TWO ICONOGRAPHICAL EXAMPLES OF SUN-DISC CONNECTIONS TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF JEWISH BELIEFS IN ANGELS

Abstract

In Palestine ancient Egyptian motifs with solar connections such as uraei and falcons were virtually omnipresent by c. 925 B.C.E. Many seals testify to the fact that during the eighth century the state religion of northern Israel, i.e., “official†Yahwism, was affected by the prevalence of solar symbolism. The celestial-solar character of deities was often emphasized by the addition of solar discs. This article presents two examples of enduring polytheistic iconography relating to the theme of transcendent messenger activity in the Bible. The first example dating to about 900 B.C.E. is of an ostrich with a sun disk at the neck. The second example, a Gnostic gem dated to ca. 200–100 B.C.E., provides evidence of solar motifs from Egyptian religion which facilitated concepts concerning divine mediation from God to mankind. It is proposed that these motifs provided the foundation for the conceptual changes in Jewish angelology that transpired as Christianity.