Abraham Eleazar was a mysterious alchemist, associated by some with Nicholas Flamel. Nothing is known about the life of Abraham Eleazar other than what is contained in his book ‘Uraltes Chymishces Werck (Age-Old Chymical Work)’. Scholars have debated the verity of the work and the existence of Eleazar, some contending the work is spurious and was written as late as the 17th century, while others say the work dates to the early 14th century and may or may not have been written by one ‘Abraham Eleazar’… …’Age-Old Chymical Work’ was printed in German in 1735. The book has two parts… According to Gervasius’s preface, Eleazar lived prior to the time of Flamel, or before the 14th century… He said he would teach the secrets of alchemy so that his people could benefit and pay their required taxes to the empire… Eleazar’s book contains alchemical recipes and mysticism and discusses alchemical symbols. The second part, which is attributed to the unknown Samuel Baruch, is an alchemical commentary on Genesis… …Eleazar explains that he found the secret writings of Baruch on copper tablets and copied them into tree bark — another apparent link to Flamel’s book, which Flamel said was written on pages made of tree bark and covered with a thin sheet of copper… It is difficult to know whether ‘Age-Old Chymical Work’ is a genuine text that preceded Flamel or whether it was inspired by Flamel as a spurious work. Most likely, it is not older than the 14th century.” — Source: Rosemary Ellen Guiley (‘The Encyclopedia of Magic and Alchemy’, 2006)
