Garments of glory (1)

Text
The god or a king clothed in splendour or divine aura is a topos richly attested in the Sumero-Akkadian literature. The Hebrew Bible is also very rich in clothing imagery, but in the Syriac translation, the Peshitta, this imagery becomes even more prominent. A significant example of this is the Syriac version of Psalm 8:6: “You created man a little less than the angels; in honour and glory did you clothe him” (instead of “crown him”). Two important passages employing the term “robe of glory” are Ben Sira 50.11, where it refers to the high priest’s robe, and Daniel 10:5 (also 12:7) where it is worn by the angel who speaks with Daniel. The Adam’s “robe of glory” of Genesis 3:21 according to Talmud’s rendering was a priestly robe, to be handed down over the generations, was a familiar idea in Jewish tradition, and the term has preserved the priestly aspect in Syriac tradition as well. In Psalm 132:16 the Peshitta speaks of “glory” as the clothing of the just, and this eschatological dimension was clearly familiar to Judaism of the early post-biblical period, seeing that 1 Enoch 61.18 reads: “The righteous and the elect will have arisen from the earth … and will be clothed with garments of glory”. This eschatological aspect of the “robe of glory” remains an important one in Syriac texts too.

Sources (list of abbreviations) (source links will open in a new browser window)
Ben Sira 50.11
Genesis 3:21
Daniel 10:5
Daniel 12:7
1 Enoch 61:18
Peshitta, Psalm 8:6
Peshitta, Psalm 132:16

Bibliography

Amar Annus

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