Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

ELIJAH, APOCALYPSE OF

References to apocalypses of Elijah and to writings by Elijah occur in postbiblical Jewish and Christian writings. Only two are extant. Their relationship is uncertain, but they may have a common source as evidenced by their traditions about the antichrist.

1. A Jewish-Christian book from 150-275 c.e., probably composed in Greek and extant in Coptic and Greek. One manuscript is titled “Apocalypse of Elijah,” although Elijah is mentioned only at 4:7-19; 5:32. The source seems to have a Palestinian provenance; the later Jewish and Christian strata, an Egyptian provenance. The Jewish stratum possibly dates from before the destruction of the Jewish quarter in Alexandria (117).

The book consists of five chapters: a homily on fasting and the need for single-mindedness (ch. 1); a prophecy of events leading up to the time of the antichrist (2); a description of the antichrist (3); an account of the martyrdoms (4); and prophecies of events “on that day” when God rescues the righteous and judges the wicked (5).

2. A Jewish apocalypse written in Hebrew (mid-6th to early 7th centuries c.e.). In it appear Michael’s revelations to Elijah on Mt. Carmel, details of an otherworldly journey, a discussion about the name of the last king, a description of the antichrist, events of the final year, and five visions.

Bibliography. D. Frankfurter, Elijah in Upper Egypt: The Apocalypse of Elijah and Early Egyptian Christianity. Studies in Antiquity and Christianity 7 (Minneapolis, 1993); O. S. Wintermute, “Apocalypse of Elijah,” OTP 1:721-53.

R. Glenn N. Wooden

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

ELIJAH, APOCALYPSE OF

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)