arise from the posterity of David.” But according to 4 Ezra 13:3–14:9, he is depicted as a man who ascends out of the sea: hominem qui ascenderat de mari.70 Obviously we have seen contradictory traditions preserved by the authors of 4 Ezra and 2 Baruch; and this is only one reason to affirm that although these apocalypses were composed after the burning of the Temple in 70 C.E., they preserve traditions that antedate that catastrophic event. What we observe is not chaotic thought. Instead, through