Texts in Conversation
Pseudo-Philo’s retelling of the giving of the Torah at Sinai draws on imagery from Isaiah 34, where the sky rolls up and the stars fade in a scene of cosmic judgment, to further emphasize the importance of the event.
Share:
2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Isaiah 34:4
Hebrew Bible
2 For the Lord is angry at all the nations and furious with all their armies. He will annihilate them and slaughter them. 3 Their slain will be left unburied, their corpses will stink; the hills will soak up their blood. 4 All the stars in the sky will fade away, the sky will roll up like a scroll; all its stars will wither, like a leaf withers and falls from a vine or a fig withers and falls from a tree. 5 He says, “Indeed, my sword has slaughtered heavenly powers. Look, it now descends on Edom, on the people I will annihilate in judgment.” 6 The Lord’s sword is dripping with blood, it is covered with fat; it drips with the blood of young rams and goats and is covered with the fat of rams’ kidneys. For the Lord is holding a sacrifice in Bozrah, a bloody slaughter in the land of Edom.
Pseudo Philo Biblical Antiquities 11:5
Classical
3 Moses did as God commanded him, and he consecrated the people and said to them, “Be ready on the 3rd day, for after 3 days God will make his covenant with you.” And the people were consecrated. 4 On the 3rd day there were sounds of thunder and the brightness of lightning and the sound of instruments sounding aloud. And there was fear on all the people who were in the camp. And Moses brought the people out to meet God. 5 The mountains burned with fire, the earth shook, the hills were moved and the mountains overthrown; the depths boiled, and all the inhabited places were shaken; the heavens were folded up and the clouds drew up water. Flames of fire shone out, thunder and lightning multiplied, and winds and storms made a roaring; the stars gathered together, and the angels ran ahead, until God established the law of an everlasting covenant with the children of Israel and gave them an eternal commandment that would not pass away.
Search:
Notes and References
"... Obviously, this Pseudo-Philo description of the Sinai event has been colored with dyes from other theophany texts, which deal with, e.g., the Day of Yahweh. One such text is Isaiah 34, where verse 4 mentions the folding up of the skies. A main function of the theophany here might be to stress the majesty of the God who gives the Law and establishes the covenant with his people ..."
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
Your Feedback:
Leave a Comment
Anonymous comments are welcome. All comments are subject to moderation.