Yaoel in Apocalypse of Abraham
Though preserved in a Christian (Slavonic) translation,
the Apocalypse of Abraham is thought to have been written in the late first
century CE, possibly in Hebrew. In this text, a “voice (9.1) speaks to Abraham,
and then said voice sends “Yaoel of the same name, through the mediation of my
(i.e., God’s) ineffable name.” This Yaoel is an “angel . . . in the likeness of
a man,” and he is—some what ambiguously—described as dwelling in the seventh
heaven as a “power through the medium of his [God’s] ineffable name.” This is
thought by some scholars to be a clear reference to the Angel of the Lord in
Exodus 23:20-21, where God declares that his very name is in this Angel. This
angel’s appearance is like the Ancient of Days in Daniel, with its hair white
like snow (11.2-3). Yet it also seems to be depicted as a heavenly high priest,
as it has a κιδαρις, or
“headdress,” like a rainbow on its head (11.2-3). In the LXX< the Greek κιδαρις(preserved here in the Slavonic) is used
thirteen times, with eleven of those uses referring to the Aaronic priesthood.
HE is also “with Michael” and so distinct from him (10.17). After instruction
without sacrifice, Abraham and the angel kneel down and worship the Eternal One
(17.2). When Abraham prays to the Eternal One, he recites numerous names for
him, including “El, El, El, El, Yaoel . . . my protector.” Later, Abraham prays
to the “Eternal One,” who is “sanctified by your power.” In other words, Yaoel
is the “power” of God, who shares God’s very “name” (10.3). His name, Yaoel,
derives from a combination of the Greek version of the Tetragrammaton (‘Ιαω) and the Hebrew word for God (אל).
Furthermore, he seems to rule the other angels: the other angels challgne each
other (10.9; 18.9), but Yaoel teaches them “the song of peace which the Eternal
One has in himself.” A final interesting detail is noteworthy. In chapter 19,
the highest heaven is revealed to Abraham (seventh firmament). He sees a
“host,” or better, “power,” “of the invisible glory,” but then adds “I saw no
one else there.” That God is presumably absent in this vision of the highest
heaven is noteworthy. Rowland contends this is due to the fact that Yaoel, the
visible manifestation of God, is no longer there because the is present with
Abraham. Thus, with the angel Yaoel, we have a number of important details that
would be consistent with identifying it as the second power in heaven. First,
he is depicted as sharing the divine name with the God of Israel. In fact,
other Jewish texts attribute this name to the God of Israel (e.g., Apoc. Mos.
29.4; 33.5; LAE/Apoc. 33.5). That Yaoel declares that the divine name is within
him, strongly suggests he should be understood as the Angel of the Lord, a
figure that we have demonstrated is best understood as a second power in a
number of Second Temple traditions. The physical description of Yaoel is also
important. Not only does he share a resemblance with the Ancient of Days, but
his description identifies him as a heavenly high priest. Yahel is also
presented as the ruler of God’s angels, which would be consistent with Philo’s
depiction of the Logos as God’s chief angel. Finally, the fact that God is
nowhere to be found in Abraham’s vision of the highest heaven, may indicate
that Yaoel is rightly understood as the visible representation of God.
Ultimately, Yahel clearly meets two of our criteria the close association with
God’s name, and being equated with other entities that have strong support for
being identified as a second power. Yet, we contend that the relative strength
of the evidence related to these criteria make a compelling case that Yaoel is
best understood as a second power in heaven, and that such an identification is
stronger than alternative explanations, such as seeing him as merely a
principle or powerful angel. (David E. Wilhite and Adam Winn, Israel’s Lord:
YHWH at “Two Powers” in Second Temple Literature [Lanham, Md.: Lexington
Books, 2024], 115-17)
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