Sefer Elijah (also known as Sefer Eliahu, Sefer Elias, or the Apocalypse of Elijah) is an ancient apocalyptic text which was written in Hebrew to a Jewish audience as early as the 3rd century and as late as the 7th century. This text is presented in a fashion that closely matches the classical definition of the apocalyptic genre [1] as a revelation coming to Elijah from an angelic being about judgment, the coming of a messiah, and the destiny of the Jewish temple and of Jerusalem. [2]
This text is not to be confused with the Coptic Apocalypse of Elijah, which is an early Christian Apocalyptic text. [3] Although the relationship between Sefer Elijah and the Coptic version is still being studied, there are very few similarities and a multitude of stylistic and content differences that suggest the two texts do not share an origin. [4]
The Sefer Elijah was published by Adolf Jellinek [5] in 1855 and Moses Buttenwieser in 1897. Theodor Zahn assigns this apocalypse to the 2nd century AD [6] but other scholars reject such an early date. [7] [8] It is more often dated as early as the 3rd century and as late as the 7th century. [9]