Le Testament d’Abraham et sa présence dans un convoy juridique et antihérétique (BAR Mss. sl. 636)
The Covenant of Abraham and Its Presence in the Legal and Anti-Heretic Convoy (BAR, MSS. SL. 636)

The Message and the Function of the Deuterocanonic Text in the Collection

Summary/Abstract: The article is devoted to an Old Testament apocryphon – the Testament of Abraham – and its presence, its importance and its functions in the convoy of predominantly juridical and polemical anti-heretical collection compiled in the Principality of Moldova in the 16th century. The second part of the article proposes an interpretation of the text and its importance mainly in the legal context of the copy (BAR, Ms. sl. 636). What can be the meaning and function of a deuterocanonical text in a predominantly juridical collection? The study of the manuscript itself leads us to the conclusion that the separate elements (legal, polemical, historical, dogmatic, apocryphal) that make up the collection are subject to its general purpose. As for the apocrypha, they can be said to present some biblical point of view. In particular, the Testament of Abraham illustrates the idea of justice and the relationship between human and Divine justice. Human justice serves earthly purposes, and always, even the most just one, implies the idea of punishment, while Divine justice is based on mercy and seeks the salvation of the human soul.

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