John Dik on Jaoel (Iaoel/Yahoel) Being Depicted as the Ancient of Days in the Apocalypse of Abraham

  

The unmediated beholding of the Godhead is not granted to Abraham, however, the glory of the Godhead becomes visible to Abraham through the mediating figure of Jaoel who is described with divine attributes. See Apoc. Ab. 11:1–3:

 

1 And when I had risen, I saw him who had taken me by the right hand and had set me again on my feet. 2 His body had the appearance of sapphire, and his face was like chrysolite, and the hair of his head was like snow, and the turban on his head had the appearance of the rainbow. 3 And his robe was of purple, and in his right hand he had a golden staff.

 

Jaoel is the bearer of God’s name (10:4: “Go, Jaoel, you who bear my name, by means of my ineffable name raise up this man”), in whom God’s action becomes tangible for Abraham: Jaoel raises Abraham up, strengthens him, encourages him, and accompanies him to the sacrifice and then all the way to the throne of God. He meets him “in the form of a man” (10:5: въ подобьи мужьстѣ). Perhaps this expression is a take on Ezek 1:26 דמות כמראה אדם) ), however, the Slavonic expression clearly speaks of a male and not only a human figure. The human form that Ezekiel beholds is thus deliberately stripped of the throne and can thus meet Abraham as a man/human being (10:5). The hair of Jaoel resembles snow which takes up the description of the Ancient of Days from Dan 7:9 (“I looked, and thrones were set up, and an aged man sat down. His robe was white as snow, and the hair on his head like pure wool”.([ושער ראשה כעמר נקא]) Jaoel’s headdress is described in more detail as having the “appearance of the rainbow,” which could be influenced by Ezek 1:28. Whereas the rainbow is attributed to the throne-figure in Ezekiel, in the Apocalypse it is transferred to Jaoel. As in the case with the Ancient of Days, divine attributes are given to Jaoel. The robe of purple in conjunction with the golden staff in the right hand may reflect kingly metaphors found in the author’s environment rather than in the biblical writings. To summarize: the Godhead which is assumed to be on he throne is ruptured from human sight and cannot be described with anthropomorphic features. God’s glory becomes visible to Abraham by means of the glory of his name-bearer Jaoel; divine attributes which are used for the Godhead in Dan 7 and Ezek 1 are transferred to an angelic figure who accompanies Abraham. However, this angelic figure is not worshipped but worships with Abraham before the throne. (John Dik, “The reception of Ezekiel’s throne vision in the Apocalypse of Abraham and its manuscript tradition,” Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha 34, no. 2 [2024]: 115-16)

 

 Commenting on a similar phenomenon in the depiction of Jesus in the book of Revelation:

John the seer explicitly transfers the attributes of the Ancient of Days to Christ (Rev 1:14): “But his head and his hair were white like white wool, like snow” (ἡ δὲ κεφαλὴ αὐτοῦ καὶ αἱ τρίχες λευκαὶ ὡς ἔριον λευκόν, ὡς χιών). (Ibid., 115 n. 28)