IS IT AMBER OR METAL?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25159/1013-8471/2776Abstract
The KJV translates חש×מל in Ezekiel 1 as "amber" (fossilized resin) whereas the Septuagint renders it "electron" (translated in the Vulgate as electrum, which is a mixture of gold and silver). Amber possesses the characteristic of static electricity, and has been known to fly into splinters when polished, thus the use of חש×מל with the meaning of amber contributes to the sense of a dynamic mechanism moving outwards from the merkebah throne. When חש×מל is taken in context the communicative aspect is most clearly conveyed in Ez 1:14, which suggests angelic activity in the movement described as back and forth from the throne of YHWH. The suggestion of a dynamic communicative aspect is confirmed when extra-biblical texts relating to Ezekiel chapters 1 and 10 such as I Enoch, Book of Watchers, and the Angelic Liturgy from Qumran, are consulted. Thus it is argued that the metaphorical use in Ezekiel 1 of חש×מל as amber to explain the mechanism of mediation believed to arise from the enthroned deity justifies the translation as amber.Metrics
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