Divine Countenance
by Joel Loftus
Title
Divine Countenance
Artist
Joel Loftus
Medium
Photograph - Photography/digital Photography
Description
Pagan
In pagan religions, the face of God might be viewed in a literal sense - the face of an idol in a temple. In prayers and blessings, the concept was more metaphorical, indicating the favourable attention of the deity. For example, in the Babylonian blessing:
"May Ea rejoice over thee!
May Damkina, the queen of the deep, lighten thee with her countenance!
May Marduk, the great overseer of the Igigi, lift up thy head!"
Andrea Mantegna, Sacrifice of Isaac The Hand of God was the only part of God shown in art for many centuries.
Jewish and Christian
In the Book of Exodus 33:20 God says "Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see Me and live", echoed in the Christian New Testament in the Gospel of John 1:18: "No man hath seen God at any time".
In Judeo-Christianity, the concept is the manifestation of God rather than a remote immanence or delegation of an angel, even though a mortal would not be able to gaze directly upon him. In Jewish mysticism, it is traditionally believed that even the angels who attend him cannot endure seeing the divine countenance directly. Where there are references to visionary encounters, these are thought to be either products of the human imagination, as in dreams or, alternatively, a sight of the divine glory which surrounds God, not the godhead itself.
An important early use of the concept in the Old Testament is the blessing passed by Moses to the children of Israel in Numbers 6:24–26
"The LORD bless thee, and keep thee:
The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace."
The name of the city of Peniel literally means the "face of God" in Hebrew. The place was named by Jacob after his wrestling match there which is recounted in Genesis. His opponent seemed divine and so Jacob claimed to have looked upon the face of God.
Islam
Islam considers Allah to be beyond ordinary vision as the Qu'ran states that "Sights cannot attain him; he can attain sights", but other verses indicate that he would be visible in the hereafter. The Qu'ran makes many references to the face of God but its use of the Arabic word for a physical face — wajh — is symbolic and is used in the tradition of Judeo-Christianity to refer to God's presence which, in Islam, is everywhere: "wherever you turn, there is the face of God".
God is visible but not with physical eyes but with inner eyes which the Quran states
006.104 YUSUFALI: "Now have come to you, from your Lord, proofs (to open your eyes hidden eyes): if any will see, it will be for (the good of) his own soul; if any will be blind, it will be to his own (harm): I am not (here) to watch over your doings."
Uploaded
April 26th, 2013
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