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Saturday, March 21, 2015

Whose Universe is This?


I've been thinking about the diagram of the universe that appears on page 83 of the Rohonc Codex:


At the center, we see the earth, with some cities and maybe a ship on the sea. Underneath the world is apparently Hell, which we also see on page 79:


The circle immediately surrounding the earth appears to hold the sun and moon, and beyond that are other complex shapes whose meaning is not clear to me.

I am wondering if this represents a description of the universe from a particular source. Perhaps from one of the three books of Enoch, or maybe another source that I am not familiar with.

The two figures in the highest heaven are reminiscent of something from the Talmud related to the apostate rabbi Elisha ben Abuyah, who is said to have gone to heaven and seen two figures seated there (understood to be God and Metatron). Since no one was allowed to sit in the presence of God, he exclaimed "Perhaps there are -- God forbid! -- two powers in heaven!"

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