Was the image of the Crucified Christ created in 90 BC ? 86 years before Jesus the Nazarene, Yeshua bar Yosef, was born in Bethlehem ? Was the icon of a bloodied and disfigured Messiah, a scourged, and Suffering Servant wearing a crown of thorns created by Cicero in Rome as a mnemonic device ? A pictograph by which the story of the Passion would be remembered ? The following is an excerpt taken from the
Rhetorica ad Herennium (Loeb Classical Library No. 403)(English and Latin Edition)
written in 90 BC as a guide on how Orators are to create Memory Pictures or Pictographs (Mnemonics) and used to memorize long stories. The Ad Herennium was the Orators Bible, the key to the Oral Tradition ......
" Why is it that some images are so strong and sharp and so suitable for awakening memory, whilst others are so weak and feeble that they hardly stimulate memory at all ? We must enquire into this so as to know which images to avoid and which to seek.
"Now nature herself teaches us what we should do. When we see in every day life things that are pretty, ordinary, and banal, we generally fail to remember them, because the mind is not being stirred by anything novel or MARVELOUS. But if we see or hear something exceptionally base, dishonorable, unusual, great, UNBELIEVABLE, or ridiculous, that we are likely to remember for a long time.... We ought then, to set up images of a kind that can adhere longest in memory. And we shall do so if we establish similitudes as striking as possible; if we set up images that are not many or vague but active; if we assign to them exceptional beauty or singular ugliness; if we ornament some of them, as with CROWNS or PURPLE cloaks, so as the similitude may be more distinct to us; or if we somehow DISFIGURE them, as by introducing one stained with BLOOD or soiled with mud or SMEARED with RED paint, so that it's form is more striking, or by assigning certain comic effects to our images, for that too, will ensure our remembering them more readily. The things we easily remember when they are real we likewise remember them without difficulty when they are figments." (Ad Herennium - 90 BC)
Mark 15:17
They put a PURPLE robe on him, then twisted together a CROWN of thorns and set it on him.
Isaiah 52:14
Just as there were many who were appalled at him — his appearance was so DISFIGURED beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness —
John 19:34
Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of BLOOD and water.
Rhetorica ad Herennium [English: 'Rhetoric: For Herennius'], formerly attributed to Cicero but of unknown authorship, is the oldest surviving Latin book on rhetoric, dating from the 90s BC, and is still used today as a textbook on the structure and uses of rhetoric and persuasion.
It was the most popular book on rhetoric during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. It was commonly used, along with Cicero's De Inventione, to teach rhetoric, and over one hundred are extant. It was also copied extensively into European vernacular languages, and served as the standard schoolbook text on rhetoric during the Renaissance. The work focuses on the practical applications and examples of rhetoric. It is also the first book to teach rhetoric in a very highly structured and disciplined form.
Its discussion of elocutio (style) is the oldest surviving systematic treatment of Latin style, and many of the examples are of contemporary Roman events. This new style, which flowered in the century following this work's writing, promoted revolutionary advances in Roman literature and oratory. However, according to some analysts, teaching oratory in Latin was controversial because oratory was seen as a political tool which had to be kept in the hands of the Greek-speaking upper class. The Rhetorica ad Herennium can be seen as part of a liberal populist movement, along with those like Plotius Gallus who began teaching in Latin. The work contains the first known description of the method of loci, a mnemonic technique. Ad Herennium also provides the first complete treatment of memoria (memorization of speeches). -
Ad Herennium 90 BC
.... "We ought then, to set up images that can adhere longest in memory. .. as striking as possible... if we ornament them with CROWNS or PURPLE cloaks,if we somehow DISFIGURE them, as by introducing one stained with BLOOD or soiled with mud or SMEARED with RED paint, so that it's form is more striking, or by assigning certain comic effects to our images, for that too, will ensure our remembering them more readily." (Ad Herennium - 90 BC)
Latin: "Docet igitur nos ipsa natura quid oporteat fieri. Nam si quas res in vita videmus parvas, usitatas, cotidianas, meminisse non solemus, propterea quod nulla nova nee admirabili re commovetur animus ; at si quid videmus aut audimus egregie turpe, inhonestum, inusitatum, magnum, incredibile, ridiculum, id diu meminisse consuevimus. Itaque quas res ante ora videmus aut audimus obliviscimur plerumque ; quae acciderunt in pueritia meminimus
optime saepe ; nee hoc alia de causa potest accidere nisi quod usitatae res facile e memoria elabuntur, insignes et novae diutius manent in animo. Solis exortus, cursus, occasus nemo admiratur propterea quia cotidie fiunt ; at eclipses solis mirantur quia raro accidunt, et solis eclipses magis mirantur quam lunae propterea quod hae crebriores sunt. Docet ergo se natura vulgari et usitata re non exsuscitari, novitate et insigni quodam negotio commoveri. Imitetur ars igitur naturam, et quod ea desiderat id inveniat, quod ostendit sequatur. Nihil est enim
quod aut natura extremum invenerit aut doctrina primum ; sed rerum principia ab ingenio profecta sunt, exitus disciplina conparantur.
Imagines igitur nos in eo genere constituere oportebit quod genus in memoria diutissime potest haerere.
Id accidet si quam maxime notatas similitudines
constituemus ; si non multas nee vagas, sed aliquid
agentes imagines ponemus ; si egregiam pulcritu-
dinem aut unicam turpitudinem eis adtribuemus ;
si aliquas exornabimus, ut si coronis aut veste
purpurea, quo nobis notatior sit similitudo ; aut si
qua re deformabimus, ut si cruentam aut caeno
oblitam aut rubrica delibutam inducamus, quo magis
insignita sit forma, aut ridiculas res aliquas imaginibus
adtribuamus, nam ea res quoque faciet ut facilius
meminisse valeamus. Nam quas res veras facile
meminimus, easdem fictas et diligenter notatas
meminisse non difficile est. Sed illud facere oporte-
bit, ut identidem primos quosque locos imaginum
renovandarum causa celeriter animo pervagemus
So, what is the meaning of Crown, Cloak, Purple etc ?
The "crown" represents the Sefirah of Keter-Crown, while the "cloak" is alluded to in the verse, "He wraps Himself in light as a garment" (Psalms 104:2), This "cloak" or garment is the light of Chakhmah-Wisdom and Binah-Understanding when they descend to protect the lower Sefirot from Evil. (The Bahir)
This forms the Top Three of the Sefirot :
Keter-Crown
Binah-Understanding (Left)
Chakmah-Wisdom (Right)
The Purple is what connects Crown (Atika Kadisha - The Ancient Holy One) through Binah(Imma-Mother)and Chakhmah (Aba-Father) to Tiferet-Beauty The Prince of Peace, The Son.
Sippur means the Retelling of the Story. The "Sefirot" (סְפִירוֹת), singular "Sefirah" (סְפִירָה), literally means "counting"/"enumeration", but early Kabbalists presented a number of other etymological possibilities from the same Hebrew root including: sefer (text), sippur (recounting a story), sappir (sapphire, brilliance, luminary), separ (boundary), and safra (scribe). The term sefirah thus has complex connotations within Kabbalah.
The Sephirot are considered revelations of the Creator's Will ("ratzon"),[2] and they should not be understood as ten different "gods" but as ten different ways the one God reveals his Will through the Emanations. While in Cordoveran Kabbalah, Keter (The Divine Will) is listed as the first Sephirah, it is an intermediary above consciousness between God and the other, conscious Sephirot. The Sephirot are emanated from the Divine Will, because Kabbalah sees different levels within Keter, reflecting God's inner Will and outer Will. The innermost, hidden levels of Keter, also in some contexts called "The head/beginning that is not known",[3] are united above the Sephirot with the Ein Sof (Divine essence).
Keter-"Crown": Divine Will to create/Infinite Light of the Creator/the Hebrew name of God "Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh-I Am that I Am"
Chochmah-"Wisdom": First unbounded flash of an idea before it takes on limitations/male light/Divine Reality/first revelation/creation from nothingness
Binah-"Understanding": the infinite flash of Chochmah brought into the vessel of understanding to give it grasp of breadth and depth/feminine vessel that gives birth to the emotions/reason/understanding brings teshuva return to God
As to the actual significance of the numbers 10 and 22 in context of Judaism goes into Kabbalistic interpretation of Genesis. God is said to have created the world through Ten Utterances, marked by the number of times Genesis states, “And God said.”
Gen 1:3 - "And Elohim said, 'Let there be Light.' and there was Light." (Kether)
Gen 1:6 - "And Elohim said, 'Let there be a firmament in the midst of the Waters, and let it divide the Waters from the Waters." (Chockmah)
Gen 1:9 - "And Elohim said, 'Let the Waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear.' And it was so." (Binah)
Gen 1:11 - "And Elohim said, 'Let the Earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth.' And it was so." (Chesed)
Gen 1:14-15 - "And Elohim said, 'Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth.' And it was so." (Gevurah)
Gen 1:20 - "And Elohim said, 'Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.'" (Tiphareth)
Gen 1:22 - "And Elohim Blessed them, saying, 'Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.'" (Netzach)
Gen 1:26 - "And Elohim said, 'Let us make Man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air,and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.'" (Hod)
Gen 1:28 - "And Elohim blessed them and Elohim said to them, 'Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.'" (Yesod)
Gen 1:29-30 - "And Elohim said, 'Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat.' And it was so." (Malkuth)
As for the 22 letter-paths, there must first be an explanation of the three different types of letters in Hebrew. See “Bahir Tree” of “Kircher Tree” image for reference.
There are three “Mothers” (Aleph, Mem, and Shin) that represent the horizontal lines.
Their difference from the other letters is a matter for another article.
There are seven “Doubles” (Bet, Gimel, Dalet, Kaf, Peh, Resh, and Tav) that represent the vertical lines.
Each double is attributed to a soft and hard sound, positive and negative meaning, direction, planet, gate of the soul, color, angels, and vowel.
Gimel, Dalet, Resh, and Tav’s second pronunciations are lost or disputed, with different dialects using different sounds. Tav has no second pronunciation in Sephardi, but Ashkenazi use a 's' sound when the dagesh is absent.
The twelve “Elementals” (Heh, Vav, Zayin, Chet, Tet, Yud, Lamed, Nun, Samech, Ayin, Tzaddi, and Qof) have one pronunciation, and represent the diagonal lines. Other sources say that they correspond to the twelve zodiacal constellations.
Each letter grouping has significance in Genesis 1:
The Mothers represent the three times Genesis states “God made."
The Doubles represent the seven times Genesis states “God saw."
The elementals (or singles) represent the rest of the times “God” (Elohim in every instance of Genesis Chapter 1) is mentioned.
The meanings of the drawn letters
As you see in the chart before you, the meanings of the letters are not always clear or definite. The researchers determined them based on the connection of the letters to the text and their context.
– א aleph - To represent the word אַלּוּף(aluf), a head of a bull.
– בbet - From the wordבַּיִת (bayit), a square shape which represents home.
– גgimel - To represent a throw stick, boomerang.
– דdalet - To represent the word דַּג (dag), a fish.
– הheh - To represent הֵיי (hey), a man calling out “hey”.
– וvav - From the word וָו (vav), a peg knocked into walls to be used as a hook.
– זzayin - The meaning of this shape is unclear.
– חchet - This seems to derive from חוּט (choot), a piece of string.
- טtet - This might be to represent a roll of string, however the connection between the sound “t” and a role of string is unclear.
– יyud – From the word יָד (yad), an arm.
– כkaf – To represent the word כַּף יָד (kaf yad), the palm of a hand.
– לlamed – From the word מַלְמָד(malmad). This is a goad used by a herdsman to guide the cattle. Malmad comes from the word “to teach“ (lelamed in Hebrew), but is obsolete these days.
– מ mem - From the word מַיִם (mayim), water.
- נnoon - To represent the wordנָחָשׁ (nachash),a snake.
– סsamech - The meaning of this shape is unclear.
- עa’yin - To represent the word עַיִן (a’yin), an eye.
– פpey - To represent the word פִּנָּה (pina),a corner in a room.
– צtzadi – To represent the word צֶמַח (tzemach),a plant.
– קkuf - The meaning of this shape is unclear.
– רresh – To representרֹאשׁ (rosh), a human head.
– שshin - This might be a bow (keshet) or breasts (shadayim).
– תtav – To represent the word תָּו (tav),a sign, a note.
http://www.hebrewtoday.com/content/history-alphabet
Phoenician Writing
The Phoenicians, inhabitants of the coastal cities situated in Lebanon: Tyre, Sidon and others, contributed their part in forming the writing in the area. They reduced the number of letters to 22, as we know it today, they fixed the direction of writing from right to left and decided on the final design of the letters at that time.
The Phoenicians were seamen who were descendants of the Canaanites who lived in the region of the land of Israel. They had learned the art of writing from the inhabitants of the area, improved it a little and publicized it. Doing this was not too difficult as being seamen they travelled far and wide.
The Development Of Written Hebrew
Unfortunately, very few findings of ancient texts from the time of the forefathers have been uncovered in the land of Israel. High humidity and poor quality ink ruined the chances for researchers to find remains of ancient scriptures. Yet, with the little we do know, lets try to trace the development of Hebrew writing from the days of King Solomon until today.
The first discovery, which proves the change from Proto-Canaanite writing to Hebrew writing, is a collection of arrowheads, which was found near Bethlehem. On them it said: chetz abedlebat חץ עבדלבאת)) which means that the owner of the arrows believed that he was a slave of the goddess Bat (עבד ל {אלה} באת). The interesting thing about the writing on the arrows was, that part of the letters were in Proto-Canaanite style and others contained the form of Hebrew writing. This style of writing started to take hold in the whole area.
Attributed to Rabbi ben haKana, master of the first century esoteric school.
