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Revision as of 18:44, 10 October 2023
, 10 October 2023→Ancient beliefs of stars and meteors pre-Islam
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'''Biblical motifs''' | '''Biblical motifs''' | ||
Though there is no direct stories of the functions of star in this way in the bible (or biblical literature), Dr Julien Decharneux notes in book exploring the connections between the cosmology of the Qur’ān and various cosmological traditions of Late Antiquity, with a focus on Syriac Christianity,<ref>[https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110794083/html?lang=en#:~:text=About%20this%20book,a%20focus%20on%20Syriac%20Christianity. https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110794083/html?lang=en#:~:text=About%20this%20book,a%20focus%20on%20Syriac%20Christianity.]</ref> there are some general motifs that link to this imagery. However he notes it is much more likely rooted in Iranian mythology: | Though there is no direct stories of the functions of star in this way in the bible (or biblical literature), Dr Julien Decharneux notes in book exploring the connections between the cosmology of the Qur’ān and various cosmological traditions of Late Antiquity, with a focus on Syriac Christianity,<ref>[https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110794083/html?lang=en#:~:text=About%20this%20book,a%20focus%20on%20Syriac%20Christianity. https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110794083/html?lang=en#:~:text=About%20this%20book,a%20focus%20on%20Syriac%20Christianity.]</ref> there are some general motifs that link to this imagery. However he notes it is much more likely rooted in Iranian mythology: (CHECK CONTRADICTIONS) | ||
{{Quote|Decharneux, Julien. Creation and Contemplation: The Cosmology of the Qur'ān and Its Late Antique Background (Studies in the History and Culture of the Middle East Book 47) (pp. 316-317). De Gruyter.|The image of fallen angels trying to approach the firmament in order to listen to the heavenly council is found in the Talmud. Crone in fact already notes the presence of the motif in the first-century Greek Testament of Solomon. Here however, demons are not chased by fiery missiles, but they themselves look like shooting stars after falling from the sky out of exhaustion. Although a systematic skimming of the sources would probably reveal the presence of the motif of stars chasing demons away from the heavenly council in patristic and Christian apocryphal literature, our sources show that it was still lively in the imagery of the 8th century in the Church of the East. Theodore bar Koni, in his Scolion, discusses the activity of demons: | {{Quote|Decharneux, Julien. Creation and Contemplation: The Cosmology of the Qur'ān and Its Late Antique Background (Studies in the History and Culture of the Middle East Book 47) (pp. 131, 316-317). De Gruyter.|These passages seek to convey the idea of heaven as a celestial fortress (cf. also Q 41:12). Besides the fact that it is defended by “guards”, the term burūj used in Q 15:16, usually translated as “constellation”, is probably better understood as a reference to “towers” (the term indeed means both “constellations” and “towers” in Arabic). As for the image of stars as “piercing flames” and fiery “missiles” pursuing demons, Crone suggested that it was rooted in Middle Eastern cosmological traditions, probably of Iranian and Jewish influence. This is not altogether impossible but once again, it is useful to provide here the bigger picture. The idea that angels play the role of sentries or watchman is often seen in scholarly literature as a possible link with the famous Book of Enoch, a section of which is called the Book of Watchers where shooting stars and flashes of light are indeed mentioned. Although the reference is not unhelpful, it has been pointed out that the motif is in fact grounded in biblical imagery already. In Gen 3:24, the text depicts cherubs as positioned by God at the entrance of paradise after Adam’s fall. The fiery element is already mentioned as their weapon of preference... | ||
...The image of fallen angels trying to approach the firmament in order to listen to the heavenly council is found in the Talmud. Crone in fact already notes the presence of the motif in the first-century Greek Testament of Solomon. Here however, demons are not chased by fiery missiles, but they themselves look like shooting stars after falling from the sky out of exhaustion. Although a systematic skimming of the sources would probably reveal the presence of the motif of stars chasing demons away from the heavenly council in patristic and Christian apocryphal literature, our sources show that it was still lively in the imagery of the 8th century in the Church of the East. Theodore bar Koni, in his Scolion, discusses the activity of demons: | |||
<i>Can the demons ascend to the place on high anyway? They cannot because they are held back by the power of the one who destroyed them. It is not proper that defiled ones approach the Tent of the Saints […]. The fact that our Lord compared him to a lightning means two things: either that he lasted in his domination for the time of the sight of a lightning, or that when while he was shining as a lightning in glory, he was quenched at once and no traces of his splendour was left.</i> | <i>Can the demons ascend to the place on high anyway? They cannot because they are held back by the power of the one who destroyed them. It is not proper that defiled ones approach the Tent of the Saints […]. The fact that our Lord compared him to a lightning means two things: either that he lasted in his domination for the time of the sight of a lightning, or that when while he was shining as a lightning in glory, he was quenched at once and no traces of his splendour was left.</i> | ||
In fact, the motif of demons chased by flames finds particularly original renderings in the writings of Pseudo-Macarius and that of Syriac mystic authors studied in the second chapter. Building on the motif the inner divine fire that animates the mystic, they hold that it is the flames of this fire that chase away the demons from the heart. All in all, we see that Crone’s hypothesis of an eastern origin and development for the motif is quite likely. The image of fire and flames chasing demons away was not only widespread in Jewish circle as witnessed by the Babylonian Talmud, but it was also quite in use in the Church of the East tradition.}} | In fact, the motif of demons chased by flames finds particularly original renderings in the writings of Pseudo-Macarius and that of Syriac mystic authors studied in the second chapter. Building on the motif the inner divine fire that animates the mystic, they hold that it is the flames of this fire that chase away the demons from the heart. All in all, we see that Crone’s hypothesis of an eastern origin and development for the motif is quite likely. The image of fire and flames chasing demons away was not only widespread in Jewish circle as witnessed by the Babylonian Talmud, but it was also quite in use in the Church of the East tradition.}} | ||