PART TWO

Chapter 1

Eschatological Doxophany: The Motif of the Divine, Theophanic Radiance and its Messianic Disclosure.

IN PREPARATION 2006-7

          The Arabic word bahā' is not directly or fully contained in pre-Bābī sacred scripture; not in the Hebrew Bible (tawrat), Greek [Aramaic] Gospel[s] (injīl) or Arabic Qur'ān. As noted, the noun bahā'  is composed of three or four letters -: [1] "B", [2] "H", [3] "A" and, counting the final letter hamza, [4] = `.  The numerical (abjad)  value of bahā'  is nine: 2+5+1+1 = 9; a "sacred number" symbolic of perfection as the highest numerical integer {6} and corresponding to the "First Man", Adam ( "A" = 1 + "D" = 4 + "M" = 40: total = 45 = 1 + 2+ 3+ 4+ 5+ 6+ 7+ 8+ 9). Similarly, the Bāb corresponds to the "First Woman", "Eve". {7} The twin Manifestations of God in this eschatological age are viewed as the "parents" of a new spiritual humanity.

1. 0      The Divine glory motif in ancient Israelite religion. 

1.1       The Kabod of God in the Hebrew Bible

1.2.      The Prophet Isaiah, the Trisagion and the Divine Glory motif

1.3        Ezekiel the kabod and glorious Merkabah (“Throne Chariot”)

1.4       The Targums and Rabbinic Literatures

1.5       The LXX and the eschatological doxophany 

1.6       Select post-biblical Jewish literatures and the theophanic splendor

1.7      Intimations of Baha' in the Hebrew Bible and related literatures..

        Baha’ in the  Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) as interpreted by Baha'is   The word bahā' seems to have no precise equivalent or cognate in Biblical Hebrew. Theologically, it is represented by the Hebrew word kabôd = `radiant glory'. Translated into Biblical Hebrew the title  بهاء الله   = Bahā’-Allāh would be   כְּבוד יְהוָה   = (Heb.) Kabôd YHWH. [`Adonai] Bahā'-Allāh himself and several early Bahā’ī apologists found intimations of this title in several verses in the book of Isaiah. They were thought to predict the manifestation of the person of Bahā’-Allāh as a theophanic incarnation of the radiance of the divine "glory" also thought to be evident in the believing Bahā'ī follower. There follows the Hebrew (MT), Arabic (Van Dyck) and English translations (AV = KJV) of Isaiah 40:5 then Isaiah 60:1,2b and 5:

ADD HEBREW 

فيعلن مجد الرب ويراه كل بشر جميعا لان فم الرب تكلم

 "And the glory of the Lord (Heb. kabôd YHWH = Ar. majd al-rabb = Bahā'-Allāh) shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it"    (Isaiah 40:5).

ADD TEXT

 "Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord (kabôd YHWH)  has risen upon you ..the Lord (YHWH) will arise upon you, and his glory (kabôd)  will be seen upon you..Then shall you see and be radiant..." (Isaiah 60:1, 2b; 5a). 

  The word bahā' seems to have no equivalent or cognate in Biblical Hebrew. Theologically, it is represented by the Hebrew word kabôd  = `radiant glory'. Translated into Biblical Hebrew, Bahā’-Allāh would be Kabôd YHWH. Several verses in the book of Isaiah could be understood to predict the Ma’idihnifestation of Bahā’-Allāh and the radiance, the "glory" of the believing Bahā'ī: "And the glory of the Lord (kabôd YHWH) shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together" (Isaiah 40:5); "Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord (kabôd YHWH) has risen upon you ..the Lord (YHWH) will arise upon you, and his glory (kabôd) will be seen upon you..Then shall you see and be radiant.." (Isaiah 60:1, 2b; 5a).  Similar prophecies are made  elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible. In his Epistle to the Son of the Wolf  (p.146) Bahā’-Allāh cites a few verses from the book of the prophet Isaiah. They, in certain Arabic translations cited by Him, contain the word bahā' -- with reference to his Ma’idihnifestation. Isaiah 2:10 refers to "the glory of His Majesty (bahā' `azimatihi)"  and 35:2b has it that people "shall see the glory of the Lord (Majdihi al-rabb)  and the splendour of our God (bahā' ilāhinā).

            Similar predictions are made elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible. Thus, in his Epistle to the Son of the Wolf  (146) Bahā’-Allāh cites a few verses from the book of the prophet Isaiah. They, in certain Arabic translations cited by Him, contain the word bahā'   which he interprets in terms of his divine theophany or Manifestation. For Bahā'-Allāh Isaiah 2:10 refers to "the glory of His majesty (bahā’ `aimatihi)"  and 35:2b has it that people "shall see the glory of the Lord (majd al-rabb)  and the splendour of our God (bahā’ ilāhinā).

     Many other Biblical texts contain references to the kabôd ("glory") or kabôd YHWH  ("Glory of the Lord"). Probably alluding to Bahā’-Allāh, Ezekiel described the "Glory of God" in the form of a man (Ezek 1:26; see also Ezekiel chapters 1, Ch 10 & 43:1ff cf. Daniel 7). [10] Israel Abrahams (1858-1924), Reader in Rabbinic and Talmudic Literature at Cambridge University, in the second of his three lectures on The Glory of God (entitled `Messianic' and delivered in the U.S.A. in the spring of 1924), among other interesting observations, wrote,

"The expectation that the divine Glory will be made splendidly manifest with the coming of the Kingship of God is not only a natural hope, it is also a solid foundation for optimism." (p.42).

  That kabôd  ("glory") is of paramount eschatological (`latter day') importance in the Hebrew Bible prompted Arthur M. Ramsey (1906-1988; Archbishop of Canterbury, 1961-74, and one-time (regius) professor of Divinity at Cambridge (and Durham, UK) to write,

 "one day Israel will have the vision of the  kabôd  of her God, whether by His dwelling with man upon the stage of history or by the coming of a new heaven and a new earth bathed in the light of the divine radiance... No reader of the Old Testament would believe that there was a coming of the Kingdom and of the Messianic age which did not include a manifestation of the glory..." (Ramsey, The Glory..  18,37).

      The theophanic secrets of the Divine Glory (kabôd)  have been, and are, a matter of central importance in Jewish mysticism. So too the mysteries of the tetragrammaton (`four lettered word', which occurs some 6,823 times in the Hebrew Bible), = YHWH (trans. "Lord"; also loosely transliterated, "Yahweh", "Jehovah"). It is the personal name of the Biblical God of Moses. Bahā’-Allāh claimed to be a manifestation of the God, the Lord Who is YHWH (see Lambden, Sinaitic Mysteries  154f); the very radiance of His Presence, His divine "Glory". Qabbalistically speaking or in the light of Jewish mysticism, the first two letters of the divine name YHWH  (the "Y" and the "H") correspond to the first two letters of the word Bahā' ( the "B" and the "H"). Quite frequent in the Hebrew Bible is a short form of YHWH composed of its first two consonants Y and H read Yāh. The well-known exclamation Hallelujah (Heb.  Hallelûyÿh) meaning `Praised be Yāh [God]' uses this abbreviated form of the Divine Designation. The two letter abbreviated form of Bahā' and this two letter form of the Hebrew name of God coincide. According to various mystics the first of their two letters ("Y and "B") were considered the "Primal Point" from which certain dimensions of existence sprang forth. [11]

"In principle, man has already acquired a share in God's eschatological [end time] doxa  through the self-communication of God to man which has occurred in Christ (the bestowal of the Spirit..).. but, under this soteriological aspect, that  doxa  is still essentially a hidden thing, to be revealed only when the sufferings of this age are over (Rom 18:18)." (Concise, 136).

     Many other Biblical texts contain references to the kabôd ("glory") or kabôd YHWH ("Glory of the Lord"). Perhaps alluding for Baha’is to the eschatological theophany of Bahā’-Allāh, Ezekiel described the "Glory of God" in the form of a Man (Ezek Literature at Cambridge University, in the second of his three lectures on The Glory of God (entitled `Messianic' and delivered in the U.S.A. in the spring of 1924), among other interesting observations,  wrote, "The expectation that the divine Glory will be made splendidly manifest with the coming of the Kingship of God is not only a natural hope, it is also a solid foundation for optimism." (p.42). That kabôd  ("glory") is of paramount eschatological (`latter day') importance in the Hebrew Bible prompted Arthur M. Ramsey (1906-1988; Archbishop of Canterbury, 1961-74, and one time (regius) professor of Divinity at Cambridge and Durham) to write,

"...one day Israel will have the vision of the  kabôd of her God, whether by His dwelling with Ma’idihn upon the stage of history or by the coming of a new heaven and a new earth bathed in the light of the divine radiance...No reader of the Old Testament would believe that there was a coming of the Kingdom and of the Messianic age which did not include a Manifestation of the glory..." (Ramsey, The Glory..18, 37).

      The theophanic secrets of the Divine Glory (kabôd) have been, and are, a matter of central importance in Jewish mysticism. So too the mysteries of the tetragrammaton (`four lettered word', which occurs some 6,823 times in the Hebrew Bible), hwhy = YHWH (trans. "Lord"; also loosely transliterated, "Yahweh", "Jehovah"). It is the personal name of the Biblical God of Moses. Bahā’-Allāh claimed to be a Ma’idihnifestation of the God, the Lord Who is YHWH (see Lambden, Sinaitic Mysteries  154f); the very radiance of His Presence, His divine "Glory". Qabbalistically speaking or in the light of Jewish mysticism, the first two letters of the divine name YHWH  (the   ,"Y" and the      ,"H")  correspond to the first two letters of the word Bahā' ( the "B" and the "H"). Quite frequent in the Hebrew Bible is a short form of YHWH  composed of its first two consonants Y and H  (hy) and  read Yāh.  The meaning `Praised be Yāh [God]' uses this abbreviated form of the Divine Designation. The two letter abbreviated form of Bahā' and this two letter form of the Hebrew name of God coincide. According to various mystics the first of their two letters ("Y and "B") were considered the "Primal Point" from which certain

 

            Chapter  2    Iranian religions: Zoroastrianisms and the theophanic Doxophany

 The Gathic hymns and other early notions of radiant “glory” …. Hvareno…New Persian farr etc

 

Chapter  3

Christianity and the glorious latter-day theophany : The radiant theophanic splendour ( “glory” ) of the glorious eschatological doxophany.

  • 3.1 The New Testament, the second coming and the glorious latter-day doxophany.

  • 3.2  The theophanic parousia with  dynamis  (power)  and              doxa  (glory)   

  • 3.3  ADD

  • 3.4  Eschatological hopes  and the radiant doxophany.

                       ADD THEMES  AND MOTIFS

Baha'i Perspectives on Intimations of Bahā’ in the New Testament and Christian literatures..

          The Arabic word bahā' obviously does not occur directly in the Greek New Testament. Its theological equivalent is the Greek word doxa = radiant "glory" which translates the Hebrew kabôd (in one sense also, radiant "glory"). [12]   Some millennial or more old (early medieval, probably pre-9th century CE?) Christian uses of the word bahā' can be found in various medieval (or earlier, perhaps pre-Islamic) Arabic writings. In, for example, Arabic recensions of an originally Syriac work, The Book of the Cave of Treasures  (Me'ârath Gazzê, original Syriac c. 4th cent. CE?; see Bezold, Die Schatzöhle),   ; namely, in the  "Book of the Rolls" (Kitāb al-majāll).  [13]  This work includes an account of the story of Adam and Eve. Reference is made to the First Man's pre-fall "mighty glory" (bahā' al-aīm,  Bezold Vol. 2:14); his  "wondrous glory" (al-bahā' al-`ajīb,  Gibson, Apocrypha, 6). According to the "Book of the Rolls" the first couple were both clothed in glory and "splendour" (bahā')" (Gibson, 7). [14]  

            The Arabic word bahā' is, however, found at certain points in Arabic versions of the New Testament and in other Arabic writings. A good example occurs in Revelation 21:23 where John of Patmos predicts,

"And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God (= Bahā’-Allāh) is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb."

             In one of his Tablets to a Jewish Bahā'ī, Bahā’-Allāh cites this verse in Arabic exactly as it was printed in the London 1858 (1671) edition of the William Watts Arabic Bible for the Eastern Churches.    

It has been noted that Bahā’-Allāh associated the word "Father" with the "greatest name". Several verses of the Gospels speak of the return of Christ "in the glory of his Father" (Matt. 16:27 Mark 8:38 cf. Luke 9:26). Both the words "glory" (Greek doxa) and "Father" (Greek pater, Hebrew Bible 'A b, Arabic Bible Āb) could be regarded as alluding to the "Greatest Name" Bah ā'. In the New Testament the word "Father" occurs over 200  times -- as opposed to around 15 times (as 'A b) for "God" in the Hebrew Bible. It is found in the two versions of the so-called `Lord's Prayer' (see Luke 11:3-4 & Matt. 6:9-13). This prayer begins: "Our Father which art in Heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come..". The "Father" referred to here is primarily the Godhead but could also be understood to refer to Bahā’-Allāh Who has ever existed (in his pre-existent Reality) in the "heaven" of the Will of God. The "hallowed be thy name" verse might be understood to be an allusion to the "glory" of the "Greatest Name" Bahā'; to One whose kingdom has been long awaited by Christians expecting the return of Christ in the glory of the "Father".

       Numerous Christians have written volumes upon the subject of the multi-faceted Biblical concept of the "Glory"/ the "Glory of God". Christ's return "in the glory of the Father" has been meditated upon, prayed for, and variously interpreted for many centuries. Some have focused upon the mystery of the Biblical "glory" (kabôd / doxa)  or related expressions of the Divine splendour. A somewhat eccentric Protestant Christian example of this, is the Rev. H. A. Edwards' pamphlet, The Glory of the Lord, An Investigation into the significance of the Shekinah [= "Glorious Dwelling"] Presence, the Reasons for its Withdrawal and the Prophecies Concerning its Future Return.  More recent and much more important volumes have been written which contain valuable information about the glorious Divine Presence in history and eschatology; about the Kabôd and the Doxa.  Details cannot be gone into here. It must suffice to quote a few sentences from the entry  DOXA  ("Glory") in Rahner and Vorgrimler's (Catholic) Concise Theological Dictionary,

 THE NEW TESTAMENT AND CHRISTIANITY.

    The Arabic word bahā' obviously does not occur directly in the Greek New Testament. Its theological equivalent is the Greek word doxa = radiant "glory" which translates the Hebrew kabôd (in one sense also, radiant "glory").11 The Arabic word bahā' is however, found at certain points in Arabic versions of the New Testament and in other Arabic writings. A good example occurs in Revelation 21:23 where John of Patmos predicts,

"And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God (= Bahā’-Allāh) is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb."

 

     In one of his Tablets to a Jewish Bahā'ī, Bahā’-Allāh cites this verse in Arabic exactly as it was printed in the London 1858 (1671) edition of the William Watts Arabic Bible for the Eastern Churches.

     A decade or so ago I noticed some millennium or more old (early medieval, probably pre-9th century CE?) Christian uses of the word bahā' in Arabic recensions of an originally Syriac work, The Book of the Cave of Treasures  (Me'ârath Gazzê, original Syriac c. 4th cent. CE? 12 ); namely, in the  "Book of the Rolls" (Kitāb al-Majāll). 13   This work includes an account of the story of Adam and Eve. Reference is made to the First Man's pre-fall "mighty glory" (bahā' al-aīm,  Bezold Vol. 2:14); his  "wondrous glory" (al-bahā' al-`ajīb,  Gibson p.6). According to the "Book of the Rolls" the first couple were both clothed in glory and "splendour" (bahā')" (Gibson, 7).14 

     It has been noted that Bahā’-Allāh associated the word "Father" with the "greatest name". Several verses of the Gospels speak of the return of Christ "in the glory of his Father" (Matt. 16:27 Mark 8:38 cf. Luke 9:26). Both the words "glory" (Greekdoxa) and "Father" (Greek patār, Hebrew Bible  'Ab, Arabic Bible Āb) could be regarded as alluding to the "Greatest Name" Bahā'. In the New Testament the word "Father" occurs over 200  times -- as opposed to around 15 times (as 'Ab) for "God" in the Hebrew Bible. It is found in the two versions of the so-called `Lord's Prayer' (see Luke 11:3-4 & Matt. 6:9-13). We will recall that this prayer begins: "Our Father which art in Heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come..".  The "Father" referred to here is primarily the Godhead but could also be understood to refer to Bahā’-Allāh Who has ever existed (in his pre-existent Reality) in the "heaven" of the Will of God. The "hallowed be thy name" verse might be understood to be an allusion to the "glory" of the "Greatest Name" Bahā'; to One whose kingdom has been long awaited by Christians expecting the return of Christ in the glory of the "Father". 

    Numerous Christians have written volumes upon the subject of the multi-faceted Biblical concept of the "Glory"/ the "Glory of God". Christ's return "in the glory of the Father" has been meditated upon, prayed for, and variously interpreted for Ma’idihny centuries. Some have focused upon the mystery of the  Biblical "glory" (kabôd / doxa) or related expressions of the Divine splendour. A somewhat eccentric Protestant Christian example of this, is the Rev. H. A. Edwards' pamphlet, The Glory of the Lord, An Investigation into the significance of the Shekinah [= "Glorious Dwelling"] Presence, the Reasons for its Withdrawal and the Prophecies Concerning its Future Return. 15 More recent and much more important volumes have been written which contain valuable inforMa’idihtion about the glorious Divine Presence in history and eschatology; about the  Kabôd and the Doxa. Details cannot be gone into here. It must suffice to quote a few sentences from the entry  DOXA ("Glory") in Rahner and Vorgrimler's (Catholic) Concise Theological Dictionary,

 "In principle, man has already acquired a share in God's eschatological [end time] doxa  through the self-communication of God to Ma’idihn which has occurred in Christ (the bestowal of the Spirit..).. but, under this soteriological aspect, that  doxa  is still essentially a hidden thing, to be revealed only when the sufferings of this age are over (Rom 18:18)." (p.136).     

     Worth noting at this point is an interesting Islāmic tradition related by the sixth Shī'ī Imām, Ja`far al-Ṣādiq (d.765 CE). He stated that the child Jesus, explaining the first letter, the letter "B"  of the basmala  to his bewildered schoolteacher, had it that, "The letter "B" signifieth Bahā 'u'llāh". This tradition is quoted in many Islāmic sources as it is by `Abdu'l-Bahā in his own commentary on the Basmala (see Makātib `Abdu'l-Bahā  Vol.1:46) 16 

 

APPENDIX  2 

BAHA’I APOLOGETICS AND THE GREATEST NAME BAHA’ AS A "GLORY" MOTIF  IN ASIAN RELIGIOUS SCRIPTURE

          The Arabic word bahā' and its derivitives obviously do not occur directly in the Sanskrit, Gāthīc, Avestan, Pali, Chinese, Japanese and other scared texts of the non-Semitic Bahā'ī-recognized Asian religions (Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism). Words of identical or similar meaning are, however, found in eschatological contexts or texts which Bahā'īs have found prophetically significant. A Sanskrit root B-H-Ā signifies `to shine'. Related Sanskrit, Pali and other words (i.e. ābhāti = `shines towards'; ābhā = `lustre, splendour'), though etymologically/linguistically unrelated, remind one of derivatives of the Arabic verbal root B.H.A [W] -- including bahā' and abhā. Various stanzas of the eleventh chapter of the Bhagavad Gÿta  -- such as the use of bhā (= `Light', `Glory') in 11:12 -- detailing the "glory" of the transfigured Krishna have, by certain Bahā'īs, been seen to be prophetic (i.e. Munje, ..World, 50-51 on Gīta 11:30). [28]

         Such Messianic figures as  Kalki, the tenth Avatār of Vishnu or the "reincarnation of Krishna", expected by some Hindus, the  Zoroastrian Shāh Bahrām [Vahrām, Verethraghna // Saošyant] are all pictured as manifesting some kind of aura of glory; a supernatural splendour comparable to the bahā'  ("radiant glory") of Bahā’-Allāh.  The Zoroastrian saviour, for example, incarnates the Khvarenah (Avestan; Pahlavi khwarr, New Persian  khurrah /  ADD arr)  or supernatural "splendour".

            The name of the centrally important Mahāyāna Buddha Amitābha, the ruler of the western paradise of Sukhāvatī, in Sanskrit signifies "Boundless Light". While then, the word bahā'   has no linguistic cognate in the languages of the Asian religions, there are a number of theological motifs that are for Bahā’īs suggestive of the messianic splendour of the "greatest name" as  bahā'.