подарок к празднику
May. 28th, 2011 12:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hgrну и точно. нашлась эта молитва (одна) в Апокалипсисе Авраама. я это только вчера понял, т.к. сначfла неправильно идентифицировал liturgical setting. под катом -- соотв. кусок моей статьи про литургическое и календарное устройство этого апокалипсиса. эта статья, в свою очередь, является приложением к моей реконструкции литургического календаря 3 Варуха, поэтому некоторые темы там скороговоркой (черновик про 3 Варуха висит на моей страничке на "Академии"). слипающиеся слова -- глюк жж.
1. Pentecost
The liturgical part of the Apocalypse of Abrahamis constituted by the chapters dedicated to the revelation (from 9 to 31). It openswith the 40-day journey of Abraham, accompanied by the angel Yahoel, to the MountHoreb, without eating and drinking (12:1-2). This scene is clearly patternedafter Elijah’s 40-day journey to Horeb where Elijah was assisted by an angel (1Kgs19:8). The Mount Horeb, which is another name of Sinai, is the place of thefollowing revelation. The revelation itself, however, is not patterned afterElijah’s one.
1.1. Sacrifice on Mount Sinai/Horeb
Ryszard Rubinkiewicz noticed that the initialscene of Abraham’s revelation on the Mt Horeb (12:3-13:2) goes back ultimatelyto Moses’ revelation on Sinai. The parallel is not limited to the identity ofplace but includes the details of priestly initiation.[1] A parallel between Mosesand Abraham is implying that both of them entered into a covenant with God, andso, the Apocalypse of Abraham presents itself as an earlier version ofthe Torah. Therefore, it is reasonable to suppose that the Apocalypse of Abrahamstarts its part of the liturgical year on the Pentecost (Šavuoth).
1.2. Azazel: the Wrong Addressee of the Sacrifice ofCovenant
One can add to Rubinkiewicz’s considerationsthat they are now corroborated by Orlov’s analysis of the scenes related toAzazel,[2] one of which—the firstappearance of Azazel in the text—takes place immediately after Abraham’ssacrifice and even as its “by-product” (13:3-14:14). According to Orlov, the Apocalypseof Abraham introduces Azazel as a counterpart of God with his own kavod(“glory”). Therefore, the sacrifice of the covenant with God is accompanied by acompetition with Azazel who is trying to replace by himself the true addressee ofthe sacrifice. The whole episode 13:3-14:14 is a specific “Pentecostal”temptation with entering into covenant with Azazel.
1.3. Ascension: a Part of the Sacrificial Rite
The ascension to the heaven occurs on the sunsetof the same day and is described, as Rubinkiewicz noted, in “Pentecostal”wording: “And it came to pass that when the sun was setting, and behold, a smokelike that of a furnace [cf. Ex 19:18[3]], and the angels who hadthe divided parts of the sacrifice ascended from the top of the furnace ofsmoke” (15:1). Then, the angel and Abraham fly on the wings of the sacrificedbirds as if they were never divided into parts (15:2). Thus, their ascensionis, too, a part—or, more precisely, a result—of the Pentecostal liturgy(sacrifice), and so, a part of the Pentecost sacrificial rite.
The sacrifices (birds) ascended to the abode ofGod in a quite literal sense, taking the angel and Abraham with them.
1.4. The Pentecost on the Heaven: Tower of Babel Imagery
On the heaven, Abraham sees “a crowd of manypeople” (15:6). They are “all changing in appearance and likeness, running andbeing transformed and bowing and shouting in a language the words of which Idid not know” (15:7). This “shouting” in an unintelligible language is furtheropposed to “a great sound of qedushah” (16:3). This scene is a closeparallel to the scene of the builders of the Tower of Babel in 3 Baruch. They are also transformed,although in another way. The unintelligible language is not mentioned in 3 Baruch but it is one of the clearest marksof the Tower of Babel motive. As it was shown above for 3 Baruch, the Tower of Babel is a traditionalcommemoration of the Pentecost.
1.5. The Genuflexion Prayer
The scene with the song (prayer) of Abrahamcontinues immediately the previous scene (17:1: “...while he [the angel] wasstill speaking...”). Thus, the date is the same, the first day of thePentecost. The prayer is long (17:8-21) and enumerates many divine attributes butespecially deals with the ultimate destiny of the two kinds of deaths: “[You, sc.God, are he who] releases those who are in the midst of the impious, those whoare mixed[4] among the unrighteous ofthe inhabited world in the corruptible life, receiving the life of therighteous” (17:17).
The time of this prayer is early morning, atthe dawn. This is rather natural given that the whole heavenly journey startedafter the sundown but especially clear from the very wording of the prayeritself: “You make the light shine before the morning light upon your creationfrom your face in order to bring the day on the earth” (17:18).
The mise-en-scène of the prayer is especiallyimportant. The verb поклонитися used throughout thedescription of angel’s and Abraham’s posture has here not a large sense ofworship/adoration (as the translators of the Apocalypse of Abraham usedto translate it into European languages) but a quite technical sense of genuflexion(kneeling).[5]“And the angel bowed with me and genuflected”[6] (17:2). “And I wanted tofall face down to the earth. <...> And he said: ‘Only genuflect,[7] Abraham...” (17:3-4). And,finally, an especially clear formulation: “Since there was no earth to fall to,I only genuflected[8]...”(17:5).
We see that Abraham is performing a genuflexionprayer on the early morning of the next day after the first day of thePentecost; this prayer enumerates the attributes of God and is especiallydedicated to the deaths. One can easily recognize here the very early Christianrite of the Pentecostal genuflexion prayers. It is common to all the Christiantraditions,[9]although it was not so far detected in the Jewish sources. However, its Jewishorigin is very likely because it is one of the most common and most ancientChristian liturgical customs. Thus, the Apocalypse of Abraham must beconsidered as a confirmation of its Jewish origin.
In the Christian traditions, this rite isattached to either Vespers or Matins. Anyway, it is considered to be placedwhen the first day of the Pentecost is finished because during the whole periodfrom the Easter to the Pentecost the genuflexions are forbidden (canon 20 ofthe First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea, 325). For instance, in the Byzantinerite, the genuflexion prayers are attached to the Vespers but this Vespersbelongs to the next day (Monday) after the Pentecost Sunday.
We see, in the Apocalypse of Abraham,that the prayer is performed on the morning. This is in agreement with thebeginning of the nychtemeron at the sunrise. Indeed, the ascension of Abrahamto the heaven which took place after the sundown must belong to the day of thePentecost (because it is a part of the Pentecost sacrifice rite), which is alsoin agreement with counting off the nychtemeron from the sunrise. This practiceis common to the 364-day calendrical schemes.
[1] R. Rubinkiewicz, L’Apocalypse d’Abraham envieux slave. Édition critique du texte,introduction, traduction et commentaire (TowarzystwoNaukowe Katolickiego Uniwersytetu Lubelskiego: Źródła i monografie, 129; Lublin:Société des Lettres et des Sciences de l’Université Catholique de Lublin,1987), pp. 58-61. The Slavonic text of the Apocalypseof Abraham will be quoted according to this edition. Rubinkiewicz alsoenumerates the 40-day fast in both cases (p. 60). I think, this parallel is notcompletely correct because Abraham’s fast took place before the revelation,whereas Moses’ fast—during the period of revelation itself. We will see belowthat Moses’ fast on Sinai is reflected in the Apocalypse of Abraham in anothermanner. Rubinkiewicz sees in this account a contamination of three traditions,not only those of Elijah and Moses, but also of the aqedah of Isaac (ibid.,p. 137).
[2] A. Orlov, “TheLikeness of Heaven”: The Kavod of Azazel in the Apocalypse of Abraham,in: D. Arbel, A. Orlov (eds.), With Letters of Light: Studies in the DeadSea Scrolls, Early Jewish Apocalypticism, Magic and Mysticism in Honor ofRachel Elior (Ekstasis: Religious Experience from Antiquity to theMiddle Ages, 2; Berlin; N.Y.: de Gruyter, 2010), pp. 232-253.
[3]According to Rubinkiewicz (op. cit., p. 60), in 15:1 Ex 19:18 (“Andmount Sinai was altogether on a smoke… and the smoke thereof ascended as thesmoke of a furnace”) is contaminated with Gen 15:17 (“And it came to pass,that, when the sun went down…”).
[4]Kulik translates “confused.” The original has смѣшеныимъ which means that in this “corruptiblelife” the righteous are mixed with the unrighteous (although it is the life ofthe righteous that will be received by God in the life of future).
[5] Slovník jazyka staroslověnského. Lexicon linguae palaeoslovenicae. 4 vols. (Prague, 1966—1997; reprint: StPetersburg: St Petersburg UP, 2006), vol. 3, p. 124, s.v. поклонити ся.
[6]Kulik translates “…bowed and worshiped”; the original has И поклячесъ мною аггелъ и поклонися.
[7] Kuliktranslates “Only worship…”; the original has поклонися точию. Cf. пасти на земли ниць (“to fall face down to theearth”).
[8]Here Kulik translates “I only bowed down” but, in the Slavonic text, the verbis the same: поклонихся токмо. “To bow down” makes more sensethan an absolutely unclear, in this context, verb “to worship” but, indeed, itis the posture of kneeling down rather than “bowing down” is meant. It would beimpossible to sing a prayer when one is bowed down, that is, having one’s faceturned to the earth.
[9] As a general introduction, remains valid A. Rücker, Die feierliche Kniebeugungszeremoniezu Pfingsten in den orientalischen Riten,in: O. Casel (ed.), Heilige Überlieferung: Ausschnitte aus der Geschichte desMönchtums und des heiligen Kultes; Dem hochwürdigsten Herrn Abte von MariaLaach Dr. theol. et iur. h. c. Ildefons Herwegen zum silbernen Abtsjubiläumdargeboten von Freunden, Verehrern, Schülern und in deren Auftrag (Münster,1938), pp. 193-211; also of importance: O.-H.-E. Burmester, The Office ofGenuflexion on Whitsunday, Le Muséon 47 (1934) 205-257 (Coptic rite);Ch. Renoux, Un rite pénitentiel le jour de la Pentecôte ? L’office de la génuflexion dans latradition arménienne, Handes Amsorya 86 (1972), cols. 185-198,3044-3046.
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