Prayer of Joseph
Encyclopedia
The Prayer of Joseph is a pseudepigraphic writing (a text whose claimed authorship is unfounded) of the Old Testament
. It was composed either in Aramaic (if Jewish) or in Greek
(if Christian
) in the 1st century AD. The text is almost lost and only a few fragments have survived in ancient quotations concerning the Biblical patriarch
Jacob
.
The Prayer of Joseph narrates that Jacob was the incarnation of the angel Israel who competed with Uriel
over their rank in heaven.
The Prayer of Joseph was well known in the early 3rd century by Origen
who speaks of it as a writing not to be despised, and expressly states that it was in use among the Jews. The Prayer of Joseph is usually considered to be part of the Apocalyptic literature
.
's Commentary on the Gospel of John - Book II, par. 25. Fragment B, a single sentence, has been found in the Praeparatio Evangelica - Book VI, of Eusebius of Caesarea
as well as in the Commentary on Genesis of Procopius of Gaza
and in an anthology of the writings of Origen compiled by Saint Basil the Great and Saint Gregory Nazianzus usually named Philokalia
. Fragment C, also found in Philokalia, paraphrases the other fragments. The title itself Prayer of Joseph is found in many ancient documents. The Stichometry of Nicephorus
shows that the Prayer of Joseph had a length of eleven hundred lines, thus only a very short part has survived.
Due to the shortness of the extant text, it is almost impossible to determine the provenance. Some scholars suggest it should be considered Jewish-Christian, others gnostic, others Jewish anti-Christian, others Christian anti-Jewish, while the probable thesis according to J. Z. Smith and others is that Origen was right to consider it Jewish.
The context could be an elaboration of Jacob's blessing of his sons (in particular Joseph
) found in chapter 48 and 49 of Genesis (compare ). This could explain the reference to Joseph in the title of this writing even if the main character is Jacob.
The text of Fragment A is:
struggle of Jacob with an angel in and takes a stand on the main issues of such Biblical episode:
The presence of angelic rivalry (both Israel and Uriel are here archangels) can be found in other apocryphal texts as the Apocalypse of Abraham
and are related to .
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 was composed either in Aramaic (if Jewish) or in Greek
Koine Greek
Koine Greek is the universal dialect of the Greek language spoken throughout post-Classical antiquity , developing from the Attic dialect, with admixture of elements especially from Ionic....
(if 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...
) in the 1st century AD. The text is almost lost and only a few fragments have survived in ancient quotations concerning the Biblical patriarch
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...
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...
.
The Prayer of Joseph narrates that Jacob was the incarnation of the angel Israel who competed with Uriel
Uriel
Uriel is one of the archangels of post-Exilic Rabbinic tradition, and also of certain Christian traditions...
over their rank in heaven.
The Prayer of Joseph was well known in the early 3rd century by Origen
Origen
Origen , or Origen Adamantius, 184/5–253/4, was an early Christian Alexandrian scholar and theologian, and one of the most distinguished writers of the early Church. As early as the fourth century, his orthodoxy was suspect, in part because he believed in the pre-existence of souls...
who speaks of it as a writing not to be despised, and expressly states that it was in use among the Jews. The Prayer of Joseph 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....
.
Manuscript tradition and Provenance
Only three fragments have survived of the Prayer of Joseph: Fragment A, which is the longest, was preserved in OrigenOrigen
Origen , or Origen Adamantius, 184/5–253/4, was an early Christian Alexandrian scholar and theologian, and one of the most distinguished writers of the early Church. As early as the fourth century, his orthodoxy was suspect, in part because he believed in the pre-existence of souls...
's Commentary on the Gospel of John - Book II, par. 25. Fragment B, a single sentence, has been found in the Praeparatio Evangelica - Book VI, of Eusebius of Caesarea
Eusebius of Caesarea
Eusebius of Caesarea also called Eusebius Pamphili, was a Roman historian, exegete and Christian polemicist. He became the Bishop of Caesarea in Palestine about the year 314. Together with Pamphilus, he was a scholar of the Biblical canon...
as well as in the Commentary on Genesis of Procopius of Gaza
Procopius of Gaza
Procopius of Gaza was a Christian sophist and rhetorician, one of the most important representatives of the famous school of his native place...
and in an anthology of the writings of Origen compiled by Saint Basil the Great and Saint Gregory Nazianzus usually named Philokalia
Philokalia
The Philokalia is a collection of texts written between the 4th and 15th centuries by spiritual masters of the Eastern Orthodox hesychast tradition. They were originally written for the guidance and instruction of monks in "the practise of the contemplative life". The collection was compiled in...
. Fragment C, also found in Philokalia, paraphrases the other fragments. The title itself Prayer of Joseph is found in many ancient documents. The Stichometry of Nicephorus
Stichometry of Nicephorus
The Stichometry of Nicephorus is a stichometry by Patriarch Nicephorus I of Constantinople. It is significant in that it counts the number of lines of various Christian texts, many of which were later suppressed by the church and lost...
shows that the Prayer of Joseph had a length of eleven hundred lines, thus only a very short part has survived.
Due to the shortness of the extant text, it is almost impossible to determine the provenance. Some scholars suggest it should be considered Jewish-Christian, others gnostic, others Jewish anti-Christian, others Christian anti-Jewish, while the probable thesis according to J. Z. Smith and others is that Origen was right to consider it Jewish.
Content
The text of Fragment B is only one line, where Jacob says:- For I read in the tablets of heaven all things that shall happen to you and to your sons.
The context could be an elaboration of Jacob's blessing of his sons (in particular Joseph
Joseph (Hebrew Bible)
Joseph is an important character in the Hebrew bible, where he connects the story of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in Canaan to the subsequent story of the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt....
) found in chapter 48 and 49 of Genesis (compare ). This could explain the reference to Joseph in the title of this writing even if the main character is Jacob.
The text of Fragment A is:
- Thus 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...
says: "I, Jacob, who speak to you, and Israel, I am an angel of God, a ruling spirit, and AbrahamAbrahamAbraham , whose birth name was Abram, is the eponym of the Abrahamic religions, among which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam...
and IsaacIsaacIsaac as described in the Hebrew Bible, was the only son Abraham had with his wife Sarah, and was the father of Jacob and Esau. Isaac was one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites...
were created before every work of God; and I am Jacob, called Jacob by men, but my name is Israel, called Israel by God, a man seeing God, because I am the first-born of every creature which God caused to live. - And he adds: "When I was coming from MesopotamiaMesopotamiaMesopotamia is a toponym for the area of the Tigris–Euphrates river system, largely corresponding to modern-day Iraq, northeastern Syria, southeastern Turkey and southwestern Iran.Widely considered to be the cradle of civilization, Bronze Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the...
of Syria, UrielUrielUriel is one of the archangels of post-Exilic Rabbinic tradition, and also of certain Christian traditions...
, the angel of God, came forth, and said, I have come down to the earth and made my dwelling among men, and I am called Jacob by name. He was angry with me and fought with me and wrestled against me, saying that his name and the name of Him who is before every angel should be before my name. And I told him his name and how great he was among the sons of God; - Are you not Uriel my eighth, and I am Israel and archangel of the power of the Lord and a chief captain among the sons of God? Am not I Israel, the first minister in the sight of God, and I invoked my God by the inextinguishable name?"
Theology
Fragment A 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...
struggle of Jacob with an angel in and takes a stand on the main issues of such Biblical episode:
- the etymologyEtymologyEtymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages and texts about the languages to gather knowledge about how words were used during...
of the name Israel is shown to be derived from "a man seing God". This etymology is possible with a Hebrew play of words, but it is not found in any ancient Hebrew text, while it is found in PhiloPhiloPhilo , known also as Philo of Alexandria , Philo Judaeus, Philo Judaeus of Alexandria, Yedidia, "Philon", and Philo the Jew, was a Hellenistic Jewish Biblical philosopher born in Alexandria....
's writings and in Greek hellenistic texts; - the mysterious being who wrestled with Jacob is identified as UrielUrielUriel is one of the archangels of post-Exilic Rabbinic tradition, and also of certain Christian traditions...
, who is declared to be the least powerful of the seven archangels. This is in opposition to JustinJustin MartyrJustin Martyr, also known as just Saint Justin , was an early Christian apologist. Most of his works are lost, but two apologies and a dialogue survive. He is considered a saint by the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church....
's exegesisExegesisExegesis is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text, especially a religious text. Traditionally the term was used primarily for exegesis of the Bible; however, in contemporary usage it has broadened to mean a critical explanation of any text, and the term "Biblical exegesis" is used...
that saw in the mysterious being a figure of ChristChristChrist is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
himself; - Jacob identifies himself using titles as ruling spirit, Angel of God, a man seeing God, the firstborn of every living thing, Chief Captain among the sons of God, the First Minister in the sight of God, which are used for MichaelMichael (archangel)Michael , Micha'el or Mîkhā'ēl; , Mikhaḗl; or Míchaël; , Mīkhā'īl) is an archangel in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic teachings. Roman Catholics, Anglicans, and Lutherans refer to him as Saint Michael the Archangel and also simply as Saint Michael...
by the rabbinic literatureRabbinic literatureRabbinic literature, in its broadest sense, can mean the entire spectrum of rabbinic writings throughout Jewish history. However, the term often refers specifically to literature from the Talmudic era, as opposed to medieval and modern rabbinic writing, and thus corresponds with the Hebrew term...
, for the LogosLogos' is an important term in philosophy, psychology, rhetoric and religion. Originally a word meaning "a ground", "a plea", "an opinion", "an expectation", "word," "speech," "account," "reason," it became a technical term in philosophy, beginning with Heraclitus ' is an important term in...
by Philo, for MetatronMetatronMetatron or Mattatron is the name of an angel in Judaism and some branches of Christian mythology. There are no references to him in the Jewish Tanakh or Christian Scriptures...
by the Jewish mysticismKabbalahKabbalah/Kabala is a discipline and school of thought concerned with the esoteric aspect of Rabbinic Judaism. It was systematized in 11th-13th century Hachmei Provence and Spain, and again after the Expulsion from Spain, in 16th century Ottoman Palestine...
and even for Christ by the early Christianity. These titles, that can be found in ancient Jewish writings, relate the Prayer of Joseph with the early 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...
tradition.
The presence of angelic rivalry (both Israel and Uriel are here archangels) can be found in other apocryphal texts as 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...
and are related to .