Testament of Abraham

The Testament of Abraham is a pseudepigraphic text of the Old Testament. Probably composed in the 1st or 2nd century AD, it is of Jewish origin and is usually considered to be part of the apocalyptic literature. It is regarded as scripture by Beta Israel Ethiopian Jews, but not by any other Jewish or Christian groups. It is often treated as one of a trio of very similar works, the other two of which are the Testament of Isaac and Testament of Jacob, though there is no reason to assume that they were originally a single work. All three works are based on the Blessing of Jacob, found in the Bible, in their style. The Arabic Quran also contains a reference to the "Suhuf Ibrahim" (Scrolls of Abraham) in Sura 87, which has no apparent relation to anything in this text.
The Testament of Abraham was likely written originally in Koine Greek, by someone living in Roman Egypt. Its vocabulary is similar to that used in the later books of the Septuagint and in 3 Maccabees, which were written in Egypt.
Manuscript tradition.
The Greek text of the "Testament of Abraham" is preserved in two quite different recensions:
There is no consensus among scholars as to which recension is nearer the original, or whether we shall suppose one or more original texts. The early scholars, as James, but also recently Ludlow, working mainly on the narrative viewpoint, support the priority of the long recension. This view has been challenged for example by Turner, who studied the text from a linguistic point of view, and mainly by Schmidt, who worked deeply on manuscript E of the short recension, which was not available to the early editors.
The text is preserved also in Slavonic, Romanian, Ethiopic (Falasha), Coptic Bohairic and Arabic. These versions, apart one Romanian recension, follow the content of the Greek short recension.
The Greek Text was first edited, with an English translation and introduction, by M. R. James in 1892. The Greek text was also early edited by Vassiliev in 1893.
Origin and date.
As regards its origin James writes: "The Testament was originally put together in the second century by a Jewish Christian, who for the narrative portions employed existing Jewish legends, and for the apocalyptic, he drew largely on his imagination". James holds that the book is referred to by Origen, Horn.in Luc. xxxv. With the exception of x.xi. the work is really a legend and not an apocalypse. To the above conclusions Schürer, takes objection, and denies the reference in Origen, asserting that there are no grounds for the assumption of a partial Jewish origin. Kohler on the other hand has given adequate grounds for regarding this apocryph as in the main an independent work of Jewish origin subsequently enlarged by a few Christian additions, and it is Kohler's stance that most scholars follow today.
The Testament of Abraham was likely written originally in Greek, by someone living in Egypt at the time. This is due to the fact that the vocabulary found in the text is quite similar to the vocabulary used in the later books of the Septuagint, which were being written at that time, in addition to other books, such as 3 Maccabees, that we know were written around that time in Egypt. In addition, there are aspects of the story that seem to reflect aspects of Egyptian life, such as the three judgments which mirror the three levels of Egyptian government. Unfortunately these reasons for the place of origin being Egypt are only supported by the long recension of the Testament of Abraham.
The short recension therefore has no definite place or date of origin. While it would be logical to assume that it had its origins in the same place and time as the long recension, as there is no concrete evidence, any Jewish cultural center could therefore be a possibility for its origin.
Content.
This testament deals with Abraham's reluctance to die and the means by which his death was brought about. Overall, the long recension is about twice as long as the short recension, though both relate the same overall plot.
Significance.
When viewed as a religious text, the Testament of Abraham gives a unique message. Beyond the presence of angels and God and Death, the lesson demonstrated is simply being a good person, performing good acts, and avoiding bad ones. In the scenes of judgment, there is no distinction made between whether people are Jewish or Gentile, only whether they have performed good deeds or bad. The reader is then left with an idea of universally fair treatment, not influenced by lineage or any other traits, when it comes to judgment, where a person whose sins outweigh their good deeds will be sentenced to eternal punishment, while one whose good deeds outweigh their sins will move on to paradise.
Humor.
While this text does have its theological significance, it can also be simply viewed as a story meant to entertain. Throughout the entire text, the ever pious Abraham attempts to dodge and avoid God's will; rather than this portrayal painting Abraham in a non-pious light, Abraham instead recognizes how good and devout he has been throughout his entire life, and uses that to his advantage. He is so good at avoiding God's decree that the only way he finally has his soul taken away is when Death tricks him. Another humorous character is the Archangel Michael. God's "Commander-in-Chief" is an angel who would seem to be able to make decisions on his own and handle the refusals of Abraham, but he cannot. Every time that Abraham does something that Michael does not expect, he comes up with some reason to excuse himself then rushes up to heaven to consult God and find out what he is to do with stubborn Abraham.