Images of Cosmology in Jewish and Byzantine Art Jewish and Christian Perspectives Series Editorial Board David Golinkin – Alberdina Houtman Marcel Poorthuis – Joshua Schwartz Freek van der Steen Advisory Board Yehoyada Amir – David Berger – Shaye Cohen Judith Frishman – Martin Goodman Clemens Leonhard – Tobias Nicklas – Eyal Regev Gerard Rouwhorst – Seth Schwartz – Yossi Turner Volume 25 The titles published in this series are listed at brill.com/jcp Images of Cosmology in Jewish and Byzantine Art God’s Blueprint of Creation By Shulamit Laderman Leiden • boston 2013 University of Tilburg: Faculty of Catholic Theology, The Netherlands Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies, Israel Bar-Ilan University after the Ingeborg Rennert Center for Jerusalem Ingeborg Rennert Center Bar-Ilan University, Israel for Jerusalem Studies, Israel Studies, Israel Bar-Ilan University, Israel University of Tilburg: FacultyofofCatholic CatholicTheology, Theology, University of Tilburg: Faculty The editors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the Ingeborg Rennert Center for Jerusalem Studies The The Netherlands Netherlands University of Tilburg: Faculty of Catholic Theology, This book is printed onSchechter acid-free paper Institute of Jewish Studies, The Netherlands Protestant Theological University, TheIsrael Netherlands Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies, Israel Ingeborg for Studies, Jerusalem Studies, Israel SchechterRennert InstituteCenter of Jewish Israel Interaction between Judaism and Rennert Christianity in history, religion, art and literature / edited Ingeborg Center Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data for Jerusalem Studies, Israel by Marcel Poorthuis, Joshua Schwartz, The editors gratefully acknowledge the financialJoseph supportTurner of the Ingeborg Rennert Center for Jerusalem Studies p cm — (Jewish and Christian perspectives series ; v 17) Laderman, Shulamit bibliographical references TheIncludes editors acknowledge theand financial supportart of :the Ingeborg RennertofCenter for Jerusalem Studies Images Jewish Byzantine God’s blueprint creation / by Shulamit This bookofgratefully iscosmology printed oninacid-free paper ISBN 978-90-04-17150-3 (hardback : alk paper) Laderman Judaism Relations Christianity—History Christianity and25) other religions— pages cm — (Jewish and Christian perspectives series ; volume This book printedI.on acid-freeMarcel, paper 1955- II Library of isCongress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Judaism—History Poorthuis, Schwartz, Joshua III Turner, Joseph Includes bibliographical references and index ISBN 978-90-04-23324-9 (hardback : alk paper) — ISBN 978-90-04-25219-6 (e-book) Cosmology between and Christianity inData history, religion, art and literature / edited Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication inInteraction art Jewish art2008 andJudaism symbolism—Themes, motives Art, Byzantine—Themes, motives BM535.I4856 Marcel Poorthuis, Joshua Schwartz, Joseph Turner 4.by296.3’9609—dc22 Judaism—Relations—Christianity Christianity and other religions—Judaism I Title p cm — (Jewish and Christian perspectives series ;religion, v 17) art and literature N8012.C57L33 2013 Interaction between Judaism and Christianity in history, / edited 2008031295 Includes bibliographical references 704.9’482—dc23 by Marcel Poorthuis, Joshua Schwartz, Joseph Turner ISBN 978-90-04-17150-3 (hardbackperspectives : alk paper)series ; v 17) 2013011755 p cm — (Jewish and Christian 1.Includes Judaism Relations Christianity—History Christianity and other religions— bibliographical references Judaism—History I Poorthuis, Marcel,: 1955II Schwartz, Joshua III Turner, Joseph ISBN 978-90-04-17150-3 (hardback alk paper) Judaism Relations Christianity—History Christianity and other religions— This publication has been typeset in the multilingual “Brill” typeface With over 5,100 characters BM535.I4856 2008 Judaism—History I Poorthuis, Marcel, 1955- II Joshua.for III covering Latin, IPA, Greek, and Cyrillic, this typeface is Schwartz, especially suitable useTurner, in the hJoseph umanities 296.3’9609—dc22 For more information, please see www.brill.com/brill-typeface 2008031295 BM535.I4856 2008 ISSN 1388-2074 296.3’9609—dc22 ISSN978-90-04-23324-9 1388-2074 ISBN (hardback) 2008031295 ISBN 978 90 04 17150 ISBN 978-90-04-25219-6 (e-book) Copyright 2009 by Koninklijke BrillLeiden, NV, Leiden, The Netherlands Copyright 2013 by Koninklijke Brill NV, The Netherlands Koninklijke Brill incorporates the imprints Brill, Hotei Publishing, Koninklijke Brill NVNV incorporates the imprints Brill, Global Oriental, Hotei Publishing, IDCPublishers Publishers, NijhoffPublishers Publishers and VSP IDC andMartinus Martinus Nijhoff All NoNo partpart of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored instored in Allrights rightsreserved reserved of this publication may be reproduced, translated, aaretrieval system, or or transmitted in any formform or byor any electronic, mechanical, retrieval system, transmitted in any bymeans, any means, electronic, mechanical, ISSN 1388-2074 photocopying, recording or otherwise, without priorprior written permission from the publisher photocopying, recording or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher ISBN 978 90 04 17150 Authorization to to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill NV Brill NV ISSN 1388-2074 Authorization photocopy items forNV, internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Copyright by Koninklijke Brill Leiden, Netherlands provided that2009 the04 appropriate fees are paid directly to The The Copyright Clearance Center, ISBN 978 90 17150 provided that theNV appropriate fees the are imprints paid directly The Copyright Koninklijke incorporates Brill,toHotei Publishing,Clearance Center, 222 RosewoodBrill Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, MA 01923, USA 222 Rosewood Drive, SuiteNijhoff 910, Danvers, MA 01923, USA IDC Publishers, Martinus Publishers and VSP Fees are subject to change Copyright 2009 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands Fees are subject to change Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Hotei Publishing, the netherlands aprinted retrievalinsystem, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without may priorbe written permission from the publisher All rights reserved No part of this publication reproduced, translated, stored in All Noacid-free partNijhoff of paper this Publishers publicationand mayVSP be reproduced, translated, stored in This book isreserved printedMartinus on IDCrights Publishers, a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, Authorization photocopy for internal personal use permission is granted by Koninklijke Brill NV photocopying, to recording or items otherwise, withoutorprior written from the publisher provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 RosewoodtoDrive, Suite 910, MAor01923, USA Authorization photocopy itemsDanvers, for internal personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill NV Fees are subject change provided that thetoappropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, MA 01923, USA printed the netherlands Fees are in subject to change printed in the netherlands CONTENTS Preface List of Illustrations List of Abbreviations ix xiii xxi Introduction 1 Jewish and Christian Reciprocal Influences The Dura-Europos Synagogue and Baptistery The Earthly and Heavenly Tabernacle/Temple in the Dura-Europos Synagogue 13 13 24 The Blueprint of Creation in the Bible and Its Allegorical Interpretations The Biblical Link between the Tabernacle and Creation Philo of Alexandria and Josephus Flavius 33 33 39 Creation in Christian Works Constantine of Antioch’s “System of the World” The Christian Topography’s Schema of Creation The Apostolic Constitutions: A Link to a Shared Exegetical Method? The Octateuchs and Other Byzantine Artistic Expressions of Creation Creation as Interpreted in Jewish Art Visual Models of Creation in Ancient Synagogues Midrashic Literature and the Symbolic Significance of the Tabernacle/Creation Parallelism 47 47 50 54 61 73 73 88 Visualizing Creation in a Fourteenth-Century Jewish Manuscript 99 The Sarajevo Haggadah’s Visual Model of the Tabernacle/ Creation 99 The Structural Frame of the Illustrations in the Sarajevo Creation Cycle 102 vi contents The Approach to Creation Cosmology in Mid-ThirteenthCentury Spain 104 The Sarajevo Haggadah’s Creation Images in Light of Rabbinic Commentaries 110 The Tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant 121 Christian Cosmological and Theological Concepts 121 Jewish Antecedents of the Ark/Tabernacle/Creation Symbols 137 The Temple: History and Ideology 147 The Temple in Early Jewish Thought 147 Halakhic Developments after the Destruction of the Temple 152 The Synagogue as a Minor Temple Transferring Temple Symbols to the Synagogue The Consecration of the Tabernacle and Its Significance for Synagogue Liturgy The Role of the Rabbis in the Synagogue The Temple Implements in Samaritan Synagogues 163 163 168 177 181 Schematic Models: Forms of Visual Interpretation 187 Two Ways of Imaging the Tabernacle and the Holy of Holies 187 The Karaite Perception of the Temple and Its Implements 193 10 Perspective Imaging of the Tabernacle Perspective Imaging on the Gold-Glass Base Perspective Imaging in the Christian Topography and the Octateuchs Perspective Imaging in Codex Grandior and Codex Amiatinus Perspective Imaging in Pantokrator 61—the Marginal Psalter from Mount Athos Comparing the Four Conceptual Perspectives 205 205 208 210 213 214 11 The Art of Memory: The Sanctuary, Its Sacrifices, and Its Cosmic Import 217 contents vii The Tabernacle and Its Vessels on the Frontispieces of Sephardi Bibles 217 The Cosmological Aspect of the Golden Menorah and the Showbread Table 227 The Encampment in the Desert as a Reflection of the Divine Pattern 231 12 Christian Supersession of Jewish Ideas New Testament Cosmology: The Tabernacle and the Kingdom of Heaven The Church as the Successor to the Tabernacle/Temple Creation, the Tabernacle, and Christian Eschatology 235 235 241 245 Epilogue 249 Addendum 257 Glossary 275 Bibliography 281 Index 301 Illustrations after page 318 PREFACE As a high school student in Jerusalem, I was privileged to study with Dr Nechama Leibowitz, an outstanding scholar and teacher of Bible, who raised thought-provoking questions regarding the biblical text During my years in the Art History Department of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem I had the very good fortune to work with Prof Elisheva Revel-Neher, who inspired me to examine some of those questions through Jewish and Christian works of art In the course of my studies I became acquainted with a sixth-century Byzantine-Christian cosmological work called the Christian Topography Through text and illustrations the author of that work expounded a theory according to which the instructions for building the Tabernacle in the wilderness reveal the blueprint of Creation This hypothesis is relevant to one of the most thought-provoking questions regarding the biblical text: Why is there such a very lengthy description of the Tabernacle and its implements? It is known that the Pentateuch is very sparing with words and uses an abbreviated language, and yet it devotes many repetitive chapters to the construction of the Tabernacle, which was to serve the Jewish people for only a short time Embellished by schematic images, the Christian Topography points to the unique significance of the Tabernacle in revealing the mystery of Creation In studying this work I realized that its exegetical method regarding the Tabernacle and Creation relied heavily on earlier Jewish sources that were utilized by both Jewish and Christians scholars First in evidence are the first-century writings of Philo of Alexandria whose method was later adopted by various Church Fathers The schematic images in the Christian Topography are similar to earlier pictorial models found on Jewish coins and other Jewish artifacts from the second century on In the later centuries the idea and its accompanying schematic diagrams were found mostly in Christian works of art, but then reappeared in a fourteenth-century Hebrew illuminated manuscript Eventually I arrived at a fascinating new way of viewing the biblical text and decided to devote my dissertation to images of the Tabernacle and Creation in Jewish and Christian art In 2001, shortly after I received my PhD, I attended a lecture by the renowned scholar Prof Israel M Ta-Shma He talked about the influence of Greek-speaking Byzantine southern Italy on Ashkenazi Jewish culture as seen in the eleventh-century enigmatic writings of Rabbi Moses HaDarshan and that scholar’s reliance on apocryphal literature I was very much Fig 75. Christian Topography, a tentlike structure framed by a rectangular colonnade viewed from above Rome, Bibl Vat Gr 699, fol 49r By permission of Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana Fig 76. Octateuch 746, The Brazen Grate in the Tabernacle with fire burning underneath Rome, Bibl Vat Gr 746, Octateuch, fol 236v By permission of Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana Fig 77. Octateuch 747, The Brazen Grate in the Tabernacle with fire burning underneath Rome, Bibl Vat Gr 747, Octateuch, fol 108r By permission of Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana Fig 78. Octateuch 746 Moses ordaining Aaron and his sons Rome, Bibl Vat Gr 746, Octateuch, fol 242v By permission of Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana Fig 79. Codex Amiatinus, the Tabernacle and its courtyard enclosed by rows of pillars and curtains on all four sides Florence, the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Cod Amiatinus I, IIv–IIIr On concession of the Ministry for Goods and Cultural Activities Fig 80. Moshe Levine’s model of the Tabernacle and its courtyard according to the Bible Photo: after Levine M., The Tabernacle: Its Structure and Utensils, London 1969, p 81 Fig 81. Pantokrator 61, ninth century marginal Psalter with the Tabernacle’s courtyard in a special imaging perspective Marginal Psalter of Mount Athos, Pantokrator 61, fol 165r (Courtesy of H.L Kessler.) Fig 82. Parma Bible frontispiece, the seven-branched menorah, tongs, incense shovels, the stepping-stones, the Ark of the Covenant and the showbread table Parma, Biblioteca Palatina, 2668, Bible, fol 7v Permission by Parma, Biblioteca Palatina Fig 83. Parma Bible frontispiece, the golden altar with hornlike projections and the altar for burnt offerings Parma, Biblioteca Palatina, 2668, Bible, fol 8r Permission by Parma, Biblioteca Palatina Fig 84. Perpignan Bible frontispiece, the golden menorah, tongs, censers, and stepping-stones; the jug of manna and Aaron’s rods; the tablets of the covenant the showbread table and the frankincense Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, Hebr 7, Bible, fol 12v Permission by Bibliothèque nationale de France Fig 85. Perpignan Bible frontispiece, the golden incense altar, two silver trumpets, the shofar; the utensils for the sacrifices, the incense shovel; the altar for the burnt offerings, and the laver Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, Hebr 7, Bible, fol 13r Permission by Bibliothèque nationale de France Fig 86. King’s Bible, an image of a small mound or hill topped with a tree and label in Hebrew next to it identifying the hill as the Mount of Olives © British Library Board, London, King’s I, Bible, 3v Fig 87. Saragosa Bible, a full-page illustration of an olive tree framed by a verse from Zechariah prophesying the coming of the Messiah (Zech 14:4) Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale Heb 31, Bible, 4v Permission by Bibliothèque nationale de France Fig 88. Christian Topography, the showbread table next to the menorah with inscriptions that identify them as a table and a candelabrum Sin Gr 1186, fol 81r Photos © Monastere de Sainte-Catherine, Sinai Fig 89. Christian Topography, the showbread table next to the menorah with inscriptions that identify them as a table and a candelabrum Florence, the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Plut IX 28, fol 111v On concession of the Ministry for Goods and Cultural Activities Fig 90. Octateuch 746, the showbread table’s outer frame has four small circles, one in the center of each side representing the loaves of bread Rome, Bibl Vat Gr 746, Octateuch, fol 232r By permission of Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana Fig 91. Octateuch 746, a menorah, standing between two rectangles (the Taber nacle curtains), decorated with cups, knops, and flowers The candles on the horizontal bar are black lilies Rome, Bibl Vat Gr 746, Octateuch, fol 233r By permission of Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana Fig 92. Christian Topography, the desert encampment, the priests and the Levites around the Tabernacle surrounded by the twelve tribes Rome, Bibl Vat Gr 699, fol 52r By permission of Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana Fig 93. Christian Topography, encampment in the desert; Moses and Aaron are seen together with the priests and the Levites around the Ark/Tabernacle Sin Gr 1186, fol 86v Photos © Monastere de Sainte-Catherine, Sinai Fig 94. Octateuch 747, Mount Sinai with beams of light shining from its top as the Israelites depart to start their journey in the desert Rome, Bibl Vat Gr 747, Octateuch, fol 160v By permission of Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana Fig 95. Octateuch 747, the tribes march and carry the Ark during their journey in the desert Rome, Bibl Vat Gr.747, Octateuch, fol 162r By permission of Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana Fig 96. Basilewky pyxis, seen from front and back St Petersburg, Hermitage Museum Fig 97. Basilewky pyxis, Aaron and sacrifice offerers A drawing after the Basilewky pyxis, St Petersburg Hermitage Museum Fig 98. Basilewky pyxis, The Temple altar A drawing after the Basilewky pyxis, St Petersburg Hermitage Museum Fig 99. Basilewky pyxis, under the lock of the pyxis, a stream of water coming out of the base of the mountain and flowing toward a tree with two branches A drawing after the Basilewky pyxis, St Petersburg Hermitage Museum Fig 100. Basilewky pyxis, Moses receiving the Torah A drawing after the Basilewky pyxis, St Petersburg Hermitage Museum Fig 101. Christian Topography, Moses at the burning bush and Moses receiving the Torah Rome, Bibl Vat Gr 699, fol 61r By permission of Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana Fig 102. Christian Topography, Moses at the burning bush and Moses receiving the Torah Florence, the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Plut IX 28, fol 137r Florence, the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana Fig 103. Jordan, mosaic floor in the Greek Orthodox Church, Madaba map Images of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem using the same visual pattern as found in the Christian Topography Photo – M Piccirillo, The Mosaics of Jordan, 1993, Fig 103, by permission of the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum Fig 104. Mount Nebo, mosaic floor of Cappele Theotokos on Mount Nebo in Jordan, seventh century Images of an arch-topped rectangular structure with a flaming altar and the remains of a deer and a bull on the sides of the structure Photo – M Piccirillo, The Mosaics of Jordan, 1993, Fig 104, by permission of the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum ... theand financial supportart of :the Ingeborg RennertofCenter for Jerusalem Studies Images Jewish Byzantine God’s blueprint creation / by Shulamit This bookofgratefully iscosmology printed oninacid-free... Constantine’s schematic pattern of Creation was influenced by Nestorian cosmology and its theological spin-offs She insists that in order to understand the uniqueness of the miniatures in the.. .Images of Cosmology in Jewish and Byzantine Art Jewish and Christian Perspectives Series Editorial Board David Golinkin – Alberdina Houtman Marcel Poorthuis – Joshua