The divine countenance is the face of God. The concept has special significance in the Abrahamic religions.
The divine countenance is the face of God. The concept has special significance in the Abrahamic religions.
Islam considers God to be beyond ordinary vision as the Quran states that "Sights cannot attain him; he can attain sights", [1] but other verses indicate that he would be visible in the hereafter. [2] The Quran makes many references to the face of God but its use of the Arabic word for a physical face —wajh— is symbolic and is used to refer to God's presence which, in Islam, is everywhere: "wherever you turn, there is the face of God". [3]
Now have come to you, from your Lord, proofs (to open your eyes): if any will see, it will be for (the good of) his own soul; if any will be blind, it will be to his own (harm): I am not (here) to watch over your doings.
— The Cattle: 006.104
In Judaism and Christianity, the concept is the manifestation of God rather than a remote immanence or delegation of an angel, even though a mortal would not be able to gaze directly upon him. [4] In Jewish mysticism, it is traditionally believed that even the angels who attend him cannot endure seeing the divine countenance directly. [5] Where there are references to visionary encounters, these are thought to be either products of the human imagination, as in dreams or, alternatively, a sight of the divine glory which surrounds God, not the Godhead itself. [6]
An important early use of the concept in the Old Testament is the blessing passed by Moses to the children of Israel in Numbers 6:24. [7]
The LORD bless thee, and keep thee:
The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace." [8]
While Moses didn't have the possibility to see the face of God the Father (Exodus 33,19), saint Paul in 1 Corinthians 13,11–12 states that the beatific vision of the face of God will be perfect solely in the afterdeath life.
The name of the city of Peniel literally means the "face of God" in Hebrew. The place was named by Jacob after his wrestling match there which is recounted in Genesis. His opponent seemed divine and so Jacob claimed to have looked upon the face of God. [9]
In the Mandaean scripture of the Ginza Rabba (in Right Ginza books 1 and 2.1), the face or countenance of Hayyi Rabbi is referred to as the "Great Countenance of Glory" (Classical Mandaic : ࡐࡀࡓࡑࡅࡐࡀ ࡓࡁࡀ ࡖࡏࡒࡀࡓࡀ, romanized: parṣupa rba ḏ-ʿqara; pronounced parṣufa in Modern Mandaic; also cognate with Classical Syriac : ܦܪܨܘܦܐ, romanized: prṣupa, lit. 'countenance', attested in the Peshitta including in Matthew 17:2 [10] ). [11] This Aramaic term is a borrowing from the Greek word prosopon . [12]
In pagan religions, the face of God might be viewed in a literal sense - the face of an idol in a temple. [13] In prayers and blessings, the concept was more metaphorical, indicating the favourable attention of the deity. For example, in the Babylonian blessing: [14]
God was represented by the Hand of God, in fact including the forearm but no more of the body, at several places in the 3rd-century Dura-Europos synagogue, presumably reflecting the usual practice in ancient Jewish art, almost all of which is now lost. The Hand convention was continued in Christian art, which also used full body depictions of the God the Son with the appearance of Jesus for Old Testament scenes, in particular the story of Adam and Eve, where God needed to be represented. [15] The biblical statements from Exodus and John quoted above were taken to apply not only to God the Father in person, but to all attempts at the depiction of his face. [16] The development of full images of God the Father in Western art was much later, and the aged white-haired appearance of the Ancient of Days gradually became the conventional representation, after a period of experimentation, especially in images the Trinity, where all three persons might be shown with the appearance of Jesus. In Eastern Orthodoxy the depiction of God the Father remains unusual, and has been forbidden at various church councils; many early Protestants did the same, and in the Counter Reformation the Catholic Church discouraged the earlier variety of depictions but explicitly supported the Ancient of Days.
The description of the Ancient of Days, identified with God by most commentators, [17] in the Book of Daniel is the nearest approach to a physical description of God in the Hebrew Bible: [18]
. ...the Ancient of Days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. (Daniel 7:9)
The "countenance divine" appears in the lines of the famous poem, And did those feet in ancient time , by William Blake which first appeared in the preface to his epic Milton: A Poem in Two Books . Blake thought highly of Milton's work saying, "I have the happiness of seeing the Divine countenance in ... Milton more distinctly than in any prince or hero." [19]
Abel is a biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within the Abrahamic religions. Born as the second son of Adam and Eve, the first two humans created by God, he was a shepherd who offered his firstborn flock to God as a religious offering. God accepted Abel's offering but not the offering of his older brother Cain, leading Cain to stone Abel to death out of jealousy. This act marked the first death in biblical history, making Abel the first murder victim.
Ancient of Days is a name for God in the Book of Daniel.
Shekhinah is the English transliteration of a Hebrew word meaning "dwelling" or "settling" and denotes the presence of God in a place. This concept is found in Judaism and the Torah, as mentioned in Exodus 25:8.
Jah or Yah is a short form of the tetragrammaton יהוה (YHWH), the personal name of God: Yahweh, which the ancient Israelites used. The conventional Christian English pronunciation of Jah is, even though the letter J here transliterates the palatal approximant. The spelling Yah is designed to make the pronunciation explicit in an English-language context, especially for Christians who may not use Hebrew regularly during prayer and study.
Merkabah or Merkavahmysticism is a school of early Jewish mysticism, c. 100 BCE – 1000 CE, centered on visions such as those found in Ezekiel 1 or in the hekhalot literature, concerning stories of ascents to the heavenly palaces and the Throne of God.
In Christian theology, the beatific vision is the ultimate direct self-communication of God to the angel and person. A person or angel possessing the beatific vision reaches, as a member of the communion of saints, perfect salvation in its entirety, i.e., heaven. The notion of vision stresses the intellectual component of salvation, though it encompasses the whole of the experience of joy, with happiness coming from seeing God finally face to face and not imperfectly through faith..
Jacob wrestling with the angel is described in the Book of Genesis. The "angel" in question is referred to as "man" and "God" in Genesis, while Hosea references an "angel". The account includes the renaming of Jacob as Israel.
A Christophany is an appearance or non-physical manifestation of Christ. Traditionally the term refers to visions of Christ after his ascension, such as the bright light of the conversion of Paul the Apostle.
In mythological or religious cosmology, the seven heavens refer to seven levels or divisions of the Heavens. The concept, also found in the ancient Mesopotamian religions, can be found in Judaism and Islam; the Christian Bible does not mention seven levels of heaven. Some of these traditions, including Jainism, also have a concept of seven earths or seven underworlds both with the metaphysical realms of deities and with observed celestial bodies such as the classical planets and fixed stars.
Prosopon originally meant 'face' but is used as a theological term in Christian theology as designation for the concept of a divine person. The term has a particular significance in Christian triadology, and also in Christology.
In Mandaeism, the World of Light or Lightworld is the primeval, transcendental world from which Tibil and the World of Darkness emerged.
In Mandaeism, ʿUr is the king of the World of Darkness or underworld. He is the son of Ruha, the queen of the underworld, and her brother Gaf, one of the giants in the World of Darkness described in book 5 of the Ginza Rabba. Ur is typically portrayed as a large, ferocious dragon or snake. He is represented by the image of a serpent on the skandola talisman.
Mandaean cosmology is the Gnostic conception of the universe in the religion of Mandaeism.
In Mandaeism, Manda d-Hayyi or Manda ḏ-Hiia is an uthra sent by the Great Life as a messenger to John the Baptist. Manda d-Hayyi is considered to be the most important uthra, since he is the one bringing manda to Earth (Tibil).
In Mandaeism, Hayyi Rabbi, 'The Great Living God', is the supreme God from which all things emanate.
The Mandaean calendar is a 365-day solar calendar used by the Mandaean people. It consists of twelve 30-day months, with five extra days at the end of Šumbulta. The Parwanaya festival takes place during those five days. There is no leap year therefore every four years all Mandaean dates move one day back with respect to the Gregorian calendar.
In Mandaean cosmology, a maṭarta is a "station" or "toll house" that is located between the World of Light from Tibil (Earth). It has variously been translated as "watch-station", "toll-station", "way-station", or "purgatory". Maṭartas are guarded by various uthras and demons. Ruha, the queen of the underworld, is the ruler or guardian of one of the maṭartas.
In Mandaeism, Shishlam is a figure representing the prototypical Mandaean priest or Mandaean. He is also frequently referred to in Mandaean texts as Šišlam Rabba (Classical Mandaic: ࡔࡉࡔࡋࡀࡌ ࡓࡁࡀ, romanized: Šišlam Rba, lit. 'Great Shishlam'. Shishlam is sometimes identified with Adam Kasia, the "Perfect Man".
Ziwa is an Aramaic term that is typically translated as 'radiance' or 'splendor.' It is frequently used as an epithet for celestial beings and manifestations of God in Gnostic religions such as Mandaeism and Manichaeism.
In Mandaeism, Jesus or Mšiha is mentioned in Mandaean texts such as the Ginza Rabba, Mandaean Book of John, and Haran Gawaita.
The ontological significance of the face of God is a theme that may be traced through every genre of the Hebrew Bible.
The panim (the face) of God
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