A hand I never expected to see hennaed (and other hennaed superstars)

Posted by Catherine Cartwright Jones on December 07, 1999 at 19:30:33:

From 6th century C.E., Beth Alpha Synagogue, near Galilea, a detail
of floor mosaic shows the sacrifice of Isaac. In this mosaic, the
hand of God appears from a cloud to stop Abraham from doing in his son
and instead substitute the goat. The hand of God appears to be
hennaed. (Just a large circle, nothing fancy).

Yes, I had the same reaction, ....WHAAAAA?????.....

Though this hennaed hand might seem stunningly baffling, it does make
sense in historical context. For at least the preceeding 3000 years,
or possibly as far back as the 7th millineum B.C.E. in the eastern
Mediterranean, particularly Syria and Palestine, there was a tradition
of annual sacrifice of the perfect young male (species for said
sacrifice vary from one millineum to the next) to insure the fertility
of the land. This sacrifice was always accompanied by henna
(hennaeing the hands of a goddess, not a god...but...that may be a
minor point) . The same tradition of hennaeing and sacrifice is
carried on each spring at Eid El Adha in the Muslim religion (remember
the goat in a taxi post?) (Many comparitive religion scholars view
the crucifiction as part of the same mythos.) So ... the Hebrews who
portrayed God's hand as hennaed borrowed some iconography from their
neighbors, the Canaanites, who did henna for the annual sacrifice to
insure the fertility.

Maybe I can put together a group of non-Hollywood "superstars" who
hennaed or may have ....... looks like it includes Nefertiti,
Cleopatra, Mary Magdalene, the Whore of Babylon, Mumtaz Mahal (there
would be an endless list of fascinating people from India) , Emperor
Elagabalus of Rome (Marcus Aurelius Antonius), Buddha, Tara,
Buddha's mother,all the Boddhisattvas, the entire Hindu pantheon,
Persia and Arabia are a given ...... The Dalai Lamas in the 11th to
13th centuries..... Fatima, of course, and all of Mohammed's
wives....Lillith....this could be a fun list!

Mary, (the original Madonna) may have, according to some of the
earliest gospels that got dropped out of the bible. (That one's a bit
of a stretch, but I can make a good arguement for it.)

Helen of Troy probably didn't.

It wouldn't suprise me if Calligula and Catullus did, but I don't have
any texts to back it up.

Follow-ups:

• More hands Amy L. 19:51:16 12/07/99 (6)
  • Re: More hands Catherine Cartwright Jones 20:18:00 12/07/99 (5)
    • Re: More hands Amy L. 04:17:02 12/09/99 (0)
    • Re: More hands leela 20:53:24 12/07/99 (3)
      • Re: More hands Catherine Cartwright Jones 21:04:49 12/07/99 (2)
        • Re: More hands leela 20:18:14 12/10/99 (1)
          • Kali, Durga, Parvati Catherine Cartwright Jones 01:53:22 12/13/99 (0)