Neglected Apocrypha: the Book of the Rolls
I mentioned in a recent post that I had been reading a little-known apocryphal text called the Book of the Rolls, also known in the manuscripts under several other names: the Apocalypse of Peter (not to be confused with the second-century Greek/Ethiopic work of the same name nor the Coptic text from Nag Hammadi), the Apocalypse of Simon, Clement, the Testament of Our Lord, or the Testament of Our Savior. The text is extant in Garshuni, Arabic, and Ethiopic and appears to have been written by Arabic Christians in Egypt around 800 CE. It is a huge work and has not been fully translated into a modern language; a complete translation would number about 400 pages. The most extensive translation to date is that of Alphonse Mingana, who published images from Mingana, Syr. 77 and translated much of the text (see “Apocalypse of Peter,” in Woodbrooke Studies, vol. 3, Cambridge 1931, 93–449).
Few scholars have yet worked on this text, but the early discussions indicate that it draws upon several earlier works from a Syriac milieu and new material was grafted onto the original core over the centuries. Much of the more recent sections of the text comprises apocalyptic visions announcing the coming of Mohammed (referred to as “the follower of the Archon,” “the leader of the children of the wolf,” and “the prophet of falsehood”) and the Islamic conquest of Egypt. In one memorable section, a Christian anti-biography of Mohammed is …