Andrei A. Orlov explores various traditions of the image of God found in the Jewish pseudepigrapha, focusing particularly on the symbolism in the Apocalypse of Abraham. The author argues that in early Jewish pseudepigraphical accounts, certain biblical characters — including Enoch, Abraham, Jacob, Moses, and Aseneth — were envisioned as divine representations in the form of the eschatological imago Dei.
In this insightful book, Andrei A. Orlov examines the symbolism of the »image of God« found in early Jewish pseudepigraphical accounts, paying special attention to the cultic traditions in the
Apocalypse of Abraham. The study demonstrates that the Jewish pseudepigrapha transform various biblical characters — including Enoch, Abraham, Jacob, Moses, and Aseneth — into eschatological embodiments of the
imago Dei. The book argues that these cultic metamorphoses preserve memories of ancient Near Eastern and Egyptian rituals involving the vivification of cultic statues. The
Apocalypse of Abraham and other early Jewish pseudepigraphical accounts attempt to polemically refashion the concept of cultic statues by envisioning their protagonists as divine representations in the form of the eschatological image of God.
Table of contents:
Part I: Idolatrous Statues
Chapter One: Abraham and Idols in Jewish Lore
Chapter Two: Terah's Statues
Part II: Imago Dei Statues
Chapter Three: Biblical Exemplars as Imago Dei Statues
Chapter Four: Building the Imago Dei Statue
Chapter Five: Testing the Imago Dei Statue
Chapter Six: Educating the Imago Dei Statue
