Michelangelo’s Depiction of Moses on a Throne

The following post represents research I did for Dr. Orlov’s Apocalyptic Literature class in preparation for a presentation I did on themes from the text of an ancient drama known as Exagoge, written by Ezekiel the Tragedian. This text is only known by fragments of the original recorded by the Christian historian Eusebius. The original play is thought to have been written in the second century BC and is, thus, the oldest piece of Jewish drama available.

The focus of my presentation was on the depiction, in Exagoge, of an anthropomorphic (human-like) figure sitting on a throne, whom Moses describes as having seen as part of a heavenly ascent vision he had while on Mt. Sinai. Incredibly, the “noble man” on the throne leaves the throne, gives his kingly regalia to Moses and sets Moses on the throne in his place. This is truly and extraordinary text that has puzzled scholars for decades.  Here is the pertinent part of the text:

68 I [Moses] had a vision on the top of Sinai of a high throne
69 that reached the fold of heaven.
70 On it was sitting a certain noble man,
71 with a crown and with a large scepter in his
72 left hand, while with the right
73 he beckoned me, and I stood before the throne.
74 He handed me the scepter and told me
75 to sit on the great throne, and gave me the royal
76 crown, and he departed from the throne.
77 I beheld the whole earth around
78 and the things underneath the earth and those above the heaven.
79 Then a multitude of stars fell on their knees before me,
80 and I counted them all,
81 and they paraded by me as in a march of mortals.

There are some important issues here that I would like to briefly address: the Jewish belief in an anthropomorphic figure on the throne of God and the possible identity of the figure (the “noble man”); and also the idea that a human being (e.g., Moses) could actually be enthroned in heaven in such a manner.

The Figure on the Throne in the Hebrew Bible

The idea that there is a divine, human-like figure seated on the throne of God comes up repeatedly in the Hebrew Bible. The following are just a few of the main passages that illustrate this widespread early belief (most of these translations are from the RSV–which is the standard Bible translation used in most of my classes):

Ezekiel 1:26 And above the firmament over their heads there was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like sapphire; and seated above the likeness of a throne was a likeness as it were of a human form.

Isaiah 6:1 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim;

1 Kings 22:19 And Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing beside him on his right hand and on his left;

Daniel 7:9–10, 13 9 As I looked, thrones were placed and one that was ancient of days took his seat; his raiment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames, its wheels were burning fire. 10 A stream of fire issued and came forth from before him; a thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; the court sat in judgment, and the books were opened. 13 I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him.

1 Samuel 4:4 4 So the people sent to Shiloh, and brought from there the ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts, who is enthroned on the cherubim; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

Exodus 24:10–11 10 and they saw the God of Israel; and there was under his feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone, like the very heaven for clearness. 11 And he did not lay his hand on the chief men of the people of Israel; they beheld God, and ate and drank.

Psalm 29:10 The LORD sits enthroned over the flood; the LORD sits enthroned as king for ever.

Rafael's Depiction of Ezekiel's Vision

The most influential of these for Exagoge is likely Ezek, which describes the entity on the merkabah throne as “something that seemed like a human form” (Ezek 1:26). It then goes on to describe this anthropomorphic being in some detail, including describing his luminosity, as if he were covered in fire. Similarly, Isa 6 portrays God as seated on the “high and lofty” cherubim throne in the temple, paying particular attention to his glorious apparel. Dan 7 depicts an anthropomorphic figure sitting on a throne (described similarly to Ezekiel’s vision), while adding that both his garment and his hair were exceedingly white. 

God El limestone statue from Ugarit, c. 1300 bc.

Ancient Near Eastern Background

The idea that Yahweh was a human-like figure seated on a glorious throne and dressed in majestic clothing is comparable to similar notions of deity among Israel’s ancient Near Eastern neighbors.
In the Ugaritic texts, the supreme god El (or Ilu) resides on the sacred mountain as king, and is portrayed as an old gray-haired, enthroned god. In art he is portrayed as an old male figure, sitting on a throne, wearing a crown, blessing with one hand and with the other holding a scepter. The God El is recognizable in the Hebrew Bible (e.g., Gen 33:20).
The Canaanite god Baal is made king in place of El, and is enthroned on an enormous and majestic throne (KTU 1.101) on Mount Saphon. Mesopotamian gods, such as Shamash and Marduk, as well as Egyptian gods, are described in like manner. They are human-like figures sitting on thrones. The Israelite conception of El and Yahweh is not different from these features found throughout the region. 

Because this idea is so blatant in the Ugaritic/Mesopotamian/Egyptian texts, I include just a couple of random examples:

“Puissant Baal is dead;
The Prince, Lord of the Earth, is perished.”
Straightway Kindly El Benign
Descends from the throne,
Sits on the footstool;
From the footstool
And sits on the ground;
Pours dust of mourning on his head,
Earth of mortification on his pate;
And puts on sackcloth and loincloth (g. I AB vi. 9-18 in ANET, 139).

Baal sits like the base of a mountain;
Hadd se[ttles] as the ocean,
In the midst of his divine mountain, Saphon,
In [the midst of] the mountain of victory.
Seven lightening-flashes [ ]
Eight bundles of thunder,
A tree-of-lightening [in his] right hand.
His head is magnificent,
His brow is dew-drenched,
His feet are eloquent in his wrath… (KTU 1.101)

NJB Genesis 33:20 There he [Jacob] erected an altar which he called ‘El, God of Israel’ (this passage is included to illustrate the point that the worship of El was practiced in primordial Israelite religion).

Near Eastern King (Ahiram) on Cherubim Throne

Yahweh on the Throne in the First Temple

Going back to Israel, in the pre-exilic period of the Israelite monarchy, Yahweh was believed to dwell, enthroned, in the Holy of Holies of the Jerusalem temple, the earthly counterpart of the heavenly temple (Isa 6; 1 Kgs 6, 8; 1 Sam 4:4; 1 Kgs 8:12–13; Exod 15:17; 2 Sam 7:1–6; Pss 9:11; 11:4; 26:8; 43:3; 46:5; 48:9; 50:2; 76:3; 84:1; 132:13-14).
Those who made pilgrimage to the temple in Jerusalem expected to see the Lord seated on the throne (Exo 23:15, 17; 34:20-24; Deut 16:16; 31:11; 1 Sam 1:22; Isa 1:12; Ps 42:2).
The important question is how, or in what form, did believers expect to see Yahweh? Some scholars have suggested that there was a golden statue sitting on the cherubim throne in the Holy of Holies.
However, there is also evidence that the human-like figure seen on the throne was the Davidic king himself, who sat on the divine throne for special religious ceremonies, in which he acted as a physical representation of Yahweh. 1 Chron 29:20, 23 says clearly it was the king who sat on the throne of the LORD and was worshipped. Also, the psalms contain many references to someone sitting under the wings of the Lord, a possible reference to a human sitting on the cherubim throne (e.g., Pss 17, 36, 57, 63, 91, etc.).

Some of the pertinent passages regarding the presence of the LORD in the Jerusalem Temple:

Exodus 15:17 17 Thou wilt bring them in, and plant them on thy own mountain, the place, O LORD, which thou hast made for thy abode, the sanctuary, LORD, which thy hands have established.

2 Samuel 7:4–7 4 But that same night the word of the LORD came to Nathan, 5 “Go and tell my servant David, `Thus says the LORD: Would you build me a house to dwell in? 6 I have not dwelt in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent for my dwelling.

1 Kings 6:11–14 11 Now the word of the LORD came to Solomon, 12 “Concerning this house which you are building, if you will walk in my statutes and obey my ordinances and keep all my commandments and walk in them, then I will establish my word with you, which I spoke to David your father. 13 And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel.” 14 So Solomon built the house, and finished it.

1 Kings 8:12–13 12 Then Solomon said, “The LORD has set the sun in the heavens, but has said that he would dwell in thick darkness. 13 I have built thee an exalted house, a place for thee to dwell in for ever.”

2 Kings 19:14–15 14 Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD. 15 And Hezekiah prayed before the LORD, and said: “O LORD the God of Israel, who art enthroned above the cherubim, thou art the God, thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth.

Psalm 26:8 O LORD, I love the habitation of thy house, and the place where thy glory dwells.

Psalm 43:3 3 Oh send out thy light and thy truth; let them lead me, let them bring me to thy holy hill and to thy dwelling!

Psalm 76:2 His abode has been established in Salem, his dwelling place in Zion.

Psalm 132:13–14 13 For the LORD has chosen Zion; he has desired it for his habitation: 14 “This is my resting place for ever; here I will dwell, for I have desired it.

Psalm 99:1–2 The LORD reigns; let the peoples tremble! He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake! 2 The LORD is great in Zion; he is exalted over all the peoples.

Depiction of Yahweh on the Throne

Deuteronomy 16:16 Three times a year all your males shall see the face of the LORD your God at the place which he will choose: at the feast of unleavened bread, at the feast of weeks, and at the feast of booths. They shall not see the face of the LORD vainly (unworthily);
(reading the Hebrew yr’h in the original Qal form instead of the Niphal)

Exilic and Post-Exilic Conceptions

With the reforms of King Josiah and destruction of the temple at the hands of the Babylonians, the idea that Yahweh dwelt in his temple was supressed. In the exilic text of Ezekiel, however, we see that the divine kavod, including the merkabah throne, was able to travel outside the temple. Although the temple was no more, Ezekiel’s description of the human-like figure on the throne remains true to pre-exilic beliefs.
The post-exilic literature of the Zadokite priests follows Ezekiel in describing Yahweh as present with his people, although he is usually depicted as enveloped in fire and/or cloud.

Second Temple Literature

There is a proliferation in the Second Temple period of writings regarding the divine kavod that Ezekiel saw. It has often been proposed that the figure on the throne is Yahweh himself. However, in this period there is widespread speculation regarding the identity of the kavod in relation to proposed mediatorial figures. The specifically human-like figure became connected to speculation about mortals exalted to the heavenly throne (or perhaps the two ideas were always connected). A number of such figures arise in the literature that are depicted as the anthropomorphic entity on the throne (Enoch, Jacob, Moses). It is likely that these traditions draw upon the early idea of Adam as the Image of God (for more on the exalted position of Adam, please see my last post).

A. Gottstein noted, ”Adam is distinguished from God not by form, but by the different quality of life attached to the same form; in other words, God and Adam are distinguished not by body, but by bodily function (see Bunta, 179).

In monarchic Israel, both high priest and king were identified with Adam. Some scholars theorize that the presence on the cherub throne was also equated with Adam, who was the image/icon/idol of the undepictable kavod. Throughout the literature, Adam (pre-lapsarian) is depicted as the luminous image of the Godhead, often wearing brilliant garments of light. Later priests and kings would imitate this garment of light, which also represented the shining robes of God. Thus, Adam was the visible representative of the divine glory, and later humans (prophets, priests, kings) were engaged in a constant effort to regain the luminous glory of Adam. In Exagoge, it is possible that we are seeing an example of Moses taking the place of Adam as the anthropomorphic figure seated on the divine throne.

Another possibility is that Moses is simply taking the place of his own heavenly self–his heavenly counterpart, or twin.  There is a good deal of ancient literature that presents the idea that when a visionary ascends to heaven, he is sometimes presented with an angelic being, whom he is told is a heavenly version of himself. Sometimes the “twin” is seated on a throne and the visionary often either “becomes” the person on the throne or takes the person’s place.  For more on this idea, see Kerry Shirts’ great set of YouTube videos on the topic here. 

Of course, the figure on the throne could be Yahweh himself.  However, the idea that God would leave the throne and turn it over to Moses is hard for most scholars to swallow. While examples of God sharing the throne are abundant, as is the idea of God setting up thrones for others to rule under him, the idea that God would leave His own throne for a mortal is unprecedented.  However, since the text is so obscure and it is hard to trace its history, we can really only speculate where Ezekiel the Tragedian came up with this idea and what he meant by it.

In any case, I provide here some relevant passages that help give background to this theme:

Solomon on the Throne

1 Chronicles 29:20, 23 Then David said to all the assembly, “Bless the LORD your God.” And all the assembly blessed the LORD, the God of their fathers, and bowed their heads, and worshiped the LORD and the king. 23 Then Solomon sat on the throne of the LORD as king instead of David his father; and he prospered, and all Israel obeyed him.

Adam on the Throne –Testament of Abraham

XI. So Michael turned the chariot and brought Abraham to the east, to the first gate of heaven; and Abraham saw two ways, the one narrow and contracted, the other broad and spacious, and there he saw two gates, the one broad on the broad way, and the other narrow on the narrow way. And outside the two gates there he saw a man sitting upon a golden throne, and the appearance of that man was terrible, as of the Lord…And Abraham asked the chief-captain, My Lord chief-captain, who is this most marvelous man, adorned with such glory, and sometimes he weeps and laments, and sometimes he rejoices and exults? The incorporeal one said: This is the first-created Adam who is in such glory, and he looks upon the world because all are born from him…

Enoch on the Throne

1 Enoch 69:29 And from henceforth there shall be nothing corruptible;
For that Son of Man has appeared,
And has seated himself on the throne of his glory,
And all evil shall pass away before his face,
And the word of that Son of Man shall go forth…
(1 Enoch 71 seems to indicate that this Son of Man is Enoch himself)

2 Enoch 22:8 And the Lord said to Michael: Go and take Enoch from out (of) his earthly garments, and anoint him with my sweet ointment, and put him into the garments of My glory. 9 And Michael did thus, as the Lord told him. He anointed me, and dressed me, and the appearance of that ointment is more than the great light, and his ointment is like sweet dew, and its smell mild, shining like the sun’s ray, and I looked at myself, and (I) was like one of his glorious ones. 24:1 And the Lord summoned me, and said to me: Enoch, sit down on my left with Gabriel.

3 Enoch 10:1 All these things the Holy One, blessed be He, made for me: He made me a Throne, similar to the Throne of Glory; And He spread over me a curtain of splendor and brilliant appearance, of beauty, grace, and mercy, similar to the curtain of the Throne of Glory; and on it were fixed all kinds of lights in the universe. 2 And He placed it at the door to the Seventh Hall and He seated me on it.

Jacob on the Throne
In Targum Pseudo-Jonathan to Gen 28:12 the following story of Jacob can be found:

He had a dream, and behold, a ladder was fixed in the earth with its top reaching toward the heavens … and on that day they (angels) ascended to the heavens on high, and said, Come and see Jacob the pious, whose image is fixed (engraved) in the Throne of Glory, and whom you have desired to see…

A. Orlov explains that there are further implications possible in this imagery:

Besides the tradition of “engraving” on the Throne, some Jewish materials point to an even more radical identification of Jacob’s image with Kavod. Jarl Fossum’s research demonstrates that in some traditions about Jacob’s image, his “image” or “likeness” is depicted not simply as engraved on the heavenly throne, but as seated upon the throne of glory. J. Fossum argues that this second tradition is original. Christopher Rowland proposed that Jacob’s image is “identical with the form of God on the throne of glory (Ezek. 1.26f.)” (From Apocalypticism to Merkabah Mysticism: Studies in the Slavonic Pseudepigrapha (Supplements to the Journal for the Study of Judaism, 114; Leiden: Brill, 2007), 408).

Selected Bibliography

Barker, Margaret. Temple Themes in Christian Worship. London: T&T Clark, 2007.

Bunta, Silviu. Moses, Adam and the Glory of the Lord in Ezekiel the Tragedian: Roots
     of a Merkabah Text. Dissertation. Milwaukee: Marquette University, 2005.

Cross, F.M. Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University
     Press, 1973.

Holladay, Carl R. “The Portrait of Moses in Ezekiel the Tragedian.” Society of Biblical
     Literature Seminar Papers 1976. Chico, Cal.: Scholars Press, 1976, 447-52.

Jacobsen, Howard. The Exagoge of Ezekiel. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
     1983.

Meeks. The Prophet-King: Moses Traditions and the Johannine Christology. Leiden:
     Brill, 1967.

Niehr, Herbert. “In Search of YHWH’s Cult Statue in the First Temple,” in K. van der Toorn, ed. The Image and the Book: Iconic Cults, Aniconism, and    the Rise of Book Religion in Israel and the Ancient Near East. Leuven: Peters, 1997, 73-96.

Oppenheim, A. Leo. “The Golden Garments of the Gods.” JNES 8 (1949): 172-193.

Orlov, Andrei. “In the Mirror of the Divine Face: The Enochic Features of the Exagoge of Ezekiel the Tragedian.” The Giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai. eds. G. Brooks, H. Najman, L. Stuckenbruck; Themes in Biblical Narrative; Leiden: Brill, 2008, 183-199.

_______. “Moses’ Heavenly Counterpart in the Book of Jubilees and the Exagoge of Ezekiel the Tragedian.” Biblica 88 (2007): 153-173.

_______. “Vested with Adam’s Glory: Moses as the Luminous Counterpart of Adam in the Dead Sea Scrolls and in the Macarian Homilies.” Xristianskij Vostok 4.10 (2002).

Robertson, R. G. “Ezekiel the Tragedian,” in Charlesworth, James H., ed. The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha. Vol. 2. Garden City, N.Y.:Doubleday, 1985, 803-819.

Van der Horst, Pieter. “Moses’ Throne Vision in Ezekiel the Dramatist,” JJS 34 (1983): 21-29

________. “Some Notes on the Exagoge of Ezekiel.” Mnemosyne 37 (1984): 354-75.