The book Ascension of Isaiah is one of the Pseudepigrapha,^[1] dating from the 2nd century AD and compiled by an unknown Christian scholar. According to the theory of R. H. Charles^[2], long undisputed, the text incorporates three distinct sections, each once a separate work that is a single compilation here. Of these, one, the first, appears to have been written by a Jewish author, and the other two by Christians. Pseudepigrapha (from the Greek words pseudos = lie and epigrapho = write) is a text or a number of texts whose claimed authorship or authenticity is incorrect. ... The 2nd century is the period from 101 - 200 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian Era. ... For other uses, see Christian (disambiguation). ... Robert Henry Charles (1855-1931) was an English biblical scholar and theologian. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Christianity is...

Content

The content is two-and-a-half fold:

• The first part of the book (chapters 1-5), generally referred to as the Martyrdom of Isaiah, recounts and expands on the events of 2 Kings chapter 21. Isaiah warns the dying Hezekiah that his heir, Manasseh, will not follow the same path. When Manasseh takes over, and Isaiah's warning proves true, Isaiah and a group of fellow prophets head into the desert, and a demon named Beliar inspires a false prophet named Belkira to accuse Isaiah of treason. The king consequently condemns Isaiah to death, and although Isaiah hides in a tree, he is found, and Belkira leads the execution.
  • Into the middle of this (3:13-4:22) the editor has inserted a Christian apocalypse called the Testament of Hezekiah, describing a vision of the coming of Jesus, the subsequent corruption of the Christian church, the rule of Beliar, and the second coming. All of which is phrased in such a way that it is clearly a code for the persecution of the Church by Nero, and the belief that Nero was the Antichrist.
  • According to Charles, The Martyrdom consists of: i. 1-2a, 6b-13a; ii. 1-iii. 12; v. 1b-14. (2) Ch. iii. 13b-iv. 18 are to be counted as a separate work, added by the first editor of the entire work, probably before the "Greek Legend" and the Latin translation were written. (3) The Vision comprises ch. vi. 1-xi. 40, ch. xi. 2-22 being thus an integral part of this section. (4) Editorial additions are: ch. i. 2b-6a, 13b; ii. 9; iii. 13a; iv. 1a, 19-22; v. 1a, 15-16; xi. 41-43.
• The second part of the book (chapters 6-11) is referred to as the Vision of Isaiah and describes an angel-assisted journey, prior to the events of the first part of the book, by Isaiah through the Seven Heavens. In its surviving form it is clearly written from a Christian perspective, concentrating on Jesus' death and his resurrection, and especially the ascension of Jesus. The birth of Jesus is curiously described as being preceded by Jesus descending through each of the heavens, disguising himself as an angel appropriate to each as he goes.

The text exists as a whole in three Ethiopic manuscripts of around the 5th-7th centuries, but fragments have also survived in Greek, Coptic, Latin, and Old Slavonic. All three component texts appear to have been in Greek, and it is possible that the "Martyrdom of Isaiah" derives from a Hebrew or Aramaic original. Comparison of the various translations suggests that two different recensions of the Greek original must have existed; one on which the Ethiopic and one of the Latin versions was based, and the other on which the Slavonic and the other Latin version was based. Fragments of both Greek versions have survived. The work's current title is derived from the title used in the Ethiopic manuscripts ('Ergata Īsāyèyās – "The Ascension of Isaiah"). In antiquity, Epiphanius also referred to it by this title (in Greek: Τὸ Αναβατικὸν ησαΐου), as did Jerome (in Latin: Ascensio Isaiæ). The Books of Kings (also known as [The Book of] Kings in Hebrew: Sefer Melachim מלכים) is a part of Judaisms Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible. ... Hezekiah (or Ezekias) (Hebrew: חזקיה or חזקיהו, God has strengthened) was the 13th king of indepedent Judah and the son of King Ahaz and Abijah (2 Chronicles 29:1), who was a daughter of a man (who was not the prophet) named Zechariah. ... For other uses, see inheritance (disambiguation). ... This entry incorporates text from the public domain Eastons Bible Dictionary, originally published in 1897. ... Belial in Judaism In Judaism Belial has been identified with Satan. ... False prophet is a label given to a person who is viewed as illegitimately claiming charismatic authority within a religious group. ... For other uses, see Treason (disambiguation) or Traitor (disambiguation). ... Look up Apocalypse in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For other uses, see Second Coming (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Nero (disambiguation). ... In Christian eschatology, the Antichrist or anti-Christ means a person, office, or group recognized as fulfilling the Biblical prophecies about one who will oppose Christ and substitute himself in Christs place. ... For other uses, see Heaven (disambiguation). ... The resurrection of Jesus is an event in the New Testament in which God raised him from the dead[1] after his death by crucifixion. ... Also refers to the process of gaining Enlightenment and several meditation techniques. ... This article is about the African country. ... A manuscript (Latin manu scriptus, written by hand), strictly speaking, is any written document that is put down by hand, in contrast to being printed or reproduced some other way. ... Europe in 450 The 5th century is the period from 401 to 500 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian Era. ... The 7th century is the period from 601 - 700 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian Era. ... The Coptic language is a direct descendant of the ancient Egyptian language which was once written in Egyptian hieroglyphic, hieratic, and demotic scripts. ... For other uses, see Latin (disambiguation). ... Proto-Slavic is the proto-language from which Old Church Slavonic and all the other Slavic languages later emerged. ... Historically, a martyr is a person who dies for his or her religious faith. ... Hebrew redirects here. ... Aramaic is a Semitic language with a four-thousand year history. ... Old Church Slavonic (also called Old Slavic[1]) is the first literary Slavic language, developed from the Slavic dialect of Thessalonica (modern Thessaloniki) by the 9th century Byzantine Greek missionaries, Saints Cyril and Methodius. ... Epiphanius (clearly manifested) was the name of several early Christian scholars and ecclesiastics: Epiphanius of Salamis, bishop of Salamis in Cyprus, died 410, author of Panarion Epiphanius of Constantinople, died 535, Patriarch of Constantinople 520—535 Epiphanius Scholasticus, known only as the assistant of Cassiodorus who compiled the Historiae Ecclesiasticae... For other uses, see Jerome (disambiguation). ...

Elements of the Ascension of Isaiah are paralleled in other Jewish and Christian writings. The method of Isaiah's death (sawn in half by Manasseh) is agreed upon by both the Babylonian Talmud and Jerusalem Talmud, and is probably alluded to by the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews (11:37). The demon Beliar appears in quite a number of apocryphal works, including the Book of Jubilees, the Book of Enoch, the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, and the Sibylline Books. Finally, Isaiah's journey through the Seven Heavens parallels that of Enoch's in the Second Book of Enoch. This entry incorporates text from the public domain Eastons Bible Dictionary, originally published in 1897. ... The Talmud (Hebrew: ) is a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs, and history. ... The Jerusalem Talmud (In Hebrew Talmud Yerushalmi, in short known as the Yerushalmi), also known as the Palestinian Talmud, like its Babylonian counterpart (see Babylonian Talmud), is a collection of Rabbinic discussions elaborating on the Mishnah. ... The Epistle to the Hebrews (abbr. ... The Book of Jubilees expands and reworks material found in Genesis to Exodus 15. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs is an important constituent of the apocryphal scriptures connected with the Old Testament, comprising the dying commands of the twelve sons of Jacob. ... The Sibylline Books or Sibyllae were a collection of oracular utterances, set out in Greek hexameters, purchased from a sibyl by the semi-legendary last king of Rome, Tarquinius Superbus, and consulted at momentous crises through the history of the Republic and the Empire. ... The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ...

The first section of the text is also notable for its extreme hostility toward the Samaritans, a Jewish group that claimed to be the Jews that were left behind during the Babylonian exile, and hence more original, but were disowned by the remainder. For the ethnic group of this name, see Samaritan. ... The Babylonian captivity, or Babylonian exile, is the name generally given to the deportation and exile of the Jews of the ancient Kingdom of Judah to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar. ...

References

• Jonathan Knight (1995), The Ascension of Isaiah

See also

• Non-canonical books referenced in the Bible

Several texts are mentioned in the Bible, yet do not appear in the canon. ...

Notes

1. ^ Harris, Stephen L., Understanding the Bible. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985.
2. ^ Knight, p. 26.

Stephen L Harris is Professor and Chair, Department of Humanities and Religious Studies at California State University, Sacramento. ...

External link

• Online translation of the Ascension of Isaiah