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In Ezekiel, the figure on God's throne has fire around its lower body. The Apocalypse of Abraham echoes this image in Barisat's burning feet, turning a sign of divine glory into the destruction of a wooden god as Abraham laughs.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Ezekiel 1:27
Hebrew Bible
25 Then there was a voice from above the platform over their heads when they stood still. 26 Above the platform over their heads was something like a sapphire shaped like a throne. High above on the throne was a form that appeared to be a man. 27 I saw an amber glow like a fire enclosed all around from his waist up. From his waist down I saw something that looked like fire. There was a brilliant light around it, 28 like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds after the rain. This was the appearance of the surrounding brilliant light; it looked like the glory of the Lord. When I saw it, I threw myself face down, and I heard a voice speaking.
Apocalypse of Abraham 5:9
Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
9 And on returning I found Barisat fallen backwards, and his feet surrounded by fire and horribly burnt. 10 I burst into a fit of laughter, and I said to myself: "Truly, O Barisat, you can kindle the fire and cook food!" 11 And it came to pass, while I spoke (thus) in my laughter he (i.e. Barisat) was gradually burnt up by the fire and reduced to ashes. 12 And I brought the food to my father, and he ate. 13 And I gave him wine and milk, and he was gladdened and blessed his god Merumath. 14 And I said to him: "O father Terah, do not bless your god Merumath, and do not praise him, but rather praise your god Barisat because, loving you more, he has cast himself into the fire to cook your food!"
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Notes and References
“... This detail invokes an important theophanic
feature often found in several visionary accounts where the anthro-
pomorphic figure of the deity is depicted with fiery feet or a fiery lower
body. ...”
Andrei A. Orlov
The Gods of My Father Terah: Abraham the Iconoclast and the Polemics with the Divine Body Traditions in the Apocalypse of Abraham
(p. 40) SAGE; Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha 18.1, 2008
* 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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