Table Of ContentSTUDIES IN ANTIQUITY & CHRISTIANITY
ELIJAH
IN UPPER
EGYPT
THE APOCALYPSE OF ELIJAH
AND EARLY EGYPTIAN
CHRISTIANITY
David Frankfurter
A fresco, The Prophet llija in the Desert, from thirteenth-century Moraca.
STUDIES IN ANTIQUITY & CHRISTIANITY
ELIJAH
IN UPPER
EGYPT
THE APOCALYPSE OF ELIJAH
AND EARLY EGYPTIAN
CHRISTIANITY
David Frankfurter
FORTRESS PRESS MINNEAPOLIS
For
Eleanor, Jack, and Anath
ELIJAH IN UPPER EGYPT
The Apocalypse of Elijah and Early Egyptian Christianity
Copyright © 1993 The Institute for Antiquity and Christianity. All rights reserved. Except
for brief quotations in critical articles or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in
any manner without prior written permission from the publisher. Write to: Permissions,
Augsburg Fortress, 426 S. Fifth St., Box 1209, Minneapolis, MN 55440.
Scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are from the Revised Standard Version of
the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971, by the Division of Christian Education of the
National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Frankfurter, David, 1961-
Elijah in Upper Egypt : the apocalypse of Elijah and early
Egyptian Christianity / David Frankfurter.
p. cm. — (Studies in antiquity and Christianity)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8006-3106-4 (alk. paper)
1. Apocalypse of Elijah—Criticism, interpretation, etc.
2. Egypt—Religion. I. Title. II. Series.
BS1830.E46F73 1992
229.913—dc20 92-17353
CIP
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American
National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library
Materials, ANSI Z329.48-1984.
Manufactured in the U.S.A. AF 1-3106
97 96 95 94 93 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Contents
Foreword
Acknowledgments
Abbreviations xiii
Introduction 1
PART ONE
The Apocalypse of Elijah as Religious Literature
1. The Coptic Apocalypse of Elijah 7
Contents of the Apocalypse of Elijah
Histories of the Apocalypse of Elijah:
A Review of Research 10
Dating 17
Questions of Provenance and Milieu 20
Manuscript Character 21
Witnesses 24
Manuscripts, Recensions, Fragments:
The Identity of the Apocalypse of Elijah 27
2. The Apocalypse of Elijah in Its Biblical Context 31
The Apocalypse of Elijah's Use of Sources 31
The "Apocalypse״ of Elijah 39
The Apocalypse of Elijah and Other Elijah Pseudepigrapha 44
vi Contents
3. The Context of Christian Elijah Pseudepigraphy in Egypt 58
Narrative Context of Elijah Pseudepigraphy in the Apocalypse
of Elijah 59
Religious Context of Elijah Pseudepigraphy 65
Conclusion: Understanding Elijah Pseudepigraphy in Egypt 75
4. Literary Aspects of the Apocalypse of Elijah: Genre,
Self-Presentation, and Audience 78
Oral Performance and the Progressive Assembling of Forms 79
From Genre to "Intrinsic״ Genre in the Description of the
Apocalypse of Elijah 94
The Implied Audience and Implied Author of the
Apocalypse of Elijah 96
5. The Lawless One and the Fate of the Saints: Major Themes and
Traditions in the Apocalypse of Elijah 103
Deceit and Recognition as Practical Concerns 103
A Map through the Woes: Signs in the Apocalypse of Elijah 106
Recognition of Signs as a Solution to Disorder and Anxiety 125
The Text as Its Own Solution: The Apocalypse of Elijah
as Ritual Execration 127
6. Exhortatio ad Martyrum: The Apocalypse of Elijah and the Lore
of Martyrdom 141
Martyrdom as a Literary Theme 141
Exhortatio ad martyrum: Social Reflection and Social Control
in the Apocalypse of Elijah 145
Extremist Views and Melitian Origins 152
Conclusions 154
PART TWO
Envisioning the Collapse of Things:
The Convergence of Egyptian and Christian Worldviews
in the Apocalypse of Elijah
7. Chaosbeschreibung: The Literary and Ideological Background
of the Apocalypse of Elijah 159
Egyptian Kingship Ideology 162
The Demonic Opposition to Kingship 164
Contents vii
Kingship Propaganda and the Portrayal of Antikingship 168
The Use of Chaosbeschreibung in the Hellenistic Period 174
Excursus: The Prophetic Motifs of Chaosbeschreibung 183
Priesthood and Oracles in the Roman Period 185
Continuity of Chaosbeschreibung in Late Roman Egypt and the
Literary Context of the Elijah Apocalypse 192
8. Vaticinia Sine Eventibus: The Use of Egyptian
Chaosbeschreibung Tradition in the Apocalypse of Elijah 195
Outline of ApocEl 2: The Discourse on Signs of Woe 200
General Implications of ApocEl 2 201
Chaosbeschreibung Motifs in ApocEl 2 203
Integration of Legends with Chaosbeschreibung 211
The Question of Historical Antecedents to ApocEl 2 216
The Meaning of References to Jews and Jerusalem 226
The Synthesis of Native and Christian Traditions 228
Conclusion: The Perspective of ApocEl 2 236
PART THREE
A Silhouette of the Millennium:
Toward a Historical and Social Context
for the Apocalypse of Elijah
9. The First Level: Egypt in the Third Century C.E. 241
The Socioeconomic Decline in Egypt in the Third Century 242
Rebellion, Religion, and Ideology in Third-Century Egypt 249
Alexandrian Revolts of the Third Century 257
The Evidence for Rebellions in Egypt 264
Epichoric Responses to Third-Century Decline: Historical
Implications for the Context of the Apocalypse of Elijah 265
Conclusion 268
10. The Second Level: Evidence for Millennialism in the Egyptian
Chora, Ca. 260-270 C.E. 270
11. The Third Level: A Sect in the Crossfire of Asceticism Debates,
Ca. 260-290 C.E. 279
The Concept of Fasting in the Apocalypse of Elijah 280
The Nature of the Conflict in ApocEl 1:13-19 283
viii Contents
Excursus: Fasting in the Gospel of Thomas 284
A Historical Context for Internecine Conflict over Asceticism 286
An Analogous Scenario: Tertullian's De leiunio 291
The Severity of Egyptian Ascetic Fasting 292
Conclusion: Fasting and the Apocalypse of Elijah 296
Appendix: The Text of the Apocalypse of Elijah in English 299
Bibliography 329
Index of Ancient Texts 357
Index of Subjects 370
Index of Modern Authors 374
Foreword
We are delighted to welcome the publication of David Frankfurter's
volume Elijah in Upper Egypt in the Studies in Antiquity and Christianity
series. As he himself notes in his Introduction, this monograph ad-
dresses themes of significance for the study of the development of
Egyptian Christianity, and thus his work contributes to the discussions
taken up within the Roots of Egyptian Christianity Project of the Insti-
tute for Antiquity and Christianity. The particular concern of Dr. Frank-
furter's book for rural Egyptian Christianity distinguishes his work from
other studies of Christianity and religious traditions in Egypt. Dr. Frank-
furter is also a member of and a contributor to the Coptic Magical Texts
Project of the Institute for Antiquity and Christianity, and his evaluation
in this book and other publications of the figure of Elijah in Egyptian
texts of ritual power advances the study of Egyptian magical traditons.
Dr. Frankfurter uses the Coptic Apocalypse of Elijah as a window
through which we may glimpse aspects of the troubled and creative
world of third-century Egypt. In that world, with its preoccupation with
prophecy, apocalyptic, millennialism, asceticism, and sacred power and
knowledge, we may recognize social anxieties that continue to call for
the response of thoughtful people.
MARVIN MEYER
Director, Coptic Magical Texts Project, Claremont
Associate Professor of Religion, Chapman University
BIRGER PEARSON
Director, Roots of Egyptian Christianity Project
Professor of Religious Studies
University of California, Santa Barbara
ix
Acknowledgments
It was in John Strugnell's Pseudepigrapha Seminar at Harvard Divin-
ity School that I first encountered the Elijah Apocalypse and came to
write about the problems it entailed; he has since remained an interested
mentor and critic. My growing interest in the text and its Egyptian
background culminated in a dissertation, directed by Martha Himmel-
farb and John Gager and presented to Princeton University's Depart-
ment of Religion in 1990. This book is a revision and expansion of that
dissertation.
I am deeply indebted to Martha Himmelfarb, who encouraged the
project from the beginning, patiently read undigested drafts and de-
livered finely detailed criticisms, and guided me through a maze of
apocryphal writings and religious remains with generosity and interest.
And I thank John Gager for demonstrating the importance of social-
scientific theory, of articulating historical context, and of the "alter-
native״ data represented in the magical corpora, all vital contributions to
the present project.
Roman Egypt is the shared domain of historians, classicists, Egyp-
tologists, and religionists; and each must work in conversation with the
others to gather a full impression of this remote and complex world. Yet
to cross fields with integrity is a skill few of us are taught, and I am
deeply indebted to the patient advice, open encouragement, and in-
spiring academic ecumenism of Ludwig Koenen and David Potter of the
classics department of the University of Michigan, Garth Fowden of the
Research Center for Greek and Roman Antiquity in Athens, Janet John-
son of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, and John
xi
