Mar 07 2025 43 mins 12
Abstract: The symbolic image of the Lamb of God is well-known in the New Testament and The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs. This image derives from the Old Testament, later adopted by early Christians. Words of Gad the Seer is an apocalyptic pseudepigraphal book written in pseudo-biblical Hebrew from a manuscript copied in the eighteenth century. After over thirty-three years of investigation, many aspects of this recently discovered text are coming to light. There are more than twenty similarities between this largely unknown book and the book of Revelation, though one was written by a Jewish man who became Christian and the other by a (non-rabbinic) Jew. This old yet newly discovered book will be presented briefly, and the concept of the Heavenly Altar and the song of the Lamb will be discussed. Some esoteric traditions’ pseudepigraphic, rabbinic, and Hekhalot literature will be presented concerning what is sacrificed on the Heavenly Altar or goes up to God, giving the heavenly world a new look. The relationship of the Song of the Lamb to Revelation 15:3 and Jewish liturgy is also explored.
This paper discusses the role of the Heavenly Lamb as presented in Words of Gad the Seer, a long unknown Jewish Apocalypse,1 [Page 66]which may be compared or contrasted to the Heavenly Lamb in the book of Revelation on the one hand, and Rabbinic and Hekhalot literature parallels on the other. It will be shown that while the role of the Lamb seems to be passive in the book of Revelation, in Words of Gad the Seer, the Lamb is active because he sacrifices on the Heavenly Altar and praises the Lord in a song. Parallel traditions originating in Jewish tradition are presented, and the souls of the pious under the throne are discussed, as is the significance of the song of the Lamb and its implications for the dating of Words of Gad the Seer relative to the book of Revelation.
Part 1: Sacrifices on the Heavenly Altar
Generations of husbandry relationships between man and his animal stock made sheep a natural symbol for man, as is evident in the Bible more than once or twice: Israel are sheep while God is the shepherd (e.g., Numbers 27:17; 1 Kings 22:17; Isaiah 53:6; Jeremiah 50:17; Psalm 23:1; 44:23).2 This idea appears also in The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs (Joseph 19; Benjamin 3),3 though it looks like a Christian [Page 67]intrusion into the text.4 This metaphor of sheep or flock as symbolizing the people of Israel was in constan...
This paper discusses the role of the Heavenly Lamb as presented in Words of Gad the Seer, a long unknown Jewish Apocalypse,1 [Page 66]which may be compared or contrasted to the Heavenly Lamb in the book of Revelation on the one hand, and Rabbinic and Hekhalot literature parallels on the other. It will be shown that while the role of the Lamb seems to be passive in the book of Revelation, in Words of Gad the Seer, the Lamb is active because he sacrifices on the Heavenly Altar and praises the Lord in a song. Parallel traditions originating in Jewish tradition are presented, and the souls of the pious under the throne are discussed, as is the significance of the song of the Lamb and its implications for the dating of Words of Gad the Seer relative to the book of Revelation.
Part 1: Sacrifices on the Heavenly Altar
Generations of husbandry relationships between man and his animal stock made sheep a natural symbol for man, as is evident in the Bible more than once or twice: Israel are sheep while God is the shepherd (e.g., Numbers 27:17; 1 Kings 22:17; Isaiah 53:6; Jeremiah 50:17; Psalm 23:1; 44:23).2 This idea appears also in The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs (Joseph 19; Benjamin 3),3 though it looks like a Christian [Page 67]intrusion into the text.4 This metaphor of sheep or flock as symbolizing the people of Israel was in constan...
