Ladder of Jacob
Encyclopedia
The Ladder of Jacob
(Hebrew: Sulam Yaakov סולם יעקב) is a pseudepigraphic writing (a text whose claimed authorship is unfounded) of the Old Testament
. It is usually considered to be part of the Apocalyptic literature
. The text has been preserved only in Slavonic
, and it is clearly a translation from a now lost Greek
version. It is not regarded as scripture by Jews
or any Christian
group.
; it occurs in the Tolkovaja Paleja (a compendium of various Old Testament texts and comments, that preserved also the Apocalypse of Abraham
, written in Greek
in the eighth or ninth century and later translated in Slavonic). Two recensions have been identified: a longer one, usually denoted A which survives in three manuscripts, and a shorter one, usually called B which is represented by the majority of the manuscript tradition. The chief difference between these is that the shorter recension reduces drastically the prayer of Jacob and omits the name of the angel Sariel
(2:2-5:1).
The Slavonic
text has been almost surely translated from Greek
. Some plays on words suggest an original Hebrew
text or a Greek text intended for readers with at least some knowledge of Hebrew.
context after the Destruction of the Temple, the use in early Byzantine
world and the final translation in Slavonic
on about the ninth century. In the Christian
stages the text was interpolated to form an anti-Jewish polemic
, by adding some comments here and there, omitting some sentences and adding a Christian
conclusion: chapter seven has Christian origin. The expectation of a delayed warrior Messiah and the similarities with 2 Baruch
, Apocalypse of Abraham
and other apocalyptic literature
suggest the original text may have been written in the first half of the second century CE.
dream of Jacob
in .
, interprets the experience of Patriarchs
in the context of merkabah
mysticism
. The Ladder of Jacob takes a stand on the main debated issues in the apocalyptic literature: the role of the Messiah
is limited to be a warrior, the final victory against the evil and the last judgment
are carried out directly by God himself, it is possible to repent in the last day.
Jacob
Jacob "heel" or "leg-puller"), also later known as Israel , as described in the Hebrew Bible, the Talmud, the New Testament and the Qur'an was the third patriarch of the Hebrew people with whom God made a covenant, and ancestor of the tribes of Israel, which were named after his descendants.In the...
(Hebrew: Sulam Yaakov סולם יעקב) is a pseudepigraphic writing (a text whose claimed authorship is unfounded) of the Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
. It is usually considered to be part of the Apocalyptic literature
Apocalyptic literature
Apocalyptic literature is a genre of prophetical writing that developed in post-Exilic Jewish culture and was popular among millennialist early Christians....
. The text has been preserved only in Slavonic
Old Church Slavonic
Old Church Slavonic or Old Church Slavic was the first literary Slavic language, first developed by the 9th century Byzantine Greek missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius who were credited with standardizing the language and using it for translating the Bible and other Ancient Greek...
, and it is clearly a translation from a now lost Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
version. It is not regarded as scripture by Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
or any Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
group.
Manuscript tradition
The text of the Ladder of Jacob has been preserved only in SlavonicOld Church Slavonic
Old Church Slavonic or Old Church Slavic was the first literary Slavic language, first developed by the 9th century Byzantine Greek missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius who were credited with standardizing the language and using it for translating the Bible and other Ancient Greek...
; it occurs in the Tolkovaja Paleja (a compendium of various Old Testament texts and comments, that preserved also the Apocalypse of Abraham
Apocalypse of Abraham
The Apocalypse of Abraham is a pseudepigraphic work based on the Old Testament. Probably composed between about 70–150 AD, it is of Jewish origin and is usually considered to be part of the Apocalyptic literature...
, written in Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
in the eighth or ninth century and later translated in Slavonic). Two recensions have been identified: a longer one, usually denoted A which survives in three manuscripts, and a shorter one, usually called B which is represented by the majority of the manuscript tradition. The chief difference between these is that the shorter recension reduces drastically the prayer of Jacob and omits the name of the angel Sariel
Sariel
Sariel is one of the archangels mainly from Judaic tradition. Other possible versions of his name are Suriel, Suriyel , Esdreel, Sahariel, Juriel, Seriel, Sauriel, Surya, Saraqael, Sarakiel, Jariel, Suruel, Surufeland Sourial.Suriel is sometimes identified with Ariel, Metatron, and Uriel...
(2:2-5:1).
The Slavonic
Old Church Slavonic
Old Church Slavonic or Old Church Slavic was the first literary Slavic language, first developed by the 9th century Byzantine Greek missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius who were credited with standardizing the language and using it for translating the Bible and other Ancient Greek...
text has been almost surely translated from Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
. Some plays on words suggest an original Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
text or a Greek text intended for readers with at least some knowledge of Hebrew.
Date and origin
The date and origin of the Ladder of Jacob are uncertain. It is possible to infer at least three stages: an original work written in a JewishJudaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
context after the Destruction of the Temple, the use in early Byzantine
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
world and the final translation in Slavonic
Old Church Slavonic
Old Church Slavonic or Old Church Slavic was the first literary Slavic language, first developed by the 9th century Byzantine Greek missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius who were credited with standardizing the language and using it for translating the Bible and other Ancient Greek...
on about the ninth century. In the Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
stages the text was interpolated to form an anti-Jewish polemic
Polemic
A polemic is a variety of arguments or controversies made against one opinion, doctrine, or person. Other variations of argument are debate and discussion...
, by adding some comments here and there, omitting some sentences and adding a Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
conclusion: chapter seven has Christian origin. The expectation of a delayed warrior Messiah and the similarities with 2 Baruch
2 Baruch
2 Baruch is a Jewish pseudepigraphical text thought to have been written in the late 1st century CE or early 2nd century CE, after the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE. It is attributed to the Biblical Baruch and so is associated with the Old Testament, but not regarded as scripture by Jews or by...
, Apocalypse of Abraham
Apocalypse of Abraham
The Apocalypse of Abraham is a pseudepigraphic work based on the Old Testament. Probably composed between about 70–150 AD, it is of Jewish origin and is usually considered to be part of the Apocalyptic literature...
and other apocalyptic literature
Apocalyptic literature
Apocalyptic literature is a genre of prophetical writing that developed in post-Exilic Jewish culture and was popular among millennialist early Christians....
suggest the original text may have been written in the first half of the second century CE.
Content
The Ladder of Jacob is based on the BiblicalBible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
dream of Jacob
Jacob
Jacob "heel" or "leg-puller"), also later known as Israel , as described in the Hebrew Bible, the Talmud, the New Testament and the Qur'an was the third patriarch of the Hebrew people with whom God made a covenant, and ancestor of the tribes of Israel, which were named after his descendants.In the...
in .
- Chapter 1 is an expansion of the narrative of Genesis. JacobJacobJacob "heel" or "leg-puller"), also later known as Israel , as described in the Hebrew Bible, the Talmud, the New Testament and the Qur'an was the third patriarch of the Hebrew people with whom God made a covenant, and ancestor of the tribes of Israel, which were named after his descendants.In the...
falls asleep and sees a ladder set up on the earth; the top of it reaches to heaven with angelAngelAngels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
s ascending and descending on it. Many details are added to the Genesis' narrative: the ladder is made of twelve steps, and on each step there are two human forms, one on each side of the step, visible as far as their breasts. On the top of the ladder there was a face, as of a man, carved in the fire and much more terrifying than the twenty-four other busts. The Lord is over this central face. - Chapter 2 includes a prayer by Jacob, surely abbreviated by the Slavonic copyist, asking the Lord the meaning of the vision. The prayer describes God sitting on a fire throne, surrounded by CherubCherubA cherub is a type of spiritual being mentioned in the Hebrew Bible and cited later on in the Christian biblical canons, usually associated with the presence of God...
im and SeraphSeraphA seraph is a type of celestial being in Judaism and Christianity...
im, a vision that is a classic example of MerkabahMerkabahMerkabah is the throne-chariot of God, the four-wheeled vehicle driven by four "chayot" , each of which has four wings and the four faces of a man, lion, ox, and eagle...
. - In chapter 3 the angel SarielSarielSariel is one of the archangels mainly from Judaic tradition. Other possible versions of his name are Suriel, Suriyel , Esdreel, Sahariel, Juriel, Seriel, Sauriel, Surya, Saraqael, Sarakiel, Jariel, Suruel, Surufeland Sourial.Suriel is sometimes identified with Ariel, Metatron, and Uriel...
is sent by the Lord to Jacob to explain the vision, and the text says Jacob was not terrified by the vision of the angel. - In chapter 4 Sariel changes the name of JacobJacobJacob "heel" or "leg-puller"), also later known as Israel , as described in the Hebrew Bible, the Talmud, the New Testament and the Qur'an was the third patriarch of the Hebrew people with whom God made a covenant, and ancestor of the tribes of Israel, which were named after his descendants.In the...
into Israel in order to have it to be similar to his own name; in Hebrew, there would be one letter's difference between Israel and Sariel - Chapter 5 includes the explanation of the ladder given by Sariel: the ladder is the Age, the twelve steps are the periods in which the Age is divided (the same division we find in 2 Baruch2 Baruch2 Baruch is a Jewish pseudepigraphical text thought to have been written in the late 1st century CE or early 2nd century CE, after the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE. It is attributed to the Biblical Baruch and so is associated with the Old Testament, but not regarded as scripture by Jews or by...
). The twenty-four human busts are the kings of the world who oppose Israel, some more, some less. The fourth step may be the author's picture of his own time; in the last times the Lord will raise a descendant of EsauEsauEsau , in the Hebrew Bible, is the oldest son of Isaac. He is mentioned in the Book of Genesis, and by the minor prophets, Obadiah and Malachi. The New Testament later references him in the Book of Romans and the Book of Hebrews....
(probably the Roman EmpireRoman EmpireThe Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
) who initially will protect Israel, and later will serve the idols and use violence. The people of Jacob will be exiled, made slave and wounded. - Chapter 6 is about the coming of the MessiahMessiahA messiah is a redeemer figure expected or foretold in one form or another by a religion. Slightly more widely, a messiah is any redeemer figure. Messianic beliefs or theories generally relate to eschatological improvement of the state of humanity or the world, in other words the World to...
, described as a king who fights and wins against the enemies of Israel; the enemies then repent and the Lord accepts their plea. In the following events the Lord acts directly: there will be earthquakes and destructions followed by the final victory against the LeviathanLeviathanLeviathan , is a sea monster referred to in the Bible. In Demonology, Leviathan is one of the seven princes of Hell and its gatekeeper . The word has become synonymous with any large sea monster or creature...
and the Falkon. The sons of Jacobs will walk in the Lord's justice, and the kingdoms of EdomEdomEdom or Idumea was a historical region of the Southern Levant located south of Judea and the Dead Sea. It is mentioned in biblical records as a 1st millennium BC Iron Age kingdom of Edom, and in classical antiquity the cognate name Idumea was used to refer to a smaller area in the same region...
and MoabMoabMoab is the historical name for a mountainous strip of land in Jordan. The land lies alongside much of the eastern shore of the Dead Sea. The existence of the Kingdom of Moab is attested to by numerous archeological findings, most notably the Mesha Stele, which describes the Moabite victory over...
will be destroyed. - Chapter 7 is surely a ChristianChristianA Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
addition, that predicts the IncarnationIncarnation (Christianity)The Incarnation in traditional Christianity is the belief that Jesus Christ the second person of the Trinity, also known as God the Son or the Logos , "became flesh" by being conceived in the womb of a woman, the Virgin Mary, also known as the Theotokos .The Incarnation is a fundamental theological...
of the Savior.
Theology
The Ladder of Jacob, as well as the Apocalypse of AbrahamApocalypse of Abraham
The Apocalypse of Abraham is a pseudepigraphic work based on the Old Testament. Probably composed between about 70–150 AD, it is of Jewish origin and is usually considered to be part of the Apocalyptic literature...
, interprets the experience of Patriarchs
Patriarchs (Bible)
The Patriarchs of the Bible, when narrowly defined, are Abraham, the ancestor of all the Abrahamic nations; his son Isaac, the ancestor of the nations surrounding Israel/Judah; and Isaac's son Jacob, also named Israel, the ancestor of the Israelites...
in the context of merkabah
Merkabah
Merkabah is the throne-chariot of God, the four-wheeled vehicle driven by four "chayot" , each of which has four wings and the four faces of a man, lion, ox, and eagle...
mysticism
Mysticism
Mysticism is the knowledge of, and especially the personal experience of, states of consciousness, i.e. levels of being, beyond normal human perception, including experience and even communion with a supreme being.-Classical origins:...
. The Ladder of Jacob takes a stand on the main debated issues in the apocalyptic literature: the role of the Messiah
Messiah
A messiah is a redeemer figure expected or foretold in one form or another by a religion. Slightly more widely, a messiah is any redeemer figure. Messianic beliefs or theories generally relate to eschatological improvement of the state of humanity or the world, in other words the World to...
is limited to be a warrior, the final victory against the evil and the last judgment
Last Judgment
The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, or The Day of the Lord in Christian theology, is the final and eternal judgment by God of every nation. The concept is found in all the Canonical gospels, particularly the Gospel of Matthew. It will purportedly take place after the...
are carried out directly by God himself, it is possible to repent in the last day.
Sources
- H.F.D. Sparks The Apocryphal Old Testament ISBN 0198261772 (1984) pag 453-464
- H.G.Lunt Ladder of Jacob, a new translation and introduction in ed. James H. Charlesworth The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, Vol. 2 ISBN 0385188137(1985) pag 401-412.
- P.Sacchi M.Enrietti Apocrifi dell'Antico Testamento Vol 3 ISBN 8839405836 (1999) pag 551-570.