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Theophany

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"Theophanies" redirects here. For the Hazakim album, see Theophanies (album).
Not to be confused with Theophania.
Peter Paul Rubens' Death of Semele, caused by the Theophany of Zeus without a mortal disguise

Theophany (Ancient Greek: θεοφάνεια, romanized: theopháneia, lit. 'appearance of a deity') is an encounter with a deity that manifests in an observable and tangible form.[1][2] It is often confused with other types of encounters with a deity, but these interactions are not considered theophanies unless the deity reveals itself in a visible form. Traditionally, the term "theophany" was used to refer to appearances of the gods in ancient Greek and Near Eastern religions. While the Iliad is the earliest source for descriptions of theophanies in classical antiquity, the first description appears in the Epic of Gilgamesh.[3]

In numerous creation stories, a deity or deities speak with many kinds of animals, often prior to the formation of dry land on earth.[4]

Definition and etymology

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The term theophany derives from the Ancient Greek word θεοφάνεια (theopháneia), meaning "appearance of a god", from theos (θεός, "god") and phainein (φαίνειν, "to show" or "to appear").[5] In classical usage, it referred to visible appearances of deities to humans, especially in mythological contexts. These could be in anthropomorphic form or as other phenomena—light, fire, or cloud—and often served to affirm the deity's favor, deliver a message, or enact divine will.

In modern academic usage, "theophany" is used across religious traditions to describe any tangible manifestation of a deity in a form accessible to human perception, especially visual. It is distinct from terms like divine inspiration, revelation, or incarnation, which refer to different types of religious experience.[6] If the divine presence is expressed more broadly without being tied to a specific deity, the term hierophany may be preferred.[7]

The earliest extant description of a theophany in literature is found in the Epic of Gilgamesh, which predates the Iliad and other classical sources.[8] In the Hebrew Bible and related literature, theophanies are often characterized by awe-inspiring phenomena such as thunder, fire, clouds, or bright light.[9]

In ancient religions

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Ancient Greek religion

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See also: Epiphany (Ancient Greece)

In Greek religion, there are a few instances of theophany. In historic times, theophanies were rare, but divine or heroic epiphanies were experienced either through dreams or waking visions. Theophanies were reenacted at a number of Greek sites and festivals. At Delphi, the Theophania (Θεοφάνια) was an annual festival in spring celebrating the return of Apollo from his winter quarters in Hyperborea. The culmination of the festival was a display of an image of the gods, usually hidden in the sanctuary, to worshippers.

In Abrahamic traditions

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Judaism

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In Judaism, theophanies are a central theme of the Tanakh, where God is portrayed as revealing Himself to individuals or groups through visible or audible manifestations. These events are typically characterized by overwhelming natural phenomena—fire, cloud, thunder, or bright light—and often occur in moments of covenant, instruction, or deliverance.

One of the most prominent theophanies in the Hebrew Bible is the appearance of God to Moses at the burning bush on Mount Horeb, where the bush blazes with fire yet is not consumed.[10] This encounter initiates Moses's prophetic mission and is followed by the theophany at Mount Sinai, in which God descends in fire, thunder, and cloud to give the Ten Commandments to Israel.[5] Other theophanic moments include the appearance of God to Abraham in the form of three men (Genesis 18), to Jacob in a dream at Bethel (Genesis 28), and to the entire Israelite community in the pillar of cloud and fire during the Exodus from Egypt (Exodus 13:21–22).

These appearances are understood in classical Jewish theology not as direct vision of God's essence—considered impossible—but as mediated manifestations that preserve God's transcendence. The language of sight and sound is often interpreted metaphorically by commentators like Maimonides, who stressed the philosophical principle that God is incorporeal and cannot truly be seen.[6]

The Shekhinah, a term used in rabbinic literature to denote the indwelling or presence of God, is sometimes described in quasi-theophanic terms, especially in mystical Judaism. The Merkabah visions in the Book of Ezekiel, and later elaborations in Jewish mysticism, also depict visionary encounters with the divine that combine symbolic imagery with cosmic elements.[9]

Christianity

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See also: Christophany

Christians generally recognize the same Old Testament theophanies as the Jews.[11] In addition, there are at least two events seen as theophanies mentioned in the New Testament, the baptism and transfiguration of Jesus (epiphanies).[12][1][13] While some Eastern Orthodox Churches refer to the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist as "theophany",[14] some theologians discourage such usage, arguing that the entire life of Jesus must be seen as a prolonged theophany.[1]

Traditional analysis of the Biblical passages led Christian scholars to understand theophany as an unambiguous manifestation of God to man.[15] Otherwise, the more general term hierophany is used.[16]

Latter Day Saint movement

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Main article: First Vision

The Latter Day Saint movement regards a series of theophanic events as foundational to its theology and origins. The most significant is the First Vision, in which Joseph Smith reported that, at the age of fourteen, he experienced a vision of God the Father and Jesus Christ in a grove near his home in upstate New York. This event is considered a theophany and marks the beginning of the Restoration in Latter-day Saint belief.[17]

The Book of Mormon also contains accounts of divine manifestations. Mark Alan Wright has examined these narratives in the context of Mesoamerican sacred traditions, suggesting that such theophanies and hierophanies reflect both ancient Near Eastern and New World cultural frameworks.[18]

One prominent example is the vision of the prophet Lehi in the opening chapter of the *First Book of Nephi*. In a study employing form-critical analysis, Blake T. Ostler compares Lehi's vision with biblical throne-theophanies, arguing that the pattern of divine commissioning closely parallels prophetic call narratives in the Hebrew Bible.[19]

And being thus overcome with the Spirit, he was carried away in a vision, even that he saw the heavens open, and he thought he saw God sitting upon his throne, surrounded with numberless concourses of angels in the attitude of singing and praising their God. And it came to pass that he saw One descending out of the midst of heaven, and he beheld that his luster was above that of the sun at noonday. And he also saw twelve others following him, and their brightness did exceed that of the stars in the firmament. And they came down and went forth upon the face of the earth; and the first came and stood before my father, and gave unto him a book, and bade him that he should read. —1 Nephi 1:8–11

Islam

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The Miʿrāj, the Prophet Muhammad's ascent into heaven, is sometimes interpreted as a form of theophany, although direct encounter with God is veiled or metaphysical. The Prophet is guided by the angel Jibrīl (Gabriel) and is traditionally said to approach the Divine Presence at the highest heaven.[20]

Druze Faith

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Hamza ibn Ali ibn Ahmad is considered the founder of the Druze and the primary author of the Druze manuscripts,[21] he proclaimed that God had become human and taken the form of man, al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah.[22][23][24] al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah is an important figure in the Druze faith whose eponymous founder ad-Darazi proclaimed him as the incarnation of God in 1018.[22]

Baháʼí Faith

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Main article: Manifestation of God (Baháʼí Faith)

The Baháʼí Faith believes that God is manifest in the prophets. The "Manifestation of God" is a concept that refers to prophets like Zoroaster, Gautama Buddha, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, the Báb, and Baháʼu'lláh.[25] The Manifestations of God are a series of personages who reflect the attributes of the divine in the human world, for the progress and advancement of human morals and civilization.[26]

A 1991 article in the Journal of Bahá’í Studies (JBS), described "Bahá’í theophanology" as "acceptance of the Prophet, or 'Manifestation of God,' who speaks on behalf of God."[27] The author explained that Bahá’u’lláh wrote a series of epistles in the 1860s to kings and rulers, including Pope Pius IX, Napoleon III, Tsar Alexander II of Russia, Queen Victoria, and Naser al-Din Shah Qajar, in a "forceful, theophanic voice" calling them to undertake reforms.[27] These letters were published in a compilation entitled Summons of the Lord of Hosts in 2002.[28] The JBS article described Bahá’u’lláh's "Theophanology" as "progressivist". He claimed "spiritual Authority" in these letters in which he warned western leaders of the dangers facing humanity should they choose to not act on His Guidance.[27]

In Indian and East Asian traditions

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Hinduism

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The most well-known theophany is in the Bhagavad Gita, one chapter of the larger epic of Mahabharata. On the battlefield of Kurukshetra, the god Krishna gives the famed warrior Arjuna a series of teachings. Arjuna begs for Krishna to reveal his "universal form." Krishna complies and gives Arjuna the spiritual vision, enabling him to see Krishna in the universal form.

A number of other theophanies are described in the Mahabharata.[29] First, the god Indra's appearance to Kunti, with the subsequent birth of the hero Arjuna.[30][31] Near the end of the epic, the god Yama takes the form of a dog to test the compassion of Yudhishthira. Even though Yudhishthira is told he may not enter paradise with such an animal, he refuses to abandon his companion, earning him praise from Dharma.[32]

In the Hindu Ramayana, the monkey leader Hanuman is informed by deities, and usually consciously addressed by them.[33][non-primary source needed]

Chinese mythology

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In Chinese mythology, particularly in the Ming dynasty novel Journey to the West, the Monkey King, Sun Wukong, encounters bodhisattvas such as Guanyin and the Buddha himself, along with numerous deities from the Daoist and Buddhist pantheons. These appearances function as theophanies within the cosmological framework of Chinese religion and literature.[34][non-primary source needed]

Modern and contemporary views

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Reported experiences

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Teofanía by Mexican artist Antonio García Vega

Science fiction writer Philip K. Dick reportedly had a Theophany on 3 February 1974,[35] which would become the basis for his semi-biographic works VALIS (1981) and Radio Free Albemuth (1985).[36][37]

In 1977, Michel Potay testified he witnessed five Theophanies. He published the text he says he received from God in "The Book", the second part of The Revelation of Ares.[citation needed]

There are a large number of modern cases which have been rendered into print, film, and otherwise conveyed to broad publics. Some cases have become popular books and media, including:

These instances are distinguished from cases in which divine encounters are explicitly considered fictional by the author, a frequent motif in speculative fiction such as in Julian May's Galactic Milieu Series.[40]

Psychological and phenomenological views

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Modern psychology of religion and phenomenology have approached theophany not only as a theological concept but also as a human experience shaped by culture, cognition, and altered states of consciousness. Scholars in these fields investigate theophanies as phenomena that reveal both the structure of religious consciousness and the dynamics of visionary or numinous experience.

William James, in The Varieties of Religious Experience (1902), treated theophanies as part of a broader category of mystical and revelatory experience. He emphasized the subjective intensity and life-transforming nature of such encounters, proposing that their psychological authenticity can be studied independently of their objective truth.[41]

Rudolf Otto's influential work The Idea of the Holy (1917) described theophanic experience in terms of the numinous, characterized by mysterium tremendum et fascinans—a sense of awe, fear, and attraction before the presence of the wholly Other. Otto's phenomenological analysis does not focus on specific religious traditions but on the universal structure of the experience itself, which he regarded as sui generis.[42]

In more recent scholarship, Carl Jung and his followers interpreted theophanies as symbolic expressions of the collective unconscious, often emerging in dreams or visionary states. Jung saw the archetype of the "Self" as capable of appearing in divine or godlike form in such experiences.[43]

Anthropological and cognitive theories of religion, such as those advanced by Pascal Boyer and others, explore theophanies as culturally patterned manifestations of agency detection and hyperactive cognitive processes. These approaches emphasize how human minds interpret ambiguous stimuli—dreams, natural events, internal voices—as potentially divine in origin.[44]

While some scholars stress the authenticity of theophanic reports within their religious frameworks, others see such experiences as shaped by psychological states including trauma, ecstasy, dissociation, or neurological anomalies. In this view, theophanies are not dismissed as hallucinations, but contextualized as deeply meaningful within the lived world of the experiencer.[45]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Theophany". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on 6 June 2012.
  2. ^ Burtchaell (2002).
  3. ^ Bulkley (1993), p. 163.
  4. ^ Leeming (2010).
  5. ^ a b Burtchaell (2002).
  6. ^ a b Sharma (2006), p. 109.
  7. ^ Eliade (1959).
  8. ^ Bulkley (1993), p. 163.
  9. ^ a b Bucur (2018).
  10. ^ Kominiak (1948).
  11. ^ Kominiak (1948); Bucur (2018).
  12. ^ Mark 1:9–11 and Luke 9:28–36.
  13. ^ Cook (2019), p. 82.
  14. ^ Bratcher (2023).
  15. ^ Ivakhiv (2001), p. 253, note 2 and the authors there cited.
  16. ^ Sharma (2006), p. 109.
  17. ^ Wright (2011), p. 52.
  18. ^ Wright (2011), pp. 51–65.
  19. ^ Ostler (1986), pp. 67–95.
  20. ^ Vuckovic (2004).
  21. ^ Hendrix & Okeja (2018), p. 11.
  22. ^ a b Poonawala (1999).
  23. ^ Nisan (2015), p. 95.
  24. ^ Dana (2003), p. 41.
  25. ^ Smith (2000), p. 231.
  26. ^ Cole (1982).
  27. ^ a b c Buck (1991).
  28. ^ Baháʼu'lláh (2002), p. 137.
  29. ^ Laine (2007).
  30. ^ Coulter & Turner (2013), p. 69.
  31. ^ Johnson (2009).
  32. ^ "The Mahabharata, Book 17: Mahaprasthanika Parva: Section 3". Internet Sacred Texts Archive.
  33. ^ Valmiki (2000).
  34. ^ Wu (2006).
  35. ^ Mckee (2004), pp. 1–2ff.
  36. ^ Mckee (2004), p. page 10.
  37. ^ Umland (1995), p. page 82.
  38. ^ Schucman (2019).
  39. ^ Kaza (1996).
  40. ^ May (1987).
  41. ^ James (1985).
  42. ^ Otto (1958).
  43. ^ Jung (1969).
  44. ^ Cook (2019).
  45. ^ Sharma (2006).

Works cited

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  • Baháʼu'lláh (2002) [1868]. The Summons of the Lord of Hosts. Haifa: Baháʼí World Centre. ISBN 0-85398-976-1.
  • Bratcher, Dennis (2023). "The Season of Epiphany". The Voice. Christian Research Institute.
  • Buck, Christopher (1991). "Bahá'u'lláh as 'World Reformer'". Journal of Bahá'í Studies. 3 (4). Association for Bahá'í Studies.
  • Bucur, Bogdan Gabriel (2018). Scripture Re-envisioned: Christophanic Exegesis and the Making of a Christian Bible. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-38610-5.
  • Bulkley, Kelly (1993). "The Evil Dreams of Gilgamesh: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Dreams in Mythological Texts". In Rupprecht, Carol Schreier (ed.). The Dream and the Text: Essays on Literature and Language. Albany, New York: SUNY Press. pp. 159–177. ISBN 978-0-7914-1361-6.
  • Burtchaell, J. T. (2002). "Theophany". In Berard L. Marthaler (ed.). New Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 13. Detroit, Michigan: The Catholic University of America by Thomson/Gale. p. 929. ISBN 978-0-7876-4017-0.
  • Cole, Juan (1982). "The Concept of Manifestation in the Baháʼí Writings". Baháʼí Studies. monograph 9: 1–38.
  • Cook, Chris (2019). Hearing Voices, Demonic and Divine: Scientific and Theological Perspectives. New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-367-58243-2.
  • Dana, Nissim (2003). The Druze in the Middle East: Their Faith, Leadership, Identity and Status. Sussex Academic Press. ISBN 978-1-903900-36-9.
  • Eliade, Mircea (1959) [1957]. The Sacred and the Profane: The Nature of Religion. Translated by Willard R. Trask. Harcourt, Brace.
  • Hendrix, Scott; Okeja, Uchenna, eds. (2018). The World's Greatest Religious Leaders: How Religious Figures Helped Shape World History. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-4408-4138-5. [2 volumes].
  • Coulter, Charles Russell; Turner, Patricia (2013). "Arjuna". Encyclopedia of Ancient Deities. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-13596-390-3.
  • Ivakhiv, Adrian J. (2001). Claiming Sacred Ground: Pilgrims and Politics at Glastonbury and Sedona. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-33899-0.
  • James, William (1985) [1902]. The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-93225-8.
  • Johnson, W. J. (2009). "Kunti". A Dictionary of Hinduism. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acref/9780198610250.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-19861-025-0.
  • Jung, C. G. (1969) [1938]. Psychology and Religion: West and East. Collected Works. Vol. 11. Princeton University Press.
  • Kaza, Stephanie (1996). The Attentive Heart: Conversations with Trees. Shambhala Publications. ISBN 978-1-57062-251-9.
  • Kominiak, Benedict (1948). The Theophanies of the Old Testament in the Writings of St. Justin. Studies in Sacred Theology, 2nd series, number 14. Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press. OCLC 878155779.
  • Laine, James W. (2007). Visions of God: Narratives of Theophany in the Mahābhārata. Publications of the De Nobili Research Library. Vol. 16. Vienna: Gerold & Company.
  • Leeming, David Adams (2010). Creation Myths of the World: An Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO.
  • May, Julian (1987). Intervention: A Root Tale to the Galactic Milieu and a Vinculum between it and The Saga of Pliocene Exile. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
  • Mckee, Gabriel (2004). Pink Beams of Light from the God in the Gutter: The Science-Fictional Religion of Philip K. Dick. Lanham, Maryland: University Press of America. ISBN 0-7618-2673-4.
  • Nisan, Mordecai (2015) [1991]. Minorities in the Middle East: A History of Struggle and Self-Expression. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-5133-3.
  • Ostler, Blake T. (1986). "The Throne-Theophany and Prophetic Commission in 1 Nephi: A Form-Critical Analysis". BYU Studies Quarterly. 26 (4): 67–95. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 October 2021.
  • Otto, Rudolf (1958). The Idea of the Holy. Translated by John W. Harvey. Oxford University Press.
  • Poonawala, Ismail K. (1999). "Review - The Fatimids and Their Traditions of Learning". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 119 (3): 542. doi:10.2307/605981. JSTOR 605981.
  • Schucman, Helen (2019). A Course in Miracles: Text, Workbook for Students, Manual for Teachers. Dover Publications. ISBN 978-0-486-83108-4.
  • Sharma, Arvind (2006). A Primal Perspective on the Philosophy of Religion. Dordrecht: Springer Verlag. ISBN 978-1-4020-5014-5.
  • Smith, Peter (2000). Manifestations of God. Oxford: Oneworld Publications. ISBN 1-85168-184-1.
  • Umland, Samuel J. (1995). Philip K. Dick: Contemporary Critical Interpretations. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-29295-7.
  • Valmiki (2000). Sattar, Arshia (ed.). The Ramayana. Translated by Arshia Satter. Penguin Books.
  • Vuckovic, Brooke Olson (2004). Heavenly Journeys, Earthly Concerns: The Legacy of the Mi'raj in the Formation of Islam. Religion in History, Society and Culture, volume 5. New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-96785-3.
  • Wright, Mark Alan (2011). "According to Their Language, unto Their Understanding: The Cultural Context of Hierophanies and Theophanies in Latter-day Saint Canon". Studies in the Bible and Antiquity. 3. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship, Brigham Young University: 51–65. Archived from the original on 25 January 2013.
  • Wu, Cheng'en (2006). The Monkey and the Monk: An Abridgment of The Journey to the West. Translated by Anthony C. Yu. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-97156-8.
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