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]