The ''Story of Zosimus'' (also called the ''Narration'', ''Apocalypse'' or ''Journey of Zosimus'') is a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

text of the 5th century AD. It has sometimes been classified as among the

Old Testament pseudepigrapha Pseudepigrapha are falsely attributed works, texts whose claimed author is not the true author, or a work whose real author attributed it to a figure of the past.Bauckham, Richard; "Pseudo-Apostolic Letters", ''Journal of Biblical Literature'', V ...

. In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, it was translated into

Syriac Syriac may refer to: *Syriac language, an ancient dialect of Middle Aramaic *Sureth, one of the modern dialects of Syriac spoken in the Nineveh Plains region * Syriac alphabet ** Syriac (Unicode block) ** Syriac Supplement * Neo-Aramaic languages a ...

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

, Ge'ez, Armenian, Georgian and Slavonic. There is a history of debate over whether the text is

Jewish 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""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� ...

in origin, and over its textual history. The ''Story'' is divided into 18 chapters, of which chapters 8–10 form a self-contained work conventionally known as the "History of the Rechabites" and chapters 11–16 form a distinct work known as the "Abode of the Blessed". The "History" was once thought to be the original kernel, around which the rest of the text was composed, but this is not generally accepted today. It has even been argued to be a late addition to the text. The ''Story'' is based on the classical legend of the

Isles of the Blessed The Fortunate Isles or Isles of the Blessed ( grc, μακάρων νῆσοι, ''makárōn nêsoi'') were semi-legendary islands in the Atlantic Ocean, variously treated as a simple geographical location and as a winterless earthly paradise inhabit ...

and the biblical passage ''Jeremiah'' 35. It shows heavy Hellenic influence, and the narrative is much like a typical Hellenic myth, particularly showing similarity to the tales of the

Therapeutae The Therapeutae were a religious sect which existed in Alexandria and other parts of the ancient Greek world. The primary source concerning the Therapeutae is the ''De vita contemplativa'' ("The Contemplative Life"), traditionally ascribed to the ...

. It begins with Zosimus, a hermit, continually begging God to show him the land of the

Rechabites The Rechabites () are a biblical clan, the descendants of Rechab through Jehonadab. Biblical sources The Rechabites belonged to the Kenites, who accompanied the Israelites into the Holy Land and dwelt among them. The main body of the Kenites d ...

, until God finally relents and sends 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 ...

to lead him there. The Rechabites, led by

Jonadab Jonadab is a figure in the Hebrew Bible, appearing in 2 Samuel 13. He is described in verse 3 as the son of Shimeah, who was the brother of David, making Jonadab a cousin to Amnon as well as his friend. He is called "very wise" (''ḥākām mĕ' ...

, are described as living without the benefit of human technology, enjoying the company of angels, leading an ascetic life, wearing no clothes and eating only the luxurious fruits that grow on their fragrant island.

Notes

References

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External links

History of the Rechabites at Early Jewish Writings
{{Authority control Old Testament pseudepigrapha