The Sun and the Phoenix

1 And he took me and led me where the sun rises. 2 And he showed me a chariot with four horses, with a fire burning underneath, and a man was sitting in the chariot, wearing a crown of fire, (and) the chariot (was) drawn by forty angels. And look, a bird was circling in front of the sun,⁠a about nine cubits away. 3 And I said to the angel, What is this bird? And he said to me, This is the guardian of the earth.⁠b 4 And I said, Lord, how is he the guardian of the earth? Teach me. 5 And the angel said to me, This bird flies alongside the sun and spreads his wings to catch its fiery rays.⁠c 6 For if he did not catch them, the human race would not survive, nor would any other living creature. But God appointed this bird for this purpose. 7 And he spread his wings, and I saw on his right wing very large letters, as large as a threshing floor, the size of about four thousand modii; and the letters were of gold. 8 And the angel said to me, Read them. And I read and this is what they said: Neither earth nor heaven gave me birth, but wings of fire gave me birth. 9 And I said, Lord, what is this bird, and what is his name? 10 And the angel said to me, His name is Phoenix. 11 (And I said), And what does he eat? And he said to me, The manna of heaven and the dew of earth. 12 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 see the glory of God.

Sunrise and the Call of the Bird

13 And while he was talking with me, there was a sound like a thunderclap, and the place where we were standing shook. And I asked the angel, My Lord, what is this sound? And the angel said to me, The angels are now opening the three hundred and sixty-five gates of heaven, and the light is being separated from the darkness. 14 And a voice came which said, Light giver, give radiance to the world.⁠d 15 And when I heard the noise of the bird, I said, Lord, what is this noise? 16 And he said, This is the bird who wakes the roosters on earth from sleep. For just as people communicate with their mouths, the rooster too signals to those in the world in his own language. For the sun is made ready by the angels, and the rooster crows.