THE ASCENSION of ISAIAH the Ascension of Isaiah Is a Jewish Christian Apocalypse Written from the Perspective of the Biblical Pr
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CHAPTER TEN THE ASCENSION OF ISAIAH The Ascension of Isaiah is a Jewish Christian apocalypse written from the perspective of the biblical prophet Isaiah in order to give expression to an angelomorphic Christology which is experienced through mystical ascent. 1 Its present form, which dates from the second to the fourth century CE, is a compilation of Jewish traditions about Isaiah's martyrdom and Christian traditions about his vision(s) .2 Most scholars agree that a mid to early second century date for the principal portions of the document is prob able. 3 References to the Samaritans in the martyrdom traditions (2.12, 14; 3.1, 3) as well as polemics against Jerusalem (2.7; 3.6) indicate that this writing probably originated in Palestine. 4 Study 1 Recent research on this document has been done most extensively among Italian scholars who have produced a critical edition of the text with a full commentary; see Ascensio Isaiae: Textus (eds. and trans. P. Bettiolo, A. Giambelluca Kossova, L. Leonardi, E. Norelli, and L. Perrone; Corpus Chris tianorvm, Series Apocryphorum 7; Turnhout: Brepols, 1995), and E. Norelli, Ascensio Isaiae: Commentarius (Corpus Christianorvm, Series Apocryphorum 8; Turnhout: Brepols, 1995). See also the extensive collection of essays in Isaia, il dilietto e la chiesa: Visione ed esegesi progfetica cristiano-primitiva nell' Ascensione di Isaia. Atti de[ Convegno di Roma, 9-10 Aprile 1981 (ed. M. Pesce; Brescia: Paidea, 1983). The English translation by M. Knibb with some notes is found in OTP 2.143-176. J. Knight has written a brief introduction and a more extensive work that focuses primarily on Christology; see The Ascension of Isaiah and Disciples of the Beloved One ( cf. discussion on 24 above). 2 For a discussion of its date and place in early Christianity, see R. Hall, "The Ascension of Isaiah: Community Situation, Date, and Place in Early Christianity", ]BL 109 (1990) 289-306; cf. R. Hall, "Isaiah's Ascent to See the Beloved: An Ancient Jewish Source for the Ascension of Isaiah",JBL 113 (1994) 463-484. 3 The composite nature and date of the document is discussed by Knibb "Martyrdom and Ascension of Isaiah", OTP 2.147-150. The martyrdom traditions in 1.1-3.12 and 5.1-16 are clearly the most ancient portion of the document. The prophecy about the church in 3.13-4.22 appears to be post apostolic, yet is often dated in late first century since its discussion of the Antichrist contains a reference to the Nero redivivus myth prominent during the decades following his death in 68 CE. The Vision (6.1-11.28) could be from the late first century, but is most often thought to be second century. For a discussion of the author's sources in the apocalypse, see Knight, Disciples of the Beloved One, 28-32, and Hall, "Isaiah's Ascent", 463-484. 4 See Knibb, "Martyrdom and Ascension of Isaiah", OTP 2.150. 230 EARLY EVIDENCE of this document has been complicated by a difficult textual tradition in which an originally Greek (and possibly Hebrew) text is preserved primarily in Ethiopic.5 This document is rooted in a Jewish Christian community that revered mystical ascent and ascetic practices in deference to what the author(s) sees happening in the wider Christian church.6 There is an emphasis on the Parousia with its eschatologial reward ( 4.14-18) and a signal that the contemporary situation of the church is deteriorating (3.21-31; 8.23-24).7 The esteemed reverence for mystical ascent is visible not only in the general apocalyptic nature of the vision, but also in the specific content. For example, 2.9-11 states that after Isaiah withdrew from Jerusalem to a desert he and others engaged in ascent activity: [9] And Micah the prophet, and the aged Ananias, and Joel, and Habakkuk, and Josab his son, and many of the faithful who believed in the ascension into heaven, withdrew and dwelt on the mountain. [10] All of them were clothed in sackcloth and all of them were prophets; they had nothing with them, but were desti tute, and they all lamented bitterly over the going astray of Israel. [11] And they had nothing to eat except wild herbs [ ...] And they dwelt on the mountains and on the hills for two years of days.8 These words reflect a high respect for the prophet as a mystic who ascends to heaven to receive revelation. This community which revered Isaiah may have understood him to be the only 5 Only a fragmentary fourth-fifth century Greek version exists containing 2.4-4.4, but it has allowed scholars to confirm the basic accuracy of the Ethiopic translations which exist. For discussion see Knibb, OTP 2.144-47 and esp. Bettiolo et. al., Ascensio Isaiae: Textus, 3-43. 6 See M. Himmelfarb, Ascent to Heaven in Jewish and Christian Apocalypses (Oxford: OUP, 1992) esp. 55-58. Himmelfarb's focus on the relationship between exegesis and ascent, however, leads her to downplay the evidence of actual ascent practices. Bauckham takes the evidence of end-of-life ascent to be proof that the author did not advocate mystical ascent; see Climax of Prophecy, 143. Based upon the absence of angel names and the refusal of worship by the angelus interpres, Bauckham also argues that the author is deliberately reject ing "the theurgic use of angelological lore" such as found in Merkabah mysti cism. Although the mysticism is not as highly developed as later Merkabah texts, nevertheless this document does not contain a polemic against mystical ascent and probably reflects mystical experience. 7 Hall, "Ascension of Isaiah", places this phenomenon in the context of early second century Christianity; see esp. 300-306. 8 Living on mountains is related to the practice of mystical ascent. For reference to ascent from a mountain top, see T. Levi 2.5-7 and Apoc. Peter 17. .