io.
8. Balchiré. So be. a ‘Milchirdés.’ See notes on ii. 12, v. 3. Balchira, the tool of Beliar, again proceeds to tempt Isaiah. See quotation from Ambrose in note on verse 4.
9. So far as I have utterance (I say): Damned and accursed. So b. ais secondary: ‘So faras I am concerned, accursed—that is to say—.’ The curse is directed against the false prophet as a man: hence ‘all thy house,’ and also against him as a plenipotentiary of Satan: hence ‘all thy powers.’ Both these aspects are recognized in the Greek Legend: nardOepd oo, Medxia pevdonpopijra, 5idBore.
11, With a wooden saw. Greek Legend, iii. 16 év mpiom fvdivy mpiobjva ai’rév. Hence the passage in Justin Mart. cum Tryph. CX. 14, 15 wept rdov Odvarov ‘Hoalov, dv mpion fvdivw éenpicare, is all but certainly derived from our text. Cf. also Tertullian, De Patientia, 14 ‘His patientiae viribus secatur Esaias et de domino non tacet’ ; also Scorpiace, 8; Ps.—Tertullian, Adv. Mare, iii. 177.
saw. 12. And Manasseh and Balchira and the false prophets and the princes and the people [and] all stood looking on. 13. And to the prophets who were with him he said before he had been sawn in sunder: ‘Go ye to the region of Tyre and Sidon; for for me only hath God mingled the cup.’ 14. And when Isaiah was being sawn in sunder, he neither cried aloud nor wept, but his lips spake with the Holy Spirit until he was sawn in twain.
v. 15, 16= 15. This Beliar did to Isaiah through Balchiraé and
oditerial Manasseh ; for Sammael was very wrathful against Isaiah from the days of Hezekiah, king of Judah, on account of the things which he had seen regarding the Beloved, 16. And on account of the destruction of Sammael, which he had seen through the Lord, while Hezekiah his father was still king. And he did according to the will of Satan.
Tur VISION WHICH ISAIAH THE SON OF AMOS SAY.
vi-xir-4o Vi. 1. In the twentieth year of the reign of bran Hezekiah, king of Judah, came Isaiah the son of Amoz, and Josab the son of Isaiah to Hezekiah to
For later references see Otto’s note on Justin Mart. cum Tryph. cXX. 15. On the legend see Introd., pp. xlv-xlix.
12. Balchiré. So bc. a reads Melachira. See note on ii. 12.
[And]. I have bracketed ‘and’ as it seems an intrusion.
13. The cup. On the meaning of the phrase cf. Matt. xx. 22,
14. Neither cried aloud nor wept. See quotation from Tertullian on the endurance of Isaiah in note on v. 11.
vi. Title. I have with S connected the words ‘in the twentieth year . . . king of Judah’ with what follows, rather than with what precedes as E and L’*,
CHAPTERS V. I2—VI. 5 43
Jerusalem "from Galgal4™ 2. And (having entered) he sat down on the couch of the king, "and they brought him a seat, but he would not sit (thereon)". 3. "And when Isaiah began to speak the words of faith and truth with King Hezekiah" all the princes of Israel were seated and the eunuchs and the councillors of the king. And there were there "forty" prophets and sons of the prophets: they had come from the villages and from the mountains and the plains when they had heard that Isaiah was coming from Galgalé to Hezekiah. 4. "And they had come"to salute him "and to hear his words. 5. And that he might place his hands upon them," and that they might prophesy and that he might
1. From Galgaléd. These words are supported by Greek Legend, i. 3, but omitted by S L?.
2. (Having entered). I have restored these words since they are found in Greek Legend, ii. 1, S and L’,
And they brought him a seat, but he would not sit (thereon). Though these words are omitted by SL’, they are no doubt genuine, since they have the support of the Greek Legend, i. 5, see p. 141. Isaiah chooses the couch of the king and not a stool orseat torecline on. Isit because he is going to have a vision?
3. And when Isaiah. So ab. c ‘And then.’
All the princes. MSS. insert ‘and’ before these words after a Semitic idiom; but if reading of « above is followed, the ‘and’ must be read.
Forty prophets. ‘Forty’ is omitted by S L’, but Greek Legend, i. 3, supports text.
Villages. I take the Ethiopic to be a rendering of «dupa in accordance with S L?.
Galgaié. On the various forms of this proper name see Critical Notes, 8, 12, 17, p. ror.
4, 5. These verses are very much curtailed in S L?.
That they might prophesy and that he might hear their prophecy. This reading of ac is supported by SL’: ‘annunciare ei hear their prophecy: "and they were all before Isaiah." 6. And when Isaiah was speaking "to Hezekiah" the words of truth and faith, they all heard ta door which one had opened and f the voice of the Holy Spirit. 7. And the king summoned all the prophets and all the people who were found there, and they came. And Micaiah and the aged Ananias and Joel "and Josab" sat on his right hand (and‘on the left), 8. And it came to pass when they had all heard the voice of the Holy Spirit, they all worshipped on their knees, and glorified the God Tof truth", the Most High "who is in the upper world and who sits on High the Holy One and" who rests among His holy ones. g. "And they gave glory to Him™+ who had thus bestowed a door in an alien
quae ventura erant.’ 0’s text is therefore secondary: ‘that he might prophesy, that they might hear his prophecy.’
6. A door which one had opened. According to verse 9, this door is in the world. Hence Liicke’s idea that it is in heaven— as in Rev. iv. r:—seems to be wrong. E seemscorrupt. See note on verse 9, S runs: ‘ When he was speaking [all] the words of truth, the Holy Spirit came upon him and all heard and saw the words of the Holy Spirit.’ L? is practically the same, see PP. 99-100.
q. And they came. b omits, but SL? support a.
Aged. LI? and S connect this adjective also with Micaiah.
And Josab. Omitted by S L*.
(And on the left), Added from 8; cf. L*.
8. The Most High... who rests among His holy ones. So LXX of Isa. lvii. 15 "Yynoros év dyiow dvanavépevos. The words that immediately precede in’ the LXX may have been in the mind of the writer: 6 tiioros éy ipndois xaroumdy tov aidva* dytos év dyios dvopa aitG. See on x. 6.
9. Who had thus bestowed... onaman. Text corrupt. Read
CHAPTER VI. 5-14 45
world, had bestowed (it) on a mant. 10. And as he was speaking in the Holy Spirit in the hearing of all, he became silent "and his mind was taken up from him™ and he saw not the men that stood before him, 11. Though his eyes indeed were open. Moreover his lips were silent "and the mind in his body was taken up from him.” 12. But his breath was in him; "for he was seeing a vision, 13. And the angel who was sent to make him see was not of this firmament, nor was he of the angels of glory of this world, but he had come from the seventh heaven." 14. And the people who stood near did (not) think, but jthe circle of the prophets (did)}, that the holy Isaiah had been taken up.
‘who had bestowed such an excellence of words on a man in the world.’ See Critical Note.
10. And his mind was taken up from him. Omitted by SL*. The passage however is genuine. It was before the writer of the Greek Legend, i. 14 7p0n 6 &taroyopes abrov.
Saw not. See v. 7.
11. And the mind... from him. This is practically a repetition of the clause in verse 10. Though S L’ omit, it is probably genuine ; for the three versions contain the repetition : ‘he became silent’ (verse 10), ‘his lips were silent’ (verse 11).
12. His breath was in him. L? gives: ‘inspiratio sancti spiritus erat cum illo.’ So S but that it omits sancti. But the Greek Legend, ii. 2, supports our text and rendering. It reproduces this clause: fv év airé éuptonpa (whs. “Eupionpya is used by Symmachus in Job xxxvii. ro to render now. The text of L? is secondary. It is an explanatory gloss on the other meaning of éuptonpa =‘ inspiration.’
1g. Firmament. Cf. iv. 2, viii. 9-13.
14. The people... did (not) think. Negative is restored in accordance with S L?.
+ The circle... (didyt. Read with SL’: ‘the prophets recognized.’
15. And the vision which the holy Isaiah saw was not from this world but from the world which is hidden. from the flesh. 16. And after Isaiah had seen this vision, he narrated it to Hezekiah, and to Josab his son "and to the other prophets who had come. 17. But the leaders and the eunuchs and the people did not hear, but only Samna the scribe, and + {jéaqém, and + Asaph the recorder; for these also were doers of righteousness, and the + sweet smellt of the Spirit was upon them. But the people had not heard; for Micaiah and Josab his son had caused them to go forth, when the wisdom of this world had been taken from him and he became as one dead.
Had been taken up. E gives ‘had been taken away.’ By, changing the vocalization of one letter we get the proper sense which is attested by SL’.
15. The flesh, E, which I have rendered idiomatically ‘the flesh’ means more usually ‘his flesh.’ S$ L? give ‘all flesh,’
16. Andafter Isaiah had seen this vision. Morefully inSL?*. See inloc.
Josab his son. From these words to their recurrence in vii. 1, SL’ are wanting through homoioteleuton.
17. Samna. See note oni. 5.
Ejéagém, that is Joaqem or Joachim. Is this Joah (MN) LXX ‘Iwax) the son of Asaph mentioned in Isa. xxxvi.3? If so, we should emend the text and read: ‘Zjoaqém the son of Asaph.’ Dillmann identifies him with Eliakim mentioned in the same passage, but the form of the word is slightly more in favour of the former view.
These also were doers of righteousness. According to be ‘These also had deeds of righteousness.’
The +sweet smell}. E here = eiwdia, which may be a corruption of edSoxia. The same corruption is found in the Greek MSS. of Ecclesiasticus xliii.26, Thus we should have: ‘The good pleasure of the Spirit was upon them,’ Or is edwiia corrupt for evodia ?
And he became. a omits,
CHAPTERS VI. 15—VII. 7 47
vii. 1. And the vision which Isaiah saw, he told to Hezekiah and Josab his son" and Micaiah and the rest of the prophets, (and) said: 2. * At this moment*, when I prophesied according to the (words) heard which ye heard, I saw a glorious angel not like unto the glory of the angels which I used always to see, but possessing such glory and tpositiont that I cannot.describe "the glory" of that angel’. 3. And having seized me by my hand * he raised me on high *, and I said unto him: ‘ Who art thou, and what is thy name, and whither art thou raising me on high? for strength was given me to speak with him.’ 4. And he said unto me: ‘When I have raised thee on high [through the (various) degrees| and made thee see the vision, on account of which I have been sent, then thou wilt understand who I am: but my name thou dost not know: 5. Because thou wilt return into this thy body, but whither I am raising thee on high, thou wilt see; "for for this purpose have I been sent.” 6. And I rejoiced because he spake courteously to me. 7. And he said unto me: ‘ Hast thou rejoiced
vii. 2, *At this moment*, Emended. See Critical Note. Text = ‘and this was.’
2. +Position+. E, which = function, administration or order (rafts), seems corrupt, How is this to be reconciled with the reading of the L?and S: which is ‘lumen’? L! has ‘sanctam (claritatem).’ See, however, Greek Legend, ii. 6.
3. * He raised me on high*. Emended. See Critical Note,
5. Whither. See verse 3. Land S have ‘ quando.’
For for this purpose have I been sent. Observe that L' has these words, though S L? omit them. :
7. This verse appears at much greater length in the S L’, but our text agrees with L', because I have spoken courteously to thee?’ And he said: ‘And thou wilt see how a greater also than I am will speak courteously and peaceably with thee. 8, And +His Father also who is greater thou wilt see; for for this purpose have I been sent from the seventh heaven in order to explain all these things unto thee.’ 9. And we ascended to the firmament, I and he, and there I saw Sammael and his hosts, and there was great fighting therein and the *angels* of Satan were envying one another. zo, And as above so on the earth also; for the likeness of that which is in the firmament is here on the earth. 11. And I said unto the angel (who was with me): ‘(What is this war and) what is this envying?’ 12, And he said unto me: ‘So has it been since this world was made until now, and this war (will continue) till He, whom thou shalt see will come
Will speak. SL? = ‘wish to speak.’ Cf. note on verse 5.
8, +His Father also who is greatert. Corrupt. L'=eminentiorem ipsius majoris. So practically S save that it has a doublet. Hence read: ‘One more eminent than the greater Himself.’
9. The firmament, dc. See x. 29-31, where the domain of the evil angels embraces two provinces, the firmament and the air.
Sammael.and his hosts. So also Li, S L? agree in presenting a slightly different text, and apparently less original. These two versions together with Greek Legend, ii. 9, give Satan instead of Sammael. For the presence of evil beings in the heavens or on their outskirts see my edition of the Slavonic Enoch, Introd. pp. xxx-xlvii.
*Angels*, E has ‘words’ =Adyot, which I take to be a corruption of dyyeAo, which is the reading presupposed by L',
11. (What is this war and). Supplied from Li, SL? = ‘What is this war and envying and battle?’ See x. 29.
12, So it has been since this world was made. S L’ avoid this statement: see p. 106,
CHAPTER VII. 7-15 49
and destroy him. 13. And afterwards he caused me to ascend (to that which is) above the firmament: which is the (first) heaven. 14. And there I saw a throne in the midst, and on his right and on his left were angels. 15. "And (the angels on the left were) not like unto the angels who stood’ on the right", but those who stood on the right had the greater glory, and they all praised with one voice, "and there was a throne in the midst", and those who were on the left gave praise after them ;
Destroy him. Of. x. 12. S L? add ‘with the breath of His power.’
1g. (To that which is), Here we have exceptionally to follow L? § against E L', and insert these words.
(First). Omitted by L' E : inserted from L’ S.
14. A throne, i.v. an angel belonging to the order called ‘Thrones,’ @pévor, mentioned in Col. i. 16; Test. Lev. 3; and in vii. 15, 21, 27, viii. 8 and xi. 25 of our present text, and Greek Legend, ii. 40. So the text of E L', and Greek Legend, ii. 12, in the present passage. S L’ on the other hand, require the term to be construed in its ordinary sense; for they add ‘and on it there sat an angel in great glory.’ These words may belong to the original text; for they recur in vii. 19, 27, 29, 31, 33, 35, 37-
15. The angels on the right are superior to those on the left. Cf. vii. 29, 30, 33, 34. This difference prevails till the sixth heaven : see viii. 6-7.
(The angels on the left were). These words are supplied from L', L? S omit the words ‘ And (the angels on the left were) not like unto the angels who stood on the right.” The omission seems due to homoioteleuton.
And there was a throne in the midst. The throne here may be an angel as in the preceding verse. The entire clause is omitted by S L’, but L' supports our text,
And those who were on the left gave praise after them. Here E, which reads ‘and they praised him and those who were on the left after them,’ has inverted the order of the words.
E but their voice was not such as the voice of those on the right, nor their praise like the praise of those. 16. And I asked the angel who conducted me, and I said unto him: ‘To whom is this praise sent?’ 17, And he said unto me: ‘(It is sent) to the praise of (Him who sitteth in) the seventh heaven: to Him + who rests in the holy world f, and to His Beloved, whence I have been sent to thee. [Thither is it sent.] 18. And again he made me to ascend to the second heaven. Now the height of that heaven is the same as from the heaven to the earth [and to the firmament]. 19. And (I saw there, as) in the first heaven, angels on the right and on the left, "and a throne in the midst, and the praise of the angels in the second
The true order is preserved in L' which I have followed in text. L' is here supported by S. LL? is corrupt.
17. To the praise of (Him who sitteth in) the seventh heaven. I have emended the text. See Critical Note 3, p. 107. See also vi, 8. The subject is revived in x. 2.
tWho rests in the holy world}. So a. 0b gives ‘who rests among the holy ones of the world.’ Both are certainly wrong. L' has ‘qui est perpetui saeculi.”’ L?S omit. The word ‘rests’ may have been borrowed from vi. 8, Lis here to be preferred. The original may have been 70d xaroxodvros Tov aidva = ‘who inhabiteth eternity.’ See Isa, lvii. 15 quoted on vi. 8.
18. Of that heaven. L'S omit ‘that,’ which is probably a rendering of the Greek Article, as is frequently the case, Better therefore render ‘of the heaven’ as in L' §,
(And to the firmament]. Though this phrase goes back to G, for it is found in L', I have bracketed it as it is against the sense and is omitted by L’ S.
19. (I saw there, as). Supplied from L! L? §.
19-20. And the praise of the angels ... in the second heaven. Though .L! is wanting from this verse forwards, our text has the support
i)
CHAPTER VII. 15-23 51
heaven; and he who sat on the throne in the second heaven was more glorious than all (the rest)" 20, And there was great glory in the second heaven, and the praise also was not like the praise of those who were in the first heaven. 21. And I fell on my face to worship him, but the angel who conducted me did not permit me, but said unto me: ‘ Worship neither throne nor angel which belongs to the six heavens—for for this cause I was sent to conduct thee—until I tell thee "in the seventh heaven", 22. For above all the heavens and their angels has thy throne been placed, and thy garments and thy crown which thou shalt see.’ 23. And I rejoiced with great joy, that those who love the
of Greek Legend, ii, 14. On the words ‘ he who sat on the thronein the second heaven,’ see note on vii. 14. ar. I fell on my face to worship him. See Rev. xix. 10, xxii,
8, 9.
Worship neither throne nor angel. See vii. 14 note.
Which belongs to the six h s. L’, ‘ofthat heaven’: S, ‘from heaven.’
For for this cause. Text reads ‘whence.’ But since the angel is from the seventh heaven (cf. vi. 13, vii. 8, 27), this cannot be right. The right text is supplied by L? ‘ propter hoe,’ and S ‘nam propter hoc.’ All three renderings can be explained as equivalents of 8ev, as Dillmann conjectured.
Uniil I tell thee. The text could also be rendered, ‘except Him whom I tell thee of.’ This would agree with L’, ‘sed tantum quem ego dixero tibi.’ On the other hand, Greek Legend, ii. 22, appears to support the rendering given above.
22. § L? (see p. 109) are clearly inferior to Ein this verse. E alone gives the sense required by the next verse.
Thy throne. See viii. 26 note.
Thy garments. See iv. 16 note.
23. See the somewhat different version of S L’, p. 110.
EQ
Most High and His Beloved will afterwards ascend thither by the angel of the Holy Spirit. 24. And he raised me to the third heaven, and in like manner I saw those upon the right and upon the left, and there was a throne there in the midst; but the memorial of this world is there unheard of. 25. "And I said to the angel who was with me ;" for the glory of my 2 appearance was undergoing trans-_ formation as I ascended to each heaven in turn : ‘Nothing Tof the vanity" of that world is here named.’
26. And he answered me, and said unto me: ‘ Nothing is named on account of its weakness, and nothing is hidden there of what is done.’ 27." And I wished to learn how it is known, and he answered me saying: ‘When I have raised thee to the seventh heaven whence I was sent, to that which is above these, then thou shalt know that there is nothing hidden from the thrones and from those who dwell in the heavens and from the angels.” And the praise wherewith they praised and the glory of him who
24. There was a throne there in the midst. So b. ac add against b and L’S, ‘and one who sat.’
Memorial: practically =‘ name,’ as in Prov. x. 7, Eccles. ix. 5.
Is there unheard of: lit.‘is named.’ This sense of évopa{w is found in Eph. v. 3.
25-27. The more remote each heaven is from the earth, the smaller is the impression made upon it by the things of earth. Yet none of the things of earth can escape the knowledge of the inhabitants of the heavens.
25. Slightly different order in L?S.
Glory of my appearance. S L? ‘glory of my spirit.’
a7. SL’ are very defective here. Greek Legend, ii. 17, supports our text, See also ix. 19-23.
CHAPTER VII. 23-35 53
sat on the throne was great, "and the glory of the angels on the right hand and on the left was beyond that of the heaven which was below them™. 28. And again he raised me to the fourth heaven, and the height from the third to the fourth heaven was greater than from the earth to the firmament. 29. And there again I saw those who were on the right hand and those who were on the left, "and him who sat on the throne was in the midst", and there also they were praising. 30. And the praise and glory of the angels on the right was greater than that of those on the left. 31. And again the glory of him who sat on the throne was greater than that of the angels on the right, and their glory was beyond that of those who were below. 32. And he raised me to the fifth heaven. 33. And again I saw "those upon the right hand and on the left, and him who sat on the throne possessing greater glory than those of the fourth heaven". 34. And the glory of those on the right hand was greater than that of those "on the left [from the third to the fourth]. 35. And the glory
29. Him who sat on... midst. These words may be interpolated by a scribe who did not understand the technical meaning of ‘throne.’ See Greek Legend, ii. 18, also L’S.
29-30. Omitted by L? through homoioteleuton.
32. He raised me. SL?=‘TI ascended.’
32, 33. Cf. fragment of Zephaniah Apocalypse in Clem. Alex. Strom. v. 11. 77 «al dvédaBév pe mvedyua kat dvqveyrév pe eis obpavdy méuntov Kat ePedpouw dyyédous Kadoupévous xupious .. . ipvodvras Ody dppyrov tynorov.
g2-36. Very defective in SL’, verse 35 being wholly omitted.
34. [From the third to the fourth]. A disturbing gloss, of him who was on the throne was greater than that of the angels on the right hand". 36. And their praise was more glorious than that of the fourth heaven. 37. "And I praised Him, who is not named and the Only-begotten" who dwelleth in the heavens, whose name is not known to any flesh, who has bestowed such glory on the several heavens, "and who makes great the glory of the angels, and more excellent the glory of Him who sitteth on the throne™.
viii. 1. And again he raised me into the air of the sixth heaven, and I saw such glory as I had not seen in the five heavens. 2. *For I saw* angels possessing great glory. 3. And the praise there was holy and wonderful. 4. And I said to the angel who conducted me: ‘ What is this which I see, my lord?’ 5. And he said: ‘Iam not thy
36. See Slav. En. evi 9, on the singing of the angels in the
fifth heaven.
37. SL’ give a widely divergent text from the above. See pp. 112-113.
Who is not named =dppyros. See quotation from Clem. Alex. under vii. 32, 33.
The Only-begotten. This phrase, though not here in SL’, is found in viii. 7 of S and viii. 25 of both S and L?. Our text presupposes John i. 16, 18, iii. 16, 18.
Such glory on the several heavens. L?S=‘such glory on the angels over the several heavens.’
viii. 1. Glory. SL*=‘ great glory.’
In the five heavens. SL?=‘in the fifth heaven.’
2. *For Isaw*. For this emendation under guidance of S and L’, see Critical Note. MSS. give ‘when I ascended’ and connect these words with verse 1. At the close of this verse S L? add an additional clause: see p. 113.
5. I am... thy fellow servant. The word rendered ‘fellow
CHAPTERS VII. 35—VIII. 9 35
lord, but thy fellow servant.’ "6, And again I asked him, and I said unto him: ‘Why are there not angelic fellow servants (on the left)?" 7. And he said: ‘From the sixth heaven there are no longer *angels* on the left, nor a throne set in the midst, but (they are directed) by the power of the seventh heaven, where dwelleth He that is not named "and the Elect One, whose name has not been made known, and none of the heavens can learn His name. 8. For it is He alone to whose voice all the heavens and thrones give answer. T have "therefore been empowered and" sent to raise thee here that thou mayest see this glory, 9. And that thou mayest see the Lord of all those heavens
servant’ more usually means ‘ companion,’ but occasionally it is a rendering of cdvdovAos (Matt. xviii. 28, 31) as here. Of. Greek Legend, ii. 11, where these words are found: obm éya Kiptos, dAAG odviovdds cou cipi. See Rev. xix. 10, xxii. 8, 9. j
6. Angelic fellow servants. Literally =‘ fellow servants of the angels.’ ;
q. *Angels*. See note 10, p. 113. MSS.=‘and upward.’
(They are directed). I have supplied these words under guidance of L?S. The former gives ‘ordinationem habent’; the latter =‘administrati sunt.’
Where dwelleth He that is not named =8nov éoriv 6 dppnros. This appears to be correct. L?S, which are corrupt, may in part be explained from it. S=‘ubiest celeber ille’=dzov éoriy 6 pyrés. L?=‘ubi est dives.” ‘Dives’ may represent dp@ovos, corrupt for dppnytos (?). oa
And the Elect One. S =‘ et unigenitus filius ejus.’ L? has merely ‘filius Dei.’ The ‘unigenitus’ in S does not seem to be primitive, though the term occurs in vii, 37 of our text. See note on i. 4.
8. Thrones. S L? give ‘angels '—a general for a specific term.
g-10. See SL’, which omit 10 and give another turn to 9. Verse 10 anticipates what is recounted in x. 8 sqq.
' and these thrones, 10. "Undergoing (successive) / transformation until He resembles your form and
likeness? “11. I indeed say unto thee, Isaiah; No man about to return into a body of that world has ascended or"seen what thou seest or perceived what thou hast perceived and what thou wilt see. 12. For it has been permitted to thee in the lot of the Lord to come hither [and from thence comes the power of the sixth heaven and of the air]. 13. And I magnified my Lord with praise, in that through His lot I should come hither. 14. And he said: "Hear, furthermore, therefore, this also from thy fellow servant"; when from the body by the *will of God* thou hast ascended hither, then thou wilt receive the garment "which thou seest, and like-
11. See viii. 23. E=‘Noman...hasseen this or ascended or perceived what thou seest and what thou wilt see.’ I have transposed ‘has seen’ and ‘ascended’ under guidance of Greek Legend, ii. 29. Next from S we see that the clause ‘ what thou seest’ should follow after ‘seen’ and ‘what thou wilt see’ after ‘ perceived.’
12. In the lot of the Lord=through sharing in the lot of the Lord. Seei.1g. Eadds against S L? ‘in the lot of the cross,’ which I have taken to be a marginal explanatory gloss subsequently embodied in the text.
Hither, i.e. the seventh heaven.
[And from thence &c.]. I have bracketed these words as the interpolation of an Ethiopic scribe, based on viii. 7, not quite rightly apprehended.
13. Should come hither. S=‘am departing, L?=‘am walking.’
14. Hear. . . fellow servant. SL? omit.
From the body by the *will of God*. Emended. See Critical Note, p. 115. ac=‘from the alien body by the angel of the spirit thou hast ascended.’ b= ‘in an alien body the God of the spirit has made thee to ascend.’
Which thou seest .. . wilt see. L?S omit.
CHAPTER VIII. 10-21 57
wise other numbered garments laid up (there) thou wilt see", 15. And then thou wilt become equal to the angels of the seventh heaven.’ 16. And he raised me up into the sixth heaven, and there were no (angels) on the left, nor a throne in the midst, but all had one appearance and their (power of) praise was equal. 17. And (power) was given to me also, and I also praised along with them and that angel also, and our praise was like theirs. 18. And there they + all named the primal Father + and His Beloved, "the Christ” and the Holy Spirit, all with one voice. ig. And (their voice) was not like the voice of the angels in the five heavens, 20. [Nor like their discourse] but the voice was different there, and there was much light there. 21. And then, when I was in the sixth heaven I thought the light which I had seen in the five
Garment. See viii. 26; ix. 9, 24, 25; xi. 3. 5.
16. No (angels) on the left. SL? have ‘no angels on the right or on the left,’ but our text is correct: see above, viii. 7.
All had one appearance. This statement appears to be derived from Slav. En. xix. 1, ‘There is no difference in their countenance,’ where the angels of the sixth heaven are described.
17. See S L? for slight variations of the text.
18. + All named the primal Father}. So ab. c omits ‘primal.’ We should emend and read with S L’, ‘they praised the Father of all.’
Christ. This title, which goes back to G' and possibly to G (see x. 7 note), is found likewise in ix. 5, 13, 17, X. 7, in all of which passages it is absent from L’S.
His Beloved. So a, be ‘the Beloved.’
19. The five heavens. S L? preferably ‘in the fifth heaven.’
20. [Wor like their discourse]. A doublet. S L? omit.
21. The light. Text could be translated ‘that light,’ but the Greek article is frequently rendered by the demonstrative in Ethiopic.
heavens to be but darkness. 22. And I rejoiced and praised Him who hath bestowed such lights on those who wait for His promise. 23. And I besought the angel who conducted me that I should not henceforth return to the carnal world. 24. I say indeed unto you," Hezekiah and Josab my. son and Micaiah" that there is much darkness here. 25. And the angel who conducted me discovered what I thought and said: ‘If in this light thou dost rejoice, how much more wilt thou rejoice, when in the seventh heaven thou seest the light, where is the Lord and His Beloved [whence I have been sent, who is to be called “Son” in this world. 26. Not (yet) hath been manifested He who shall be in the corruptible world] and the garments, and the thrones, and the crowns which are laid up for the righteous, "for those who trust in that Lord who will descend in your form. For the
Five heavens. L?S=‘ fifth heaven.’
22. Such lights. L? ‘such joy,’ S ‘such things.’
Wait for His promise. & L'=‘ receive His mercy.’
23. See viii. rz.
24. SL? omit the proper names.
25. Discovered what I thought and. L?S omit.
The Lord... in this world. SL?=‘the heavenly Father and His Only-begotten Son.’
25, 26. I have bracketed the words ‘whence I have been sent... in the corruptible world.’ They are omitted by SL? and introduce confusion into the context. By excising them we restore unity to these verses. The interpolation is most probably due to an Ethiopic scribe. The unusual form of the Ethiopic in verse 26 supports this suggestion. In ix. 5, 13, 17, &c., the kindred phrases are derived from the Greek.
Who is to be called ‘Son’ in this world. Cf, ix. 5.
CHAPTERS VIII. 22—IX. 5 59
light which is there is great and wonderful 27. And as concerning thy not returning into the body thy days are not yet fulfilled for coming here.” 28. And when I heard (that) I was troubled, and he said: ‘Do not be troubled.’
ix. 1. And he took me into the air of the seventh heaven, and moreover I heard a voice saying: ‘How far will he ascend that dwelleth *in the flesh *?’ and I feared and trembled. 2. And "when I trembled, behold” * I heard * from hence another voice "being sent forth, and" saying: ‘It is permitted to the holy Isaiah to ascend hither; for here is his garment.’ 3. And I asked the angel who was with me "and said": ‘Who is he who forbade me and who is he who * permitted * me to ascend?’ 4. And he said unto me: ‘He who forbade thee, this is he * who is over* the praise-giving of the sixth heaven. 5. And He who * permitted * thee,
ix. 1. *In the flesh*, E here reads ‘among aliens,’ which’ I have taken to be corrupt as S L’ give in carne and Greek Legend, ii. 23, év capxi.
2. And when I trembled, &c. Eis corrupt, but admits easily of emendation. See Critical Note, p.118. As it stands, it runs: ‘And he said unto me when I trembled: Behold, from hence another voice has come, being sent forth, and it says.’
From hence. This gives the wrong sense. Greek Legend, ii. 23, has é¢ vv dyw. This is right in meaning, for the second voice is from the seventh heaven, the first voice being from the sixth: see verses 4, 5.
3. Who *permitted*. E has here ‘turned to,’ which gives a wrong sense of 6 émtpérav. The verse is found in Greek in Greek Legend, ii. 24.
4. * Who is over*, Unemended text=‘on whomis.’ A slight change gives ‘who is over’=6 égeoras éni, Greek Legend, ii. 25.
5. *Permitted*, See on verse 3.
this is "thy Lord God, the Lord Christ, who will be called “ Jesus” in the world", but His name thou canst not hear till thou hast ascended out of thy body.’ 6. And he raised me up into the seventh heaven, and I saw there a wonderful light and angels innumerable. 7. And there I saw all the righteous "from the time of Adam. 8. And there I saw the holy Abel and all the righteous. 9. And there I saw Enoch and all who were with him, stript of the garments of the flesh, and I saw them -in their garments of the zpper world, and they ware "Tike angels", standing there in great glory.
Thy Lord. So a. c¢ gives ‘our Lord.’ Greek Legend, ii. 25, has 6 Kupios, L?S ‘filius Dei.’
God, the Lord Christ . . . world. In deference to Dillmann’s opinion I formerly regarded these words and certain phrases in ix. 13, 17, X. 7 as interpolations, on the ground of the statement that follows: ‘His name thou canst not hear,’ &c. Inow think that they go back to G. For in the first place they spring not from the Ethiopic scribe, but existed already in G’. Thus x. 7 is found in the Gk. Leg. ii. 37. In the next, the words ‘His name,’ &c., do not refer to the earthly name of Christ, but to some secret name known only to the blessed. Cf. vii. 7. A similar idea is found in Rev. xix. 12 ‘He hath a name written which no one knoweth but He Himself.’
Thy body. SocandS. band L? give ‘body,’ and a‘ this body.’
q-10. We should observe that though all the righteous from the time of Adam are already possessed of their spiritual or resurrection bodies (see notes on iv. 16) as in Rev. vi. 11, they are represented as not yet enjoying perfect blessedness. They are not as yet crowned, nor have they as yet sat down on their thrones. These verses are very defective in L?S, which speak only of certain righteous individuals being already in heaven. That our text goes back accurately to the older Greek recension is proved by the Greek Legend, ii, 27, which reproduces the clauses which are missing in LS,
g. Like angels. Cf. Eth. En. li. 4 (see note in my edition),
CHAPTER IX. 5-13 61
1o. But they sat not on their thrones, nor were their crowns of glory on them. 11. And I asked the angel who was with me: ‘ How is it that they have received the garments, but have not the thrones and the crowns?’ 12,13. And he said unto me: ‘Crowns and thrones of glory they do not receive, till the Beloved will descend in the form in which you will see Him descend "[will descend, I say] into the world in the last days the
civ. 4; Matt. xxii. 30; Apoc. Bar. li. 5, 9, 12. L’S omit this phrase.
11. Who was with me. L?S give instead ‘and I said.’
Thrones. Cf. Rev. iii. 21; Luke xxii. 29, 30; Matt. xix. 28; 1 Cor. vi. 3.
Crowns. Cf. Rev. ii. 10, ili, 11, iv. 4; Jas. i. 12; Herm. Sim. viii. 2, 3. The idea is derived from the custom of crowning the victors in the games, as in 1 Cor, ix. 25; Phil. iii. 14; 2 Tim. ii. 5; 1 Pet. v. 4. It is the reward for martyrdom, 2 Tim. iv. 7, 8.
Have not the thrones, &c. Text is very doubtful here, but the sense is as clear as in SL,
12-13. The angel replies that the righteous in the seventh heaven will not receive their thrones and crowns till the Beloved descends and becomes man on earth. From verse 18 it appears that it is not till Christ reascends into heaven that they receive them. See note on verse 18.
The text of E is almost unintelligible as it appears in the MSS. and in Dillmann’s text. This is owing to a simple blunder on the part of a scribe, who transferred the words ‘Nevertheless they see and know whose will be the thrones and whose the crowns’ from their right position at the close of the sentence ‘till the Beloved will descend in the form in which you will see Him descend [will descend, J say] into the world in the last days the Lord, who will be called Christ’ to an impossible position immediately preceding it, That this restoration is right is established by S: see p. 120. L? is here corrupt though also helpful. :
Will see Him descend .. . into the world in the last days, These words
Lord, who will be called Christ". Nevertheless they "see and™ know whose will be thrones, and whose the crowns when He has descended, and been made in your form, "and they will think that He is flesh and is a man™ 14. And the god of that world will stretch forth * his hand against the Son,* and they will crucify Him on a tree, and will * slay * Him not knowing who Heis. 15. And thus His descent, "as you will see, will be hidden even from the heavens, so that it will not be known who He is%. 16. And when He hath plundered the angel of death, He will ascend on the third day,
are wanting both in L? and 8; but they are original; for they appear in Greek Legend, ii. 25; see p. 143. |
Will think that He ts flesh and is a man. ‘Is flesh’ and ‘is a man’ are parallel expressions, His divine nature will not be recognized.
14. * His hand against the Son*. So Dillmann rightly emends text. See Critical Note.
Wiil * slay* Him. So I have emended text with the guidance of SL, MSS. = ‘and will lay hands upon Him,’ and transpose these words before ‘and will crucify Him.’ See Critical Note.
15-17. The above verses in E vary so widely from those in L’ and §, that it is impossible to reconcile them save in a few phrases. L? = ‘And He will descend into Hades and make it and the phantoms (visiones = gavrdopara) of hell desolate. 16. And He will seize the prince of death, and will plunder him, and will crush all his powers, and He will rise the third day, 17. Having certain righteous persons with Him, and He will sénd forth His preachers into the whole world and will ascend into the heavens,’ § in the main agrees with L’, but is very corrupt.
16. Plundered the angel of death. These words are found alsoin L*, They have to do with the rescue of certain souls out of the hand of the angel of death. Christ holds the keys of it, Rev. ix. 1. The angel of death is again referred to in x. 8, xi. 19. The next verse states explicitly the deliverance of righteous
CHAPTER IX. 13-17 63
[and he will remain in that world five hundred and forty-five days]. 17. And then many of the righteous will ascend with Him, whose spirits do not receive their garments till the "Lord Christ" ascend
souls from Hades. See Ignatius, ad Magn. ix; Matt. xxvii. 52, 53; Evang. Nicodemi, i. 1, xi. 1 (ed. Tischendorf). The above statement confirms the genuineness of the mention of the descent into Hades in ix. 15 of L?S. Sheol, where the angel of death abides (x. 8), is thus an intermediate abode; Haguel or Abaddon (x. 8) is the final abode of the lost.
[Remain in that world five hundred and forty-five days). This clause is wanting in SL*. It is of course no creation of Ethiopic seribes. The Ethiopic translator found it already in his Greek text. The idea is a Gnostic one. It was held by the Valentinians and the Ophites (see Irenaeus, adv. Haer. i. 3. 2, 30. 14) as Liicke has already remarked (Einleitung in d. Offenbarung, i. 290). It was, nevertheless, an intrusion in the Greek text; for the many righteous mentioned in verse 17 are none other than the souls delivered from Hades, and the ascent mentioned in that verse is the ascent from Hades. This is clear from S L’, which bring the resurrection of Christ and the deliverance of the souls from Hades together : 1x. 16. ‘surgettertiadie. 17. habens quosdam iustos secum.’
17. And then many of the righteous will ascend with Him, i.e. from Hades, as I have shown in the preceding note. Yetthe present form of the Ethiopic implies that the ascension here designed is not from Hades but from earth to heaven after the resurrection,
Whose spirits do not receive their garments, &c. Soa. b omits negation against ac. c=‘ who in their spirit have not received their garments.’ L’S omit. Sinceallthe righteous according toix. 7(E), and according to ix. 7 (L?S) a certain class of righteous men, are already in the seventh heaven arrayed in their garments or spiritual bodies, the spirits delivered from Hades can only have been the imperfectly righteous. As such they do not receive their spiritual bodies till Christ’s ascent to the seventh heaven.
SL? add at the close of this verse: ‘et mittet suos praedicatores in universum orbem terrarum et ascendet in coelos.’ The former statement is made elsewhere in our text; see iii, 17, 18, xi, 22.
and they ascend with Him. 18. Then indeed they will receive their[ garments and ]thrones and crowns, when He has ascended into the “seventh” heaven. 19. And I said unto him that which I had asked him in the third heaven: 20. ‘*Show me how * everything which is done in that world is here made known.’ 21. And whilst I was still speaking with him, behold one of the angels who stood nigh, more glorious than the glory of that angel, who had raised me up from the world, 22. Showed me a book, [but not as a book of this world] and he opened it, and the book was written, but not as a book of this world. And he gave (it) to me and I read it, and lo! the deeds of the children of Israel were written therein, and the deeds of those whom
18. Then indeed they will receive their [garments and] thrones and crowns, ‘Garments and’ should be omitted with SL%2 The class mentioned here are really the righteous already referred to in ix. 11-13, who, though clad in their garments, do not as yet possess their thrones and crowns. According to this verse they attain to these on the ascension of Christ.
Then. This mark of time is explained by the concluding clause of the verse.
19. See vii. 27. See p. r22 for slightly different and fuller forms of L? and S.
20. * Show me how*. Emended in accordance with SL? See Critical Note. MSS. = ‘And he said unto me.’
22, [But not as a book of this world). SL? omit. A doublet. E ‘books.’ See two lines later.
On the heavenly books see my note on Eth. En, xlvii. 3.
Children of Israel. SL? = ‘Jerusalem.’
Of those whom * I* know (not). MSS. = ‘whom thou knowest.’ I have emended in accordance with S ‘quos ego non scivi.’ The negative is not infrequently lost in Ethiopic MSS. L? and Greek Legend, ii. 31, speak of all men being judged.
CHAPTER IX, 18-28 65
*I* know (not), my son Josab. 23. And I said: ‘In truth, there is nothing hidden in the seventh heaven, which is done in this world” 24. And I saw there many garments laid up, and many thrones and many crowns. 25. And I said to the angel: ‘Whose are these garments and thrones and crowns?’ 26. And he said unto me: ‘These garments many from that world will receive, believing in the words of That One, "who shall be named” as I told thee, Tand they will observe those things, and believe in them, and believe in His cross: for them are *these* laid up™’ 27. And I saw a certain One "standing, whose glory surpassed that of all," and His glory was great "and wonderful. 28. And after I had seen Him’, all the righteous whom I had seen Tand also the angels whom I had seen™ came to
23. This world. Greek Legend, ii. 32, ‘that world’; SL? ‘world.’ SL? add after ‘this world,’ ‘And I asked the angel : who is he yonder who excels all (S omit) the angels in his glory?’ And he answered and said unto me: ‘He yonder(S ‘the preeminent angel yonder’) is the great angel Michael ever praying on behalf of humanity.’ These words go back to the second Greek recension. SL? again refer to Michael in ix. a9.
26, Will receive. L? ‘ammittunt’: S = ‘destituuntur.’ If the reading implied by SL? is not an error, the editor of G? meant the verse to refer to the Antichrist. But in that case verse 26 would be no answer to verse 25.
AsI told thee. Better in SL?: ‘regarding whom I told thee.’
*These*. Emended. ac read ‘but for them are laid up’; b ‘which for them are laid up’ or ‘for whom they are laid up.’
27-32. Vision and worship of the Second Person of the Godhead.
27. See S L’ for a shorter version.
28, And the angels... Abel, Seth, and. SL’? omit. Adam‘and Abel have already been mentioned in ix. 7.
F
Him. "And Adam and Abel and Seth, and all the righteous first drew near” and worshipped Him, and they all praised Him with one voice, "and I myself also gave praise with them", and my giving of praise was as theirs. 29. And then all the angels drew nigh and worshipped and gave praise. jo. And *I* was (again) transformed and became like an angel. 31. And thereupon the angel who conducted me, said to me: ‘ Worship this One, and I worshipped and praised. 32. And the angel said unto me: ‘This is the Lord of all the praisegivings which thou hast seen.’ 33. And whilst *he* was still speaking, I saw another Glorious One who was like Him, and the righteous drew nigh and
My giving of praise was as theirs. S = ‘their giving of praise was as that of those.’ L? = ‘the voice was as that of those.’
29. All the angels drew nigh. SL? = ‘and then (L? omit them) Michael approached and worshipped and with him all the angels.’
30. *I* was (again) transformed, According to vii. a5 Isaiah underwent transformation as he ascended into each heaven in turn. Accordingly he was transformed on entering the seventh heaven, :and before he joined in its worship, ix. 28. When, however, he was brought before the Second Person of the Godhead, he was again transformed and became like an angel.’ I have accordingly with SL? emended E, which read : ‘He (i.e. Christ) was transformed.’ On the other hand, the text of ES L? on verse 33 supports E in verse 30. But as we shall see, they are all corrupt in that passage.
gi. Worship. L?’S add, and no doubt rightly, ‘and praise.’
33-36, Vision and worship of the Third Person of the Godhead.
33. *He*. SoS. Ewrongly, ‘I’; for it is the angel that has been speaking. L? omits clause.
Like Him. L?S add ‘in all things.’
CHAPTER IX. 28-36 67
worshipped and praised, and I praised together with them. But * my * glory was not transformed into accordance with their form. 34. And thereupon the angels drew near and worshipped Him. 35. And I saw the Lord and the second angel, and they were standing. 36. And the second whom I saw was on the left of my Lord. And I asked: ‘Who is this?’ and he said unto me: ‘ Worship Him, for He is the angel of the Holy Spirit, who
I praised. L?S = ‘he praised.’
* My * glory was not transformed into accordance with their form. E reads ‘ His’ instead of ‘ my,’ and has the support of SL’, We have here, however, a primitive error. In verse 30 Isaiah was transformed into the likeness of the angels and could thereby enjoy certain visions, but he was not transformed into the likeness of the righteous, and was on that account excluded from steadfastly beholding the ineffable vision in verse 37, which angels could not behold but only the righteous, verse 38,
34. At the close of this S adds : ‘and the angel said unto me: “Worship Him and praise.” And I worshipped Him and praised.’ L? contains only the last sentence.
35-36. These verses were used by the heretic Hieracas. They are drawn dan6 70d ’AvaBarixod ‘Hoatov according to Epiphanius, Haer. lxvii. 3. In this work the quotation appears as follows : *Edaté pot 6 dyyedos mepimaray Eumpooder pov, kal eke por, rat ele, Tis éoriy 6 év 5efG Too Oeod" nal elma, Sb ofbas, Kipie; Aéyer, Obrés éorw 6 dyanntés. xal ris éorw 6 dAdos 6 Gpoos ait 2 dprorepav €rAGdv ; Kat daa, Sd ywuoreas, Trouréote 7d Gyov mvedua 7d Aadody év oot, nat év Tois mpopyrais. It will be observed that this account is much fuller than that which is given in E or L’S, and that it preserves details which are only found separately in E and L7S. Thus E speaks of the Holy Spirit being ‘on the left,’ and this statement discovers itself in the above quotation. On the other hand the word ‘ambulantem’ in S (‘ ambulans’ in L’*) has its counterpart in wepirarav in the quotation. Thus the above text is more primitive than either E or S L’, and may in some respects represent the lost archetype G.
¥F2
* speaketh * in thee and the rest of the righteous.’ 37. And I saw the great glory, the eyes of my spirit being open, and I could not thereupon see, nor yet could the angel who was with me, nor all the angels whom I had seen worshipping my Lord. 38. But I saw the righteous beholding with great power the glory of that One. 39: And my Lord drew nigh to me and the angel of the Spirit Tand He said: ‘See how it is given to thee to see God, and on thy account power is given to the angel who is with thee. 40. And I saw how my Lord and the angel of the Spirit" worshipped, and they both together praised "God". 41. And thereupon all the righteous "drew near and" worshipped. 42. And the angels "drew near and" worshipped and all the angels praised.
x. 1. And thereupon I heard the voices and the
ix. 36. *Speaketh*, SoS L’ andi. 7, Greek Legend, ii. 13, instead of ‘ has spoken ’ as in E.
37-42. Vision and worship of the First Person of the Godhead.
37. Isaiah says that he saw and that forthwith he did not see. That is, he beheld for a moment but could not steadfastly behold. SL’ give quite another idea. They declare that Isaiah did not see God at all, but this is against verse 39. Neither Isaiah nor the angels could steadfastly behold God : ef, Eth. En. xiv. a1, ‘None of the angels could... behold the face of the Honoured and Glorious One, and no flesh could behold Him.’ Only the glorified righteous could steadfastly behold Him, verse 38; Rev. xxii.4. The Divine Being is so named in Eth, En. xiv. 20, ‘The Great Glory sat thereon,’ and x. 16 (note) ; xi. 32 of our text, 39. Cf. viii. 8-9.
41-42. After ‘all the righteous drew near and worshipped ’ ac add ‘and all the righteous.’ § L? insert a reference to Michael as in verse 23.
CHAPTERS IX. 36—X. 7 69
giving of praise, which I had heard in each of the six heavens, ascending * and being heard * there: 2. And all "were being sent up to that Glorious One” whose glory I could not behold. 3. "And I myself was hearing and beholding the praise (which was given) to Him. 4. And the Lord and the angel of the Spirit were beholding all and hearing all™ 5. And all the praises which are sent up from the six heavens are not only heard but seen. 6. And "T heard" the angel "who conducted me and" he said: ‘This is the Most High of the high ones, dwelling in the holy world, and resting in His holy ones, who will be called by the Holy Spirit through the lips of the righteous "the Father of the Lord™’ 7, And I heard the voice of the Most High "the Father of my Lord” saying to my Lord "Christ who will be
X. 1. Ascending * and being heard* there. Emended with L?, E = ‘which I had heard ascending hither’ (6) or ‘when ascending hither ’ (ac).
z. Sent up, dc. See vii. 16-17.
Whose glory, dc. ix. 37.
6. And I heard... said. L?S = ‘And the angel said unto me,’
The Most High of the high ones... holy ones. Based on Isa. Ivii. 15 6 tioros év bymAois xaroKav Tov aldva...év ayios dvanavdpevos. See on vi. 8. S L? which give a different form of the earlier clauses (see p. 128) = efs aldmios Tov iynAdv aldiva xaroKdy.
Called. L?S = praised.
q. Christ who will be called Jesus. Though this and similar expressions in ix. 5, 13, 17 are omitted by SL’, there are no valid grounds for regarding them as interpolations, as I have shown in the note on ix. 5. They go ‘back to’ G!. This follows from the fact that the excised words are found in the Greek Legend, ii. 37, where indeed all this verse is found : see
pp. 145-146.
called Jesus": 8. ‘Go forth and descend through all the heavens, and thou wilt descend to "the firmament and" that world: to the angel in Sheol thou wilt descend, "but to Haguel thou wilt not go" 9. And thou wilt become.like unto thelikeness_of all who _ are in the five heavens. 10. "And thou wilt be careiil to become like the form of the angels of the firmament [and the angels also who are in Sheol]. iz. And none of the angels of that world shall know "that Thou art Lord with Me of the seven heavens and of their angels. 12. And they shall not know that Thou art with Me, * till * with a * loud *
om
8. Angel in Sheol. This is the angel of death already referred to in ix. 16. The angels in Sheol are mentioned in x, 10, and the ‘angels’ of death in x. 14. We might compare the expression in Rev. ix. 11, ‘the angel of the abyss.’
Haguel = Abaddon or Gehenna in the sense of being the final abode of the lost. Cf. ‘the abyss’ in Rev. ix. 1, 2, xi. 7, xvii. 8, XX. I, 3.
g-10. His descent was not to be concealed from the sixth heaven, x. 19, but from the five lower heavens and from the angels of the firmament, and from the angels in Sheol. This last statement I have bracketed, as the release of the souls in Sheol could not have been effected without a recognition of Christ on the part of the angels of Sheol.
1o. L?S omit. |
11. None of the angels of that world shall know, dc. Evidently based on 1 Cor. ii, 8, ‘which none of the rulers of this world knoweth ; for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.’
That thou art Lord, &e. L?S omit, but Greek Legend, ii. 40, reproduces these words ; see p. 146.
12. The angels of that world (i.e. the earth) will not learn that Christ is with God till the final judgement. For the emendation of this verse see p. 129. The text as it stands is unintelligible: ‘And when with the voice of the heavens
CHAPTER X. 8-15 vi!
voice I have called (to) the heavens, and their angels and their lights, (even) unto the sixth heaven, in order that you mayst "judge "and destroy” the + princes + and angels "and gods" of that world, and the world that is dominated by them: 13. For they have denied Me and said: “We alone are and there is none beside us.” 14. And afterwards from the *angels* of death Thou wilt ascend to Thy place, and Thou wilt not be transformed in each heaven, but in glory wilt Thou ascend and sit on My right hand. 15. And thereupon the princes and powers
T have called both to their angels and their lights: and when I have made great the sixth heaven (or to the sixth heaven).’ Soa. 6 omits ‘and’ before ‘when’ (twice) and inserts ‘thee’ after both verbs. L?S omit this passage.
Called (to) the heavens. Cf. Ps. 1. 4, where these words are used with reference to judgement as here.
Mayst judge ... the +princes+ .. . of that world. For ‘princes’ read ‘prince,’ as in SL?, L?=‘ wilt judge the prince of that world and his angels.’ Cf. John xvi. 11, ‘the prince of this world is judged.’
Destroy. Of. vii. 12.
Gods of that world. 2 Cor. iv. 4, ‘God of this world.’
And the world that is dominated by them. L?S omit, but the elause is implied by Greek Legend, ii. 38 rév wécpoy éxeivov Tov bd Tay eiddAwy . . . kuptevdpevov.
1g. Alone are. Greek Legend, ii. 38, adds ‘ gods,’ but L? S support text. See note on iv. 6. ‘
14. * Angels* of death. See on x.8. Emended from ‘gods of death’ by a slight change of vocalization. See Critical Note. The converse change was required in vili. 14.
From the * angels* of death Thou wilt ascend. Soac. b= ‘and when Thou hast died and risen Thou wilt ascend.’ L? omits clause but S gives ‘quando e terra elevaberis.’
15. Princes and powers... will worship Thee. Cf. Phil. ii. 10; Heb. i. 6: see also Deut. xxxii. 43 (LXX).
Princes and powers + of that world +. From a comparison of L?S and Greek Legend, ii. 40 (see p. 144), it is clear that our text is tof that world + will worship Thee. 16. These/ commands I heard the Great Glory giving to my Lord. 17. And +sot+ I saw my Lord go forth from the seventh heaven into the sixth cages 18, And the angel who conducted me [from thi
world was with me and] said unto me: ‘Under
stand, Isaiah, and see how the transformation and descent of the Lord * will appear *. 19. And I saw, and when the angels saw Him, "thereupon thos
in the sixth heaven" praised and lauded Him ; for He had not been transformed after the shape o
the angels there, "and they praised Him™ and I also praised with them. 20. And I saw when He: descended into the fifth heaven, that in the fifth heaven He made Himself like unto the form of the angels there, and they did not praise Him (nor worship Him); for His form was like unto theirs.
defective and the words ‘of that world’ are corrupt. We should read in their stead, ‘and angels and all principalities,’ So far we have the support of Greek Legend, ii. 39, and L? S, that is of G! and G? and therefore of the archetype. L?S add ‘ which are in heaven and on earth and under the earth.’
16, These commands. So Greek Legend, ii. 41 Tatra, S read rotrov or rather éxeivov.
The Great Glory. The text here (which is that of bc and L’S and Greek Legend, ii. 41) upholds our rendering on ix. 37.
17. +Sot. L?S = ‘then’; Greek Legend, ii. 41 = ‘after these things.’
18. From this world, was with me and. I have bracketed these words : they are omitted by S L’.
How the transformation .. . of the Lord * will appear *. Emended ; a reads ‘in order that thou mayst see the transformation of the Lord.’ Soa. 6 = ‘in order that thou mayst know, &.’ SL? = ‘ quae (or quid) est transfiguratio eius.’
20. (Nor worship Him). I have added these words because being
CHAPTER X. 16-27 73
21. And then He descended into the fourth heaven, and made Himself like unto the form of the angels there. 22. And "when they saw Him", they did not praise "or laud Him"; for His form was like unto their form. 23. And again I saw when He descended into the third heaven, "and He made Himself like unto the form of the angels in the third heaven. 24. And those who kept the gate of the (third) heaven demanded the password, and the Lord gave (it) to them in order that He should not be recognized. And when they saw Him, they did not praise or laud Him; for His form was like unto their form. 25. And again I saw when He descended" into the second heaven, "and again He gave the password there; those who kept the gate proceeded to demand and the Lord to give. 26. And I saw when He made Himself like unto the form of the angels in the second heaven, and they saw Him and they did not praise Him; for His form was like unto their form. 27. And again I saw when He descended" into the first heaven, Tand there also He gave the password to those who kept the gate, and He made. Himself like unto the
found in Greek Legend, ii. 42, they go back to G’ and should therefore appear in E. S L? likewise attest them.
23-28, These verses are shortly summarized in L?S. With the exception of a few phrases Greek Legend fails us from this point forward.
aq. b omits.
Password, or ‘passport.’ Since L? gives ‘character’ as the equivalent of the rare Ethiopic word here we may perhaps assume that yapaxryp stood inthe Greek. S = ‘signa.’ Possibly the word ‘sign’ would best represent the sense.
form of the angels who were on the left of that throne", and they neither praised nor lauded Him; for His form was like unto their form. "28, But as for me no one asked me on account of the angel who conducted me". 29. And again He descended into the firmament "where dwelleth the ruler of this world", and He gave the password "to those on the left," and His form was like theirs, and they did not praise Him there ; "but they were envying one another and fighting ; for here there is a power of evil and envying about trifles" 30. And I saw v when He descended "and made Himself like” unto the angels of the air, and He was like one of them. 31. And He gave no password ; "for one was plun- - dering and doing violence to another."
xi. 1. After this "I saw, and" the angel "who spoke with me, who conducted me", said unto me: ‘Understand, Isaiah son of Amoz; for for this purpose have I been sent from God.’ 2. "And I indeed saw
29. Where dwelleth the ruler of this world. So also S, but L? omits.
go. The angels of the air are distinguished here from those of the firmament in verse 29. It is otherwise in vii. 9-10.
gt. Everything is in disorder inthe air. Hence no guardians of the gates.
One was plundering... another. So Greek Legend, ii. 9.
xi. 1. Who spoke with me, who conducted me. L?S omit. One of the phrases (if not both) seems to be a marginal gloss.
2-22, These verses, save a clause of verse 19, are wanting in L?S, which omit all reference to Mary and Joseph and the birth of Christ, His work and crucifixion, and speak only of His life on earth. See pp. 133-135. This section, nevertheless, goes back to G. See Introd. pp. xxii-xxiv.
z. Of the family of David... Mary. Whether Mary as well as
CHAPTERS X. 27—XI. 4 5
a woman of the family of David the prophet, named Mary, a Virgin, and she was espoused to a man named Joseph, a carpenter, and he also was of the seed and family of the righteous David of Bethlehem Judah. 3. And he came into his lot. And when she was espoused, she was found with child, and Joseph the carpenter was desirous to put her away. 4. But the angel of the Spirit appeared in this world, and after that Joseph did not put her away, but kept Mary and did not
Joseph was descended from David as is here asserted it is impossible to establish conclusively from the New Testament. Several passages, however, could lend themselves to this interpretation as Luke i. 32, 69; Acts ii. 30; Rom. i. 3, 4; 2 Tim. ii. 8. However this may be, it can be proved that the belief was early established. Thus Julius Africanus (Eusebius, Hist. Eccl. i. 7.17) and Tertullian (Adv. Jud. g) at the beginning of the third century taught it : Irenaeus (Haer. iii. 21. 5) in the latter half of the second century : Justin Martyr (Dial. c. Tryph. chaps. 43) 45, 67, 100, 120) at the close of the first half, and Ignatius (Ad Ephes. xviii. 2) at its beginning. It was thus an accepted fact in the first half of the second century. But this evidence, eombined with that of the apocryphal Nativity of Mary and the very early Protevangel of James, is sufficient to make it very probable that this view prevailed towards the close at all events of the first century. The evidence of the Testaments of the XII Patriarchs cannot be adduced here as the date of the passage in question is still undetermined.
3. Came into his lot, C£. Protev. Iacobi, ix. 1 wat elwev 6 iepets 78 ‘Iwahp' ob rexdAfpwoa tiv mapSévov Kuplov mapadaBeiv els rapyow éau7r® ; xix. 1 éxAnpwodpny adriy yuvaira.
3, 4. Cf. Matt. i. 20 sqq.
4. Appeared in this world, Soac. b reads ‘appeared to him.’
Kept Mary. Cf. Protev. Iacobi, ix. 3, xiii. 1, for the use of this word in regard to Mary: in xiv. 2 we have an exact parallel to our text. There it is told that after the angel of the Lord had appeared to Joseph, the latter ‘arose from his sleep and reveal this matter to any one. 5. And he did not approach Mary, but kept her as a holy virgin, though with child. 6, And he did not live with her for two months. 7. And after two months of days while Joseph was in his house, and Mary his wife, but both alone, 8. It came to pass that when they were alone that Mary straightway looked with her eyes and saw a small babe, and she was astonied. g. And after she had been astonied, her womb was found as formerly before she had conceived. 10. And when her husband Joseph said unto her: ‘What has astonied thee?’ his eyes were opened and he saw the infant and praised God, because into his portion God had come. 11. And a voice came to them: ‘Tell this vision to no one.’ 12. And the story regarding the infant was noised abroad in Bethlehem. 13. Some said: ‘The Virgin Mary hath borne a child, before she was married glorified the God of Israel, who had given him this grace and kept her’ («at épvaacoey airqy).
And did not reveal this matter to any one. In Protev. xv-xvi Joseph refuses to answer the questions of the priest regarding Mary’s condition: Kat ‘Iwahp éotynoev (xv. 4).-
q- His house. Soa. be read ‘the house.’
His wife. Soc. b reads ‘his espoused wife’—evidently a correction.
8. A somewhat less marvellous though kindred account is found in Protev. Iacobi, xix. 2.
9. Her womb was found. Soa. be read ‘she found her womb,’
Conceived. a adds ‘Him.’
10. Her husband Joseph. 6 omits for the same reason that it corrected verse 7. In a ‘her husband’ is erased.
11, This verse is undoubtedly related to Protev. Iacobi, xx. 4 wat idod pwr?) Aéyouta Zardpy, Zarmpy, ph dvaryyelays doa eldes napadofa,
CHAPTER XI. 5-16 77
two months.’ 14. And many said: ‘She has not borne a child, nor has a midwife gone up (to her), nor have we heard the cries of (labour) pains.’ And they were all blinded respecting ‘Him ‘and they all knew regarding Him, though they knew not whence He was. 15. And they took Him, and went to Nazareth in Galilee. 16. And I saw, O Hezekiah and Josab my son, and I declare to the other prophets also who are standing by, that (this) hath escaped all the heavens and all the
14. This verse is practically cited in the Actus Petri, ch. xxiv. (p. 72, ed. Lipsius): ‘Et alter propheta dicit honorificatum patrem: Neque vocem illius audivimus neque obstetrix subit.’
15. In Galilee. b omits.
16. (This) hath escaped, dc. What escaped the princes of this world is the virginity and the child-bearing of Mary. This being so, it is hard to avoid concluding that our text is the source of Ignatius, Ad Ephes, xix wat Aabev tov dpxovra Tov aigvos rovrov 4 mapSevia Mapias nal 6 roxerds abrijs, dpuotws nal 6 Oavaros tov Kupiov. Throughout x. 8-xi. 19 the concealment of the real nature of Christ is the entire theme, and as a subordinate factor of this the concealment of Mary’s virginity. In the Epistle of Ignatius, on the other hand, the subject is introduced abruptly and obviously forms part of a received doctrine, such as is presented in our text. While Ignatius’ words summarize admirably the teaching of our text, paragraph 9 of his letter to the Romans forms a protest against the Docetic tendency which was already at work and could perhaps appeal to xi. 17 of our author in supporting its claims.
The source of the above speculation is to be traced no doubt to zr Cor. ii. 7, 8, ‘The wisdom of God... which none of the rulers of this world knew; for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.’ This statement involves the application made by our author to the Incarnation. The words of Ignatius formed a favourite quotation with the Fathers. Thus it is cited by Origen (Hom. in Luc., Op. iii. p- 938 A; Eusebius, Quaest. ad Steph, i., Op. iv. p. 88t; Ambrose princes and all the gods of this world. 17. And I saw: In Nazareth He sucked the breast as a babe and as is customary in order that He might not be recognized. 18. And when He had grown up He worked great signs and wonders in the land of Israel and of Jerusalem. 19. And after this the adversary envied Him and roused the children of Israel against Him", not knowing who He was, Tand they delivered Him to the king, and crucified Him, and He descended to the angel (of Sheol). 20. In Jerusalem indeed I saw Him being crucified on a tree: 21. And likewise after the third day rise again and remain days. 22. And the angel who conducted me said: ‘ Understand, Isaiah :’ and I saw when He sent out the Twelve Apostles and ascended 23. And I saw Him, and He was in the firmament, but He had not changed
on Luc. i, 27, Op. i. 1281 (‘Non mediocris quoque causa est ut virginitas Mariae falleret principem mundi’). For other references see Lightfoot on the Ignatian Epistles,
Ig. Descended to the angel (of Sheol). The words ‘of Sheol’ I have supplied from Greek Legend, ii. 39, where the words are quoted: xaraByoy nal mpds Tov ayyeAov Tod qdou év “TepovoaAqp. The last two words form the beginning of the next verse, See also x. 8, 10 (ix. 16), For ‘descended to the angels’ (a), be read ‘made him descend to the angels.’
21. Days. ab have simply ‘days,’ c ‘forty days.’ Dillmann is of opinion that originally the number 545 stood here, as in ix, 16 (see note), The phraseology at all events is the same. ;
2a, The sending forth of ‘The Twelve’ is recounted also in iii, 17, and in ix. 17 in L?S. Cf. Mt. xxviii. 18, 19; Acts i. 8,9. There is a further mention of ‘The Twelve’ in our text in iv. 3.
23, Saw Him. Soa, bc ‘Saw.’
CHAPTER XI. 17-26 719
Himself into their form, and all the angels of the firmament "and the Satans™ saw Him and they worshipped. 24. And "there was much sorrow there, while" they said: ‘How did our Lord descend *in our midst *, and we perceived not the glory [which has been upon Him], which we see has been upon Him from the sixth heaven?’ 25. And He ascended into the second heaven, and He did not transform Himself, but all the angels who were on the right and on the left and the throne in the midst 26. Both worshipped Him and praised Him and said: ‘How did our Lord escape us whilst
And worshipped. b omits.
23, 24. There is some difficulty connected with these verses. They ought to contain an account of the ascent through the firmament and the first heaven, for verse 25 describes the ascent into the second heaven. Our text confines the events to the firmament, whereas L? could be interpreted as referring only to the first heaven, for it speaks of ‘the angels above the firmament.’ Sis doubtful. In any case the text of all three is defective. See L?S, p. 135.
24. *In our midst*, Emended with L?(S). See Critical Note. E=‘upon us.”
[Which has been upon Him]. Bracketed asa doublet. The verbs translated ‘has been’ differ in the Ethiopic.
Which we see... from the sixth heaven. Christ possessed the divine glory in His descent through the five heavens, i.e. from the sixth downward, though it was concealed, For ‘we see’ c reads ‘thou seest,’ an easier reading.
25, 26. Ascent into the second heaven.
25. And He ascended into the second heaven. L?S=‘And from the first heaven He ascended more glorious.’ The comparative in L?S seems inconsistent with the context.
Who were on the right and on the left... midst. So S save that for ‘the throne’ it reads ‘he that sat on the throne.’ L?
wrongly omits.
descending, and we perceived not?’ 27. And in like manner He ascended into the third heaven, Tand they praised and said in like manner." 28. And in the fourth heaven and in the fifth "also they said precisely after the same manner. 29. But there was one glory, and from it He did not change Himself. 30. And I saw when He ascended" into the sixth heaven, "and they worshipped and glorified Him" 31. But in all the heavens the praise increased (in volume). 32. And I saw how He ascended into the seventh heaven, and all the righteous and all the angels praised Him. And then I saw Him sit down on the right hand of that Great Glory whose glory I told you that I could not behold. 33. And also the angel of the Holy Spirit I saw sitting on the left hand. 34. And this angel said unto me: ‘Isaiah, son of Amoz, * it is enough for thee *; "for these are great things"; for thou hast seen what no child of flesh has seen.
26. Perceived not. L?S add ‘nor worshipped.’
27. L?S both err in adding ‘into the second and’ before ‘into the third’
27-30. Since both these versions compress verses 27-30 into three lines, it is clear that herein they represent exactly G’ or the second recension of the Greek. Our text represents G1.
32. All the angels. L?S add: ‘et omnes virtutes.’
And then... Glory. Soalso8. L? wrongly omits.
The Great Glory. So b. ac omit, but S supports. See also ix. 37 (note), x. 16 where it rightly appears in the text,
I told you that. L?S omit.
33. See ix. 36.
34. *Iiis enough for thee*, Emended with L?S. Text corrupt = ‘I preserve thee.’
No child of flesh has seen. After these words L’S (see p. 137)
CHAPTER XI. 27-41 81
35- And thou wilt return into thy garment (of the flesh) until thy days are completed. Then thou wilt come hither. 36. These things Isaiah saw and told unto all that stood before him, and they praised. And he spake to Hezekiah the King "and said": ‘I have spoken these things.’ 37. Both the end of this world; 38. And all this vision will be consummated in the last generations. 39. And Isaiah made him swear that he would not tell (it) to the people of Israel, nor give these words to any man to transcribe. 40....*Such things * ye will read. And watch ye in the Holy Spirit in order that ye may receive your garments and thrones and crowns of glory which are laid up in the
Tgeventh” heaven. 41. On account of these visions Se = edltoria.
give what is really 1 Cor. ii. 9. Jerome, as we know, writes in naan.
his Comment. in Isaiam, Ixiv. 4 (Vallarsi iv. 760): ‘Ascensioenim Isaiae et apocalypsis Eliae hoc habent testimonium.’ Since this passage is attested by L? and §, it therefore goes back to G’, and it was a MS. of G? most probably that Jerome used. But since it is absent from E, it does not belong to G@. Thus the textual evidence confirms Zahn’s judgement, Gesch. der Neutestamentlichen Kanons, ii.801-810. The passage runs: ‘What eye hath not seen nor ear heard, nor hath it entered into the heart of man, how great things God hath prepared for all (S om. ‘ all’) that love Him.’
35. Thy days are fulfilled. See viii. 27.
36. These things Isaiah saw and told. I have emended text in accordance with L?S. The text=these things I saw. And Isaiah told.
And they praised, L?S=‘ And hearing these (L? omit ‘ these’) wonderful things they all praised and glorified.’
40. * Such things * ye will read. Emended with S from reading of ac, which=‘and then ye will read.’ Before these words such a clause as thatin S is lost: ‘quantumcumque intellegitis a rege dicta in prophetis.’
G and prophecies Sammael Satan sawed in sunder Isaiah the son of Amos, the prophet, by the hand of Manasseh. 42. And all these things Hezekiah delivered to Manasseh in the twenty-sixth year. 43. But Manasseh did not remember them nor place these things in his heart, but becoming the servant of Satan he was destroyed.
Here endeth the vision of Isaiah the prophet with his ascension