Divine Glory in Jewish Mythology

6 myths

Each story names the sources it was written from.

Myth 5 min

Enoch Left Alone at the Edge of the Tenth Heaven

Enoch's angelic guides abandon him at the threshold of the tenth heaven. He falls to the ground in terror. Then God calls him to come closer.

EnochDivine ThroneMerkavahHeavenly AscentAngelsDivine GloryTransformation
Parshat Vaera 8 min

Pharaoh Said He Created Himself and Moses Caught Him at the River

Pharaoh told Egypt he was a god who felt no human needs. Every morning he went down to the Nile alone to keep it up. One morning Moses was standing there.

PharaohCreationPlaguesEgyptPrideMosesExodusDivine JudgmentProphecyKingsDivine GloryMekhilta
Myth 5 min

Zoharariel Came Crowned to the Throne and Every Angel Shook

Zoharariel approaches the throne on his knees, shaking, while other angels tremble and the measure of his garment exceeds all bounds.

ZohararielHeikhalotAngelsMerkavahThroneDivine Glory
Myth 6 min

Mother Zion Wandered Her Burned Streets Crying for Her Children

Jeremiah climbs the bloodied road and finds a woman weeping in black over empty cradles, and she is the burned land herself, the one God keeps His glory for.

ZionShekhinahJeremiahTemple DestructionExileDivine GloryMourning
Parshat Vaera 5 min

Pharaoh Stole the Name of God, So God Lent It to Moses

A king of flesh and blood would kill a man for sitting in his chair. God set a runaway shepherd in the doorway with the Name Pharaoh had claimed.

PharaohMosesDivine GlorySelf Made GodTanchumaExodus
Parshat Ki Tisa 5 min

Moses in the Cleft of the Rock and the Word That Shielded Him

Emboldened after Sinai, Moses begged to see God's glory, so God hid him in the rock and stretched His own Word over the stone as it swept past.

MosesThirteen Attributes Of MercyDivine GloryCleft Of The RockMemraKi Tisa