Commenting
on the work of Phillip B. Munoa III, Four Powers in Heaven: The Interpretation of
Daniel 7 in the Testament of Abraham (Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha
Supplement Series 28; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1998), Lester L.
Grabbe noted that:
A recent study has seen the judgment scene of Dan 7:9-14, with the
Ancient of Days and the Son of Man, as the basis for the judgment scene in
Testament of Abraham 11:1-13:8. There are a number of parallels, and this is
certainly a possibility. But, if so, it has developed considerably from the
picture of Daniel 7, with rather different details. (Lester L. Grabbe, "A
Dan(iel) for All Seasons: For Whom Was Daniel Important? in John J. Collins and
Peter W. Flint, eds., The Book of Daniel: Composition and Reception, 2
vols. [Supplements to Vetus Testamentum LXXXIII,I; Formation and Interpretation
of Old Testament Literature II, 1; Leiden: Brill, 2001], 1:237)
Maurice Casey
was much more negative in his review as found in Journal of Semitic Studies
46, no. 1 (Spring 2001): 172-73:
A positive acceptance of Munoa's thesis can be found in Andrew Chester's Messiah and Exaltation:
Testament of Abraham
The whole of chapters 11-13 of the Testament of Abraham constitute an important text for the present discussion. The following passages are especially notable:
11.8-9: Then Abraham asked the Prince, 'My Lord Prince, who is the most wondrous man, who is adorned with such great glory . . .?' The incorporeal one said, 'This is the first-formed Adam, who is in such great glory . . . '.
12.4-5, 11: Between the two gates there stood an awesome throne, flashing like fire. And on it sat a wondrous man, bright as the sun, like a son of God . . . And the wondrous man who sat on the throne was the one who was giving judgment and sentencing the souls . . .
13.1-3: And Abraham said, 'My Lord Prince, who is this all-wondrous judge, and who are these recording angels? And who is the angel like the sun, who holds the scales, and who is the fiery angel who holds the fire' And the Prince said, 'All-pious Abraham, do you see the terrifying man who is seated on the throne? This is the son of the first-formed Adam, who is called Abel, and he was killed by the wicked Cain. He sits here to judge every creature . . . '.
This quite extraordinary succession of texts does not describe a process of transformation, such as we have seen thus far, but it does clearly portray both Adam and Abel as having transformed appearance. Thus Abel is surrounded by the most exalted angels, who appear in altogether brilliant mode, yet his own appearance clearly exceeds theirs in its awesome and majestic nature; the same is clearly implied for Adam as well.
It may indeed be possible to find still further significance in Testament of Abraham 11-13. This is according to the view that the Testament of Abraham in these chapters has used Dan. 7.9-27 at its primary point of reference, and interprets the four designations or 'figures' there is a radically distinctive way as four separate and independent beings. So the Ancient of Days is interpreted as Adam, the One like a Son of Man as Abel (the 'wondrous man'), the Holy Ones as the Twelve Tribes of Israel, and the Most High as the Master God. The way that Abel appears to be identified as the angelic Son of Man (a designation itself easily obtained for him as 'Son of Adam'!) is quite remarkable, as is the way that he is set specifically on a throne, as judge of all humankind (and all this has clear similarities with the way that the Son of Man is identified in 1 Enoch 69, 71, and with Jesus in the New Testament).
The most extraordinary aspect of the interpretation here is the Testament of Abraham, however, is the identification of the Ancient of Days with Adam; but in fact Dan. 7.21-22 and 7.25 allow this figure to be distinguished from the Most High, and there are indeed other traditions (Rev. 1.13-14 and Apocalypse of Abraham 10.4) where it is used of a figure other than God. In any case, Adam is given an extraordinary high status here: he is specifically enthroned in the presence of the angels, described as a 'terrifying being' who looks like the 'Master' (clearly referring to God), and adorned in glory. Thus his appearance is like God's, he is enthroned, implicitly has all-encompassing knowledge, and takes part in the process of judgment. (Andrew Chester, Messiah and Exaltation: Jewish Messianic and Visionary Traditions and New Testament Christology [Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2007], 71-72)
