Texts in Conversation
1 Clement refers to the mythical phoenix, reborn from its own remains after five hundred years, as proof God can raise the dead. The apocalyptic text 3 Baruch also refers to this mythological creature that shields the earth from the sun's rays.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Clement of Rome, 1 Clement 25:2
First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians
Early Christian
1 Let us consider the marvelous sign that is seen in the regions of the east, that is, in the area around Arabia. 2 There is a bird called the phoenix. This bird, the only one of its kind, lives for five hundred years; and when it has reached the time of its end and must die, it makes itself a coffin of frankincense and myrrh and other spices, which it enters when the time is fulfilled, and so it dies. 3 But, as the flesh rots, a worm is produced, which is nourished by the moisture of the dead creature and grows wings. Then, when it has grown strong, it takes up the coffin that holds the bones of its parent, and carrying them it travels from the country of Arabia all the way to Egypt, to the place called the City of the Sun. 4 and in the daytime, in the sight of all, it flies to the altar of the Sun and lays them on it; and having done this, it sets out to return. 5 So the priests examine the records of the dates, and they find that it has come when the five hundredth year is completed.
3 Baruch 6:4
Greek Apocalypse of Baruch
Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
1 And he took me and led me where the sun goes forth; 2 and he showed me a chariot and four, under which burnt a fire, and in the chariot was sitting a man, wearing a crown of fire, (and) the chariot (was) drawn by forty angels. And behold a bird circling before the sun, about nine 3 cubits away. And I said to the angel, What is this bird? And he said to me, This is the 4 guardian of the earth. And I said, Lord, how is he the guardian of the earth? Teach me. And the angel said to me, This bird flies alongside of the sun, and expanding his wings receives its fiery 5 rays. For if he were not receiving them, the human race would not be preserved, nor any other 6 living creature. But God appointed this bird for this purpose. And he expanded his wings, and I saw on his right wing very large letters, as large as the space of a threshing-floor, the size of about four 7 thousand modii; and the letters were of gold. And the angel said to me, Read them. And I read 8 and they ran thus: Neither earth nor heaven bring me forth, but wings of fire bring me forth. And I said, Lord, what is this bird, and what is his name? And the angel said to me, His name is called 9 Phoenix. (And I said), And what does he eat? And he said to me, The manna of heaven and 10 the dew of earth. And I said, Does the bird excrete? And he said to me, He excretes a worm, and the excrement of the worm is cinnamon, which kings and princes use. But wait and you will
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Notes and References
“... Very popular in Christian iconography, in patristic tradition, the phoenix signified the resurrection of Jesus (Clement of Rome, 1 Ep. Cor. 1.25-26; Tertullian, Res. Carn. 1.13; Lactantius, Carmen de ave phoenice 169-70; etc.). 1.1. Resurrection. The motif of resurrection, which seems to be the raison d'être of the Hellenistic image, is absent from 3 Baruch. The rebirth in fire may be only implied in 6:8: "Neither earth nor heaven give me birth, but wings of fire give me birth." The dew on which Phoenix feeds (with manna; see 6:11G; in S - only manna), may also be connected to resurrection motifs (see comm. on "dew of heaven" in 10:9). ...”
* 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.
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