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    1st Testament of Abraham
    1st Testament of Abraham
    1st Testament of Abraham
    Ebook53 pages35 minutes

    1st Testament of Abraham

    By Scriptural Research Institute

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    About this ebook

    The 1st Testament of Abraham is the Christian version of the Testament of Abraham, a Christianized version of the 2nd Testament of Abraham. The designation of 1st and 2nd were determined by early Christian scholars, who decided that the 2nd version was a corrupted version of the 1st version. Modern scholars have come to the conclusion that the 1st version was a Christianized version of the older 2nd version, which itself was likely a Jewish version, originally written in Aramaic or Hebrew. One of the reasons that the 2nd version is considered older, is because it has survived in a number of languages, including Greek, Coptic, Old Slavonic, Arabic, Ge'ez, and Romanian, while the 1st version has only survived in Greek and Romanian.

    The 2nd version has also been considered scripture by several Churches and Israelite groups, including the Coptic Church in Egypt, Beta Israel in Ethiopia, and Beta Abraham in Sudan. The Testament of Abraham was also quoted by Origen circa 200 AD, and later in the Qur'an, showing it's significance to the people of the Middle East in the early Christian era. It is generally accepted that Origen was quoting the 1st version, meaning the text had already been Christianized by his time, however, the final paragraph is believed to be a later addition by an Orthodox cleric some time after the Council of Nicene in the 4th-century.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherScriptural Research Institute
    Release dateDec 29, 2019
    ISBN9781989604731
    1st Testament of Abraham

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      Book preview

      1st Testament of Abraham - Scriptural Research Institute

      Copyright

      WHILE EVERY PRECAUTION has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.

      1ST TESTAMENT OF ABRAHAM

      First edition. December 29, 2019.

      Copyright © 2019 Scriptural Research Institute.

      ISBN: 978-1-989604-73-1

      The 1st Testament of Abraham was likely composed in Greek in Egypt between 50 and 150 AD, as a Christianized version the 2nd Testament of Abraham.

      This English translation was created by the Scriptural Research Institute in 2019

      The image used for the cover is ‘Abraham and the Three Angels’ by Gerbrand van den Eeckhout painted in the 1656.

      Forward

      IN THE EARLY CHRISTIAN era, many Testaments of the Patriarchs circulated in Jewish and Christian communities, the foremost being the Testaments of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The other major testaments were grouped together as the Testaments of the Twelve, which included the Testaments of Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Joseph, and Benjamin. These testaments were widely accepted by the early Christian churches, and continue to form part of the Armenian Bible. The books were popular in Western Europe during the Middle Ages when they were generally considered authentic ancient Jewish texts. Critical analysis in the 16th century changed the view of Protestants and Catholics, as scholars at the time came to the belief that the texts were written in the early Christian era, likely in Greek. Subsequently, the texts fell out of favor in most parts of Europe. However, Hebrew fragments of the Testaments of the Patriarchs were discovered in the 20th century among the Dead Sea Scrolls, proving the texts were originally written in Aramaic and Hebrew. The current academic view is that there was a simpler Hebrew Jewish version that was then updated in the early Christian era by Greek speakers that added the Christian prophesies.

      The oldest fragments found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, are the Testaments of Joseph and Levi, which were written in Aramaic, and date from between 135 and 37 BC. The oldest fragments written in Hebrew are from the Testaments of Judah and Naphtali, and date to between 37 BC and 44 AD, which implies the testaments were originally written in Aramaic and later translated into Hebrew and Greek. In addition to the testaments that were adopted by Christians, fragments of other Aramaic testaments have been found in the Dead Sea Scrolls, such as the Testament of Qahat, which also dates back to between 135 and 37 BC. The testaments were never adopted by the Masoretes and did not become part of Rabbinical Judaism, however, the older Beta Israel community of Ethiopia uses the Testament of Abraham, and the Beta Abraham community of Sudan use the Testaments of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. While it is not clear when the Beta Abraham community originated, its form of Judaism is considered archaic, much like the Beta Israel community of Ethiopia,

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