El Libro de Zorobabel

Abstract

The Book of Zorobabel is a characteristic work of the Jewish Messianic Apocalyptic which developped during the Middle Ages. Starting from the data which this work provides, it may be asserted that it was composed in Palestina at the beginning of the 7th century. The book narrates the revelation that the angel Metatron or Michael made to Zorobabel about the last days. Tradition and innovation are equally mixed in this work and so, together with the traditional Jewish conception of the two Messiah, the one descending from Yosef, the other from David, new characters come out, such as the mother of the Messiah, Hefsibah, and the Antichrist, Armilos, and they acquire a special relevance. The great spreading of this work during the Middle Ages and later in the messianic mystical circles contributed to the impossibility to fix a trustwrothy original text. Our translation aims to make this narration of the vision of Zorobabel to be known in the most complete and coherent way, though avoiding later interpolations.