The Testament of Isaac is a work now regarded as part of the Old Testament

apocrypha Apocrypha are works, usually written, of unknown authorship or of doubtful origin. The word ''apocryphal'' (ἀπόκρυφος) was first applied to writings which were kept secret because they were the vehicles of esoteric knowledge considered ...

. It is often treated as one of a trio of very similar works, the other two of which are the

Testament of Abraham The Testament of Abraham is a pseudepigraphic text of the Old Testament. Probably composed in the 1st or 2nd century AD, it is of Jewish origin and is usually considered to be part of the apocalyptic literature. It is regarded as scripture by Be ...

and

Testament of Jacob The Testament of Jacob is a work now regarded as part of the Old Testament apocrypha. It is often treated as one of a trio of very similar works, the other two of which are the Testament of Abraham and Testament of Isaac, though there is no reason ...

, though there is no reason to assume that they were originally a single work. All three works are based on the

Blessing of Jacob The Blessing of Jacob is a prophetic poem that appears in Genesis at and mentions each of Jacob's twelve sons. Genesis presents the poem as the words of Jacob to his sons when Jacob is about to die. Like the Blessing of Moses, Genesis 49 assess ...

, found in the Bible, in their style.

Content

The Testament of Isaac has heavy Christian themes, though the

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

elements are usually regarded as later additions to what was originally a purely

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...

ish work. The Testament begins with Isaac being told of his impending death by an

angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...

, and his message to his son in response. Isaac here is portrayed as foretelling both the Twelve

Tribes of Israel The Twelve Tribes of Israel ( he, שִׁבְטֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל, translit=Šīḇṭēy Yīsrāʾēl, lit=Tribes of Israel) are, according to Hebrew Bible, Hebrew scriptures, the descendants of the biblical Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch ...

and

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

, the latter being a later Christian addition to the text. When a crowd assembles, Isaac gives a sermon about harmonious behaviour, as well as instruction on how to confess. At this point, the angel returns and takes Isaac to heaven, first seeing the torture of sinners (occurring in heaven and not in some underworld

hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location in the afterlife in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hell ...

according to the author), and then meeting the deceased Abraham. At this point Isaac is not quite dead, and so returns to earth, and on the instruction of Abraham, writes down his Testament, and then dies and returns to heaven in a flying

chariot A chariot is a type of cart driven by a charioteer, usually using horses to provide rapid motive power. The oldest known chariots have been found in burials of the Sintashta culture in modern-day Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, dated to c. 2000&nbs ...

, much like Abraham in his Testament.

References

{{Christian-book-stub Isaac Apocrypha 1st-century books 2nd-century books Old Testament pseudepigrapha Jewish apocrypha Apocalyptic literature Texts in Koine Greek Roman Egypt

Content

See also

References