APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE
APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE 87
dims and weakens this luminary ; it mu«it lie cleansed and refreslicd at the end of each day (8) Thechariot of the moon and the explanation of its stages, together with the reason for its slmuiij, only at night, are then made known to BaukIi (0) In the fourtii heaven he eoiiies into view of a \ ,ist plain and body of water which is the souue ot the ' dew of heaven ' ( 10). The Kates of tlie hith heavtii are closed as he and his guide come to them ; but upon being opened they admit the archangel Jlichael, who receives the prayers and good woiks of the righteous and presents them before God (11, 12). The guardian angels of the unrighteous petition to be released from their hated woik, but are told to wait (13). Michael departs, but returns again bringing oil, which he gives to the angels that had brought to him the virtues of men (U. 15). He addresses the angels wlio had brought no good works (16). The gate closes, and the prophet and angel return to the earth.
Literary questions —Thus far there .are two recensions of this apocalypse known, the Greek and the tah\onK But neither of t'hein is believed to be the original. Their lel itions to one another are those of a more and a less condensed \ cision 3f the same story. That the orij^inal must have been fuller and larger is clear from Origen's intimation that it ga\ e an aCLOunt of seven heavens, whereas the Greek text before us stops witli the fifth heaven, and the Slavonic knows of only two
The relation of the book to the Syriac Baruch is probably e\ plained by referring to 7ii^--* of that work. Here God pi onuses to give Baruch, after the lapse of forty days, a further re\ elation regarding the world of material elements (the cycle of the eartli, the summits of the mountains, the depths ot the \alle\s .ind of the seas, and the number of the rivers). The fulfilment of this promise is not recorded in what follows, and the (.letlc apo- calypse was composed to show not only that it tt.is fiilliUcd, but also in what way.
This dependence on the Syriac Baruch on the one side and the allusion of Origen to the work on the other, fi\ the d ite of its composition as between 100 and 175 a.d It « is i\ ritttn as a Jewish apocalvpse, but shows traces of interpolation by Christians (cf. ch, 4, ' The Vine ').
t'ciiHcms.— Greek Te.xt : James (.Texts and Studies, Camb. 1897, v. 1, pp. 84-94).
Translations.— Kn<;\ish : James(as above) : the SK\ -inn t< \f
in the same volume with the edition iii ^ i . , —German; Bonwetsch (^^achricftti^n H'«s.zM(V6H.,PhU.Klasse,lS9(),pp.9.1-l i..,, I:.- , , I. . J'seudepigr. 1900.
Literature.— This is limited almost altogclhci tu thi intio ductions accompanying the editions and translations Of these, however, that by Prof. James is quite ample and thorough
8. The Psalter of Solomon The Psalter of
Solomon is placed in the Stiohometry of Nice phorus among the Antilegomena of the OT, and not among tlie Apocrypha ; so also in pseudo- Athanasius' Synopsis S. Scripturce. It is a collec- tion of lyrics, each one independent of eveiy other. Only the last two of these (the 17th and 18th), strictly speaking, fall into the group of apocalyptic writings. They were known and referied to as the 'Odes of Solomon' as early as the Pistis Sophia (200 to 250 A.D.), and frequently latei than that date.
Contents, Ps 17 i,s in general a prophecy of the restonuii.ii of tlir, ,i;l(iry to the desolated throne of David. It n|,c-ns w itii an expression of trust in the Lord, tliL' Eternal King of Israel, addressed directly to Him (1-4). The Lord (still addre.^sL-d in the second person) has chosen David to In- kini; o\cr I.srael, and promised him and his seed iitipchuil dominion ; but sinners have risen up against Israel and have desolated the throne of David (5-S) ; yet the Lord will cast these down and visit them ac- cording to their sins (9-12). They have done wickedly and acted proudly (13-17) ; the righteous fled before them and wandered in desert pl.iccs (18-20)! the sins of the wicked have aboumiid (21, 22) ; the Lord is to raise the son of David, Hi, Servant, purge Jerusalem, cast down the unright- eous and lawless nation, gather together His people and judge all the tribes of men (23-36). He willnot put confidence in huiuan weapons of warfare, but
in the Lnid ; and strengthen and j, i sh.xlliule ii^iiteou aiethe% Mhoshill
ot the Anonited (7-10),
M,
Loid ^Mn bless him, «ill
'III .li.iMiniim (37-44). He
I ' l\ ir)-49). Blessed
■ill N (-.0.51).
■ Ml \ . It begins with
1 1 I I i I'll 111 i.ixour to
li . I . I Ml iliim(l-5).
in N I>h1, (,„d shall
-1 ill (In , il declares
o sliall In e in the days
closes with a doxology
foi the cimstanty and peipetuity of the heavenly
/ Though the Psalter of Solomon is a col-
1 1 1 compositions, these appaientlj i^sue
till il conditions and are pervaded by the
smi' j I ill They nowhere claim to be Solomon's