Apocalypse of ZephaniahThe Apocalypse of Zephaniah (or Apocalypse of Sophonias) is a pseudepigraphic text attributed to the Biblical prophet Zephaniah. It describes an otherworldly journey taken by Zephaniah where an angel reveals secrets of people's fates after their death, and is a work of apocalyptic literature. It is not the same as the Book of Zephaniah, a canonical work of the Twelve Minor Prophets of Judaism also found in the Christian Old Testament. It is not known for sure if it was originally written by Jews, by Christians, or was an originally Jewish work that was later edited and adapted by Christians. Similarly, the date of authorship is unknown; it may have been written at some point in the 1st century or 2nd century CE, perhaps in Koine Greek in Roman Egypt. Much of the work is lost; only fragments survived into the modern era. The surviving passages are a short possible quotation by Clement of Alexandria, a short fragment in Sahidic Coptic, and a longer fragment in Akhmimic Coptic. Date and originThe Apocalypse of Zephaniah refers to the story of Susanna (part of the Greek Additions to Daniel, which were created around 100 BCE), and so it must have been authored later than 100 BCE (terminus post quem). Clement of Alexandria probably refers to the Apocalypse in book 5 11:77 of his Stromata (c. 200–204 CE); assuming he is referencing the Apocalypse there, then it was probably written before the last quarter of second century CE.[1] Within this range, O. S. Wintermute suggests a more specific date of before 70 CE, because of a reference to a pro-Edomite tradition.[2] The text contains no mention of Jewish customs or traditions but no distinctive Christian elements either. Some passages are reminiscent of New Testament sections, but not clearly enough to know for sure. As a result, it is unknown if the work was originally Jewish, originally Christian, or if a Christian reworked a Jewish text.[3] Roman Egypt is considered the most likely place of origin, but this cannot be said for sure, either. While the surviving manuscripts are in the Coptic language, it is speculated that these are translations of a Koine Greek original.[4] ManuscriptsAs the work was not included in either the Jewish or Christian canons, it became a lost literary work as scribes did not copy and recopy it. The existence of the Apocalypse of Zephaniah was known from ancient texts (for example the Stichometry of Nicephorus), but no details were known. The closest was the quotation by Clement of Alexandria; while he does not say anything about the Apocalypse, he believes that Zephaniah wrote something about angels in the fifth heaven, which is a story not in the canonical Book of Zephaniah. Thus, some other lost work was probably involved, and angels in layers of heaven fits with what is known of the Apocalypse.[4] In 1881 two fragmentary manuscripts, respectively written in Akhmimic and Sahidic Coptic dialects,[5] and probably coming from the White Monastery in Egypt, were bought by the Bibliothèque Nationale of Paris (inventory number Copte 135[5]) and first published by Uriel Bouriant in 1885. These fragments, together with others later bought by the Staatliche Museum of Berlin (inventory number P 1862[5]), were published in 1899 by Steindorff[6] who recognized in them fragments of the Apocalypse of Zephaniah, of the Apocalypse of Elijah and of another text he called The Anonymous Apocalypse. Both manuscripts were created around the 4th century, with it thought the shorter fragment could also perhaps be from the early 5th century. Emil Schürer in 1899[7] showed that the Anonymous Apocalypse is most probably part of the Apocalypse of Zephaniah, but there is not unanimous consensus among scholars.[3][8] ContentThe narrative tells of Zephaniah being taken to see the destiny of souls after death.
TheologyThe Apocalypse of Zephaniah, in accordance with the Book of Enoch, presents souls as surviving beyond death. It clearly distinguishes between the personal judgment occurring immediately after death and the final judgment by the Lord. After death the soul is sought by the fallen angels of Satan and by the angels of the Lord. Judgment is based only on the balance between good deeds and sins during the whole of life, indicating that the book was influenced by Pharisaism. Souls enter bliss or punishment immediately after the first judgment, while waiting for the Lord's coming, but the intercession of the saints makes it possible that, for some, punishment may not be definitive. This view differs from that of other contemporary texts such as 2 Enoch. Notes
External links
|
