Imagining the End: Visions of
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| Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice
, which, admittedly, is not properly an eschatological text at all. The Songs consist of separate compositions for each of thirteen sabbaths, which call on the angels to give praise and give descriptive statements about the praise-giving of the heavenly beings. The penultimate song has an extensive description of the divine throne-chariot, and the composition ends with a description of the splendour of the angelic high priests. While the purpose of this text has been debated extensively, I am most persuaded by the view originally put forward by the editor, Carol Newsom, that it is a quasi-mystical liturgy designed to evoke a sense of being present in the heavenly temple . . . Although no claim is made that the audience which recited or heard the Songs were actually transported to the heavenly realms, the hyp- notic quality of the language and the vividness of the description of the celestial temple cause even the modern reader of these fragments to feel the power of the language to create a sense of the presence of the heavenly temple. 42 One of the Songs reflects on the human condition vis-à-vis the angels: ‘how shall we be considered [among] them? And how shall our priesthood (be considered) in their habitations? And our ho[liness - how can it compare with] their [surpassing] holiness? [What] is the offering of our mortal tongue (compared) with the knowledge of the e[lim ?]’ (
Q : – ). While the text stops short of describing the exaltation of human beings to heaven, it func- tions in a manner similar to the apocalypses that describe the ascent of the visionary. The reader is led in imagination through the various heavenly sanctuaries, even to the contemplation of the divine throne. They invite contemplation of an angelic world that is free from the corruption and 82 Judaism, Christianity and Islam defilement that have befallen this world, and specifically the temple cult in Jerusalem. We are exceptionally well informed about the way the Qumran community proposed to structure its life while waiting for the messianic age. 43 The
Community Rule describes a strict hierarchical order, in which everyone sits according to his rank, and obeys his superiors. They eat in common and bless in common and deliberate in common. At least to some degree, they have common property. They should never lack a man among them to study the Law continually, day and night, concerning right conduct, and the con- gregation should watch in community for a third of every night of the year, to read the Book and to study the Torah and to give praise together. They join in prayer at dawn and dusk and at the beginning of the watches of the night. Strict conformity is required. Any member of the community who turns aside deliberately on any point whatever of all that is commanded is to be cut off. It is generally assumed that the regulations of this Community Rule derived from the Teacher of Righteousness, although he is not actually mentioned in this document. It is also generally assumed that the community in question belonged to the sect of the Essenes, known to us from the descriptions of Josephus, Philo and Pliny the Elder. 44 Josephus describes a similar regimen, with prayers at dawn, great emphasis on purification, common meals, common property and strict deference to superiors. Both the account in Josephus and the Qumran Community Rule describe elaborate procedures for postulancy and admission, and while some details are problematic, the similarities outweigh the differ- ences. One point of discrepancy, however, has been especially contentious. Josephus, Philo and Pliny all claim that the Essenes were celibate, although Josephus admits that there was a second order of Essenes who married. The Community Rule does not demand celibacy, and the Damascus Document contains rules for family life. Nevertheless, many scholars remain persuaded that some members of the Dead Sea sect were celibate, although the second order mentioned by Josephus may have been the norm rather than the exception. The Damascus Document (CD), column , seems to contrast two styles of community life. First, there are those who walk in perfect holiness, according to all the teaching of God. These are assured that ‘they shall live for thousands of generations’. The text continues: ‘But if they live in camps according to the order of the land and marry and have children …’ It seems reasonable to infer that those who walk in perfect holiness do not marry and have children, and this is why they are assured that they shall live for thousands of generations (CD : – ). 45 Since the Community Rule does not mention families, it may be that it was written for a celibate community, while the Damascus Document applied more widely to various sectarian 83 Eschatological Dynamics in Early Judaism settlements. Whether this interpretation be accepted or not, however, there is no doubt that the Dead Sea Scrolls have a restrictive attitude to sex. For example, both the Temple Scroll and the Damascus Document (
QTemple
: ; CD : – ) forbid sexual intercourse in the city of the sanctuary ( Jerusalem), and a fragment of the Damascus Rule from Qumran Cave speaks of a man ‘fornicating’ with his wife ( Q il ). 46 The roots of these restrictions can be found in the aspiration to live an angelic life, and is in accordance with the principle that ‘no man smitten with any human un- cleanness shall enter the assembly of God . . . for the angels of holiness are [with] their congre[gation]’ ( QSa : – ). Thus far I have been describing an early phase, or rather early phases, of Jewish apocalypticism. We are not speaking of a single movement. There are differences between the Enoch literature and Daniel, and significant differ- ences between both and the Dead Sea sect. But there is also clear continuity. The Dead Sea sect drew on both Enoch and Daniel, while it also attached much more importance to the Hebrew Scriptures, and even drew on occasion from other sources such as Zoroastrian dualism. Perhaps the most noteworthy difference is between a book like Daniel, written at a critical juncture in history, and informed by an acute sense of expectation, and the larger corpus of the sectarian Scrolls, in which expectation of an end plays a part but is submerged in a structured community life and a sense that eschatology is at least partially realized in the present. I have emphasized, however, the im- portance of the angelic world, and the hope for angelic transformation in this literature, since this aspect of apocalypticism is quite crucial to the pragmatics of the texts, and it is often overlooked in the general equation of apoca- lypticism with millennial expectation. 47 The angelic world is not equally important in all forms of Jewish apocalypticism; it is far less prominent in the later apocalypses of Ezra and Baruch. But it is of great importance in the pivotal stages of Jewish apocalypticism that we have considered here. Apocalypse as a Medium of Reflection: 4 Ezra, 2 Baruch, 3 Baruch Another major cluster of Jewish apocalypses dates from the end of the first century , in the aftermath of the Jewish revolt. 48
Ezra, Baruch and Baruch are all reflections on the catastrophe that had come to pass. While they continue to console and exhort, they represent a rather different use of the genre from that of the early Enoch writings and Daniel. They could scarcely have incited anyone to revolt. Instead they are attempts to understand and come to terms with failure and destruction. Ezra, which is preserved in Latin and several other secondary translations, 84 Judaism, Christianity and Islam stands out among the Jewish apocalypses as the most acute formulation of a theological problem. 49 Ezra, located anachronistically in Babylon thirty years after the destruction of Jerusalem, acknowledges the familiar Deuteronomic theory that the destruction was punishment for sin, but then raises an all too obvious question: ‘Are the deeds of Babylon better than those of Zion? Or has another nation known thee besides Israel? Or what tribes have believed thy covenants as these tribes of Jacob?’ ( : – ). The angel with whom he speaks does not respond to this question directly, but tells Ezra that ‘your under- standing has utterly failed regarding this world, and do you think you can comprehend the way of the Most High?’ ( :
). He assures him, however, that ‘the age is hastening swiftly to its end’ ( :
) and proceeds to tell him the signs that will precede the eschaton. Ezra, however, is not easily deterred. He renews his questions about the justice of God, only to be again diverted with an eschatological prediction ( :
– ). Yet a third time Ezra probes more deeply: ‘O sovereign Lord, behold, thou has ordained in thy law that the righteous shall inherit these things, but that the ungodly shall perish’ ( :
). But in that case most of humankind is doomed to perish: ‘For all who have been born are involved in iniquities, and are full of sins and burdened with transgressions’ ( :
). The angel’s reply is harsh: ‘You are not a better judge than God, or wiser than the Most High! Let many perish who are not living, rather than that the law of God which is set before them be disregarded!’ ( : – ). The angel urges Ezra to think about what is to come rather than about what now is ( :
) and discourses on the messianic age and the judgment after death. The Most High, we are told, made not one world but two ( :
), this world for the sake of the many but the world to come for the sake of the few (
). Ezra is not consoled: ‘It would have been better if the earth had not produced Adam, or else, when it had produced him, had restrained him from sinning. For what good is it to all that they live in sorrow now and expect punishment after death? O Adam, what have you done? For though it was you who sinned, the fall was not yours alone, but ours also who are your des- cendants’ ( : – ). Even though he gradually resigns himself to the will of God, he still comments ruefully on the paucity of those who will be saved (
). After the third dialogue, Ezra is told to go into the field and eat the flowers ( : , ). After this he has a vision of a woman in mourning. At first Ezra scolds her, for being concerned with her personal grief while ‘Zion, the mother of us all’ is in affliction. Then he tells her not to dwell on her grief but to ‘let yourself be persuaded because of the troubles of Zion, and be consoled because of the sorrow of Jerusalem’ ( : ). While he is speaking, she is transformed into a city with massive foundations. Then the angel Uriel appears and explains to Ezra that the woman was Zion and that God had 85 Eschatological Dynamics in Early Judaism shown him the future glory of Jerusalem because of his wholehearted grief over her ruin. From this point on, Ezra raises no further complaints. In chapters – he sees a vision of an eagle rising from the sea, that is confronted by a lion. The eagle stands for Rome, and the lion for the Davidic messiah. In chapter a man rises on clouds from the heart of the sea. He takes his stand on a mountain and repulses the Gentiles, and then gathers in the lost tribes of Israel. In the final chapter, Ezra is inspired to reproduce the Torah that has been burnt, but also seventy secret books that are to be given to ‘the wise among your people, for in them is the spring of understanding, the fountain of wisdom and the river of knowledge’ ( : – ). Ezra is remarkable for the fact that the pseudonymous author, Ezra, adheres to a theology that is rejected by the angel. Some scholars have argued that Ezra is the voice of heresy, which the author meant to refute, 50 but it is surely implausible that heresy would be given such an authoritative voice. Rather, the dialogue between Ezra and the angel must be taken to reflect the conflict of theologies in the author’s heart and mind. 51 In this respect, it is reminiscent of the Book of Job, which also articulates a deeply felt problem before submitting to a divinely imposed solution. 52 Ezra articulates the tradi- tional Deuteronomic theology, but finds it wanting. The angel does nothing to rehabilitate this theology, but tells Ezra in effect that God’s ways are inscrutable in this world, and that he must be content to wait for the revelation of justice in the world to come. In the end, the eschatological visions carry the day. The high value placed on the seventy secret books in the final chapter is highly significant. While the Torah remains important, it does not contain ‘the spring of understanding and the fountain of wisdom’. That wisdom requires higher revelation, such as Ezra receives in this apocalypse. The actual eschatology of Ezra, however, is based on the Hebrew scriptures, although the themes are developed in original ways. There is no influence here from the Enoch tradition. The origin of sin is discussed with reference to Adam. There is no mention of the Watchers. The picture of the future combines various strands of traditional eschatology. In chapter the
messiah (called ‘my son’) is said to reign for
years and then die. After this, there will be seven days of primeval silence, followed by the resurrection and judgment. In this way, the apocalypse accommodates both the expectation of national restoration under a messianic king and the more typically apoca- lyptic hope for a new creation. We find a similar two-stage eschatology in the roughly contemporary Book of Revelation, where Christ reigns on earth for ,
years before the resurrection and new creation (Revelation ). In chapters – , Ezra draws heavily on the Book of Daniel. The Roman eagle rises from the sea like the beasts in Daniel , and is identified as ‘the fourth kingdom which appeared in a vision to your brother Daniel. But it was 86 Judaism, Christianity and Islam not explained to him as I now explain or have explained it to you’ ( Ezra : – ). The lion, who has no place in Daniel’s vision but is derived from Genesis : , is ‘the messiah whom the Most High has kept until the end of days, who will arise from the posterity of David’. In chapter , the man who rises from the sea on clouds is clearly a reinterpretation of the ‘one like a son of man’ in Daniel. He is identified, however, as the Davidic messiah (‘my son’) and the description of his stand on the mountain (Zion) is remin- iscent of Psalm . The messianic age serves to restore Israel, and thereby Yüklə 4,01 Mb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
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